XO, Movies: Maleficent

Hello little beasties! 

     Last night I finally went to go see Maleficent, a film that I had been closely following through pre and post production. Not to fear! If you have not yet seen the movie I will first do a condensed review, free from spoilers, and then I will let you know when to stop reading so I can get more into the depth of the film.

     With Sleeping Beauty being one of my favorite Disney movies from childhood, I was ecstatic to hear there was going to be a movie based on another perspective of the the story. From start to finish, every scene was aesthetically pleasing, though... the acting was something else entirely. In many scenes it was almost as if the actors weren't even trying, with the exception of Angelina Jolie who occasionally over acted and Sam Riley who will be one to watch in the coming years. In Super 8, Elle Fanning was convincing in pulling off a young girl dealing with the perils of an alien invasion, but showed some struggle in trying to bring the narcoleptic princess Aurora to life. With that in mind, there were some interesting changes to the original story that I really enjoyed. There was a needed depth added for some characters, while it was taken away from others. I believe the script should have been edited one or two more times before it was set. There were a few moments of unnatural conversations and lack of flow. Yet again, this could have been an acting issue. Overall I did enjoy the movie, but I wish I would have waited until it was available at the Redbox or even Netflix.

     Now is the time to stop reading. If you're worried about spoilers go watch the movie and then come back to finish this, but be sure to check out my Maleficent inspired style that I'll be posting tomorrow!

(que a low quality preview)

     On to the spoilers (and basically my fan girl moments)! I loved that Maleficent was a warrior for her land and that she was a strong individual, but I like my villains to be inherently evil. I would have loved for her to have started off being a little darker with a twisted way of looking at things long before Stefan was ever in the picture. The fact that she is only turned into a "villain" because of the loss of her wings and betrayal of Stefan unnerves me. I felt like the whole film basically said that villains cannot show love or be loved. Her character would have had greater complexity if she was less misunderstood. I also didn't like the fact that Stefan went crazy and even if he did, it should have been with guilt instead of revenge. The fairies were all idiots. They reminded me of Cinderella's step-sisters. I understand that the point was for Maleficent to basically raise Aurora, but they were other ways of setting that up. None of the characters were really likable except for Maleficent and Diaval.  Diaval was my favorite! I thought he was funny and charming. I really wanted to see more of him having a relationship with Maleficent, but I really loved the whole concept of him. 

     There's so much more I could go on about with this movie that I wasn't a fan of, so here's a list to save time:

1. "True love's first kiss" copied from Frozen (ehhhh)

2.  Prince Phillip looked like a toddler 

3. Maleficent's wardrobe change into a superhero costume during the final fight

4. overuse of lame slow motion

5. The end was pretty much the beginning

Plus, so much more.

    So what did you guys think? Did you like it? Who was your favorite/ least favorite character? Comment below or send me a message on my Tumblr. I'll also be checking #xomoxo on twitter, instagram, and tumblr. 

Have a magical day!