Where do you live?

Yeah this was surprisingly entertaining in it's own way. It definitely flows fairly simply from start to finish and the visuals are a nice touch without feeling too in your face such as with say Alice in Wonderland. The film also isn't too Disney-fied with too much ridiculous childish humor. It's an adaptation that is fairly accessible to all ages. Jolie is particularly strong and Fanning does well in her own way. The worst part is Sharlto Copley as he continues to prove to be so completely one-note and is doing a worse job with each new performance he is given. I won't actively seek this film out again but if it's on TV in the future and I pass by I'll give it another go.

Decent idea, failed execution.

Apparently Disney is determined to butcher all their classic fairytales with an overload of CGI and completely uninspired storylines. The similarities between some aspects of their three recent horrible attempts at regurgitating their past successes make me think that Disney execs are just going through a checklist, not really caring if the results meld together or not, and I'm pretty sure it's a correct assumption. This is a notch above Alice in Poopooland and Oz the Vile and Disgraceful, if only for the presence of the luminous Angelina Jolie. C-/D+

Angelina never had cancer lol. She had her real breasts replaced with fake ones because she was afraid of getting breast cancer.

Unlike Oz, which completely fell apart on the second viewing for me after absolutely loving it in the theater, and Alice, which I hate or meet with indifference every other day, this has gotten better each of the three times I've watched it. I think it is delightful and Jolie is beautiful and talented. The story is nothing like the original, which I liked, because just remaking the old movie would have been boring. This still cannot touch the original animated film, which unlike a lot of Disney's older animated films is quickly paced enough for a modern audience (it and Cinderella are probably Disney's films that hold up the best today from their Golden Age). But I thought this was beautiful to look at, had good performances, heart, funny humor, and several clever twists, except the ending where Maleficent wakes her up, which I totally saw coming. It was exactly like Frozen.

B+

Angelia Jolie is pretty great in this and I just loved how this film looked visually, especially when it came to the battle/action sequences. I wish they would have continued that same consistency in the sequel, because it definitely felt like two completely different films and I know they had different directors, but this one was easily the most appealing to look at from an aesthetic standpoint with the combination of lavish and dark visuals.

Elle Fanning and Sam Riley were nice additions too, but I thought Sharlto Copley was really weak as the villain in this and its a shame because I'm a big fan of him as an actor, but I just didn't buy his performance or his motivation which is never really explained anyways. I also could have done without the cringe inducing humor from the three fairies and its just funny seeing Brendan Thwaits in this playing the same character he was recasted as in the sequel and while I still don't care for that Philip character at all I definitely think Harris Dickinson was a big improvement overall.


B-

This is an absolutely gorgeous movie, lead by a perfectly cast gorgeous Angelina Jolie. The script is pretty generic at times, making Aurora's father into the villian via date rape. As I said in the other thread, I thought the fairies were the real villains of this story, but as bumbling fools they serve well as comic relief. Maleficent wasn't quite the Grendel I wanted it to be, but as beautiful summer blockbuster you could do a lot worse. And Disney has, many times.

B+