MALEFICENT MOVIE REVIEW [MINIMAL SPOILERS]

– ★★½ out of 5

“It’s a grandeur for the family. But not for adults alone.”

 

When I first saw the behind-the-scene picture of the Maleficent movie, same time they announced that they’re in the process of making it; I was ecstatic: it was because of the fact that everyone in my generation, and the generations before me knows who Maleficent is and that she has infiltrated the general audience with fear yet with sophistication.

I personally feared Maleficent when I was a child. Watching Sleeping Beauty was a fairytale trauma, together with Alice in Wonderland due to the fact that they’ve put so much power to these characters plus an evil-ish depth to the story: it’s really amusing but scary at the same time.

Plus the fact that Maleficent is played by Angelina Jolie was a wow. Then the trailers came and we saw the first outing of the actress as Maleficent: it was just mind blowing. It already felt like she was destined to the role itself. Ecstatic became ecstasy to my senses: then I waited for a year and a half.

Now, it’s here.

Maleficent is a story ripped off from one of the world’s most popular fairytale: Sleep Beauty. It tells the tale of the ultimate villain, Maleficent, and what the real story is.

I have to admit, after watching it, from all my rapturous emotions being super excited to watch the film: it kind of was an ‘OKAY’ movie. Maybe because I was too much expecting from the ‘twist’ itself in which re-imagined fairytale stories are intended for, or maybe because of a technical status which didn’t made me happy.

 

RATED WHAT???

What I mean to say is that the film was Rated ‘G’… for those who don’t know what ‘G’ means: it’s for General Patronage. Adults can see it and kids too.

From the moment the film rating popped up before the movie; I was taken aback, figuratively and literally (even bumped my head, thankfully to the soft cushion of my seats, Thanks JMall Cinema!). I was expecting for a hold back from all the actions I’d be seeing in the film. My partner told me then, “There will be no blood.” And of course as a Disney film, there will be minimal or no blood at all.

I can’t even remember any killing in the movie, except for the fact that soldiers were thrown away or dropped by huge metal chandelier outside and inside the castle, but there was never a feeling of death in the movie. Well of course, again, it’s Rated ‘G’ and for adults movie goers, it will never be enough.

 

STORYLINE

We all know that The King is the lazy ass character who will give an incentive to guys in town who uh, could save the kingdom’s princess so that they could bang her right after; and we all know Sleeping Beauty/Aurora is just asleep for the entire movie-time; Prince Charming/Phillip as the hero who desperately rescued Aurora from being a damsel in distress and Maleficent as the fashionably evil one.

But in the re-imagined movie today; there’s this chance for the Evil one to tell her side of the story, and it’s definitely not what we thought it was going to be.

The depth of her becoming evil was for me quite lacking, because of the straight fact that they couldn’t push the limits beyond Rated ‘G’. It was a bit disappointing in that part and I could’ve wished that she was pushed so much leading on why she became evil. The trailer promised a ‘dark version’ of the re-imagined story, but I don’t see any resemblance of darkness in emotional sense to this film. The mood of the fairytale land where she resides was first blooming and colorful, but when she turned evil; everything went dark, but there’s nothing more ‘dark’ after that.

Which leads me to the next point.

 

HUMOR ME, MALI

I wasn’t expecting for the movie to be quite humorous in the midst of Maleficent’s evil presence. The danger didn’t lurk for the Kingdom and Aurora, but it was for Maleficent only. But even when there’s this threat to her mortality in the land; there were times where you can’t help but give out a giggle because of some comic characters surrounding Maleficent, like Diaval (Sam Riley) and Aurora herself (Elle Fanning).

There were more of cute, queer and heart-warming scenes between Maleficent and Aurora but was essential to the story as you watch it and will all make sense once the climax hits.

 

BEING GOOD IS PREDICTABLE, SO STAY BAD

Maleficent started as a cute, young fairy whose wings gave her the ability to soar through the magical land and to the skies above. After that tells a failed love story that lead her in becoming evil. But then, the movie gave chance of redemption to evil queen after years of being an accidental fairy-god-mother to Aurora.

Most of the movie geeks who posted predictions on how the story will go about, pointed out on how it might be disappointing to find out that Maleficent is not evil after all.

It’s a straight FACT after watching the movie. Yet still, the duality of the character; the emotional turmoil: a fight between good versus evil and the chance of redemption is the entire plot of it.

In the middle of the movie, you can really tell how it’s going to end because you can’t really lead someone astray who’s seen hundreds of movies, no matter how you give twists to it and especially on a Rated ‘G’ film rating.

 

AN ACTING PRACTICED THROUGH TIME

Angelina Jolie IS Angelina Jolie. Wow. The role was PERFECT for her and her natural vicious façade brings life to the most feared Evil Queens of all Disney.

Her acting was superb and her unprecedented punchlines were funny. She was just outstanding throughout the film. A fact that acting really is practiced through time and Jolie is a testament to that.

 

CONCLUSION

The beginning of the movie was really straightforward and strong. It will captivate both young and adult’s attention to watch and listen because we might miss something.

