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Stardust
New to DVD this holiday season is the release of Stardust, the adventure fantasy film from director Matthew Vaughn.
The basic plot of the film sees a young man making a promise to the girl he loves to return a falling star to prove his devotion. The only catch is that it’s landed on the other side of "the wall", a wall which legend has it borders our world from a magical one. The adventure begins, and it doesn’t mess about in doing so, you’re thrown in head-first and in doing so have no choice other than to be absorbed and utterly engrossed.
For many readers here, the cast will be a mix of the very famous (Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes), and a mix of unknowns. Our British readers will recognise a great many more of the faces from various TV series and comedies on our side of The Pond. This mix is one of the key draws to the film in my own opinion, some of the major characters are played by actors many people will be unfamiliar with, and this unfamiliarity coupled with some excellent performances mean that the viewer isn’t pre-loaded with what kind of character to expect from the actor. I doubt there’s anyone who would have expected Robert De Niro to play the character he does in this film!
It’s a beautiful film to look at, both worlds in it are wonderfully realised and totally believable. The visual effects are kept to a minimum where possible, but obviously with it being a fantasy film, expect some lavish creativity. In many ways this is a real throwback in terms of the ways this genre of film is made nowadays, those of you old enough to remember when such fantasy gems as The Princess Bride, Krull or Legend came out will be over the moon. Stardust is a proper family film, there’s plenty in there to keep all generations laughing, albeit not for the same reasons some of the time. For those with little ones worried about violence or gore of any kind, there’s really nothing to speak of. Perhaps just one scene where some witches ‘read’ the entrails of an animal, but even then we don’t witness the act and there’s no blood involved. The only time blood is spilled in the whole film, it happens to be royal blood, and fittingly enough is blue. Some scenes could still be deemed a little scary for the very young though.
Fans of the book by Neil Gaiman need not worry, this film really does the original story justice, and carry it off in a very polished manner. Claire Danes manages a very believable English accent throughout the two hours, Robert De Niro will have you laughing with his non-typecast role and Sir Ian McKellen has the perfect story-telling voice to play the narrator. Ricky Gervais pops his head up and despite basically just playing "Ricky Gervais" is a welcome addition. The perfect film for those cold, dark winter evenings, huddled up on the sofa, remembering how charming a well-made fantasy tale can be.
Tsdadam gives Stardust a BBM Review rating of….
Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, and a bit scary for the very young, but fantastic entertainment.
Shaolin Legend Live
Shaolin Legend Live is a DVD that will be released on October 30, 2007. The show features the Shaolin Monks, an interesting and amazing group of young men who intersperse acrobatics, death-defying sword stunts, and entertaining dance and fight sequences that loosely resemble kata, complete with kiai.
Throughout the show, the Shaolin Monks display their athletic prowess and stunts that make you a little nervous. Take for example the young monk who lays down across a board containing blade-up swords, only to have a board full of nails put across his stomach, followed by another man on top of the nails, followed by a slab of concrete that is broken over both of their bodies with a sledge hammer. It’s not for the faint of heart.
Neither is the stunt where one of the monks seemingly impales himself on what looks like a giant sai, only to be spun around by the other monks before jumping off of the blade with only an indentation in his abdomen.
There’s also plenty of breaking and even some lettuce that’s cut on a monk’s stomach. Yeah, you heard me. Lettuce. There’s also some breaking over certain body parts that make the entire live audience gasp (especially the guys) but I’m not giving details on that. You’ll have to watch for yourself.
Interspersed with meditative music (that makes me feel like I’m having an appointment with my massage therapist) and calming artistic imagery, the show provides quite a contrast when it comes to entertaining. There are a couple vignettes where the accompanying music is a bit too Americanized and funky; but overall, the show succeeds in taking the audience to another place entirely, one where discipline is inherently important if one is to survive some of the stunts that these Shaolin Monks conquer.
To be honest, I never would have rented this movie off the blockbuster shelf; but I’m glad I had the opportunity to see it. Although I was sent just a screener copy, the official DVD release will include bonus features including a picture gallery, show highlights, and a booklet on the history of the Shaolin monks and art. For more information on the upcoming release, or to purchase the DVD when it is released, visit Milan Records.
BBM gives the Shaolin Legend Live DVD. . .
Ikigai108’s take on the Shaolin Legend Live DVD
And then some monks came out and did rituals. It seems like there was a head monk there. And they did kicks and one monk brought out some lettuce and chopped it up on his stomach. They spun weapons around.
…Does it seem like I kinda jumped into my article mid-thought? Like I didn’t really give you any information on what I was talking about, or any context for what the Shoalin monks were doing? That is the same basic approach Shaolin Legend Live takes. At the beginning of the dvd you are thrust onto the stage with a group of Shaolin monks as they perform their trademark stunts. Don’t worry about knowing what’s going on, just try to relax and watch the tricks.
The physical prowess of the monks is unquestionable. Each monk displays impressive conditioning and flexibility. As they whip around the stage it’s clear they put in hours of practice. There is no room for error in the Shaolin routines. Furthermore, the "iron-shirt" stunts where the monks prove their toughness are very impressive. I would not want to be caught in between a bed of live swords and a plank of spikes. I could never do what the monks do, plain and simple. They are fantastic athletes. But I also could never do the uneven bars, or pommel horse, or the vault. The demonstrations put on are likely to remind you of gymnastic routines you’ve seen elsewhere.
In case you’ve never seen a Shaolin demonstration, i’m going to let you in on one of their secrets – Shoalin monks love to spin things. That’s right. Prepare yourself for a deluge of spinning weapons, from aluminum swords to rattan sticks.
BBM touched on something that I would also like to mention – the music can be very distracting. Some of it makes sense and flows well with the demonstrations. But sometimes there are just weird selections in the background. Have you seen The 5th Element? Do you remember when that space opera girl was singing on stage? Yea that song is on this dvd for some reason. Just when you begin to get absorbed into the monks activities, the music is liable to bring you back out.
Maybe it’s the traditionalist in me, but this dvd did not do it for me. I would much rather have heard about the history of Shaolin and Bodhidharma. Shaolin is said to have influenced martial arts all throughout China, Japan, and Okinawa. How about some information on that? And then after you’ve filled my brain with some good information, then hit me with some tricks just for fun.
This dvd just isn’t good for me. If I want to see Jet Li choreography, i’ll go rent Fearless.
Ikigai 108 gives the Shaolin Legend Live DVD. . .
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