You know, I've always carried a little bit of a grudge against Claire Danes for the remarks that she made about the Philippines way back in '98 - calling the capital, Manila, a "ghastly and weird city". I think she's the only celebrity in the Philippines who has her movies banned from being screened.

Since then, I've just had this negative feeling towards her, even though I loved her in "My So Called Life". I started warming up to her again after watching "The Family Stone", because I admit, she truly is a great actress. But I still had that little nagging feeling about her.

That changed last weekend. Fatima had been wanting to watch "Stardust" for the last several weeks, and I finally had some free time to go out and see the movie. Truthfully, based on the commercials and my Claire Danes issues I really didn't feel like watching the movies. I'm a Neil Gaiman fan, so I did read the book, but it was so long ago that I really didn't remember much about the story outside of it being about a man hunting for a falling star, which ends up being a woman. But Fatima wanted some quality time, and I admit, I was curious.

I went into the movie with pretty low expectations. I knew that the movie had a pretty high profile cast - Danes, Michelle Pfieffer, Robert DeNiro headline the movie. But based on the trailer, it just looked so-so. If it wasn't for Fatima, I probably would have just waited for this movie to show up on cable.

I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was. The movie had the perfect mix of fantasy, adventure, romance and comedy. I found myself very involved in the movie, laughing at the funny parts and sighing during the romantic parts. Danes was excellent, and the lead in the movie, "Charlie Cox", was charming as the reluctant hero. The movie totally goes crazy once DeNiro comes on screen, and I don't want to spoil the scene for you, but let me tell you, I would have NEVER figured DeNiro to pick the role he did. He goes all out in his role, and is definitely the highlight of the movie. Michelle Pfieffer is back after being in hiding for several years, and she looks gorgeous. I was also surprised to see Sienna Miller in the movie as well - I think the is the first movie I've seen with her and she truly is a beautiful woman.

If I could compare this movie to any other, it would be "The Princess Bride". Of course, this movie doesn't hold a candle to it, but it's as close as I've seen. It takes you to a magical land, with fantastic characters, good and bad. You really feel for the lead characters, you truly want them to be together and your heart swoons during every special moment they share.

So if you get a chance, go out and see this movie. It's a lot of fun, a great escape into a wonderful world of fantasy.

Posted by Yano at September 1, 2007 03:37 AM