MALEFICENT

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I have been looking forward to Maleficent (PG) since the concept of the film was announced and if you follow my blog you will know that it was one of my most-anticipated films of 2014. Well, the day to watch it finally came; Was it magical? Yes. Was it beautiful? Yes. Did it exceed my expectations? ABSOLUTELY.

We all know the traditional tale of Sleeping Beauty, but Maleficent reminds us that there are two sides to every story. Angelina Jolie stars as the title character, a magical fairy who turns evil after being tricked and mistreated by humans. In a jealous rage Maleficent curses the new baby princess Aurora (Elle Fanning), but she soon comes to realise that the child may be the only one who can restore peace between humans and the magical creatures.

First and foremost, Maleficent is one of the most visually beautiful films that you will ever see and the use of 3D really makes the magical kingdom come alive. From the fluttering fairies, woodland creatures, and even Maleficent's magical powers, absolutely every aspect of the film is truly pleasurable to watch and will transport you into that world and make you feel like a child again.

Angelina Jolie is striking as the lead role in both appearance and performance. The film is solely focused on telling the traditional fairy tale from the villain's point of view and Maleficent's character development is beautifully told; from her childlike innocence and kindness to the despair and sorrow that she feels when she realises that humans have betrayed her trust. This sorrow quickly turns into bitter vengeance and when she curses the innocent baby Aurora the audience feel Maleficent's pain and are completely on her side. Jolie's portrayal of the character is brilliant in ensuring that Maleficent doesn't just become a fantastical and unrelatable source of evil - despite possessing magical powers she is very human throughout the film and captures the audience's heart and empathy.

Once Aurora goes to live with three fairies in a bid to protect her from the evil curse, Maleficent begins to follow her life more carefully and with the help of her servant Diaval (Sam Riley), a rescued raven who she can transform into man at the mere flick of her wrist, she watches over the princess and finds her hardened heart thawing with Aurora's sweet and loving innocence.

One of the key aspects in Jolie's performance is that no matter how evil she appears to be, Maleficent is

never truly a villain. Whilst she acts maliciously and is full of hatred and anger her softer side is never too hidden away and you appreciate the entire time that she is not a bad person deep down, simply forced into making bad and harmful decisions due to the terrible way she's been treated. On top of that, the character has wit and attitude, yet avoids becoming a cringe-inducing Disney cliche and instead becomes a source of inspiration and the true embodiment of a strong, female character.

Although Jolie is the star of the show, Elle Fanning brings charm and grace to Aurora, a character who is normally considered quite plain and two-dimensional. Although your eyes will never wander off the evil queen for long, when they reach the princess it is just as beautiful to watch. Riley also shines as Diaval, a welcome character that provides an insight into Maleficent's mind who also supports and comforts our heroine as the humans put her under siege.

All in all, I am so happy to say that Disney has exceeded itself in this enchanting tale that will delight both the grown ups and children in the audience in equal measures. Visually stunning to watch, Maleficent transports you into a fairytale realm and Jolie's heartfelt and alluring performance will captivate you from start to finish.

★★★★★

Maleficent is in cinemas now!

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

10 Exciting Films Still To Come in 2014...

We are only four months into 2014 but it has already shaped up to be a pretty memorable year for film. With the likes of The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, Noah and Divergent already done and dusted, you'd be forgiven for thinking that 2014 cinema has peaked already. However, you would be wrong - and here I have 10 exciting films that 2014 is yet to bring....

Cheer up Tobey

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Release Date: April 18th
Not long to go now! Peter Parker fans have been excited for the second installment of Marc Webb's take on the Marvel comic ever since the first film in 2012. Andrew Garfield continues to replace Tobey Maguire as everybody's favourite insect-based superhero in a film that promises to remain as faithful as possible to the original comic book story, thumbs up all round!

2. Maleficent
Release Date: May 28th
If you are anything like  me you will feel like you have been waiting for Angelina Jolie's portrayal of Disney baddie, Maleficent, forever. Telling the story of Sleeping Beauty from the villain's point of view, Maleficent will reveal what it was that made her so cold-hearted and why she cursed Princess Aurora. One thing is for sure, Maleficent will be visually stunning and bring out the child in even the hardest of adults. 

