Tag: Elle Fanning

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in Real 3D

She’s Back!! “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is a visual feast!!

After Maleficent’s goddaughter Aurora gets engaged to Prince Phillip, they each start questioning the complex matters of family. Aurora wants Maleficent to meet the King and Queen and do all of the things that a mother would do when her daughter gets engaged. Little does Aurora know her godmother already knows the King and Queen all to-well. Additionally the hatred between man and the fairies still continues. The story unfolds from there…

As I stated in my opening “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is a visual feast. The cinematography, action and special effects are on point. There is a lot of new ground to cover in this second installment. There are many new cast members and you get a peek at what may be Maleficent’s back story.

The movie is quite enjoyable. It’s sad that it took so long for this sequel. It’s been 5 years since the 2014 Global Box Office hit “Maleficent” hit theaters.
The paid critics didn’t seem to like this installment, but I think it’s worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

The Beguiled (2017)

“The Beguiled” is Bewitching!!

It’s 1894 in Virginia. The Civil War is ongoing. On the grounds of a Girl’s Boarding School a wounded soldier, Colonel McBurney (Colin Farrell) is found by one of the students (Angourie Rice) out picking mushrooms. She befriends the soldier and helps him to get to the main house on the grounds. Once there the other students and head master come out to investigate. The soldier is badly in need of medical treatment, so the students help get the soldier into a room in the house.

Once Colonel McBurney is all mended and able to move around on a cane things get interesting as each one of the girls finds the soldier intriguing and he in turn plays on their sympathies. The story unfolds from there…

“The Beguiled” is definitely a great name for this movie. The movie has bewitching qualities. It’s well cast and well-acted. The movie is also a bit bloody. This version is a bit shorted than the 1971 original, but that doesn’t distract from this 2017 version.

“The Beguiled” is open in “Limited-Release”. It’s definitely worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Live by Night

“Live by Night” is a slow burning gangster movie that has no sizzle. The movie is loosely based on Dennis Lehane’s Crime Novel about a prodigal son of a prominent police chief and his gradual descent into the crime world.

The cinematography is very good, there was lots of action and some of the camera angles were awesome, but the movie just doesn’t grab you. There is a HUGH cast, but even they couldn’t make an already hollow story whole. The story appears to have started in the middle instead of at the beginning.

Ben Affleck directs and stars in the movie. This could be part of the problem. Ben Affleck is brilliant behind the camera, but not in front of the camera.

Several people got up and left the theater long before the movie was over, that’s how boring the movie was.

The previews and trailers for “Live by Night” looked really good. Too bad the actual movie did not live up to its billing.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Maleficient 3D

“Maleficient” is a “Dark Fairy Tale” with great a star, excellent cinematography, and special effects, but that’s it…

“Maleficient” is the untold Disney story about the iconic villain in “Sleeping Beauty”. The story tells how Maleficient became evil-minded and cast a mean spell over Princess Aurora when she was just a baby. As Princess Aurora grows she finds herself in the middle of a raging conflict between the forest she has grown to love and the Kingdom that is her birth-rite. The story unfolds from there.

Angelina Jolie is great as “Maleficient”. The movie it’s self falls short of drawing you in. The story is weak and doesn’t quite make sense. This will cause your attention to wane. I am not sure that a child would enjoy seeing this movie.

The movie is worth 2 1/2 stars