20090525

Stardust memories

Night before last, I finally got around to watching Stardust (thanks to finding the HD-DVD for very cheap).

I've read a few things that Gaiman has done, and while they've been good, I haven't been blown away. Perhaps my expectations have just been too high from the raves I've heard from so many others; I'm not sure.

This, though, was fabulous. A bit sappy, I suppose, though in a way that I tend to be a sucker for (I mentioned Love Actually in a previous post; that's one of my favorites for having even more of the same).

It was very humorous; there were a series of princes (seven, of whom three are dead when the movie starts) the last survivor of whom is to inherit the throne of Stonewell. What makes that funny is that as each one perishes, he appears as a ghost, in the company of his ex-brothers, to make commentary on what's happening.

Their names, btw, were First through Seventh (in latin). One thing I found odd is that they had a sister who was named One (again, in latin). Why the difference between ordinals and cardinals? I've no idea.

Another thing I found odd was that the dying Peter O'Toole (the king whom each of them were trying to succeed) picked a method of succession that (apparently; it wasn't spelled out) required the successor to catch a falling star, and make her love him. While that's a very interesting and original means of choosing a successor, bear in mind that he had become king by killing all eleven of his brothers. And he had encouraged his sons to kill one another, so that the survivor could become king. It just seems rather self-defeating to encourage behavior in your potential heirs that will pretty much make it impossible for them to succeed in completing the mission set before them.

I'm sure there's something there I'm missing, and maybe it was addressed in the novel, but it sure felt odd.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned, I liked the movie very much, and would recommend it to anyone who likes romantic movies.

Oh yes, and Ricky Gervais (of The Office, British edition (well, to be more specific, he did practically everything for the british version; he is still the creator (at least) of the american version as well)) had a fantastic, if small, appearance. And he got what he deserved.

No comments:

Post a Comment