"Stardust" is an outstanding film for a number of reasons. Many have compared it to "The Princess Bride," and others have (mainly because of the effects) likened it to the Harry Potter films. Me, I like to think of it as a film that suggests what would happen if Monty Python did "The Princess Bride" with the budget of any major effects film. The acting was superb, the story was great (although I'm told they changed the book ending--I'll have to read that one), and Neil Gaiman has once again impressed me. I've only recently been turned on to his work, and I must thank my fiancee for that.
Oddly, I found quite a few parallels between "Stardust" and Neverwhere--a young man with a girl at home falls into a mystical world and falls for another girl, one he must help, while all sorts of odd characters are either helping them or trying to kill them. The witches compare to the assassins, DeNiro's character could very easily be compared to the Marquis, and the other side of the wall could represent the underground world in Neverwhere. (Oh, yeah: if you're unfamiliar with Neverwhere, that whole thing made no sense at all.)
Finally, though, I must relate a movie-going experience I don't enjoy very often. When we got to the theater, the credits were rolling on the previous showing. The clean-up crew, armed with brooms and trash cans, waited for the last viewers to leave. Meanwhile others would try to enter the theater ahead of us, and would stop when we told them we were waiting to go in (well, most of them did). The crew explained that they couldn't go in until all had left, and we encouraged them to go in "300" style and conquer the theater. Though they liked the idea, they feared getting into trouble. I told them that I thought it would be totally cool to have a small army of maroon-shirted technicians storm the theater and throw me out. Eventually, we went in, saw a great movie, and waited throughout the credits. I wanted the Sparta-cleaners to rush in and start screaming, waving their little brooms in the air. Alas, they didn't--and when we left, there they were, waiting. I told them that we were waiting to be conquered, and they laughed, . . .
. . . and a good time was had by all.
Observations, rants, and plausible
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
The Village
I AM WRITING!
My Screenplay -- Draft Three
I'm currently reading:
On my Kindle 2
I'm listening to:
iTunes Radio
I'm driving:
The Honda FCX Clarity
