STARDUST

MOVIE REVIEW...

Going in without any expectations, what an utter delight Stardust turned out to be! This is a well crafted, well written and well acted movie that is throughly enjoyable.

Admittedly targeted at an older generation -- twenty somethings and older, perhaps -- the film did have moments when I was wondering to myself, "Oh dear, is THAT really going to work???!!!"

That question especially arose when the storyline pitted a world of fantasy that's located smack next to an ordinary, unmagical village, separated only a wall. Can this kind of premise really take off in a convincing manner in this day and age, I asked myself.

But take off it most certainly did. It soared even, thanks to the wonderful touches of humour. AND Michelle Pfeiffer still looks a stunning beauty on the big screen and she hammed it up perfectly as a wicked witch. Newcomer Charlie Cox and Claire Danes played the young heroic leads well while Robert DeNiro pranced around to his heart's delight.

Suffice to say, the film is about people crossing the magical wall and getting themselves tangled in fantastical plotlines. The special effects are moderate but the actors make it all seem larger than life.

In Stardust, Claire Danes is a living, breathing star (literally), while Charlie Cox is a young village boy who has a magical background and the two meet and face unexpected danger.

It is quite impressive how the writers have taken a simple storyline (all Charlie wanted to do was bring the shooting star to the girl in the village whom he has a big crush on) and turned it into a rollicking ride of adventure and fun for the audience.

If you are into fantasy flicks, this is a must see film for you.