Just One Magical Word To Say

“Billy Batson, I choose you as champion.” ~ The Wizard

“Dude, just messing around! You look at me and you’re like, ‘why so dark? You’re a disabled foster kid, you’ve got it all’!” ~ Freddy Freeman

“You will beg for mercy…” ~ Sivana 

“Are you making some, like, big evil bad guy speech right now or something? You’re like a mile away from me, and there’s traffic and cars and stuff! All I see is mouth-moving.” ~ Shazam 

“…as I feast on your heart.” ~ Sivana 

“Awww, whatever, screw it!”~ Shazam

The adventures of Billy Batson, aka Shazam, previously also known as Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel) have been around for decades, a magical take on the superhero genre featuring a teenager able to transform into a hero of might with just the uttering of a word. Initially appearing in Fawcett Comics and later folded into the DC comics world, the character has been capable of going toe to toe with Superman, a hero with the wide eyed imagination of the youth he otherwise normally is. The comics version can be, well, rather convoluted in his backstory. Now the character turns up in the DC cinematic universe in a light, fun romp that features a dual performance for the title character by two actors, and one seriously scene chewing villain played by an actor who specializes in that sort of thing. Shazam! (the exclamation mark is indeed in the title) makes for a good addition into the DC world of film.

We meet a young Thaddeus Sivana in 1974, transported to a place called the Rock of Eternity, an ancient magical temple, by an ancient wizard named Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). The wizard is seeking a new champion, pure of heart, after his first one turned evil (a harbinger for a sequel). Sivana is tempted by the Seven Deadly Sins, spirits trapped within rock in the temple, and so the wizard banishes him back to Earth. Thaddeus is not pleased by the turn of events, and so is doomed to end up one day being played by an actor who specializes in playing nasty fellows.

In the present day, we meet the orphaned teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) as he ends up in a foster home while seeking out his mother. He makes friends with another resident, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), a disabled teen with an interest in all things super hero. Sivana, who’s grown up into the thoroughly disreputable Mark Strong (having a ball chewing the scenery), has been obsessed with returning to the Rock of Eternity. He discovers a way, frees the Sins, becomes their champion and gains powers. The dying wizard selects Billy in the midst of an act of bravery into becoming his champion- with the uttering of his name, Billy becomes an adult hero (played by Zachary Levi), gifted with strength, flight, and other abilities, taking on the mantle of Shazam. Of course it’s just a matter of time before Shazam and Sivana cross paths.

A live action adaptation of the characters has been in development for a long time. Earlier ideas included Dwayne Johnson playing the previous ancient champion and antagonist Black Adam (he will be playing that role in a solo film and the inevitable sequel to this one). That character is referenced in the story, but it’s another villain for Billy Batson that takes centre stage, as well as a cameo by yet another. The story, by Henry Gaydon and Darren Lemke, takes much of its inspiration from the comics material, updating it for contemporary settings, with the themes of power and worthiness, the wide eyed view of a young teenager in an adult body (and more of that as the story goes along), and the bonds of family- even a less formal one- playing out throughout the film.

The script has a light touch- there's none of the nihilistic tone of Suicide Squad or the brutal, dark tone of Batman V Superman. It’s a film that has fun with itself and the superhero motif, even while taking it more seriously as needed- when the villain raises the proverbial stakes. But not too seriously. It is, in effect, the comic book version of Big, except instead of Tom Hanks, we get an adolescent turning into a muscled hero who can fly (after a few hard lessons). This is a welcome thing. And the film sorts out what in comics can be an ungainly concept. Having had read some of the older material for the character, with its group sharing of the power among family, I found that older material to be, well, rather cheesy. The story as told here streamlines and makes welcome modifications to the dynamic of, well, the Shazams, with a contemporary feel. A teenager gifted with amazing abilities might have fun with it all at first, and not take things seriously, but rises to the occasion as things go along, and that’s how the film follows its protagonist as he shifts back and forth between teenager and adult.

Director David F. Sandberg has a background in animation and short documentaries before a couple of previous feature films, neither of which I’ve seen. And yet that kind of eclectic background in a director is an asset. It’s something that’s been a blessing for the Marvel cinematic universe directors, all of whom have come from backgrounds that you wouldn’t really expect for a blockbuster film director, and all of whom have done well with it. Sandberg does the same here with how he helms the film. The CGI has been well established in multiple studios by this point so that fantasy plays out before the audience as if it’s really happening.

The superhero genre with amazing abilities is well rendered- in this case fight sequences between characters of great strength feel real, and Sandberg handles such sequences well. And he doesn’t let the characters get lost in the muddle of action, which can happen with, well, a director like Michael Bay, if he was ever let loose on either comic cinematic universe. What I liked was how a magical place like the Rock of Eternity, often referenced in comics but new to the film world, is rendered in this film. It looks like what you expect, but with touches that the production team came up with that give the place its own signature. The casting department, in choosing not only the two actors playing the two halves of Billy Batson/ Shazam, also did well in choosing actors who play two counterparts of one character as the film goes along, separated by age but feeling quite plausible as the same person.

