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Hugh Fuller




Location: Virginia
Joined: 01 Oct 2003

Posts: 256

PostPosted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 9:22 am    Post subject: Short Review of Neil Gaiman'a Stardust         Reply with quote

After blasting several films, I thought that a good review might be in order. So:

My wife and I saw "Stardust" last Saturday evening and it was superb. It took the basic plotline of the book but it differed in some details, mostly in the ending. But this is one of those rare occasions where the book and the film come out nearly equal. Yes, there is somewhat less detail in the film than in the book, but that is only natural for, as J. K. Rowling put it, having everything in one of her books in a film would mean the the film would be 8-9 hours or more long. But Gaiman was very much involved in the screenplay and it shows. His senses of whimsy, of wonder, and of ironic humor appear all throughout the film.

Michelle Pfeiffer turns in a bravura performance as Lamia, the evil witch. I love watching actors and actresses playing villains as they seem to really enjoy the roles and she truly does.

The cameo by Robert DeNiro as the captain of the sky-ship is a much expanded role from the book and it is a true highlight of the film. I suspect that it is also a send-up of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow character from "The Pirates of the Caribbean." Also, my wife LOVED the special effects of the sky-ship sailing through thunderstorms.

The ending of the film is much more action-oriented and will appeal much more to the teenagers than would the ending in the book and it gives room for some truly spectacular special effects.

There were trailers for a couple of other films due out. One was Robert Zemeckis' "Beowulf" which looks really good in the trailers at least and the other was "The Golden Compass" which also looked ptetty good. The IMDB site for "Beowulf" shows Neil Gaiman as one of the screenwriters for the film and that is a very hopeful sign.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442933/fullc redits#wr...

And here is the IMDB site for "The Golden Compass":
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/

Hugh
Still trying to walk in the Light
Please see 1 John 1:5
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Marc Blaydoe




Location: Maryland
Joined: 29 Sep 2006

Posts: 72

PostPosted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 9:41 am    Post subject: I agree         Reply with quote

This was an excellent movie, but hey, with zepplins and swords, and Michelle Pheiffer, how could they go wrong!

Anyone else like the swords in the movie? Particularly the combination seax / yataghan thing Tristan had? Any thoughts on a better classification?

If someone produced it, would you buy it?
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Sam Barris




Location: San Diego, California
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Likes: 4 pages

Posts: 630

PostPosted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 9:48 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I enjoyed Stardust in book form, although Gaiman is incredibly derivative and formulaic after you’ve read a little bit of pre-Tolkien fantasy; Lord Dunsany, for example. After Lud-in-the-Mist and The King of Elfland’s Daughter, there really wasn’t anything new in Stardust. Still, I salute him for bringing back into popular culture several storytelling themes that would otherwise be lost in the lifeless swill that makes up most of the fantasy and science fiction genres these days. I’m looking forward to the movie. I wonder when it will be out in Greece.

His Dark Materials was a great series. I’m looking forward to that movie as well, even if Hollywood changed the plot out of cowardice. Can’t have everything, I suppose. Bets on who gets the contract to market Subtle Knives?

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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Joe Fults




Location: Midwest
Joined: 02 Sep 2003

Posts: 3,646

PostPosted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 10:00 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Stardust is nice because its a film I actually could sit through with my wife and son, that all of us could enjoy.

That gets lost all too often.

"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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