Movie Review Stardust

Stardust (2007) 

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Written by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman

Starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Michele Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller

Release Date August 10th, 2007

Published August 10th, 2007

From the wildly inventive mind of Neil Gaiman comes Stardust. The fantasy of Stardust combines science fiction and romance with some wondrous takes on literary legends. On the surface; director Matthew Vaughn may not seem the ideal choice for such light hearted romantic notions. A protégé of Britain's maestro of violence Guy Richie, Vaughn's first outing as a director was the Richie influenced Layer Cake, a mob story with a pre-Bond Daniel Craig.

Nevertheless, Vaughn pulls off a near masterpiece of genre fiction in Stardust.

Tristan (Charlie Cox) is a fool for romance. He has fallen in love with the most beautiful woman in all of the town of Wall, Victoria (Sienna Miller) and will go to any length to win her heart, even if it means crossing the wall. The Wall that gives Tristan's hometown its name is a magical barrier between the real world and the realm of Faerie, a kingdom ruled by kings and witches and ghosts and flying pirates.

Most citizens are unaware of what is beyond the wall, only knowing that they are never to cross that wall. Tristan however, must cross the wall when he sees a falling star crash beyond the city limits and he promises that star to Victoria in exchange for her hand. Now Tristan will cross that wall and embark on a life altering adventure.

Opposing Tristan, without knowing it, is a trio of witches led by oldest sister Lamia (Michele Pfeiffer). She needs the star in order to replenish her and her sister's powers. Also on the trail of the star is Septimus (Mark Strong). He needs the star in order to finally inherit the throne of Faerie; ahead of his brothers, four of whom have met with an ugly fate, something that the others may meet as well if Septimus is to become king.

Meanwhile, the star is actually on earth in human form. Her name is Yvaine (Claire Danes) and when she is found by Tristan, the real love story and a truly grand adventure begins.

My description of Stardust makes it sound like a trifle, however, thanks no doubt to the hard boiled influences of director Matthew Vaughn, Stardust is a good deal more tart than I let on. The early scenes between Tristan and Yvaine crackle with conflict, as any good romantic match often does. She is aware that she has been sought as a gift for another, and though he finds her striking, Tristan longs for Victoria.

The film doesn't let this torturous banter go on to long and indeed doesn't play many of the typical romantic games in order to place roadblocks in the lovers path. Matthew Vaughn and co- writer Jane Goldman do a terrific job of allowing the romance to develop naturally and create roadblocks organically rather than by what is often dictated by the history of Hollywood romance.

With a light hearted take on some rather dark materials, Stardust is classically English in wit. Take for example Prince Septimus and his brothers. As they seek the crown, four have already been disposed of in ghastly fashion, even before we meet them. Each brother sticks around after his demise; left in the final pose of their passing. This provides a number of big laughs throughout the picture as the ghosts poke about.

The film also mines laughs from an unexpected source. Robert De Niro plays Captain Shakespeare, a blood thirsty air pirate who sails the sky stealing lightning and toughening up on anyone who dares board his ship unwelcome. When the Captain encounters Tristan and Yvaine, high in the clouds, the scene is strange not just for its location but for the wit of De Niro playing against type.

Who doesn't love a great romance? Stardust has a really good one in the story of Tristan and Yvaine. It's a story rife with conflicting emotions and grand romantic gestures and a good deal of suspense. The conclusion is not shocking but it's not predictable either, Yvaine is a star and must one day return to the sky. How that is resolved is a clever bit of romantic engineering, and don't forget that the lovely Sienna Miller plays Victoria.

Stardust also has a grand adventure as we take to the skies with pirates who harvest lightning and do battle with kings and witches. It's a wonderfully literate tale that will delight readers and non-readers alike. For the literate; nods to Tolkien and Shakespeare are a treat, while never distracting from the adventure and romance familiar to everyone. This is an artful yet still populist picture that can dazzle the film buff and the parents dragged to the theater by his teenagers, all in the same scene.