And speaking of the cast, all of them do well in their roles. Djimon Hounsou has appeared in both cinematic worlds- playing a supporting role in Aquaman, and a villain in Guardians Of The Galaxy and Captain Marvel. Here he gets a more sympathetic role as the ancient sage Shazam, a wise and long lived shaman who’s essentially the all seeing teacher (the Yoda of the film), albeit one who has regretted a long ago choice as a champion. His wizard is one weighed down by responsibility, and that’s how the actor plays him.

I mentioned that in the comics, the Shazam world could be convoluted, with multiple characters gifted with an aspect of the character. Most notably those are two characters, Freddy Freeman and Mary Batson, each given by Billy the powers he possesses and taking on heroic roles, but there are others. In the film adaptation, several of these take place, and it’s these two characters whose parts are played by four people. Mary Batson is Mary Bromfield this time out, a foster sister for Billy played by Grace Fulton when we first meet her, and an adult version played by Michelle Borth. Fulton’s take on the teenager is a sensible den mother sort of teen- taking care of her foster siblings and pondering her academic future, but down to earth, sensible, and grounded. Her adult, powered counterpart maintains these traits in terms of her personality, and Borth adds courage to the mix as well. The two actresses have enough of a common look to them that they feel like two versions of the same person, years apart in time.

The same applies for Freddy Freeman, who we see in most of the film played by Jack Dylan Grazer. Freddy may be disabled, but that doesn’t stop him from getting through life with spirit and energy. The youth quickly becomes Billy’s friend, a source of help thanks to his general knowledge of superheros (he can be described as something of a geek. Grazer gives his take on the role a snarky, gleeful touch at times, relishing the idea of helping a hero find his way. And as the film carries on and we see an adult version of the character, this time played by Adam Brody, that snarkiness is still present. Brody, once a member of the soapy The O.C., is probably an ideal choice at this stage for a geeky sort of kid in an adult body. The bantering energy between Billy and Freddy, played out between four actors, is one of the treats of the film as a whole.

It’s the villain who gets to be another of the strong assets of the film. Mark Strong is one of those actors who you love to hate when he plays an antagonist, something he often does, but not always. He gives a touch of ruthless menace to such a character, and that’s what he does here as Sivana. His character is quite different from the comic version, a mad scientist of short stature and pure ugliness. This Sivana, a brilliant scientist, is obsessed with what he briefly grasped, withdrawn and isolated from an abusive family, and, well, taller and more photogenic than his comic book counterpart. He straddles the line between science and magic, seeking power but not respecting the scale of that power. For him, the ends justifies the means, and Strong plays to that, all the while chewing the scenery in a delightful way and menacing the film as he goes along.

With two actors playing the same character at two ages, what becomes pivotal in a story like this is that the audience buys it. If the two actors aren’t playing the role with the same fundamental traits, the audience won’t. In this case they do. Asher Angel starts out as something of a delinquent, isolated with a troubled family history, finding a family in the oddest of places. And it’s an act of bravery- drawing bullies away from his foster brother- that shows his true nature. Fundamentally the youth is a good person, something that Angel brings across. And he feels like a believable teenager, the sort willing to goof off and not quite think things through, and yet when called for able to improvise.

Zachary Levi takes such qualities in his version of Billy, the adult sized hero. He might physically be an adult, but the character is still a teenager in terms of personality, with a wide eyed not quite thinking things through energy at first. Levi plays to that with a goofy sort of touch in how the character learns the ropes, confronting a real villain with a total lack of respect. Levi and Angel have enough of a physical resemblance that we can buy them being the same person, and given their way of playing the role, they give Billy the same mannerisms throughout. This is not Levi’s first foray into comics lore, having had played Fandral in Thor The Dark World and Thor Ragnarok, but here he gets centre stage. A question left unresolved for now- how on earth do you deal with the idea of a love interest? Because a teenage girl hanging around with an adult Shazam is going to end up looking quite creepy, and would a grown woman be able to relate to a teenager who occasionally looks like a body builder adult in red? Because he’s still a teenager in mindset. We’ll see if the story goes in such directions in a sequel.

A new character successfully enters the comic book adaptation with Shazam! Characters who can often be ungainly and cheesy in the older source material work quite well as adapted into the story. The dynamics of two halves of the same person, years apart in terms of age, played by two actors, works throughout the film. The thematic grounding of family that’s part of the character history establishes itself well. And the concept of a teen getting used to incredible power before realizing that he has to take things seriously plays out very well. The cast take to their roles in the right way in each case, especially the two actors playing the title character. And when you mix in a veteran character actor who seems to be having a ball glaring and menacing his way through the film as the villain, the combination makes for a welcome new addition to the DC cinematic universe. Though it leaves one wondering when the inevitable parody will turn up with a teenager yelling a magic word, getting struck by lightning… and ending up a charred corpse instead of a superhero adult.

