Saturday Night At The Movies
Double Fantasy
By Dennis Hartley
Sometimes, for the sake of your own sanity, you’ve just gotta tear yourself away from watching the Apocalypse unfold on CNN and hitch a ride on trolley trolley (and since I don’t drink or shoot up, my tendency is to reach for a movie at such times). This week I thought we’d run for the shelter of two new fantasy films, one currently in theatres and the other just out on DVD.
First up is a film that slipped into theaters with surprisingly little fanfare. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, cross-dressing pirates return to your multiplex in Matthew Vaughn’s new fantasy-adventure-comedy-romance, “Stardust”.
Vaughn has tackled something completely different here for his second directorial effort (the follow-up to his auspicious 2004 debut, the Tarantino-influenced Brit Noir Layer Cake 
Co-scripted by the director along with Jane Goldman, and based on the Neil Gaiman novel, “Stardust” is a tale set in a mythical, sleepy little hamlet called Wall, which lies at the border between England and a “magic kingdom” called Stormhold, demarcated only by a stone wall. Just one solitary, wheezing relic of a man stands guard over a gaping, woefully under-maintained breach (hmmm, border security issues, crumbling infrastructure, people working well past retirement age…are we sure this is a ‘fantasy’?).
Enter our hero, Tristan (Charlie Cox), a bumbling “shop boy” who is hopelessly smitten by a shallow but popular local beauty named Victoria (Sienna Miller). After the couple witness a falling star one evening, Tristan vows to cross over the wall into the “forbidden” Stormhold to retrieve it for her, in order to prove his undying devotion (I’ll bet he says that to all the girls). Victoria gives him her bemused blessing and sends him on his merry way. Needless to say, he handily breezes past the “border patrol”.
Much to his chagrin, Tristan discovers he isn’t the only one lusting after that star power. Michelle Pfeiffer has a grand old time chomping scenery as an evil witch (there always has to be an evil witch, it’s a rule) who is racing the squabbling sons of a dying king (Peter O’Toole) to retrieve the star, each for their own nefarious reasons. Complicating things further is the fact that the “star” (an appropriately luminescent Clare Danes) has taken corporeal form, and would prefer not to take part in anyone’s “plans” for her, thank you very much. Madcap adventures (and the tricky travails of True Love) ensue.
“Enough with all the icky hugging and kissing stuff-what about the cross-dressing pirates that you promised to tell us about in the lead paragraph, Uncle Dennis?” I hear you saying. Actually, technically speaking, that would be ‘pirate’, singular, in the form of one Robert De Niro, who threatens to steal the show in his relatively limited screen time as the barely closeted Captain Shakespeare. Ricky Gervais (“Extras”) is another highlight, making the most of his cameo as the slippery wheeler-dealer, Ferdy the Fence.
The film may not boast the sharpest script, but the gags that do work, work quite well. For instance, the king of Stormhold’s numerous sons are named according to birth order-Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, etc.; for some inexplicable reason I couldn’t stop laughing at that (perhaps it recalls the classic “Biccus Diccus” gag from “Life of Brian”.)
If there is one potentially fatal flaw in the film, it lies in the casting of its leading man, Charlie Cox. While he appears to be an earnest young actor, the poor boy just doesn’t ooze much charisma (perhaps young women would beg to differ with me; or maybe he just tests well with focus groups?). Let’s just say, he’s no Errol Flynn. Luckily, his lackluster presence is somewhat compensated by the star power on hand (O’Toole, Pfeiffer and De Niro) and the genuinely winning turn from Clare Danes.
There seems to be a number of reviewers out there slagging this off as a “Princess Bride” wannabe, but you know what? That’s just lazy criticism. I went into the theatre, determined NOT to have that expectation rolling around in my head, and I found this to be quite charming and entertaining on its own terms, in a wantonly goofy “…forget your troubles c’mon get happy” kind of way. Sometimes, that’s all you require from a movie.
There’s more escapist fantasy awaiting you in the latest offering from the Japanese animation wizards at Studio Ghibli. “Tales From Earthsea
The film is adapted from a fantasy series by Ursula K. Le Guin. I will admit I have not read the books, so I was a bit lost on the storyline at times. I can tell you that it involves a sudden, mysterious reappearance of dragons in the skies over the mythical Earthsea, an evil witch (See?! I told you!) who is (near as I can tell) depleting Earthsea of its life essence and hoarding it in an attempt to achieve immortality; a young hero (with a dark side) and a warrior/wizard/mentor who accompanies him on a quest into the kingdom’s heart of darkness to, er, terminate the witch’s command (with extreme prejudice).
The film definitely benefits from the Ghibli “look”-bringing trees, mountains, sea and sky vividly to life in typically stunning fashion. Unfortunately, however, it looks like the younger Miyazaki will need more work on breathing life into his characters; they come off rather flat (especially when contrasted against the expertly crafted backgrounds).
The story revels more in gloom and doom territory than the typical Studio Ghibli offering (not many moments of levity or soaring flights of fancy). There is a nod to the ecology theme that runs through many of the studio’s films, but it feels a bit “tacked on”. Still, even “lesser” Ghibli is better than most animated features out there, and worth a look.
Note: “Tales from Earthsea” is currently available only on Region 2 and 3 DVD editions; the version I rented and based this review on was a 2-disc Region 3 (South Asian) edition. I believe the Region 2 offers a dubbed English language soundtrack option; the version I viewed did not. No word yet on a U.S. release.
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