Stardust is a big step forward for director Matthew Vaughn. His leap in genre from hard boiled crime to light as a feather romance and broad science fiction; is a leap most directors could not make. His range is only a small example of his talent. Watching Stardust you sense a director of great confidence, poise and imagination. Beneath the surface of sometimes surly dialogue, is the soul of a poet and a big heart. All of which will serve Vaughn well as he strives for his first masterpiece.

Stardust is almost there. A terrific example of a talent on the rise, Stardust is a crowd pleasing romantic adventure for any audience.

Movie Review: Beowulf

Beowulf (2007) 

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Written by Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary 

Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn

Release Date November 16th, 2007

Published November 16th, 2007

Allow me to admit my bias against Beowulf right here at the begin of my review. I am not a fan of the technology used to bring this literary classic to life. My preference has been and will always be in favor of real, flesh and blood actors over the computer simulations. The entirely CGI approach of director Robert Zemeckis does absolutely nothing for me.

Some find the technology to be mind blowing, I find it to be lifeless, like watching someone else play a video game. The fact is, this technology hasn't impressed me since 1998's breakthrough animated flick Final Fantasy. That film lacked life as well but was a technical revelation that Robert Zemeckis has been chasing ever since.

Zemeckis' Beowulf like his kiddie flick The Polar Express has done little to improve upon the motion capture animation that made Final Fantasy a breakthrough nearly a decade ago. Though some will say that the eyes of the character are more lively and their movements are less herky jerky, I didn't notice the difference. Then again, I'm biased.

Ray Winstone donned the doodads and googahs to bring himself to CGI life as a gym rat looking Beowulf. All rippling muscle and blustery boastfulness, Beowulf comes to this nameless Danish kingdom in order to slay a demon who hates merriment. Each time the good time charlies of the kingdom get together for some music and some mead, the demon appears and tears them limb from limb.

Enter Beowulf and his army of viking-esque conquerors. Taking time from their raping and pillaging to take advantage of the bounty on the demon's head, Beowulf and company stake out the King's (Anthony Hopkins) mead hall and begin a massive party meant to draw the ire of the demon. It works, but when the demon, Grendel (Crispin Glover), arrive he manages to kill half of Beowulf's men.

Beowulf however, does manage to kill the demon and is soon after named the heir to the king's throne. Not before he is once again pressed into demon killing duty to take on Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie). Beowulf's showdown with Grendel's mother seems like a success but in reality only maintains a long standing curse on the kingdom that Beowulf soon comes to rule as king.

The last act, with Beowulf as an old man taking on one last battle, is the most compelling of the film but by that point I wasn't all that engaged in this videogame writ large. I simply could not find a way inside this cold, impersonal form of filmmaking. It's not just the creepy looking technologically rendered characters but the storytelling gimmicks employed by director Robert Zemeckis and writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery.

The story itself plays like a group of middle aged guys trying to relate to their teenage sons by adopting the hip lingo of the day. Imagine your dad using the phrase 'bling bling' and you get my meaning. Beowulf apes the hip action of 300 but with a tin ear toward why teens went for that blood, guts and technology event.

300 succeeded as a hip music video version of history. Beowulf is classic rock to 300's Finger 11. (Is that a hip reference or what? Hey kids?) 

Putting the ugly technology aside Beowulf, as voiced by the great Ray Winstone, is something of a feckless hero. He boasts of killing copious sea monsters, the number of which changes with every telling of his story. He boasts of killing many demons but even the one he does kill isn't nearly as impressive as the story he fabricates about the killing.

Indeed much of the tale of brave Beowulf comes from his own fantastical storytelling. I get that this is supposed to be his torturous character flaw but it turned me off from the first moment and even when his moment of redemption arrives, late in the third act, I wasn't all that moved. Of course, this could be further attributed to the technology of Beowulf. I can't say whether a flesh and blood actor might have made this character more compelling.

