Stardust

Here it is at last, the long delayed (and for no good reason - seriously I can't think of one at all) review for 'Stardust.' I honestly don't know what's taken me so long to get this out, 'Stardust' was one of my favourite movies of 2007, and I really only have good things to say about it! It had everything that I enjoy in a flick all in one convenient place! Action, adventure, romance, humour, plus a dash of magic just for fun, and a great cast to round it all out. It was one of those movies that I went to and when the credits started to run, I thought to myself "It's over already?!" (Although by the third time I saw it theatres that had worn off...a little.)

Before the movie came out, 'Stardust' was already one of my favourite books. Neil Gaiman is a wonderful author, who writes fantastic, magical stories that have always captivated me, like 'American Gods' and 'Neverwhere'. He has a great descriptive writing style that is very visual, the kind of thing where you can easily see in your mind's eye exactly what he means. Along with writing great novels, he also has written quite a few graphic novels, my personal favourite being 'Marvel 1602,' it's so good! Marvel characters set in Elizabethan England...aw man they should make that into a movie...but I digress (I know huge nerd right here). Anyway, 'Stardust' is one of those graphic novels, after it was published (to much acclaim) as a "story with pictures," as the author puts it, it was then published without illustrations. Now taking another step and being made to into a film just goes to show that the story itself is very fluid, taking on the various styles with ease.

Now enough about books! This blog is about movies! This movie uses the combination of magic and realism from the source material to great avail. So much so that you almost believe that you could go to England, find Wall and cross over into Stormhold. The wonderful thing about fantasy movies is that the special effects always feel more natural. Which may sound odd, but think, since witches are supposed to be able to do magic, it only seems natural that they do! One of the other great things about 'Stardust' is that it's deceptively funny. I've recommended it to more than one person who's been convinced that it's a romcom, but have been happily surprised to find that it's actually a comedic fantasy adventure.

The movie is also filled with wonderful characters and great acting that brings them to life. First of all I think the people behind the making of 'Stardust' made an excellent choice in choosing a relative unknown for the role of our hero, Tristan. The beauty of choosing an unknown is that we, the audience, have no expectations from the actor and as such Charlie Cox is free to be as charming and bumbling as need be to bring the hopeless dreamer, Tristan, to life. The transformation from shop boy to hero seems completely credible in his capable hands.

Next up is Robert DeNiro. For those of us who are more accustomed to his 'Raging Bull' or 'Taxi Driver' personas, his take on Captain Shakespeare is an wonderful surprise. He is absolutely hilarious as the secretly flambouyant Shakespeare. Nothing like a captain who's so loved by his crew that they pretend they don't know that he's about as hard as pudding and also I never thought I'd see the day where I'd see DeNiro in a dress!

I hadn't seen Claire Danes in anything for a quite a while when 'Stardust' came out, as a matter of fact, it looks like she had taken a couple of years off. I think she was a great choice for Yvaine, while it's true that they added a lot of the literal glowing with special effects, she certainly has the right kind of aura about her to pull off playing a fallen star. I am also very happy to report that her English accent was quite well done.

Last, but most certainly not least is Michelle Pfeiffer. I don't know what's come over her in 2007 with taking villainous roles, Lamia in 'Stardust' and Velma Von Tussel in 'Hairspray,' but the result was pure gold. I can only imagine that most actors must enjoy playing a villain every once and a while and it certainly showed in Pfeiffer's case. While Lamia certainly is evil, there is a good deal of humour in her character, especially as her body deteriorates as she uses her magic.

There are a couple other lovely little things about this movie I wanted to mention. Number one: the ghostly brothers. I LOVE them. HI-LA-RI-OUS. When I heard they were making the movie this was the one thing I wondered about. It's an interesting part of the book and I'd hoped they'd manage to make it work. Did they ever!! Especially having the characters in the shape they were in when they died, a great little comedic touch. And tying in with the brothers a bit is, number 2: the costuming. On the whole is was beautifully done, but one especially great thing comes from the outfits of the seven brothers. If you look closely at their clothes you discover they are covered in embroidery of the roman numeral that corresponds with their name. Wonderful!

And then for the one little nitpicky thing. Really the only thing that annoys me every time is in regards to the black glass knife that Lamia intends to use to cut out Yvaines' heart. She plans to cut through someone's body with this, but it shatters when it hits a wall? I mean, I get that it's glass, but if she wants to get all the way to someone's heart, shouldn't be a wee bit sturdier? Or am I just overly picky?

There you have it! 'Stardust' a great movie for everybody! And while I'm two and half months getting this sucker out, I hope you've enjoyed my thoughts! Now moving on to something completely different: 'Nochnoy Dozor"! Until then, keep it reel!