I'm on my way to see Stardust this evening, with a friend. It's not a high-profile film here, and although it officially opened yesterday, I haven't seen any noticeable advertising for it. I read the book years ago, and have re-read it a couple of times since, but unlike, for example, the Lord of the Rings, I don't have much in the way of expectations. I do consider myself a fan of Neil Gaiman, as well as a regular reader of his blog, and he's been - understandingly - hyping it for a while. It's been out for a while in the US, but it's not out in the UK or a bunch of other places yet, so we'll see how it is. Review below...

It was... good, not great. It's good to see Neil Gaiman's writing making it to the big screen, but it seemed to miss a certain fizz. If I was a cynic, I'd say it was toned down by Hollywood, but I didn't get a feeling of a great quest, or of being in a weird and fantastic land. Robert de Niro came across as a man enjoying playing a rather different role for him, Michelle Pfeiffer was a little one-dimensional, Clare Danes didn't feel grumpy or snarky enough, rather than just whiny, and Charlie Cox playing Tristan did pretty well as a slightly-bumbling but otherwise good and brave young man. In all, worth seeing, but not necessarily in a rush. One thing I should admit is that I managed to book the wrong cinema, so my young lady friend and I were a few minutes late and missed the start of the film - entirely my fault.

Am now on the train heading out for dinner and a movie. Two nights running! On the other hand, this train-blogging thing seems to work...