An Embassy In A State Of Siege

Every once in awhile a film comes out that one misses. In some cases, they get a theatrical opening in one part of the world, while not such in another part of the world. This is the case with 6 Days, a 2017 action-biography that is a British/ New Zealand co-production. I don’t recall a theatrical release here, but came across the movie in the express DVD section at a library here some days ago. The film concerns itself with the 1980 hostage taking incident in Britain at the Iranian embassy, and follows the points of view of several people involved. It is directed by Toa Fraser, a New Zealand director with some British roots.

The film starts out with a small group of armed men seizing the Iranian embassy in London on the 30^th of April, 1980. Their leader, Salim (Ben Turner), issues demands for the release of Arab prisoners in Iran. The police set up a perimeter to handle the crisis, with one of their best negotiators, Chief Inspector Max Vernon (Mark Strong) taking the lead. The SAS regiment is called to be on standby; among their ranks is a tenacious lance corporal, Rusty Firmin (Jamie Bell). And of course the press descends on the scene; by chance, BBC reporter Kate Adie (Abbie Cornish) and her cameraman are on scene just as the crisis starts to unfold. Over the next six days, the tension slowly builds as the terrorists make demands, the powers that be debate the crisis, the SAS devise scenarios to storm the embassy, and Vernon and his colleagues struggle to bring the crisis to a close.

Despite the film’s poster, this is not particularly an action film. Instead it is a methodical film, efficiently run, building the tension slowly but continually as events unfold. The screenplay, by New Zealander Glenn Standring, follows the events of those six days closely, weaving in and out of perspectives as the movie moves briskly along. What humour might be found tends to lean towards both the dry British type and the gallows kind of humour- the SAS soldiers biding their time waiting, or the friendly rivalries between reporters. Much of the story is serious, and rightfully so. We see the security chiefs meeting from time to time to discuss options, including what’s not on the table. We look in on the terrorists themselves as they hold their hostages and debate what to do. And we see Vernon and his officers work to keep the crisis contained, even while the eyes of the country and the world are on it, all the while knowing that sooner or later the army might well end up taking over.

Fraser takes the screenplay and handles it in that efficient, methodical way, giving time to each of the perspectives, ratcheting up the tension and suspense, but done in a way that’s never forced (I can just imagine someone like Michael Bay handling this and going way over the top with explosions). The whole tone of the film plays more to the resolute keep calm and carry on attitude of Britain. There’s a good deal of attention to detail that grounds it in its time- the unseen Prime Minister Thatcher is new to power, and has her own agenda, which does not include giving terrorists what they want. Iran, meanwhile, is a pariah state at this point whose leader doesn’t mind making martyrs of those inside the embassy, and won’t be moved to intervene. And Arab ambassadors in Britain refuse to get involved.

The SAS look rather rough and tumble and not particularly like soldiers. This makes perfect sense when you remember that they’re not supposed to look like soldiers in real life, so there are no crew cuts among them, but the actors carry themselves with the precise energy and movement of the regiment, reminding you that the British SAS are about the last people on the planet you want to pick a fight with. Their practice drills, planning for contingencies, and tactics and techniques occupy part of their time leading up to the climax of the film, and it’s interesting to watch them at work. And the London police, both in terms of those outside the embassy (and one lone officer who’s among the hostages, wondering if he should take more direct action) come across as steadfast throughout.

Turner, it turns out, is a British actor with an Iranian background, and his take as Salim is a good one. The actor has done work mostly in Britain, including stage and television. The leader of the terrorist group, Salim speaks English, and soon finds himself speaking directly with Vernon. Their interactions, almost entirely by phone, are back and forth, the two sparring, with demands on Salim’s side and countermeasures on Vernon’s side. And yet there’s more to Salim than your typical terrorist as the film unfolds. His cause is at least understandable: the freedom of Arab prisoners from the harsh treatment of Iranian captors, and even in the present day, who’s going to root for Iran? His dispute is with Iran, not Britain, something explicit in the group’s statements. And there are times we see doubt and uncertainty in the man, even in how he’s dealing with his comrades. He’s not sure he’s done the right thing, and that makes him more than just the usual Middle Eastern villain that you’d see in an Americanized film.

Abbie Cornish has done a lot of film work all over the world, and this time out she plays Kate Adie, a young BBC journalist who first comes to the embassy for a completely different story with her cameraman, and then finds herself watching the first stages of the crisis unfold. The real Adie is one of British journalism’s leading voices, and Cornish plays her with competence and a professional air, calm as she reports back live during the crisis. She and her fellow journalists, others working for other media outlets, banter with each other while watching events unfold, becoming effectively a kind of Greek chorus for the film.

