Friday, 26 October 2007, 22:46 CDT
I love watching decent, well-written fantasy films. As a fan of Neil Gaiman’s work, I was very excited to see the book “Stardust” translated to silver screen. And I have just returned from watching the film Stardust at my local cinema.
The film is rated, accurately in my opinion, as PG. There is mild peril, no bad language and lots of romance. This is a really magical film; a real fairy tale with good guys, bad guys, a damsel in distress and some wicked witches. Oh, and a destiny unrealised.
There is some excellent acting: Michelle Pfeiffer plays a wizened wicked witch, Robert De Niro plays a sky captain who is on a ship harvesting lightning (and puts in a wonderful performance). I hadn’t realised what an expressive face Claire Danes, the female lead, has. The romance is realistic and never tacky - take your other half, take your kids, there really is something for everyone in this film.
Continue reading ‘Stardust’ »
Monday, 24 September 2007, 20:18 CDT
This book was first seen on the internet, the author followed up by self-publishing it and then a publisher picked it up. It’s origins do show in the writing and the pace, however towards the middle of the book it settles down nicely and becomes a fast paced well-written humourous book.
The book tells the tale of “The Book With No Name”, the Eye of the Moon and how they both affect the people and events of Santa Mondega - a town that’s not on any map and which is forgotten by the outside world. The legend has it that anyone who reads the Book dies shortly afterwards. The Bourbon Kid arrives before massacring hundreds of people, there are bounty hunters, hitmen, cops, monks, amnesiac women, killers aplenty and many many pop culture references. The blurb describes it as “Tarantino meets The Da Vinci Code” and reading through a few chapters shows this is an apt description.
The chapters are short and punchy and full of action. The humour comes fast without overcoming the action and tale. So much happens that it’s difficult to describe it and still do it justice. All I can say is read the book - just don’t blame me for what happens afterwards…….