But I wished Maleficent stayed as a badass rather than the hero in the end of the movie, but still it was amusing especially on its visual effects that puts excitement to anyone watching on a big screen plus it’s heartwarming perfect for the young ones.

And there was no greater push towards her being evil which lacked the emotions of being feared.

As an adult, it was an OKAY movie rather than spectacular, but still, NOT hideous. It’s a grandeur for a family movie.

 

RATINGS: 2.5/5

 

Maleficent is a 2014 American movie starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Shartlo Copley, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Leslie Manville. The film is directed by Robert Stromberg based on the story of Sleeping Beauty.

SHEENA is Asia’s Next Top Model Season 2 WINNER

Runner up is JODILLY

2nd is KATARINA

Well, sh*t

 

WE STILL LOVE YOU JODILLY AND KATARINA!!! YUHUUU!

MGA BAKLA, BOYCOT NA YAN!

 

HAHA Just fooling around. Knowing Sheena won Asia’s Next Top Model… it just makes me feel like it’s defeated all the purpose of me watching the whole 20 cycles of America’s Next Top Model. Sorry, Sheena fans… but really.

For me, the two switched judges were the reason why the votes were pulled to Sheena instead of to Jodilly. I mean, have they seen other photos of both of them? They say Sheena is a chameleon and a modern model… All I can see is an amateur model for amateur photo shoots.

My initial reaction would sum up to the meme below.

UPDATE as of the FINALE:ASIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 2 FINALE WINNER PREDICTION | ANALYSIS

 

UPDATE as of 10:30 today 4/9/2014: SHEENA IS ASIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 2 WINNER..

Asia’s Next Top Model Season/Cycle 2 is a very successful reality-TV show in Asia. I can say; it’s one of the best. And now, since it’s going near the end, and only three girls remaining vying for the price of becoming the second AsNTM winner plus the huge prices; it’s going to be tough.

 

RECAP OF THE LAST EPISODE BEFORE THE FINALE

 

Let’s start with the omitted episode (11) due to the reason of a very sensitive issue about the Malaysian Airlines, which is also one of the main sponsors of the show; they’ve cancelled it and proceeded to the 12^th episode then.

But what’s shocking to me was that Nicole was sent home during the omitted episode; and I believe that was a result to her being weaker than most of the girls.

I actually don’t believe it, not until I see that very episode.

Sheena won, but I couldn’t ponder why (sorry fans of Sheena); really, because I’ll explain AGAIN why after.

Then episode 12 aired and only 4 girls left.

They have this sensual photo-shoot for Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia and they have to give their best since it will be the second to the last episode before the finale.

Katarina won with the hot, hot, hot photo. She’s been stepping up her game ever since I last blogged about AsNTM. Her last photo was an analysis of mine that her girl-next-door beauty could ALWAYS be converted into sexy. And in this photo-shoot; it was conveyed.

Jodilly won the second best; and this was another hot, hot, scorching hot photo. Jodilly is this cute little princess from the Philippines that’s having a dream to become a model, and you totally wouldn’t expect to give out a very, very sexy, satisfying and nonchalantly effective result.

It was Sheena and Marie on the bottom two, and it was heartbreaking to see the latter leave. I mean… wow. I expected her to reach top 3, but well, whatevs.

 

ANALYSIS FOR THE FINAL 3

JODILLY

Jody has always been giving us a hundred and ten percent of her effort just to give us wonderful, wonderful results/photos, and it has always been effective. It’s very impressive to show how she’s been a so-so model from the start to becoming a fierce and versatile one. Every week, she’s bringing out some bag of tricks to give and she’s the one to beat… really.

 

KATARINA

Katarina has always been the unexperienced and underdog which finally came out of the shell for the past weeks and giving out good results. I never expected her to reach final three because I was looking after other models to reach that far (e.g. Nicole and Marie). She’s a good model, though, but I STILL believe she needs lots and lots of practice to come out of that sweet little girl/girl-next-door/catalogue model to a fierce, high fashion one. Although she’s there, but what more could she give (for the show)?

 

SHEENA

Wow, Sheena was another one who I thought would never reach the final three due to the fact that she’s always not giving it 100%, also she’s got a bit of attitude there with her… but she’s there, what can I do? Anyway, it always looks good to see some twists.

 

CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION FOR THE WINNER

Here I am again, predicting. And I guess AsNTM creators and judges differ from America’s Next Top Model because I always get right whenever I watch that American TV show.

I predict Jodilly will win.

But let’s first go straight to the facts.

What I’ve noticed was that, there’s a trend that even when a contestant is not that much good; they always reach the top.

I am a Filipino, and I don’t hate my fellowmen; but I’m not biased and I remembered last cycle with Stephanie who was also on the final 3 which was not really that good in taking photos, but Nadya insists that she’s got something in her. She’s really a good ramp model, not that I hate her; I actually love and I was rooting for her, but her grace does not really appear on the photos (I’m wondering where she is right now).