Jamie Bell has been around as an actor for a long time, rising to prominence first as his debut in Billy Elliot. He’s had roles since then in productions like King Kong, Fantastic Four, and The Adventures Of Tintin. He plays Rusty Firmin, the most prominent of the SAS soldiers on stand-by in the area as the crisis unfolds. When we first meet him, he’s in the midst of a training drill with the others. Bell plays the character as rough and tumble in personality, something of the working class in him. Yet Firmin is also a professional, always learning from errors, memorizing countless faces, looking for possible problem areas, just like those around him. The actor captures that in his performance, making the man believable.

It's Mark Strong who gives the finest performance of the film as Chief Inspector Max Vernon. The actor has often played the villain or the heavy in films like Stardust, The Young Victoria, or Sherlock Holmes. My favourite role for him is the scenery chewing, brother-murdering prince Septimus in the first of those films. His take as Max is much more sympathetic. A professional well trained in negotiation, Max is methodical and psychological in his techniques, working to establish a rapport with the terrorists. He says he wants to resolve the crisis without loss of life, and we believe him. Over the six days, he’s the lead negotiator in the crisis, taking leave only to go home and get some rest (and see his wife just for sheer emotional relief). The actor keeps that resolute, calm steadiness in the character throughout the film, until at last with the crisis behind him, he can come to grips with the sheer tension he’s been in. It’s a compelling performance to watch.

6 Days turned out to be a surprise. Taking an incident in history that I was not familiar with, weaving in between perspectives, the film turns out to be well worth watching. It lacks the overkill that we would see in a Michael Bay film ( this is a good thing) and instead goes for the measured, steady tone of a British character study, blended in with action just in the right dose.

The Five Hoods: Robin, Before Sherwood

“Mother, spare me your farmyard memories. You have none and I don’t understand them.” ~ Prince John

“We can’t repay our good luck with bad grace, it invites darkness.” ~ Robin

“Once before I said goodbye to a man going to war. He never came back.” ~ Marian

Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) took on the story of the archer from Sherwood Forest in 2010 in the film Robin Hood, which actually tells an origin story for the legendary outlaw. Starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, the film is a revisionist tale written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, 42) and produced by Scott, Brian Grazer, and Crowe. In essence, it looks at the man before he was the outlaw.

We first meet Robin Longstride (Crowe), an archer in the army of King Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston), coming home from the Crusades and involved in a siege of a French castle. He’s disillusioned by war, wants to go home, and finds his opportunity to leave with fellow soldiers Little John (Kevin Durand), Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes) and Allan A’Dale (Alan Doyle) when the King is killed in battle. The band of men withdraw in the confusion, and come across an ambush of some of the King’s officers  by French soldiers led by the treacherous Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong), an English knight in league with the French King. One of the dying knights asks him to return the crown to England and his own sword to his father. Robin and his comrades decide to impersonate the knights to secure their passage home.

And so home to England the unlikely band goes, where bearing the crown and the assumed identity of Sir Robert Loxley, Robin informs the royal family of the death of Richard. Prince John (Oscar Isaac) is crowned king, and Robin meets the trusted advisor William Marshall (William Hurt) before setting off for Nottingham to carry out the second request. It is there where he and his men meet Sir Robert’s father Walter (Max von Sydow) and his widow Marian (Blanchett), and where an unlikely arrangement is made to allow the impersonation to continue. Along the way they encounter the local sheriff (Matthew Macfadyen, criminally underused in the role).

Helgeland has quite a history as a screenwriter and occasional director, with an attention to detail and a preference for strong characterization. That gets its due here, along with the epic sweep of battle and the intimacy of slow romance. It certainly does play around with history- the notion of the Magna Carta is more of an idea that Robin comes up with in a proposal to the new king to unite his country, as opposed to what it was. He was actually the last screenwriter in a series to take on Scott’s project, after other scripts didn’t meet the director’s standards. His story emphasizes themes like war weariness and the balance between justice and vengeance, as well as the notion of fair treatment. Along the way things get muddied up somewhat.

Most of the film was done on location in the United Kingdom, with set pieces including castles and villages erected on site and details added as the long production process went along. It certainly does look English, with a bleak, windswept look to the whole production. Scott’s direction certainly brings with it an expertise in action and epic subjects; his camerawork is particularly effective in long views during battle sequences along the coast, giving us two opposing armies having at each other. Yet he also knows how to convey action in the midst of it all.  At the same time, Scott knows when to step back and let the actors work. There are times, though, in the story, where you’re left wondering if the bleakness of the surroundings is overtaking the film itself. 

