Fantasy/Sci-fi Movies

STARDUST starts with that most wonderful of fantasy concepts, a magical world that exists side-by-side with the real world, but in which no one chooses to believe. Most aren't even curious enough about it to notice that it's there, and that in itself is curious, since the magical kingdom is separated from the rest of England by only a stone wall. There's a world of metaphor there, but I will leave more philosophical heads to pursue that.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying this film on its own overt terms, as a splendid action/adventure/romance, a sprawling and rapturous flight of fancy.

They threw everything into this movie -- a little swashbuckling adventure, a love story, acts of heroism and sacrifice, ghosts, witches, charms, fortune telling with entrails, magic candles, unicorns, and never a dull moment. Though it takes a little while for the adventure to get off the ground, Stardust is a wonderfully inventive fairy tale that is original and defiant, as well as hilarious.

It's been a very long time since I've seen a real science fiction movie. Usually the genre focuses on the surface elements - the spaceships, the creatures, the battles, the blasters, the laser swords, the aliens and the hardware. Whatever happened to exploring the world of true science fiction? You know, IDEAS. Remember those? Great sci-fi deals with humankind's reaction to the unknown. How a society or a person may be affected by some evolutionary leap whether physical or technical. Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" is a return to sci-fi in true form.
It's basically Pinocchio, on acid and CGI. But instead of going from wood to skin and bones to become "real," this story starts with the familiar human surface, then, throughout the story, tries to find the center of what makes it tick: The soul. And since David, the Pinocchio in question, consists of microchips and wires, that opens up a whole other line of questioning about how we program ourselves to think and how we begin to shape our personality as we grow. In the movie's eeriest scene, the question comes up, can the deepest and best part of us be packaged and sold for mass production and consumption? With computers taking over some of our personalities, how long will it be before we buy ourselves a programmed little wooden child? And at what point would the love for that child, as well as its love for us, become "real?"
One of Spielberg's most thought-provoking efforts, visually intoxicating, and exceptional movies I've seen to date.

Alternate universes, a truth-deducing object called an alethiometer (the shiny object of the title), armored warrior bears, external souls in animal bodies called "demons", a magical matter-forming property known as "dust" and a society-controlling religious body known as the Magisterium -- these are all concepts that readers of Philip Pullman's acclaimed "His Dark Materials" trilogy are allowed to absorb over the course of the hundreds of pages of the first novel, "The Golden Compass".
The movie, of course, doesn't have that sort of luxury, so director Chris Weitz plunges us into the thick of this dazzling world and expects us to keep up. And while some of the explanations -- and, in fact, the film itself -- seem a tad rushed, "The Golden Compass" is a breathtakingly exciting creation of a thrilling universe and its characters.
This plot may sound somewhat ludicrous on paper, but Pullman has created a logical, well-thought-out world that Weitz has brilliantly translated to the big screen. Sure, some of the CG moments look a little too CG-ish, and squeezing in all that plot and exposition into a movie that runs less than two hours leaves you feeling somewhat wiped out, but "The Golden Compass" takes you into a whole other universe and introduces you to its rules and logic. An overall impressive fantasy adventure film.

The film works on just about every level. Narnia has grandeur, imagination, mostly believable special effects, a war-of-the-world battle, heart and teary-eyed heartbreak, betrayal, and triumph. I grew up reading everything by C.S. Lewis and the movie remains faithful to the book in both tone and imagery, bringing the wonderous land of Narnia to life. Made me feel like I was 12 years old all over again, it was a joy to see one of my favorite stories brought to life.