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Stardust: great look, bad sound

By Fred Richardson

It’s an all art extravaganza this week as each of the four reviews are either comic book adaptations or animated features. Wheeeeee!!! Your intrepid reviewer has been hitting the nitrous.

First up is the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novella Stardust. Originally published in 1997 by DC comics in a 4-part comic-bookish format with lavish illustrations by artist Charles Vess, Stardust is a fantastic tale of a magical world right next to our own and a young man’s adventures therein. I read the first issue or two when they first came out, but never got around to finishing it. Not really sure why, but I think it was just a lull in my interest in comics in general, not any lack of quality of the work itself. As a fan of Gaiman’s other comic work (most notably Sandman) and his recent novels (American Gods and Anansi Boys) I was really hoping to see a masterpiece of fantasy storytelling. Sadly it was merely an adequate endeavor with some greatness and some huge missteps.

The art direction is great; so are the special effects, casting and writing. Misfires include the plot, some schizophrenia in tone and one of the most overwrought scores I’ve ever had to listen to. All the other problems are minor compared to the music. It’s like someone decided to put BIG SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER MUSIC over what should have been a more sedately scored Christmas release. The thing looks handcrafted but sounds mass-produced. All in all, it’s a good movie that misses being great by just a few crucial decibels.

If you haven’t yet caught the super-hyped Simpsons movie, it’s still not too late. I admit I’ve not kept up with the show for quite a while, but catch an episode now and again. I like the show quite a bit when it works and tolerate it when it’s not up to snuff. Luckily the movie is like a better than average episode and doesn’t feel like a short piece stretched out to fill either the big screen’s physical dimensions or time requirements. The plot centers on Homer acting on brainless impulse and creating a horrible situation for both his family and his hometown. It’s not that he’s a bad person, he’s just not so good with thinking things through. Or just thinking in general. Mayhem and hilarity ensue. And as one might expect, there’s lots of additional material in the end-credits, all the way through to the end, some bits funnier than others.

Then there’s the DVD portion of my quartet of reviews. Let’s start out with Ghost Rider 2-disc extended cut. Being directed by Mark Stephen Johnson of Daredevil infamy, this was a movie I consciously avoided in the theaters but when a fellow comic-book fan decried it as unwatchable, I felt I had to at least check it out and see just how bad it could be. I didn’t agree with his assessment, but maybe it’s because I never really had an attachment to the character of Johnny Blaze, stunt biker by day, flaming skull-head by night. Was the movie any good? Not really. But it was mildly entertaining as an exercise in silliness and goofy fun. The plot was extremely predictable and implausible. The effects are nifty but the bad guys are just kind of blah. As for the DVD itself, it looks and sounds great. I haven’t watched all the special features or listened to the commentary tracks, but on the second disc is a series of featurettes that are quite neat for a comic geek like me. Called “Sin” and “Salvation,” they chronicle the character’s development over the years through interviews with the professionals involved. These features, coupled with the guilty fun of watching a bad movie, make it worth a rental if you’re in the mood for something dumb.

Then there’s the infinitely more cerebral French animated film, Renaissance. Set in Paris in the year 2054, this cyberpunkish noir isn’t for everyone, but fans of movies that try something new will appreciate it in spite of its shortcomings. The plot moves quite slow and is obviously foreign despite the all-English speaking cast members in the American DVD release. Starring Daniel Craig (Casino Royale) as policeman Karas, it’s quite the attempt at Noir filmmaking in both the literal/visual sense and in moral conundrums where the only right choices are also wrong. I think it’s well worth the rental, but only if you’re in a forgiving mood.