The cast as a whole are well chosen. Danny Huston is one of those terrific character actors who makes a role interesting, and I’ve never seen him give a bad performance. He plays Richard as not quite the noble king we might expect, but somewhat devious and not quite so understanding. Oscar Isaac plays his younger brother John as the vain, insecure, and temperamental figure that he’s so often portrayed as; the real John must be spinning in his grave at how he’s been dragged through the mud in so many Robin Hood stories for centuries. Mark Strong, another great character actor with a particular skill for playing villains, cads, and ne’er do wells in films like Stardust, Sherlock Holmes, John Carter, and The Young Victoria, is delightfully nasty and cruel as Sir Godfrey, the traitorous knight with ambitions all his own. He’s really the villain of the story, a side-winding bastard out for himself, and ready to cast aside anyone in his way.

William Hurt gets a good role as William Marshall, a real life figure at the time. He’s a character who’s fair minded and wise; a good advisor who suddenly finds himself on the outside, disregarded by his new king, and yet still a man who believes in his country and understands who he can trust. Eileen Atkins plays Eleanor, mother to two kings. She’s favoured her elder son Richard, which leaves her in something of an antagonistic relationship with John, and Atkins brings the dignity of an actress with a long working career to the role. Max von Sydow, who seems to have been around forever, gets another good late career role as Sir Walter Loxley, a pragmatic man who’s basically decent and who sees something of worth in Robin. Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, MI5) gets underused as the sheriff of Nottingham, but when we do see him, the character is lecherous and greedy. 

The inner circle of the Merry Men (though they’re not called that) are nicely chosen. Durand has the look of a tough man who’s been around the block a few times, and he has a blunt, hard personality that suits Little John very well indeed. Scott Grimes has a very everyman sort of look to him, but it suits his Will Scarlet well. Alan Doyle is actually the front man of the Newfoundland band Great Big Sea, and brings his natural charm as a singer to the minstrel-soldier Allan A’Dale. These three actors would end up reuniting with Crowe for a guest turn on a Canadian television series of all things, Republic of Doyle (check youtube for Russell Crowe and that show title, and you can find it). The English actor Mark Addy rounds out the group as Friar Tuck, as boisterous as you might expect him.

I like Cate Blanchett’s take on Marian. She plays the character as intelligent and strong willed, capable of managing well on her own. There’s loyalty to her; she has stayed for years with her father-in-law while her husband, who she was only married to briefly before he went off to the Crusades, has been gone. And she gives the character courage and a headstrong personality.

Russell Crowe gives Robin a good amount of gravity and weight (while wavering between sounding English or Scottish). There are hints of his Maximus from Gladiator in how he plays the character: disillusioned and tired of war, a bit downtrodden by futility. The bleakness he seems to travel through weighs on him, and yet there’s more to the man. He has a certain ingenuity and quick wit, and a sense of fair play and justice. It allows him to say what he thinks- even if others don’t like what he has to say. His Robin comes alive with Marian, and yet the two actors wisely let their characters do a slow burn and get to know each other.

The film is not completely successful. The bleakness of it all is sometimes overwhelming, and playing around with history in the way that it does adds to that (though not in the overwhelming way that you get with Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot). It does feel at times like Gladiator transplanted to medieval England. And it leaves the Sheriff of Nottingham stranded in pretty much cameo status. Still, an uneven Ridley Scott film has more going for it than many other films, and as a director he’s never dull. Taken as a whole, I do like the film, though it’s not my favourite interpretation of the character.

Falling Stars And Babylon Candles

Some links before I get started today. Norma relates her moviegoing experience at her blog. AngryParsnip mentioned the monsoon season down in Arizona at her blog the other day. Lena made a return to her blog with writing tips. And Maria featured the movie Belle at her blog. 

Today I have a movie review....

"A philosopher once asked, 'are we human because we gaze at the stars or do we gaze at them because we are human?' Pointless, really. Do the stars gaze back? Now that's a question." ~ Narrator

"Everlasting life? I imagine it would be kind of lonely. Well, maybe if you had someone to share it with. Someone you loved. Then it might be different." ~ Tristan

"Murdered by pirates. Heart torn out and eaten. Meet Victoria. I can't quite decide which sounds more fun." ~ Yvaine

Stardust is the 2007 film by director Matthew Vaughn, based on the book by comics and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, playing around with a fairy tale theme of a young man seeking his destiny in a Victorian era England... that happens to be right next door to a magical kingdom called Stormhold. We first find a stone wall separating the English village of Wall from Stormhold, guarded by a decrepit yet sprightly old man (David Kelly, who you might remember from Waking Ned Devine). A young man named Dunstan Thorne (Ben Barnes, who played Prince Caspian in two of the Chronicles of Narnia films) manages to get past him and into the realm beyond, coming to a village market filled with strange wonders. He meets an attractive young woman (Kate Magowan) who tells him she's a princess tricked into slavery by the witch (Melanie Hill) who keeps her bound to her service. Though Dunstan can't free her, she takes him into her bed anyway. A few months later Dunstan is surprised when the guard brings him something left at the wall for him- a baby named Tristan.

