"A philosopher once asked....

Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?"

Do you recognise the quote? Its from one my of my ultimate favourite films, Stardust :)
I just love this film, and I am sorry to announce that this post will contain no sarcastic mocking or rants, as I'm sure you've all come accustomed to, but will be instead one long gush about how much I love this film and how it quite possibly could be THE perfect film!!



For those who have yet to see this film, (watch it now you fool!!!) it is the beautiful story of a young boy named Tristan, who ventures in to a strange and secret land, to find a fallen star, in order to win the heart of Victoria (who, played by Sienna Miller, is the only bad thing about the film!!) and along way encounters witches, pirates and goats turned into inn-keepers. I am being purposely refusing to give too much of the plot away as I really do not want to spoil it for anybody.

The film is based upon a book by Neil Gaiman (which I want for christmas Mum!!!!) and I am so curious to read it, not being familiar with his work(something which I plan to rectify soon!!)
I must admit however, this film is the most beautiful film, truly faultless, and much of this I beleieve is due to superb acting and stunning scenery etc, that I am skeptical it can all have been captured on paper. I feel that this could possibly be a rare case when the film IS better than the book. Though, I am reserving my judgement until I have read the book, and having never heard a bad word against Neil Gaiman's work, I suspect I am proberly incorrect.

I mentioned superb acting, but I am not sure superb really expresses how magnificent the acting really is. Michelle Phiffer especially, as the evil witch Lamia was fantastic. She has always been a great actress, but one I feel who has improved dramatically with age and I would argue this is her best performance yet.



Charlie Cox, who plays the male lead Tristan was also a perfect casting choice. He is lovable, clumsy and sweet and such a likeable character. Though to be fair all the characters in this film are (except Sienna Miller's!)

I read that the original choice was Orlando Bloom, and I am so thankful they changed their minds, as I feel the dynamic of the film would have been completely different. Whilst this film stars some of the biggest name in acting, such as Michelle Phiffer and Robert DeNiro, I do not think they are actors who particuraly demand attention for being in a film, instead really upon thier skill as actors. Orlando Bloom however, I feel does the opposite, and whilst I am not saying he can not act, if he had starred in the film, you can be sure it would have been known only for him, and in my opinon, would have lost a lot of its appeal!!! (So I did have a mini rant :D)

Claire Danes was another interesting but perfect choice, as she is not an actress who is well known I feel and certainly does not come to mind as leading actress material! however I am so glad it is her was eventually picked (after the role was turned down by several more famous actresses) as not only did it mean the film had to rely on good acting and storyline instead of famous names, but also because I don't think there is an actress who could play a star as well as she can.

That is another thing I love about this film, you can not possibly think or imagine of another actor who could play the any part in this better than who was cast, as the casting was perfect. Even Sienna Miller was cast perfectly, as the character we are not meant to like, a spoilt, self-absorbed brat!!


Have I mentioned that I love this film??
It is one which I can watch endlessly, yet never tire of! It never fails to make me both laugh and cry (the ending is so beautiful and ridiculously happy) so has become my "Cheer up" film, one I watch after a crappy day! At the risk of sounding cheesy, it is the perfect film to lose yourself in!!
I also unashamedly LOVE the soundtrack, Rule the world, by Take That.

So for those who are looking for a film to watch, I recommend Stardust, and then defy anybody telling me they didn't love it! Five K's really does not seem adequete for this film, so instead I'm giving it seven!!! This film is undeservedly overlooked I feel and is fast becoming a contender for being my absolute favourite fim, and it doesn't even have Kiefer Sutherland in it :P

Night Night Xxxxxxxx

John Cusack stalking!!

This is my third attempt at blogging, my other two previous attempts being side-lined for a while, though I'm hoping the start of this one will result in the revival of the original blog!!

This blog will be dedicated solely to reviews of films which I watch, and since I tend to watch a film each night, I'm hoping I will not run out things to say!!

