Shiny!

I probably shouldn't write this right now...should put it off for a few hours so I can collect my thoughts and what not...oh well.

I just finished Stardust, based on the Neil Gaiman novel, starring Claire Daines, Charlie Cox, and Michelle Pfeiffer. I'm in awe. I'm astonished. I'm bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I'm. . . at a loss for words.

The movie opens with Ian McKellen's narration:

A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really...”Do the stars gaze back?" Now that's a question.

To get the answer, we follow young shop-boy Tristan as he travels to find a fallen star so he can bring it back to his love, and win her heart. He, of course, is not the only one looking for the star--there's a group of witches who want it for its power, some princes who want it because obtaining it will also give them the stone they need to become king, and...ugh. If I'm not careful I'll end up retelling the story--pirates, magic, flying ships, magic spells, sword fights, ghosts, unicorns, adventure, romance...

It was simply magical. Movies were invented for experiences like this. I sat here smiling pretty much the whole 2 hrs and 7 minutes it was on. TLomL can attest to the rarity of that. It was fresh, original, and practically timeless... The only parallel I can think of to the experience was the first time I saw The Princess Bride.

I've never seen Cox before, but will keep an eye out for him in the future. I've been impressed by Daines every time I've seen her, but this goes beyond that. Pfeiffer was nearly pferfect as always. Great supporting appearances by Robert DeNiro (shock!), Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett (he proves that old adage about "no small roles" here), Sarah Alexander, and Ricky Gervais.

Okay, I'm going to shut up now and hit the play button again.

As interesting as that philosopher's question was...there's a better question asked in the film:

What do stars do?

Trust me, you want to find out.