Stardust (Movie)

June 9, 2010

Stardust

So after having just completed the Stardust book, I found out there was a movie. Usually I don’t like the film adaptations of books, but Stardust read like it should be a film, so I was excited to see how it was executed.

I think that overall, the movie captured the spirit of the book. There were large deviations, sometimes for budgetary or special effects reasons, and sometimes I’m assuming to beef up the action. The only thing that really disappointed me was the climax of the book was completely different than that of the movie. I was really looking forward to seeing it executed, and the scenes in the witches’ hut fell short because of my expectations.

I didn’t really like the guy playing Tristran/Tristain at first. I thought he got the scene with Victoria in England absolutely dead on, but once he was in the fairy land, I thought he was dull and didn’t really enjoy him. I don’t think he was earnest enough for some reason. I really enjoyed how he looked after he got the long hair. Long haired Tristain was very hot, and looked very much a fairy tale hero.

I loved the witches. They were perfect. I also loved Robert DeNiro as the gay air pirate, a role that was seriously beefed up from the book. The scenes on the air ship were wonderful, and I thought they were the best part of the movie. Like I said before, the ending fell flat.

Overall, I would recommend both the book and the movie to people who like stuff like The Princess Bride. And seriously, if you don’t like The Princess Bride, I’m not sure I can be friends with you.

Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews | 2 Comments

Stardust

June 6, 2010

Neil Gaiman - Stardust

So Stardust is sort of like The Princess Bride but not quite. If I had read these two books at similar times, they would be fighting for supremacy in my heart, but alas, it’s not to be. I am old and married and that special place in my heart that used to be filled with fairy tale love interests has been filled up with the awesome things my Alan does for me on a daily basis. And Westley from the Princess Bride cause he’s just that awesome. But I digress. Let me tell you about this Neil Gaiman book I read.

Tristran Thorn is half mortal and half… well, I’m not really sure. Let’s say semi-magical fairy man. He lives in the human town of Wall, and he loves Victoria something or other. He is trying to get her to fall in love with him when she says that she will do so only if he catches the falling star that fell off on the other side of the Wall. But the wall is magical and is a gateway to the land of fairies and pixies and witches and all sorts of other whimsical and wonderful things. He sets off on an epic adventure, being helped along the way by strange creatures, and eventually catching up with the fallen star, who doesn’t really like him. But this is a love story, so the eventually fall in love, and there’s a unicorn fighting a bear or something, and everyone wants the star because stars are awesome or something. You’d think I’d be able to remember details, but I really can’t. I do remember it was all very wonderful and magical and charming.

So, here’s my roundup of this book: I love Neil Gaiman’s writing. If he wrote the menu at Starbucks, I’d have to get myself a copy. Therefore, I’m not very unbiased. I’m going to like this book, and I did. I thought it was a kid’s book until the sex and cursing started, and it made me happy that it wasn’t. It definitely falls into the same category of book as The Princess Bride, and like I said before, in another lifetime they could have been contenders.

Alas.

For those of you who have been following along, I have reviewed seven books today. I didn’t finish all of them today. It’s been a while since I went through my reading list, and though some of these reviews were half-assed, they’re now off my to-do list, and that makes me supremely happy.

Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews | 1 Comment

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood

So as I just finished saying, I dove into Norwegian Wood immediately after finishing Dance Dance Dance. I picked it up on my last day in Ireland, and intended to read it on the plane, but it took three false starts to actually get interested in this book. It revolves around life and death, the past and the future, sanity and its edges. I’m sure I missed a lot in this book. It was a lot less gonzo and bizarre than Dance Dance Dance. I love Murakami’s way of describing events in convoluted ways; like a photograph with a very small focal point, most scenes are fuzzy except for one tiny spot. And like my photography skills, often the most unexpected things are the ones in focus; the smell of the trees, the feeling of the rain on the narrator’s skin, the smell of a dorm room.

I liked Dance Dance Dance more than Norwegian Wood, and really enjoyed both.

Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews | Be the First to Comment

Dance Dance Dance

Haruki Murakami - Dance Dance Dance

Ok, so usually at the beginning of my reviews I tell you what a book’s about. Here’s the problem: I’m not really sure what the hell happened in this book. All I know is that it was awesome. Like, what was it with that guy in the sheepskin? And the crazy hotel? And how was everyone intrinsically linked to the dead hooker? And how in the end, is this book really just a super-convoluted love story?

None of it makes sense, and it does so in the most wonderful possible way. It is an assault on one’s common sense, and I loved every second of it. Except the dead hooker stuff. The other dead people were okay though.

When I finished this book, I hit Alan with it and asked him how it was possible that he allowed me to live to twenty seven years of age without reading one of Murakami’s books, and he pouted a little bit, because he’s often encouraged me to read some of his works. I immediately went out and picked up Murakami’s most famout work, Norwegian Wood

Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews | Be the First to Comment

The Road

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

For 307 pages, a man and his son walk down the road, avoiding cannibals and looking for food. The world as we know it has ended, and been replaced with an eternally gray, cold world. Gangs of cannibals roam the countryside, and atrocities lie around every corner. Starvation is always near, and this book was really boring.

If anyone out there liked Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, they might like this book. if so, can you please comment below so I can get rid of this book?

Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews | 3 Comments