This idea that CGI can compete with real flesh and blood actors is absolutely ludicrous. Take a moment to ponder the lead performance of Ray Winstone in Beowulf and juxtapose it against his minor supporting turn in The Departed and there is no contest. Winstone in person in The Departed is far more interesting than any shred of the fake Ray Winstone crafted in Beowulf.

Frankly, my reaction to Winstone in Beowulf is one of embarrassment. I feel bad for this fine actor that he must be subjected to this treatment in Beowulf. That he must undergo CGI plastic surgery to find stardom in mainstream movies is a sad commentary. Ray Winstone is so much more moving in the flesh than he ever could be in rippling CGI muscle.

The supporting characters are even less interesting. Anthony Hopkins bellows his way through the role of the aging king. Robin Wright Penn's Queen is a lovely CGI rendered beauty but something of a wet blanket in the end. Beowulf's men, including the usually terrific Brenden Gleeson, are colorful but are mostly cannon fodder for the demons.

Only Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother registers beyond the technology. Though she looks like Angelina Jolie rendered in videogame form, this is a videogame I would love to play. Jolie looks gorgeous in her animated nudity, the naughty bits barely covered by a sheen of gold that forever coats her demon self. Her storyline is undercooked and forgettable but Zemeckis can atleast claim to have created the sexiest cartoon since Jessica Rabbit.

Whether that is something to be proud of I will leave you to answer for yourself.

So what is the point of Beowulf? Reading Roger Ebert's review you get the impression that it is something of a satire. I however, saw the film as deathly self serious, for the most part, with a few moments of ill-conceived humor that feel off key and out of place. Take for instance the extended Austin Powers gag that features a naked Beowulf conveniently placed behind any number of gag props to cover his manhood.

Why must Beowulf be nude? A nod to the underwear models of 300? Maybe, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that Beowulf is quite uncomfortably nude and taking part in scenes that Jerry Seinfeld would no doubt classify as bad naked, as opposed to the Angelina Jolie nude scenes which are entirely good naked in the most gratuitous fashion.

I say nude and yet we are talking about a PG 13 movie. Curious? Somehow the MPAA classifies animated nudity as not being nudity. Of course with Beowulf's little Beowulf conveniently hidden behind a series of props, we have no real test of the MPAA's stomach on the issue of animated nudity. Jolie too is conveniently covered with dripping gold over her naughty bit. This must mean something to the oddballs at the MPAA.

Stranger than the films approach to nudity, and the MPAA's standards for such, is the attitude taken toward violence in the film and by the standard setters. Beowulf is exceptionally bloody and violent in the same blood spurting vein as 300. Yet, without the CGI nakedness, 300 is rated R and Beowulf is PG-13. Beowulf is covered in blood, heads ripped from bodies, limbs and flesh copiously torn and yet the MPAA never feels as if 13 year old children should be protected? What then were they so concerned about with 300?

I must say that I love the kink of CGI nudity and violence messing with the stale minds of the MPAA censors. That they must render a decision on such utter ridiculousness as the sight of animated boobs is terrifically funny.

That I have spent the past few paragraphs discussing things about Beowulf that have little to do with the quality of the film itself should give you a good sense of how little I cared for it overall. I have no interest in discussing the entertainment value of the action or my reactions to the climactic scenes or to the 3D rendering, because my reactions weren't nearly as interesting as the jokey elements on the periphery of this self serious CGI cartoon.

I'm biased. I want real, flesh and blood actors and will accept no substitute. Like the much reviled Jar Jar Binks, Beowulf is an impressive work of technology but he remains lifeless and unmoving to me. Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie do more with the glint in their eyes and the lines of their faces than could ever be captured by a computer. Acting is a physical profession. It is a mind, body, soul profession that communicates emotions and ideas beyond mere words.

The lifeless videogame characters of Beowulf, whether rendered in 3D or flat 2d, can never compel as well as a real life, flesh and blood actor. This is the failure of Beowulf and any film that follows the ludicrous idea that our stars can be replaced with computer chips.