Maleficent Review

When Disney released a picture of Angelina Jolie in costume to promote the upcoming Maleficent (2014) movie, everyone went bonkers over it! It was a simple close-up that showcased the Disney villain's iconic headgear and face. I admit even I was instantly psyched to see it. But a movie starring a villain sounded like a gutsy move for Disney. It had potential to screw up a classic character, or to be dynamic and interesting. Incidentally, it did neither.

A beautiful, pure-hearted, winged young woman, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), had an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom until one day an invading army threaten the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king's successor, King Stefan (Sharlto Copley), and as a result places a curse upon the newborn infant Aurora. Raised by three bumbling pixies (Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, & Juno Temple), Aurora (Elle Fanning) is caught in the middle of a seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic action that will change both worlds forever - and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

I constantly hear praise for Maleficent as being a feminist take on the classic fairy tale. I don't think that's the case. Feminism, as I understand it, is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of equality. That's a great thing to advocate! But the three main male characters are really awful for different reasons. King Stefan is a power hungry monster who will walk all over anyone to reach his goals; Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites) is the most vapid and pointless character in the movie, almost as if he inconveniently wandered on set while the cameras were rolling for two very short scenes; and while Maleficent's shape-shifting crow, Diaval (Sam Riley), has enough spine to voice an opinion once in a while, he's basically a subservient toady. Demonizing or controlling men is not what feminism is about. However, most of the women characters in Maleficent are at least as simple and ridiculous as the men are. Ultimately, I don't think feminism plays a particularly significant role for or against.

Maleficent has a fantastic and even romantic fairy tale vibe. It's some high end fantasy and often feels like a classic fairy tale that I was unfamiliar with. The classic Disney fairy tales usually started out with the camera focusing on a book with a brief narration to introduce the story. In Maleficent, there is a narrator that sounds like a sweet grandmotherly lady reading to us a bedtime story. I liked the narrator at first, but it quickly became evident that the narrator was being overused. The narration delivered a lot of exposition telling us things that the movie should be showing us rather than telling us, and it robbed the characters of development. We're told what Maleficent was doing and shown Jolie in dramatic poses instead of showing her do these things. It weakened the story and the characters by not letting us see the changes these characters are going through.

The major draw for Maleficent was to see Angelina Jolie play Maleficent. She looked amazing! The costume was perfection itself. Her makeup and prosthetics really helped sell this Disney icon. Those cheekbones could cut a person if they weren't careful. Jolie looked, sounded, and acted the part so beautifully, it was almost chilling. As Maleficent tries on this "evil" role as she seeks revenge, she genuinely looks scary! Apparently, Jolie in full costume was so intimidating that they couldn't get young child actors to go near her. The only one unafraid was Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Angelina's six-year-old daughter, who was used to play young Aurora so that the two characters could be in close proximity. Here's a clip to help illustrate how amazing Jolie is in this role:

The visuals were plentiful and detailed, but they relied heavily on CGI and 3D effects. I'm certain most of the scenes were done in front of a green screen. It lacked heart and made everything feel even more artificial than a fantasy movie already seems. The pixies who resembled the Three Stooges looked awful and were very irritating. I'm sure the garish colors and flashy CGI was used to draw in audiences, but it failed to impress me.

Overall, Maleficent was okay. With only her voice and sense of bearing, Jolie effortlessly makes the notoriously wicked fairy seem real. No one else involved in Maleficent seems to have that magic. It was weird to see this powerful classic Disney villain depicted as a heroine who lapses into villainy. Reconstructing one of the most evil animated characters of all time this way didn't necessarily ruin the iconic Disney character, but it certainly didn't do her any favors. I want to say the story would have been better had it not used preexisting characters and changed their story, but then there would be no real attraction to see this movie. I still think Maleficent is worth seeing, just to see Jolie play this role so incredibly well. This is a good movie to watch as a family, and with a PG rating it's not too scary for young kids. I daresay it's more tame than the original 1959 Sleeping Beauty. It's not good enough for the cost of a theater ticket; it's a renter.