I love films, I really do! And I'm quite easy-going when it comes to watching films, I'm able to enjoy most genres, though I do particuraly favour cheesey eighties teen movies!! In fact, I have made my mission to try to watch all eighties movies, and despite having got off to a brilliant start, I still have a loooong way to go! So if anybody reading this has any suggestions (and not just for eighties films) I'd be most happy to hear.

This past week I've watched four films;

• The Sure Thing
• Better off Dead
• One Crazy Summer
• The Class

They all have something in common, other than all from the early eighties, can you guess?
They all have John Cusack in them!!



He is one of my absolute favourite actors (despite my mum hating him) and I am currently going through a 'John Cusack phase'. I find that a great way to discover new films, by 'film-stalking' an actor I rather love!!




'The Sure Thing' was most enjoyable, it was a typical and predicatable story of a boy travelling to California to sleep with a girl. He travels to California with a nerdy girl who is travelling to California to see her boyfriend, but along the way they have to hitch hike, pretend to be pregnant, get attacked by 'lonely' truck drivers, all whilst, of course, hating each other. Whilst the ending was terribly predictable (I won't ruin it for those who have yet to see it) it was still sweet and a very fitting ending. I really enjoyed this film, for me it was just the perfect eighties teen comedy and John Cusack really shone in his first film lead.Watch out for the amazing cameo by Tim Robbins.



Better off Dead was also a film I thought was terrific, despite once more being an old and predictable story (though maybe it wasn't in the early eighties!) This film see's John Cusack being dumped by the girlfriend he has been obbsessed with, for the smug and rather ugly (in my opinion) ski captain. John Cusack then spends rather a lot of time failing at committing suicide (despite sounding morbid, it is all very humourous) until he meets Monique, a French exchange student, who seemingly can not speak a word of English, staying with the family across the street. The mother of this family (nicknamed the 'Dorks') seems sure Monique will end up with her loser of a son, with extremely questionable fashion sense (be sure to check out his trousers). This film was really amusing, causing me to laugh out loud several times and again had a sweet ending (I really really love happy endings) which had the ugly ski captain getting what he deserves.



I didn't really enjoy the third film 'One Crazy Summer', for a start it has Demi Moore in it and I really am not a fan of hers! A large portion of the film is also in animation which I didn't like. This film is about an aspiring cartoonist who goes to Nantucket for the summer with a friend to find inspiration to draw a cartoon which will gain him a sponsorship to art college. Still reading?? Its gets worse. On the way the save Demi Moore from a motorbike gang (by throwing the money she had purposely hidden from them, at them. If I was Demi Moore, I would be most enraged by this, but she just says thank you!!!!) they meet two twins, who clearly have some mental health issues and are supposed to be amusing, but really just mmade me cringe everytime they opened their mouths!!! A girl with an ill dog who doesn't talk, but seeks revenge on everyone who is mean about the dog!!! And a strange family who want to take Demi Moore's family house, but she doesn't want that to happen, not because its her house and she wants to live, noooo, but because she has lodgers and she doesn't want them to be homeless because she is soooo thoughtful like that. So there is of course the typical plot where it seems all hope is gone but suddenly (and most unbelievably in this film) they come up triumphant! It really was a stupid film!!!!



The fourth film, 'Class' which I watched last night, was brilliant. It was John Cusack's and Andrew McCarthy's first film, and they were excellent in it. It also stars Rob Lowe (another favourite o fmine, as is McCarthy.) McCarthy plays a boy who has won a scholarship to a very posh college, where he is room mates with Rob Lowe. Their friendship gets off to an interstingly mean start, each pulling horrific tricks on the other, but they soon become best friends. However, McCarthy has no luck with women (there is always one in these films) who gets sent to Chicago by Rob Lowe to find a female to sleep with. So he does, though unfortunately it turns out to be Rob Lowe's mum. This film is extremely good, like an updated version of 'The Graduate' but watchable, which 'The Graduate' wasn't. You can also see why he fancied the mum in this film, which again, in 'The Graduate' you couldn't.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now, and continuing the John Cusack theme, I'm going to watch 2012 :D
Night Night xxxx