Maleficent

[ArtMan]

Saw a 3d screening of this tonight. I had no intention of seeing this, but the friend I took is a huge Disney fan. I will leave the real reviews to Whizzer, Jordan,etc (they will probably like it more than I did). Angelina is fantastic in this. I can forsee at least a Golden Globe nomination for her. But the movie just drags. For me, there were only a few fun moments. My friend loved it. She is going to see the first screening on Thursday. I told her I would rather stick pins in my eyes then sit through that two days in a row. BTW, as someone who has not seen many of the new movies in 3D, I felt it brought nothing special to the movie.

[BroadwayBenny]

97 minutes and it dragged? Eeesh.

It's not getting much love on RottenTomatoes, Disney had an embargo on reviews being published until today, so they must have known this wasn't going to get great word of mouth, and pushed advertising like crazy to get people there on opening weekend...before word got out.

[SNAFU]

Hopefully after this, Disney will try 2D cell animation again. I am soooooo tired of this CGI crap.

[ArtMan]

I will be curious what others think. To the movie's defense, since this was a screening there was a lot of wait time involved (standing in line, sitting in the theatre). I hope this did not prejudice me with my opinions about the drags in the story.

[Jordan Catalano]

I won't get to see this until some time next week sadly. I'm so excited for it, though!!!

[adamgreer]

I'll be there tonight!

[beautywickedlover]

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1013538&boardname=off&boardid=2&page=1

[Liza's Headband]

This movie was terrible.

[ErikJ972]

This quote from Time Out's review has me worried.
"This new version is about her softer side. Here, she’s a wounded heroine who looks out for Aurora (Elle Fanning) even though she has cursed the princess to eternal sleep. Such revisions feel slightly out of place: At one point, Jolie cuts loose with an actorly scream at the loss of her wings, and it’s as if she were auditioning for a different movie."
That doesn't sound like the movie I was hoping for.
Time Out Review

[ArtMan]

Erik, All I will say is it is not the story you have grown up with.

[Kad]

That lines up with early synopses of the film - a Wickedification of Maleficient.

[Brian07663NJ]

Yikes...comparing it to "Legend" is more than a slight insult!

Sad...I was looking forward to this too. I guess I'll bump this from "go to theater" to "add to Netflix"

[Marianne2]

Well this is disappointing. Though I have to admit from a clip I saw, that scene reminded me a little bit of the awful Grinch movie.

[BobbyBubbi]

For those that saw, I'm guessing no Into the Woods trailer?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Honestly, I don't even think "Into the Woods" is going to be released.

[BroadwayBenny]

I'm going to go check this out tonight. If I'm going to be disappointed I want to get it over with, I've gotten too hyped up to not see it in theaters.

[BobbyBubbi]

hardy har har.

[JerseyGirl2]

I am pretty sure it's going to suck and I am still going to love it.

[ErikJ972]

Nothing wrong with that! Some of my favorite movies suck.

[candydog2]

The movie is ok. It had a lot of potential but was a bit too cliche and cheesy in the end.

It is however, a camp classic in the making. Angelina Jolie's performance was so camp it makes the Golden Girls look like The Godfather.

There were a few groan-worthy moments throughout. I cringed a little when her robe was pulled off in the final battle to reveal a sort of studded leather catsuit.

Not great, but worth seeing if you've been waiting for it.

[beautywickedlover]

Mary Costa, the voice of Aurora in the 1959 film, has not seen the movie yet. However, she is looking forward to it and gives her thoughts on Jolie as well.

"“Having worked with Eleanor Audley, who did the voice for Maleficent [in Sleeping Beauty], we all used to get in the sound booth and listen to her record. She was a sleight person, not large at all, but when she would get behind that microphone, the voice would BE LIKE THIS. We would absolutely be just amazed.

“And I was thinking how happy she would be that there is the story of Maleficent.”

Costa’s pretty chuffed to see Jolie step into the role too saying she’s her “favourite movie star”.

“I’ve always admired her. I think she has a mystique and a beautiful acting ability. She is to me, unique. She’s like the stars used to be in the 50s and 60s when they were all totally different.

“Angelina’s little daughter is playing Aurora as a little child, that’s just adorable.”

And Costa, who admits she still catches herself singing the songs around the house – and even finds herself “very much at home” in the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland – is certainly looking forward to seeing the film on the big screen.

From the comfort of a cinema seat, mind: “I’ll love it. She can’t get ahold of me from there!”


What was it really like to work with Walt Disney?

[BroadwayBenny]

I really liked it, in spite of a few very poor script and direction issues (Why is Linda Wolverton still allowed near movie scripts?). I think it will develop a very nice cult following due to Jolie fighting against the script to keep the character at least a little twisted and maniacal in spite of how Wolverton tries to change her to a big softy here and there.

I'd recommend it as a good rainy afternoon rental, but unless you're a die hard fan of the Mistress of All Evil from the animated classic and you HAVE to see how this goes, there is no need to rush off to the theater. There are some great moments, but you basically have to navigate through a forest of thorns to get to them.

[adamgreer]

Just back.

First the housekeeping. No Into the Woods trailer, but there was another (awful) Annie trailer, though it did show a lot more of Rose Byrne than the other trailer.

On to the film...major spoilers ahead!!!

Maleficent takes the story of Sleeping Beuaty and completely disregards it. It ignores all of the events in that film and rewrites them to suit their own purpose.

It actually starts off promisingly enough, with the story of where Maleficent's anger comes from. The backstory was pretty interesting, and you can see why she becomes hellbent on revenge. But then, just as I'm thinking this is going to be something interesting, the wheels come off with the big "twist."

While she's hiding in the forest with the fairies (whose names are inexplicably changed), Aurora discovers Maleficent and the two become quite fond of each other, to the point where Maleficent abandons her revenge plan to become Audora's protector! She tries to undo the curse she's placed, but of course you can't undo a spell once it's been cast. So we spend the rest of the film watching Maleficent try to right wrongs.

So it's bad enough that the baddest of all Disney villains, the "mistress of all evil", isn't evil at all. But then, they go and ignore the events of Sleeping Beauty. In this adaptation, Philip's doesn't wake up Aurora...it's Maleficent's kiss. Maleficent doesn't turn into the dragon, Diablo does (and he's also been given a new name).

What makes this different from Wicked is that Wicked simply gave us a new lens with which to look at the events of The Wizard of Oz. But, everything that happened in the Wizard of Oz still happens in Wicked- we just get a new way of looking at them. In this film, they completely ignore the events of Sleeping Beauty in an effort to make this character likeable. They even give it a happy ending where Maleficent, Aurora, and Philip all move into the forest to live happily ever after together.

And what was with Maleficent and her Catwoman costume during the final battle??

[Kad]

So they completely defang her? Her total bitchy ruthlessness is the reason she is so beloved - and they know that, which is why that's what they've been showing in the trailers.

[adamgreer]

Yup, along with a "happy ending"- Aurora gets Maleficent her wings back, Maleficent reluctantly kills Stefan (after she tried to give him a reprieve- that scene was very reminiscent of the big Simba/Scar fight), Aurora and Maleficent go and live in the forest together with Philip and Diablo (whom Maleficent turns back into a human for good) happily ever after.

But yeah, her character is only bitchy for about 30 minutes of the movie.

[Kad]

Well, that sucks.