Adventure, Family, No Spoiler Reviews, Thriller

MALEFICENT (2014): Definitely Not Your Typical Disney Evil Queen

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Maleficent (2014)
Maleficent (2014)

Paragraph 5 (Spoiler Alert)

Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of Maleficent has been criticised for not being evil enough. I think people of this opinion have missed the point of the film entirely.

Not to say that the movie is perfect because the pace did leave me wanting. Nevertheless,  it’s clear to me that for audiences to buy into the story, Jolie definitely couldn’t look for inspiration for her character from the likes of pre-existing Queens of pure evil. A perfect example being ‘Queen Revenna’ of Snow White And The Huntsman (2012) – wonderfully played by Charlize Theron.

No, no, no. Jolie would have to study characters far more complex. I imagine that she must have because Maleficent is absolutely unlike the traditional evil queen, and that doesn’t make for a lesser film, but a different one.

Besides my issues with the pace, there is one aspect of the story that  I found particularly hard to accept…

…now, I may be overthinking things since I’m not the film’s key demographic. But… with Maleficent being not just a fairy with powers, and instead ’the strongest of the fairies’, I expected that she would have the means to regenerate her wings. And if she couldn’t do this, I imagined she would at least use her magic to locate the wings – once she’d used the same special powers to learn that her wings had not been completely destroyed. Am I alone in this?

I have no regrets at all about watching the film. The difference was refreshing. Plus, I LOVE Angelina Jolie! She could lead me almost anywhere. Probably.

Happy Film Loving 🙂

G

Action, Adventure, No Spoiler Reviews, Thriller

JAMES BOND – WHY CASINO ROYALE (2006) Is ‘THE ONE’

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James Bond (Daniel Craig), Casino Royal (2006)
James Bond (Daniel Craig), Casino Royal (2006)

Roger Moore was my favourite James Bond for a very long time. Mainly because he’s the star of the first Bond film I ever watched. However, absolutely everything changed when my dear Mr Craig, Daniel Craig came along.

I didn’t care that at the time, most believed him to be the wrong choice. I was too busy being excited that radical change was finally coming. Especially since like many other fans, I had fallen out of love with what the Franchise had become before Casino Royale.

Since Casino Royale is the very first James Bond book, one could surmise that finally, audiences would get an insight into what it is that really makes 007 tick. The film certainly delivers in this regard and in several others, including all the elements that make for a great film. Namely, brilliant dialogue, to mention just one.

The unapologetic brute force of Craig’s Bond is a huge part of what makes Casino Royale such a memorable comeback for the franchise, and part of the reason why the film is my favourite Bond to date.

I will not drop any spoilers for those yet to watch the film but I will say this: ‘The first 20 minutes is brilliant, and you’ll be glad to learn that the rest of the movie continues as such‘.

Have you seen it? If so, you know it’s the best, don’t you? Say it. Saay Ittt!

Happy Film Loving,

G

Action, Adventure, No Spoiler Reviews, Thriller

TAKEN (2008): The Less You Know Before Watching, The Better

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Taken (2008), Liam Neeson
Taken (2008), Liam Neeson

For quite some time now, my youngest brother, (knowing how much I love movies) recommended that I should watch director Pierre Morel and co-writers Luc Besson plus Robert Mark Kamen’s Taken (2008).

Unfortunately, for a while, I kept disappointing him each time he checked to see whether I’d finally seen it.

I could never give him a definite viewing date because I have to be in the right mood to watch a specific movie. Also,  one thing he did insist on was that all I needed to know before watching the film is the name of its star, Liam Neeson and that it’s a good movie. I accepted this restriction and I’m so glad I did because Taken is a great action movie. The kind that will have you so very engrossed as the story unfolds, and at a pace that leaves nothing more to be desired.

I honestly could not recommend this movie more. If you’ve already seen it, then you know precisely what I’m talking about. But if you’re yet to experience it, I suggest choosing to know as little as possible before pressing the play button. Trust me when I say that doing this will only enhance your experience of the film.

Taken also stars Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen among others.

Happy Film Loving!

G

Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, No Spoiler Reviews

SETH ROGEN’S This Is The End (2013). Funny? YES!

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This is The End (2013), Seth Rogen, James Franco
This is The End (2013), Seth Rogen, James Franco

I learned today that two close friends of mine do not find Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s This Is The End (2013) particularly funny. After getting over the initial shock and coming to terms with their revelation, I made an effort to understand by running through the possible reasonable explanations:

  1. They haven’t watched or enjoyed Pineapple Express (2008), Superbad (2007) Knocked Up (2007) or other great comedies by Rogen and Goldberg.
  2. They must not have been in the right frame of mind to properly appreciate the greatness of the movie. I mean, I do believe that you have to be ‘in the mood’ for certain kinds of films (comedy, drama, action, etc.) in order to get the best out of them.
  3. They were too tired to pay due attention.

Well, apparently none of the above explanations were correct. I was therefore left with the only possible answer. Something is very wrong with both my friends, which then means that trying to make further sense of the situation would be a royal waste of my time.

In passing the question off to you, what do you think? Did you find This Is The End funny or am I the crazy one. Caveat: I know I’m not really crazy since the film was quite the success. However, I thought it would be nice to ask, nonetheless.

Happy Film Loving

G