Book Review: "Ranger's Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel"

"The Kings of Clonmel" is the 8th book in the Ranger's Apprentice Series. This is a great series, written by Australian author John Flanagan. Flanagan originally began writing it to give his son something to read, and it's grown into this wonderful series.

In "The Kings of Clonmel" our ranger hero Will has just gotten a life altering new assignment serving the Kingdom of Araluen, and one that he is very happy about. Soon though, his mentor Halt returns from neighboring Clonmel with news of a cult destabilizing that country. So, to protect Araluen's interests, Halt, Will and Horace head off to Clonmel to see what they can do to stop this cult. Along their journey, there is plenty of humorous banter between the 3 heroes, and you get to see just how much Will and Horace have grown over these 8 books.

This is another solid book in this series. It's not as action packed as prior books, but I think that's ok. "The Kings of Clonmel" is actually part of a 2 book series. The next book, "Halt's Peril" will be released in the US this fall. It has already been released on Australia. And, a 10th book is planned for a November Australian release. Flanagan shows no sign of slowing down with writing these books, and I think that is a very good thing. I hope you give this series a try, I don't think you'll regret it.

Movie Review: "Stardust"

I first heard about "Stardust" when I was flying to Europe for work. It was one of the many options available to me for movie watching to pass the time. I thought it looked a little interesting, but there were many other good options, so I skipped it. But, I was intrigued enough that I added it to my Netflix queue. This was January of 2008.

Here we are, roughly 2 and a half years later, and I finally got around to watching it. After completing it, my first thought was 'why the heck did I wait so long?!!!' Stardust is one of the finest movies I've ever watched. It is everything a movie should be...it has action, humor, a love story, fine acting, beautiful scenery and a great overall story. It's the rare movie that feels like an epic that is actually an epic.

The hero of "Stardust" is young Tristan (Charlie Cox), who grew up in the British city of Wall. Wall is located next to a wall that separates England from the magical land of Stormhold. After promising the beautiful Victoria that he would retrieve a fallen star to win her hand in marriage, Tristan ventures into Stormhold to retrieve the fallen star, only to learn that the fallen star is Yvaine (Claire Danes). Tristan and Yvaine set off for Wall, but quickly discover that an evil witch (Michelle Pfieffer) and an evil prince (Mark Strong) are on their tale, seeking the power of the fallen star. The adventure that follows is nothing short of brilliant film making.

As I was watching "Stardust", I kept thinking that I was watching this generation's "The Princess Bride." As I watched the special features, I realized the director was thinking the same thing, because he stated that he believed this film was sort of a "The Princess Bride" meets "Midnight Run" type of story. I don't believe "Stardust" is as good as "The Princess Bride" but it has that sort of feel.

The acting in this movie is terrific. Newcomer Charlie Cox is really good as Tristan...hopefully he'll get more roles in the future. Claire Danes portrayal of Yvaine is brilliant...it's hard to play a star, and she pulled it off. Robert DeNiro turns in one of the finest performances of the movie as the complex Captain Shakespeare. Additionally, Michelle Pfieffer, Mark Strong and Ricky Gervais are all really good too. Finally, there is a cameo appearance by Peter O'Toole...which almost automatically upgrades any movie.

In case you can't tell...I loved this movie. I went out today and bought it. This is the most solid 5 star movie I've seen in the last year, and it probably ranks in my top 10-15 movies of all time.