Stardust

[Khaldun]

Stardust is a lovely film. I remember being surprised at the relatively critical hostility to the film: the MSM critics really didn't seem to get it.

[jayfyve]

I don't understand the comparisons of Stardust to Princess Bride, they seem to be an internet meme, even though when I read the comments they seem legitimate and not for the "luls".  The 2 movies might be similar because they are in the fantasy genre, but we don't see many comparisons between Krull and Lord of the Rings. Comparisons between these films seem to infuriate and enrage me for some raisin.

I enjoyed Princess Bride at least 9000 more than Stardust. I actually still laugh out loud while watching Princess Bride. The Stardust characters seemed to know they were movie "stars" in the movie, and the humor was "Oh look, I'm a Hollywood movie star, yet I'm in this obscure comedic fantasy film, which won't be obscure once I'm in it!". I watched it again just yesterday, just to make sure my feelings were clear. The most enjoyable parts of the movie, were scenes with the dead brothers and the Ricky Gervais scenes in which they didn't take themselves seriously at all, which seemed honest, since to take this movie seriously isn't really the point. I'm assuming the book was better, since I love anything I've ever read by Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Neverwhere, Sandman Comics, etc), and I'd be surprised if Neil really truly enjoyed this adaptaion.

Maybe I don't get "it" in this move. I'm not really sure what "it" is, and if everyone else has "it", maybe I was born without one and can get government assistance for a replacement "it". I wonder if my Canuckistan medicare covers that.

[NowhereMan]

They are both modern fairytales based upon the classic tropes of the genre with a lot of self-aware fun poking at those very tropes. Stardust has bigger production values and names and pulls the whole thing off more slickly but I really don't see much else in the "modern, light-hearted, fantasy fairytale" genre to compare Stardust to. Just because you liked one a lot more than the other doesn't mean they're radically disimilar and to be honest the biggest gripe you seem to have had is that Stardust suffered from having a big name cast.

On a personal taste note the Ricky Gervais bits are my least favourite part of the movie because it's not a character. It's Ricky Gervais doing what he always does in the way he always does it and I can only see that bit as, "Our troupe of unlikely heroes encounter Ricky Gervais trying to buy lightning!" rather than an overly talkative merchant.

[jayfyve]

It's possible that I enjoy the fantasy genre too much to be entertained by Stardust weaker attempts to satirize it. It seemed like a "giggle" look at fantasy, rather than a "big laugh" look at fantasy.

[HaemishM]

It was a whimsical fairytale Neil Gaiman movie. It's compared to Princess Bride because that's about the only good whimsical fairytale movie anyone knows. Most modern day fairytale movies are either too much nudge nudge wink wink or they are the director's fucked up version of fairytale told to excoriate his childhood traumas.

It's ok not to like it. It's not ok not to like it because it wasn't what other people told you it was.

[jayfyve]

It's ok not to like it. It's not ok not to like it because it wasn't what other people told you it was.

That makes sense. I think I'm trying to justify not liking the movie, and that is why I'm posting in this thread, just to make sure that my raised expectations aren't the reason for my dislike. I'm finding it very hard to detach myself from that first impression. It's a little bit of inner drama that's getting puked in here. I hope I don't discourage anyone else from having a look at the movie. I hope more like it are made, since iterations seem to make a lot of things better.

Typing about it is fun too!

[NowhereMan]

I can see not liking there being big names in it. Part of the charm of the Princess Bride is that it isn't too polished while Stardust really has been given the treatment you'd expect of fantasy films post LoTR. While it looks better it does lose something as well, though I'd deny that the Big Names are just enjoying themselves because they're in an obscure movie. It seemed to me that they, especially De Niro, really enjoyed getting to play characters they really wouldn't normally be playing. I can see that coming off strongly as, "Oh wow look at me do all these wild and wacky things it totally wouldn't be wild and wacky to do if I wasn't a type cast Hollywood star!" but that wasn't the vibe I got. You don't like the film as much though, that's cool. It's not a crime to not enjoy something.

Oh yeah, it's the internet. You're opinions are bad and you should feel bad, warggle barggle

[pxib]

Saw this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lightweight, forgettable, meandering, and FUN. It's the same sort of movie as Oceans Eleven: a bunch of stars chewing scenery and having a great time playing goofy stereotypes. Everyone's got a tongue in their cheek, but nobody's just phoning in a performance. I can tell the source material shines in its details, and that the screenwriters were trying to mine a few in passing (the guard at the gap, the unfortunate goat and goatherd). There's obviously a deeper story there, but not truly deep or meaningful... mostly just a Campbell hero myth.

See it. Expect nothing. Be pleasantly surprised.

[Johny Cee]

Saw this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lightweight, forgettable, meandering, and FUN. It's the same sort of movie as Oceans Eleven: a bunch of stars chewing scenery and having a great time playing goofy stereotypes. Everyone's got a tongue in their cheek, but nobody's just phoning in a performance. I can tell the source material shines in its details, and that the screenwriters were trying to mine a few in passing (the guard at the gap, the unfortunate goat and goatherd). There's obviously a deeper story there, but not truly deep or meaningful... mostly just a Campbell hero myth.

See it. Expect nothing. Be pleasantly surprised.

Um.  Without going too crazy with spoilers, the book actually starts off with the Victorian fairy story premise injected with lots of Gaiman whimsy and many, many subversions of expected tropes and conclusions.  The novel's ending is actually very sad.

My main complaint with the film is that the story was changed to a straight up fairy tale with a happily ever after ending.

[Hoax]

Book is so much better, but yeah movie was quite fun.

[Ingmar]

The novel's ending is actually very sad.

I just read the novel last night (I had to test drive my Kindle  ) and:

[Johny Cee]

The novel's ending is actually very sad.

I just read the novel last night (I had to test drive my Kindle  ) and:

[Ingmar]