Big stars shine bright in fairytale film, Stardust
Willow, The Princess Bride, Pan's Labyrinth, and many more will come to mind while you are watching Stardust, and for good reason. Director Matthew Vaughn delivers a consistently thrilling, delightful and engaging adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman.
The story is set in the village of Wall, an English town separated by a stone wall that marks the boundary between England and the supernatural kingdom of Stormhold. As a test of his love, our hero, Tristan Thorne (Charlie Cox) makes a pledge to his beloved Victoria (Sienna Miller) to retrieve a fallen star. With the help of his father Dunstan (Nathaniel Parker), Tristan uses a magic candle to travel to the place where the star fell. But upon arrival at the crater he discovers that the star is not just a rock, but rather a beautiful woman named Yvaine (Clare Danes). Nonetheless Tristan remains undaunted and decides he will bring back the star, named Yvaine, to Victoria.
As it turns out Tristan is not the only person who wants to get his hands on Yvaine. A long-lived witch named Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her two sisters want to eat her still-beating heart, which will provide them with years of extraordinary youth and beauty. Meanwhile, a group of princes are competing to recover the dead king's (Peter O'Toole) ruby - the very jewel that caused Yvaine to crash down to earth, and the item that will determine who will become the next king of Stormhold.
In a short time, Tristan and Yvaine are thrown into a rapid journey facing witches, airborne pirates, and kings-to-be, whilst at the same time realizing that great courage, leadership and most of all love may appear, and develop, in the last place one might expect.
Robert De Niro (Captain Shakespeare) clearly “dazzles” in every scene he's in! You'd absolutely love his fairly whimsical character. Furthermore, it's Pfeiffer's turn as the villain. Clearly relishing her role as the witch Lamia, a witch living on stolen power who degenerates into a hideous hag as she uses her magic, she delivers an almost inexorably ruthless, but nevertheless humorous, character that she portrays with both compassion and intelligence.
Additionally, Cox and Danes are a wonderful pair to watch on screen. Their burgeoning love gives the film a sweet sort of innocence that cleverly balances its darker edges. But their love is not the only thing that rapidly grows...interestingly Tristan also undergoes an extreme makeover over the course of the movie, moving implausibly from Edwardian nerd to noble hero.
In brief, Stardust is unquestionably one of the better films airing this summer. Its production values are good and its computer-generated effects are very believable (at one point the witch Lamia sets a trap for Yvaine, turning a chariot into a full-blown inn and stables). The movie also contains one of the most inventive sword fight scenes involving a corpse! It is definitely a must see and highly recommended.
The story is set in the village of Wall, an English town separated by a stone wall that marks the boundary between England and the supernatural kingdom of Stormhold. As a test of his love, our hero, Tristan Thorne (Charlie Cox) makes a pledge to his beloved Victoria (Sienna Miller) to retrieve a fallen star. With the help of his father Dunstan (Nathaniel Parker), Tristan uses a magic candle to travel to the place where the star fell. But upon arrival at the crater he discovers that the star is not just a rock, but rather a beautiful woman named Yvaine (Clare Danes). Nonetheless Tristan remains undaunted and decides he will bring back the star, named Yvaine, to Victoria.
As it turns out Tristan is not the only person who wants to get his hands on Yvaine. A long-lived witch named Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her two sisters want to eat her still-beating heart, which will provide them with years of extraordinary youth and beauty. Meanwhile, a group of princes are competing to recover the dead king's (Peter O'Toole) ruby - the very jewel that caused Yvaine to crash down to earth, and the item that will determine who will become the next king of Stormhold.
In a short time, Tristan and Yvaine are thrown into a rapid journey facing witches, airborne pirates, and kings-to-be, whilst at the same time realizing that great courage, leadership and most of all love may appear, and develop, in the last place one might expect.
Robert De Niro (Captain Shakespeare) clearly “dazzles” in every scene he's in! You'd absolutely love his fairly whimsical character. Furthermore, it's Pfeiffer's turn as the villain. Clearly relishing her role as the witch Lamia, a witch living on stolen power who degenerates into a hideous hag as she uses her magic, she delivers an almost inexorably ruthless, but nevertheless humorous, character that she portrays with both compassion and intelligence.
Additionally, Cox and Danes are a wonderful pair to watch on screen. Their burgeoning love gives the film a sweet sort of innocence that cleverly balances its darker edges. But their love is not the only thing that rapidly grows...interestingly Tristan also undergoes an extreme makeover over the course of the movie, moving implausibly from Edwardian nerd to noble hero.
In brief, Stardust is unquestionably one of the better films airing this summer. Its production values are good and its computer-generated effects are very believable (at one point the witch Lamia sets a trap for Yvaine, turning a chariot into a full-blown inn and stables). The movie also contains one of the most inventive sword fight scenes involving a corpse! It is definitely a must see and highly recommended.