Eighteen years later, Tristan (Charlie Cox) is working in a village shop, living at home with his kind father, now played by Nathaniel Parker. He's infatuated with Victoria (Sienna Miller), but can't see how shallow and self absorbed she is. She's stringing him along, finds him amusing, but is also involved with another suitor, Humphrey (Henry Cavill). One night Tristan and Victoria are out together, and she informs him she's going to be marrying Humphrey. They see a falling star in the heavens. He offers to bring her back the star for her hand in marriage, and she sets a time limit for him.

They're not the only ones linked to that falling star. The dying king of Stormhold (Peter O'Toole) has set his ruby necklace into the night sky, decreeing that whichever of his surviving sons recovers it will be the next king. The three surviving sons (four when the scene initially starts) have already killed off some of their siblings, following the example of their father, who ruthlessly killed off his own brothers to claim the throne. The dead sons, however, aren't that far away, all condemned to remain as ghosts in a spectral Greek chorus of sorts, commenting on things as the story progresses, and bickering among themselves. Out in space, the necklace collides with the star, sending them both falling to earth.

Three ancient witch sisters (Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Alexander, and Joanna Scanlon) see the falling star. They know from experience that to consume the star's heart will restore their youth and keep their lives going  that much longer. The first, Lamia, takes up the remnants of the last star the sisters captured, restoring her beauty, and setting out to bring back the star.

Tristan learns from his father about his mother, reading her letter to him, and makes use of a Babylon candle that transports him across space into Stormhold... and into the crater where the star has fallen. A star named Yvaine (Claire Danes) and looking very fetching and not at all like you'd expect a star to look. She's rather annoyed by the young man who's tumbled into her and insists on taking her to see Victoria. And so the two are drawn together into an adventure, meeting witches, ruthless princes, sky pirates, and more along the way. 

I wish I had seen this in theatres at the time. Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman adapted the novel into a screenplay. The story is very much in the vein of The Princess Bride, a fairy tale that turns convention on its head. It's cleverly written, and while it takes profound liberties with the laws of nature- stars do not take the shape of young women- I didn't mind at all. I was completely charmed by the story and the strong characterization of the script. The story also follows the theme of the young hero who must leave home to fulfill his destiny and find his one true love, a theme that goes back to earliest mythology. Vaughn and Goldman's script keeps things moving along swiftly, never slowing down, and tweaks the nose of convention,  such as featuring princes who, instead of being charming, are utterly ruthless and underhanded.

Much of the film was shot in the United Kingdom, with some work done in Iceland, and the result works beautifully. The terrain feels windswept, and gives the story an out of the mists of time sensibility. Villages and homes as we see them feel very much like they fit into the century and a half old setting of the film, as does the technology. Stormhold as a kingdom is a magical place, and so the king's palace is a fantasy design. It looks foreboding and brooding when we first see it, perfectly fitting the ruthless king and his son, and when we see it again at the end, transformed into something else, much brighter and airy, in both cases, it feels very much like a castle out of a fairy tale. The same applies for the lair of the witches, something of a gloomy place, and yet formidable. The set designers and creative artists who came up with the concepts did great work with these locations.

Special effects through the film also were well done. We see that when we first meet a band of sky pirates, men helming a zeppelin up amid the storms. They harness and collect lightning, and the CGI work in rendering their skycraft and the lightning is seamless. The CGI is particularly spectacular in the rendering of the abilities of the witches. Lamia's spells tend to lean towards the violent, and in each case, the magic feels like it's sharing the same space with the actors. I also make note of the music by composer Ilan Eshkari, who gives us a lush, epic score with thrilling accompaniment to action and romantic themes, all fitting nicely into a fantasy tale.

The cast is well cast, for the most part. One exception would be Ricky Gervais, who turns up briefly as a dubious businessman-fence in Stormhold. Essentially he's just playing himself, and as a matter of personal taste, I don't particularly like Ricky Gervais. Fortunately his appearance is brief. Melanie Hill is suitably obnoxious as the witch Dishwater Sal, playing the role as a thoroughly unpleasant soul. Peter O'Toole played one of his last roles as the king of Stormhold, a rotten man who made it to the throne through fratricide, and doesn't mind one bit if his sons are killing each other off. He appears only briefly, but he owns the role. We buy him as a king, albeit a nasty king, because of his long history as an actor.

Kate Magowan appears throughout the film as Tristan's mother. She plays the part in both time periods, as opposed to casting two actresses for the two time periods. Her take on the role is a good one; she's desperate for freedom and seemingly resigned to her fate, but her love for her son is a core quality to the character, and as badly as she's been treated in forced servitude, it doesn't overwhelm her compassion. Ben Barnes first plays Dunstan as a young man, and he plays the role as adventurous and charming; there's a bit of mutual seduction going on between he and Magowan in their early scene. Parker takes over the role- and it's peculiar as to how the two actors seem to look alike. Parker plays Dunstan as a kind, decent father with a quiet wisdom where his son is concerned. He's never married- he met the one great love of his life long ago, and we get the impression he never got over her.

