Maleficent
Okay, I can see how some critics didn't like it- the story is not told with much tension, you can't take a kid under 9 or 10 to see it because it is intensely scary at times, and it relies 99% on the skill and charm of the "am I evil or am I not" performance of Angelina Jolie. BUT boy oh boy- Angelina Jolie is amazing. I have seldom thought of her as a serious actress- she seems to take the same kind of approach to everything she does. But here, she uses her voice (in several varying accents but who cares) so beautifully to express sorrow and anger and kindness. I was a tad annoyed at the overwhelmingly saccharine performance of Elle Fanning as Aurora. That was the director's fault. Restatement alert: I would not ever bring a small kid to this.
If anything, this needed a better editor since it drags in spots. But for me, it is the best thing Jolie has ever done. There is one problem- she used her own child to play the very young Aurora. Knowing that, it takes the audience totally out of the moment while they stare at Vivienne Jolie-Pitt. Jolie claims it was because she might scare a child who didn't know her. Well, whatever Angelina. The fairy world is lovely. So, do what you wish on this one. I can't give it more than 2 stars because a movie should be more than its megastar.
