Saw MALEFICENT last weekend. It really is a beautiful film and I cant image anyone not giving it a thumbs up. I am not a big fan of Angelina Jolie - I dont think anyone who saw SALT can really like her all that much - but this was a great vehicle for her. Man, they gave her great check bones! The original concepts of Maleficent from the 1959 Disney film were heavily based on Gloria Swansons performance in SUNSET BOULEVARD and there are moments in this film that are direct homages to that film and they made me laugh just a little. To say that she chews the scenerary would be a vast understatement, but it is, essentially, a cartoon and she gives a nearly perfect performance for this high-concept vehicle. I was surprised that the male lead was Sharlto Copley of THE A TEAM and DISTRICT 9. He seemed an odd choice, but he was completely unsympathetic and, I suppose, thats what they were looking for. There were definite moments in the film where King Stephans Scottish burr was interrupted by Copleys South African accent. Couple of complaints: well, there is a fine line between cute and creepy and I felt that the three fairies were incredibly creepy in their smaller form. The other complaint is just regarding Disneys ongoing hated of fathers. With the exception of THE INCREDIBLES, most fathers are nonexistent or foolish in their choices. King Stephan is down right evil! My God! There is no rational for his evil! He betrays and mutilates his best friend, sends his daughter away and doesnt even visit her for 16 years and hardly seems to notice when his wife dies. Final observation - remember how original it was when we first heard JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and we realized that Judas may actually have had a point of view in the whole story of the Passion? That was a true epiphany. Then, I remember reading a book titled GRENDEL by John Gardner back in the 1970s. Obviously, it was the story of Beowulf from the point of view of Grendel (the monster). It was a fresh approach to literature and a very exciting way to tell a story. Then, over the past 25 years, Gregory Maguire has put out his hole series of books from the point of view of the bad-guy including WICKED, SON OF A WITCH, A LION AMONG MEN, CONFESSIONS OF AN EVIL STEPSISTER, etc. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie and all, it just seems to me that this story telling vehicle may have run its course. So - in summary - two thumbs up for some very pretty, lightweight entertainment! Im just a picky pain in the ass.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:04:34 +0000
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