Stardust

“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.” Insert picture of the Scorsese ‘ABSOLUTE CINEMA’ meme  If you need to top up your whimsy meter then THIS is the movie to do it!! Without question.  Let me just start by saying that an issue I have with some fantasy movies/series is that they spend a boring amount of time over explaining the rules of the magic that holds up the world their characters inhabit instead of just showing us along the way. The reason I often hate this is because it often wastes time, taking away from the short amount of time the storytellers have to unravel the plot to us, the audience. Plus, I fear it comes across as being lectured, spewing a massive amount of magical lore and rules into a 30 minute increment at the beginning of the movie is simply just going to damage how the audience sinks into the story. The audience is smart, trust me, they’ll figure it out along the way. Anyways, the reason I’m giving some background to that issue is because I want to praise how Stardust does NOT fall into this trap.  Stardust takes you on a whimsical, adventurous, deeply romantic journey jam packed with funny and interesting characters; beautiful settings; tension and undeniable yearning. It truly felt like a children’s storybook at been brought to life.  The star, Yvaine, MY FAVOURITE GIRL. I loved every second of her being on screen and I think most girls out there can relate to this beaming feeling of giddiness every time she shines with happiness and love. It made even me in my 20s feel like a little girl again, reminding me of what it was like to experience your first feelings of yearning and admiration. The romantic tension is done in such a way that it feels playful and comforting.  I’m just so in awe of everything this movie had to offer, it was light, it was dark, it was everything in-between. The character development for Tristan as he grew up, becoming the man he so desired to become, the bonds between him and the people he met along the way feeding into his blossoming.  This could be a new comfort movie in the making for me….. eeeeeeeek