Henry Cavill appears as Humphrey, virtually unrecognizable beneath blond hair and a mustache from the role he would later play as Superman in Man of Steel. He's self absorbed as a person, and something of a bully. Which makes him well suited for the woman he's wooing. Sienna Miller plays Victoria as a completely self absorbed shallow soul, content to bask in the attention of more than one suitor. She doesn't value Tristan for who he is, but enjoys being catered to. We don't like Victoria, can see her for who she is, but Miller does well with the role.

Robert De Niro turns up as Captain Shakespeare, the chief of the sky pirates. When first seen, he comes across as a brutal, ruthless man, and yet that's nothing more than a facade, all meant to maintain the reputation. He's actually a nice guy who took on the family business. He's curious about all things England, took his professional name from the playwright- while his crew seem to emphasize the spear part of his name. De Niro gets to have fun playing a gay man who occasionally cross dresses, and the audience gets to like the character. He's an authoritative leader, who has the respect of his crew, and he's a valuable friend to Tristan and Yvaine, teaching the former to swordfight and the latter to waltz. 

Of the seven brothers, Mark Strong gets the most screen time as Septimus. Strong has been playing a lot of villains and brooding dark roles in films like Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Green Lantern, John Carter, and The Young Victoria. Strong plays Septimus as throughly ruthless, willing to do whatever he must to secure his throne, even if that means throwing a brother out a window or poisoning another. And yet we can't help but like the character, as rotten as he is. Strong makes the character so marvelously compelling just by his performance. Even at a moment late in the film when he's not in control of himself.

The three witches are formidable villains. Alexander and Scanlon are sardonic in their roles, allowing their sister to take the lead, while still calling her into question with great regularity, chiding her on overuse of magic and the effects it can have on the body. They both play the roles as malevolent and as a threat, obsessed with the prospect of eternal life. This extends as well to Michelle Pfeiffer's role as Lamia. Whether it's in a decrepit aged state or in the glory of a younger body, she's a thoroughly dangerous person. Pfeiffer plays her as pure evil, willing to make use of anyone or anything to further her goals, even to be underhanded with her sisters if the occasion calls for it. And yet there's still a sense of the actress having fun with the role- particularly when she gets a look at her naked restored self in a mirror.

The two leads are perfectly cast in their roles, and have terrific chemistry, even when arguing. Claire Danes has a long streak in films of crying at least once in a film, a record that remains in place here. But she plays the role with feistiness and strength. She speaks her mind, expresses herself fully without reservation. She's something of an outsider in this world, of course, but finds kindred spirits in the unlikeliest of places. There's a moment in the film when she's talking about what love means, and you immediately agree with her, because it rings true. While on the one hand she's the fairy tale damsel in distress, the next moment she's the one doing the saving, a refreshing twist on the fairy tale genre. Claire Danes' take on this heroine remains fresh every time I see this film, and I love the banter she has with her co-star.

Charlie Cox (Stone Of Destiny) is wonderful as Tristan. He starts off as somewhat naive and oblivious, not seeing the object of his affections for the brat that she is. He has hopes and ambitions though, dreams of a life lived beyond the quiet village. And yet when he's swept up into adventure, he comes into his own. We see a courageous, driven young man who comes to his own realization about where he belongs. As an actor, Cox plays the role with great charm, bantering with Yvaine in a wonderful way, and yet also coming across as authentic. We root for them as a couple because of the great chemistry they share.

Stardust is a fine adventure film with a splendid pair of lead actors who are well matched. It skews the fairy tale conventions and has fun in the process, but also gives us a magical world we accept. If it's a film you have not yet seen, you really must remedy that.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Before I get started with the matter at hand today, I thought I'd point you in the direction of our joint blog, Writers of Mass Distraction. where today I wrote a blog. It's based on how far we as authors can go in writing graphic or disturbing themes, such as coarse language, sex, or violence, before we cross the line. You can find it right here.


Now then to business... despite that title, this is not a Muppets blog. Though there will be another one of those coming sooner or later. No, this is a movie review, for a film that I missed in theatres this past summer. There were a number of comic book inspired films out this past summer, and there are more to come next year. In this case, we're talking about Green Lantern.

I missed it when it was released, primarily because while I am a comic book fan, I tend to lean more towards the Marvel side of the industry then the DC side of things. The Green Lantern mantle dates back to the forties, with a character whose powers were magic based. It's in the silver age of the late fifties and early sixties, however, that the status quo was set for a series of space faring adventures about an order of intergalactic police officers, the Green Lantern Corps. Several humans have been among those bearing the responsibility of being a Green Lantern in the books. And with comics being a popular medium in film the last few years, it was inevitable that an adaptation of the characters would wind up showing itself.

