Stardust and a close encounter

Charlie Cox and Claire Danes in Stardust
Charlie Cox and Claire Danes in Stardust

I saw Stardust some weekends ago. Overhyped maybe, but I loved it. It’s a fairy tale with humour. Don’t let big names like Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert de Niro put you off, there are enough Brits in it to make it worth seeing, and honestly Robert de Niro is playing a role I haven’t seen him play before (and he is a pirate, and we love pirates over here as you may have noticed). Ricky Gervais (who I still think is one of the funniest Brits around) is in it too, and despite being dressed up it just feels like he is playing either Andy Millman from Extras or David Brent from the Office. That doesn’t matter at all because he does that so well.

Other delights in this film: Nathaniel Parker (Inspector Lynley), the voice of Ian McKellen, Peter O’Toole, and new British cutie-pie of the year: Charlie Cox (hurrah for a daring casting director, brave enough to cast a relatively unknown actor, who happened to be pitch perfect for the role). The script has some beautiful British quirkiness as well. So yes, go see it.

I wrote the above some weekends ago but never got around to posting it, my editor didn’t find it interesting enough. I think he probably didn’t like the “cutie-pie” bit, he’s a bit sensitive sometimes, but I love him anyway.

Today I walked home from work. It was dark, it was rainy, it was late, I was tired and I passed the S&M cafe, and I thought – well why not. So I stepped in for another bangers and mash.

Trust me you really want to read the rest of this post…

Read More