Sky pirates! Fallen stars! Forgotten kingdoms!

The Movie: Stardust, directed by Matthew Vaughn
Recommendation: Broomie
Reason: Really, a lot of people should get that recommendation, but he bought the tickets.

There have been few good fairy tales told in recent years, at least on film. We've had the Shrek series, which have generally been solid. Amelie and Big Fish sort of stretch towards fairy tale territory. Otherwise, we've had The Brother's Grimm and a smattering of 'OMG I'm a princess' movies. And then, from Neil Gaiman's talented pen, we get Stardust. Gaiman's witty, charming writing combines with a solid director and a decent cast to almost live up to the standard of The Princess Bride.

In Gaiman's usual style, each character that stands at the forefront is unique, and none of them without purpose. In most tales, the guardian of the gate and the kidnapped princess would have been throwaway parts, to give the film some character. In Stardust, they are significant, important in many ways. The story is complete. There are no threads dangling.

The cast is charming. Claire Danes as the Star (literally a star, not just the female lead/star of the movie) was both witty and sweet. Charlie Cox as Tristran was intent, and he carried the movie quite nicely as the lead character. Michelle Pfeiffer played the witch well, and De Niro's sky pirate was inspired. It's from these last two that I hoped for the most, and while they didn't entirely disappoint, they could have done a little better. Not a lot, but a little (Pfeiffer, I'm looking at you in particular during the climactic final battle sequence).

I would recommend this film in a heartbeat to anyone who liked The Princess Bride and is looking for a similar experience. This movie isn't quite there, but it's very close. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

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If you can find two good souls...

The Movie: Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese
Recommendation: DKS
Reason: It's the Jodie Foster fan catchup we've got going, but also, it's Taxi Driver. I should've seen this long ago.

Taxi Driver is the tale of Travis Bickle, an angel of death trapped or sent to a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. Scorsese's New York oozes sleaze and corruption, with only a paper-thin facade in place to falsify some sense of normalcy. New York seems to be Scorsese's modelling clay-from that city, he can evoke powerful imagery, whether the city is at the cusp of its birth (Gangs of New York) or reverberating with the wounded mood of the time (Taxi Driver). It is the quintessential city, practically the definition of the word in North America. New York is an essential character, as important as Easy, Wizard, even Travis.

Travis himself is a tortured and tormented symbol. Not quite a martyr to the sickness, he is instead a cure. Through the descent into madness, he struggles for goodness. He tries to find it, he tries to create it, and finally he decides it's time to die for it. DeNiro and Scorsese created a man who wasn't just a well acted, well rounded character, they created a man who symbolized the helplessness of the situation so many found themselves in at the time. Travis Bickle may not have been real, but the multitudes of wounded veterans of the Vietnam War were. The stories that came from that generation resonate even now, and I'm glad for films like Taxi Driver and Jacob's Ladder.

As usual, Scorsese's camerawork is spectacular. The movement he uses, the placement of his framing both subtly carry the viewers along Travis' charge towards dementia. In some places, the camera seems to be us, turning away as the scene becomes unbearable. In others, it is Travis, reflecting on the world around him. This movie was incredible, as impactful as Raging Bull. I'm glad I got to see it.

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