by Sarah McGee | Jun 4, 2014 | Opinion
Disney always has a way of adding an interesting touch to movies as the years have gone by. Gone are the days where the princess is dependent on the prince and helpless. Recent releases like Tangled, Pixar’s Brave, and Frozen have all shown fans that heroes can come in the most surprising forms. Sleeping Beauty has a tale that almost everyone knows, but Disney flipped it upside down with Maleficent, a live-action reimagining of the classic Disney animated film. One of the most neglected parts of Sleeping Beauty was the reasons as to why Maleficent was as evil as she was. Why did she have it out so badly for the king and queen? What was her problem with Aurora? These questions were all answered swiftly in Maleficent. Viewers are introduced to the title character as a young child, where the audience is shown her growth emotionally and physically. Be prepared to relate to Maleficent on a whole different emotional scale. Angelina Jolie is spectacular as Maleficent. She portrays the infamous villain with humor, heartbreak and unconditional love. The heavy undertone of feminism throughout the film was incredibly refreshing. Also, Jolie’s makeup and outfits are absolutely flawless. Elle Fanning is gorgeous as Princess Aurora. Every outfit she wears is beautiful, but as in the original adaptation, she does not contribute much to the film as a character. Fun fact of trivia here: Princess Aurora has the least amount of lines in a film out of any Disney princess. Newcomer Brenton Thwaites is also a little underwhelming, though still breathtaking, as Prince Charming. It would have been nice to see Aurora and...
by Cory Woodroof | May 30, 2013 | Opinion
In 2010, director M. Night Shyamalan released a film called The Last Airbener, adapted from a popular Nickelodeon cartoon. The film was supposed to kick off a series, but, instead, got kicked flat in the face by the movie-going public.I mean, critics were savage with this movie the way the raptors dined upon that poor cow in Jurassic Park. Now, don’t get me wrong. I made it 30 minutes into the film before I decided that I had better things to do with my time (homework, flossing, laundry, reading the instruction manual of the DVD player, etc.). Truth be told, it wasn’t exactly enjoyable. And, for M. Night, it was strike three. The movie-loving community was all but ready to give up on the former Oscar-nom, who, a little over a decade ago, had helmed one of the great twisty films of all time with The Sixth Sense. His follow-ups, Unbreakable, a personal favorite, and Signs, were also highly respected for their signature Shyamalan suspense and surprises. Unfortunately for M. Night, the streak ended. The Village (The Village…bangs head on wall) M. Night’s 2004 tense journey into a village with a deep, dark secret, pushed the envelope too far with one of the most eye-rolling ‘gotcha’ moments in cinematic history. It chose to throw away an otherwise fair outing with a chalkboard screech of an ending. For film critics, it was blood in the water. I’ve never been a fan of the early Aughts effort, and it’s a big reason I avoided Shyamalan’s next two outings, The Lady in the Water and The Happening. As it goes, critics weren’t too...