After seeing Maleficent, are you anxious to see the upcoming live-action Cinderella remake? It's set to release in 2015. Comment below and tell me why or why not!

District 9 Movie Review

I studied social sciences in college. I majored in psychology, but also studied sociology and anthropology. There are very few movies I’ve come across that made me as giddy and excited over its social commentary as District 9 (2009) did. You could almost call District 9 “Sociology: The Movie.” And even outside the social commentary, it’s a great sci-fi film!

In 1982, a massive starship bearing a bedraggled alien population appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. The alien species were nicknamed “Prawns.” Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United (MNU), is contracted to forcibly evict the Prawn population. Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a timid, pencil-pushing bureaucrat is put in charge of the operation. While trying to force Prawns to sign eviction notices, Wikus is exposed to some alien biotechnology which causes his DNA to mutate. Since the alien weapons and technology only react to the Prawns themselves, Wikus becomes the key to unlocking the technology for human use. He becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus has to rely on the oppressed and bitter Prawns for help.

I can’t speak highly enough about District 9. The acting is fantastic and believable. The special effects and visuals are amazing and eye-catching. And above all, the story is intricate, well-written, and compelling. It presents themes such as humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation. The story and setting are quite elaborate; I could go on for pages from a literary standpoint. Yet it is still presented in a very understandable and straightforward way.

While District 9 is without a doubt science fiction, it’s still verisimilar. It parallels some racial segregation that occurred in Cape Town, South Africa. In District 9 there are actions being taken to move the Prawns out of the city and to a remote location. If you’re familiar with the events of 1966 you may recall Cape Town declaring its District 6 to be a “whites only” region, resulting in all housing being demolished and over 60,000 non-whites were forcibly removed. Another point worth mentioning is how the Prawns speak in their alien language which is made up of clicking sounds. The alien language is not unlike Bantu, the language spoken by some black African populations, which to the untrained ear sounds like clicking.

There is a very strong theme of xenophobia, racism, and prejudices in District 9. The film starts out like a documentary, cutting away to sociologists for commentary or to people on the streets giving their opinion. This was a brilliant story-telling device that made the movie seem more realistic and fact-based. These nameless characters state that they don’t care where the aliens go, they just can’t stay here. Others comment on calling the aliens Prawns, saying they are ugly like the crustaceans, and they are clearly bottom-feeders. “Prawn” is indeed meant to be a derogatory term for the aliens in this movie. And really, if you simply substitute terms like “black,” “Asian,” “Mexican,” “Jew,” or any number of labels that are used derogatorily in place of the word “Prawn,” the subtext of racial prejudice becomes even more blatantly evident. District 9 is essentially an action film about xenophobia, where all races of humans are united in their dislike and mistrust of an alien species.

District 9 was a fairly low budget film that employed some very busy CGI artists. The computer animation and motion capture was remarkable. No two Prawns looked exactly alike, and even the important Prawn characters moved a bit differently. Even though the Prawn characters were computer animated, they still portrayed a sense of humanity and emotion despite having several sets of antennae and maxillipeds sticking out of their face. The explosions and alien weaponry were really fun to see as well. We aren’t really told what the full extent of the weapons are, we just see a few of them do some pretty neat things like create a lightning-strewn black cloud in the wake of an explosion or catch incoming bullets.

I really could go on about this movie, but suffice it to say I really liked District 9 a whole lot. Even the characters are convincing; it’s so interesting to see Wikus become more humane as he physically becomes less human. I highly recommend seeing this movie, but be warned, there is a lot of profanity and gratuitous violence in it. Even after several viewings I still find myself cringing. It’s so well implemented that it is not a fault, but it would probably deter some viewers. It’s certainly not a movie for young kids to see. I’ve got a copy of this on Blu-Ray sitting on my shelf along with other favorites of mine.

What is your favorite movie alien? Comment below and tell me why!