3. Jersey Boys
Release Date: June 20th
This may be mildly exclusive to me due to my absolute love of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but as somebody who simply can not afford to go and see the West End production of Jersey Boys every single week, the prospect of it being a film is overwhelming. Even if you think that you don't know who The Four Seasons are think again and give the film a chance; you will be surprised to discover just how many of their songs that you know and you will be dancing and singing along in no time!

Love you, Eddie

4. Jupiter Ascending
Release Date: July 25th
An interesting sci-fi adventure that stars Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones, a young woman who is targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe (nice job title!) and consequently realises her destiny to end the Queen's reign. It unarguably sounds like a great story, but did I mention that Eddie Redmayne is also in the film? Because that sealed the deal for me. 

5. Guardians of the Galaxy
Release Date: August 1st
Another Marvel film but this time on the lesser known Guardians of the Galaxy. I am just sold on the concept that each of the guardians have their own flaws but together they discover their greater mission. There is also the presence of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, animated characters that are voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively, who serve as just one example of the CGI and special effects spectacle that this film is set to be!

6. The Inbetweeners 2
Release Date: August 6th

Do you really need a reason? Do you really?! After the success of The Inbetweeners television show and their first film back in 2011, it is about time that Will, Simon, Neil and Jay reunited for some more laughs, chaos and many, many awkward situations.

7. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
Release Date: August 29th
Even if it wasn't a sequel to the brilliant 2005 film Sin City, the star-studded cast would be enough to lure in the most cynical of spectators. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, and Bruce Willis are just a few of the names to top the list, alongside a surprise cameo from none other than Lady Gaga. Whether the film is good or not (it will be), watching it is certain to at least be an experience.

Blurred-Lines-Girl

8. Gone Girl
Release Date: October 3rd
Gone Girl was the book of 2013; everywhere you looked people seemed to be reading it and even those who weren't reading it seemed to be talking about the global bestseller. Neil Patrick Harris is set to make his  first serious film debut since.... God knows when, and the 'Stunning-Blurred-Lines-Girl', aka Emily Ratajkowski, will also be featuring as Andie Hardy. 




9.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Release Date: November 21st
I have said it before and I will say it again, for me Mockingjay is the weak link of The Hunger Games book trilogy. Especially the first half of it. And especially the ending. That is why I was so surprised that of the three books it was Mockingjay that got split into two films. Saying that, I am still heavily invested in Panem and the lives of Katniss and Peeta and nothing will stop me from seeing how this film plays out on the big screen. Although frustrating we will then have to wait another year before we see the final chapter, the hope that director Francis Lawrence will change the book's ending is enough to see me through.




10. Unbroken
Release Date: December 26th
Angelina Jolie is allegedly staying firmly behind the camera as she directs this true life story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by the Japanese in World War II. With rising star Jack O'Connell starring as Zamperini there is no doubt that this will be one of the most emotional and powerful films of the year!




Special Mention: Madame Bovary
Release Date: WHO KNOWS?!
There has been a Madame-Bovary-Shaped thorn in my side ever since I got excited about the film adaptation, starring Ezra Miller, back when it was announced in 2012. Originally billed for release in 2013, the year came and went and no cheating Doctor's wife was to be found. Now it is apparently going to be released in 2014 but with no production news, no set date, or even month, I remain apprehensive. Fingers crossed for a release this year - how much longer are we expected to wait?!

Where are you, Ezra? We miss you.

So there we have it! Alongside the 10 films mentioned above there are a multitude of other great pieces of cinema set to come before the year is out. Keep an eye out on my blog and Twitter page for updates and reviews on all the films mentioned, and then some!

Love,

The 86th Academy Awards

Well, there we have it folks; Award's season is officially over for yet another year.

With the help of energy drink, snacks, and friends I managed to stay up until 5am to watch the live show unfold, and wow was it a good one!

Here are some of my thoughts on the night...