The new film from director Martin Campbell uses the Silver Age character Hal Jordan as its centerpiece, with Ryan Reynolds as the title character. Jordan, a hotshot test pilot, lives a fairly irresponsible life (we see him taking risks in the cockpit and coming up a bit short in the family relations department). He comes across a fallen alien, Abin Sur, a member of the Corps, after the ring chooses him as a replacement. Jordan is whisked away to the distant planet of Oa, where he meets alien members of the Corps, learns about the long history of the Guardians (a pack of immortal, emotionally repressed wankers who are hesitant to actually give full answers about anything), and undergoes training, mostly under the watch of Sinestro (Mark Strong), and Kilowog and Tomar-Re (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan and Geoffrey Rush). The rings, it turns out, are the essential tool of the Corps, fuelled by willpower, enabling a Lantern to use their imagination to create tools, weapons, fly through space, pretty much anything they need at any given moment. While Kilowog and Tomar-Re are at least somewhat helpful, Sinestro is dismissive of Jordan, believing the human to be unfit for the job.

The film takes the action back to Earth, where scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) has been infected by the evil cosmic Big Bad that killed Abin Sur while conducting an autopsy on the body. Parallax, a convoluted former Guardian turned black cloud decimating its way across space (trust me, it's even more convoluted then it sounds, and the movie tangles up the convoluted comics continuity even more then I'd thought possible), is on its way to Earth after being inadvertantly freed from its prison. Hammond falls under its influence, mutating and developing telepathic and telekinetic power... and at the same time magnifying just how unpleasant Hammond was before the infection. Obviously all of this leads towards a showdown between Jordan and Parallax, a whole lot of CGI effects, and the to be expected massive damage to an unnamed city.

Okay, as regards to the cast, first the good. Ryan Reynolds is suitable in the role. He does tend to wisecrack a bit too much (Jordan seems a more serious character in the comics), but has a generally heroic demeanour. This is actually his third comic book character role, after Hannibal King in one of the Blade movies and Deadpool in X-Men Origins Wolverine. He looks the part (for the ladies, there's a shirtless scene in there). And the characters Kilowog (who looks like a boar) and Tomar-Re (who has a fish motif to his head) get the right vocal casting, in the form of Duncan and Rush. Finally, Mark Strong, an excellent character actor who's been playing rogues, villains, and ambitious cads for awhile now in films like Stardust, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, and Robin Hood, is the standout of the cast. Strong plays Sinestro well, giving him a strict, military air as a tough, principled, dedicated, and slightly arrogant alien.

Then there's the bad, and in this case, that's two people. First, Blake Lively, playing the love interest Carol Ferris. She's supposed to be playing an executive in her family company, but it's hard to take her seriously in the role. She carries no believability, seems ten years too young for the position, and brings no presence or gravity at all to the role. I find myself wondering what a better actress would have done with the role. The other casting disaster is Peter Sarsgaard, who's been good in previous roles... so what went wrong here? I found the character profoundly unpleasant, and not in a good "love to hate the villain" way. In the earliest scenes before his mutation, there's already a problem: I don't know if Sarsgaard is aging really, really badly or if he got a really bad prosthetic wig, but the effect is distracting, and it doesn't help at all that Tim Robbins, playing his father, comes across as younger in personality. As the character mutates and becomes even more unpleasant, his status as a villain does not improve. This may well be the most obnoxious villain in a comic book adaptation since John Travolta in The Punisher.

And the special effects tend to be inconsistent. I liked some of the effects used with the rings themselves, for example, the various shapes and forms that were being created during training and during battle. And I liked the CGI created uniforms of the Corps. There's a very sharp, modern feel to them, unlike the original Silver Age costume in the comics. On the other hand, one scene in particular involving a helicopter crash at a party seems odd. During the rescue by Jordan, the ring effects are imaginative, but I found myself wondering why there weren't scores of people killed before his last minute grab. And towards the end, I found it troubling that the general appearance of Parallax through the concrete canyons of a city reminded me of the collapse of the Towers on 9/11.

Campbell as a director has an interesting track record, helming two of the more recent James Bond films (Goldeneye, Casino Royale) and the Zorro franchise (obviously the first is better then the second). He also directed Vertical Limit, a film where I, as a rock climber, have to leave my brain and my climbing gear at the door (enjoyable enough romp, but from a mountaineering point of view, there's all sorts of things wrong with it). What he got here was a screenplay where too many things were tossed into the mix. The storytelling became convoluted, and when you add in a badly cast lead actress and an obnoxiously annoying villain, it's a recipe for trouble. Yes, there are things to recommend about the film, like Reynolds, Duncan, Rush, and especially Strong. It depends on if you can overlook the bad while still appreciating the good.

Now, if you'll excuse me, those emotionally repressed wankers put a bounty on my head for calling them emotionally repressed wankers.