Well, last night I finally decided to start going through some of the movies I have been meaning to watch. I settled on the movie Stardust, which is based off the novel of the same name by author Neil Gaiman. I had promised myself I would not watch this movie until I had read the book first, but I am very glad I decided to set that idea aside.
Well, to say the least this movie was a breath of fresh air. Even without a great cast (Claire Danes, Michelle Phieffer, Robert DeNiro) I am sure I still would have loved every little piece of it. It was a true work of fantasy, complete with stars falling from the heavens, two worlds split by a wall, witches struggling for immortality, air pirates, unicorns and warring princes, all focusing around the journey of a young man who finds his destiny overcoming adversary in the fight for true love.
The lead role was played by Charlie Cox, a very cute charming young man, who took on the role of a stereotypical country klutz, who just cant seem to get a break. It was also great to see Claire Danes back in a movie again, it seems like it has been awhile since I have seen her in anything and I think this could be one of my most favorite roles for her. Of course both her and Michelle Pfeiffer were looking fabulously beautiful in their respective roles. As for Robert DeNiro? Well, he was just fabulous as he danced around in a womans undergarments to the Can Can, trying to pick out which frilly dress to wear for the night.
I am not going to waste time critiquing the production value, or the music (which i loved, most of all the closing credits song, which fit the mood of the movie perfectly) because I do not have much of an eye for those things unless it really is just horrible. However, for the life of me, I do not know why this movie did not do so well in the theaters. Of course the fact that it even took me this long to decide to watch tells me that many other people must have missed out on this little gem, which is a shame too because watching it in a movie theater would have increased the experience even more.
I really do believe though that if you have ever dreamed, even a little bit, then there is no way you will walk away from watching this movie without a grin on your face and a much lighter heart, in which case I highly recommend reading the book. I know I am going to be going to Chapters first thing tomorrow and picking it up, and most likely locking myself away for a day or two to make my way through it.
As well, Neil Gaiman has had another movie produced based on another one of his works, a graphic novel named Mirror Mask which, while having a very different theme and tone then Stardust, I believe was adapted quite wonderfully into an amazing movie and I would recommend to anyone who was a fan of Stardust.