First of all, obviously, dresses. Everybody went crazy for Lupita Nyong'o's dress and rightly so - it was gorgeous. But I think that there were quite a few beautiful dresses that trumped her, such as Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie's:

Jennifer Garner

Angelina Jolie

But my Oscar for best dress of the night goes to... Cate Blanchett, look at it! It's beautiful:

Cate Blanchett

I really didn't want to do a 'worst dress' because it just seems so mean... However, upon seeing Elsa Pataky's dress I couldn't sit back and not say anything. She looks beautiful and radiant but that dress is unforgivable. On the other hand, Chris Hemsworth is rocking the purple and without a doubt gets the Best Dressed Male Oscar from me.

Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth 

Alongside Pataky, Kerry Washington and Olivia Wilde also had their bumps to think about at last night's ceremony, and my Oscar for Best Dressed Bump goes to Olivia Wilde, who kept it chic and simple as she somehow managed to trump her incredible emerald gown from the Golden Globes earlier this year.

Olivia Wilde at the Oscars

Wilde also won battle of the bumps at the Golden Globes

 Now onto the Awards.

Overall I managed to guess 17 out of 24 categories correctly. Four of the ones I got wrong were the ones where I hadn't seen a single nominee (Animation short, live action short, documentary, foreign film) and just randomly guessed by the sound of their names, so really we can say that I got 17 out of 20... Right? Also, I don't have a clue why I put Captain Phillips down for Best Film Editing because I didn't think for a second it would win a single award, I think I confused it with my 'Who I Want to Win' ballot...

Overall I am happy with the results, my absolute highlight of the night was Jared Leto winning Best Supporting Actor. Although I do love Barkhad Abdi and thought his performance was outstanding, Leto was in an entirely different league to his fellow nominees and it was his triumph that really made my night.

I did want Martin Scorsese to win Best Director and The Wolf of Wall Street to win Best Picture (I didn't think either of these would actually happen). I am also still dreaming of the day that Leonardo DiCaprio will win his well-deserved Oscar, but I did know that he wouldn't be getting this year... To be honest, I have kind of given up hope of him ever winning it, so that didn't really surprise me. The best thing about last night's ceremony was that American Hustle didn't win anything and considering it is one of the worst films I saw this year and it really shouldn't have even been nominated, that is more than enough for me.

Speech wise, I think Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o win that one. Jared emotionally recounted the story of his mother's plight in raising himself and his older brother, Shannon, on her own and as a teenager whilst his proud mother looked on and then Lupita moved Benedict Cumberbatch to tears as she thanked her character's real life counterpart Patsey. Other notable mentions go to Frozen's frankly bizarre thank you for best picture, 20 Feet From Stardom's Darlene Love bursting into song and Matthew McConaughey's confusing tale that I am sure made sense to him... Oh, and how Cate Blanchett didn't get played off while accepting her Best Actress award is beyond me, I'm sure that was the longest speech of the night!

However, the real talking point of the night didn't come from the speeches, the performances, or even the winners. No, the real star of the show was pizza.

Who knew that watching Brad Pitt dish out paper plates whilst stars such as Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep tucked in to some greasy fast food would be so entertaining?  Perhaps it's just because it serves as a gentle reminder that they may be at the glitziest event of the year but actually, they're all kind of normal really.

Kevin Spacey tucks in

Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep get a slice

Brad Pitt gets a taste after helping serve the other guests

Finally, a new record was broken last night as host Ellen took one of the most star-studded selfies ever in a bid to get the most Twitter retweets, which she succeeded in doing before the show was even over and it is now hovering around the 2.5million mark. Bradley Cooper, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and Meryl Streep are among the famous faces in the picture, but a special shout out to Lupita Nyong'o's brother, who managed to sneak his way in and get himself a new Facebook profile picture for life!

Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ellen Degeneres, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pit, Lupita Nyong'o, Angelina Jolie, and... Lupita's brother.

All in all, it was a fantastic show and I am already super excited for next year's event! 

What the next 12 months hold for the world of film is to be anticipated, and I can only wonder which ones we will be championing for a prestigious Oscar this time next year. One thing is for sure though, I can't wait to find out!!!

Love,

Just me and some pals hanging out at the Oscars....