Stephanie of Cycle 1 of AsNTM

And now we have Katarina… although she’s different from Stephanie; Katarina has been nailing shots ever since they went to Indonesia. But has she really gone out of her shell?

Well, as we’ve seen; since the 9^th episode (which was in Indonesia), she went straight to the top. For me it is because her beauty is directly opposite to the jungle theme that’s why it works.

Also on the 10^th episode which she sank half her body in the sea (they named her mermaid for that); it was close to a glamour shot. It is almost the same as the episode where they posed in front of the Petronas Tower where she looked really, really good if not for her body pose.

Then on the 12^th episode, she posed sexy which I explained on the top.

Sheena… I don’t even know why she’s on the top three. Marie, although suffered on the last episode, but let’s face it, her picture is way better than of Sheena’s. Let’s be real, Sheena doesn’t always give the exact shot which is far away from the required brief of the photo-shoot.

Also she’s giving the same facial expressions week after week, after week… what I meant was ‘from the start’. I don’t know… it’s just… phwew. Marie and Nicole were such a waste… *sobs

Then there’s Jodilly who gives every photographer a pleasure in taking photographs. She’s always giving her best just to show to the world how she really wants this and every week she’s not letting down anybody. Instead she grew some fans.

Jodilly has this extrinsic charisma that wows everyone when she’s in front of the camera. Her walk is OK compared to Katarina’s, but we’re searching for a versatile one rather than ‘good’ in one genre and have luck on others.

What I’m most scared about is that I’m wrong about this and Katarina will win; because in the preview of the finale; their photo-shoot brief looks like another glamour shot which Katarina mostly wins above all.

 

Then it hits me.

 

This vies for a cover girl for Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and most of the times, it’s all glamour! And Katarina is one hell of a glamour girl. She’s going to be a very strong contender for her co-Filipina, Jodilly which takes High-Fashion shots.

this goes to Katarina hihi

I’m actually scared for Jodilly.

 

That’s my analysis and prediction for the finale. Who do you think will win Asia’s Next Top Model?

 

Finale is on April 9, 2014.

 

ASIA’S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 2 ANALYSIS | TOP 3 PREDICTION | ANALYSIS

 

UPDATE (as of 4/6/2014): SEASON 2 FINALE WINNER PREDICTION IS HERE, CLICK ON THIS LINK

I’ve catch up with the 9 episodes of Asia’s Next Top Model Season 2 and I can say it’s surpassing its predecessor cycle.

First of all, I would like to commend all the staff and crew of AsNTM for the job well done to the show. It did give the original America’s Next Top Model franchise justice since its well done with class yet there’s this animalistic feel from the show that seems to have from the original. I mean, ANTM is all for the drama and stuff, not just the glamour and all of that.

I’ve been watching ANTM from the very first cycle up to the last 20^th, and I’m very much applauding myself for I have somehow reached a show that long that didn’t give any boring bones.

And now, Asia’s Next Top Model is on their second season, and I can say the competition is now ON. After Janice and Tia have been eliminated for the past episodes, and unfortunately Natalie had to go (which was just okay); this time, it’s now down to the remaining six girls who will compete for the crown of Asia’s Next Top Model.

ANALYSIS

After some weeks, it’s been obvious who has topped and who has flopped. The remaining girls are:

• Katarina (Philippines)
• Jodilly (Philippines)
• Josephine (Malaysia)
• Marie (Japan)
• Nicole (Singapore) and,
• Sheena (Malaysia)

KATARINA

 

Katarina is a beautiful face. Perfect for the ‘girl-next-door’ and beauty/commercial shoots, but is she more than just pretty? Might be, but for now, NO. Although Katarina is a Filipino; I will not be biased in saying that she deserves to win this.

She can still be present in the competition but for only one or two more episodes. Although, she topped last; I strongly believe it’s a hit/miss shot. She’s fortunate that that shot was captured and the theme is close to the heart of what Filipino culture is. Although I’m a bit impressed in her last photo shoot because she correlated her movements to yoga, but then, she has this high fashion model persona that is hard to cultivate, and if so, weeks couldn’t suffice to nurture her talents in modelling.

The positive thing about her is that she can model beauty products, and also lingerie, because her girl-next-door image (and I say this in general) could always be converted into sexy. She has this generic face who will take down FHM or Rogue, but for High Fashion magazines? Probably, but it’ll take a lot of practice from her to nail it.

What she lacks for me is her variety of expressions and lack of exploration. It’s not much when she poses in front of the camera, and although she might feel she’s giving it her best, but it’s not showing on the lenses and on our TV screens.

If she incorporates her yoga more and give variety of expressions, then she’ll be on the top three.

JODILLY

 

Here’s another Filipino contestant that’s giving us hit, and hit, and hit each week. Jodilly is not an experienced model, but she’s a notch ahead for high fashion.

Beauty does not always come from the pale skin, beautiful eyes and perfect face shape; a quote from Nigel Barker when he was once an ANTM judge before, saying, “Perfect is boring.” And Jodilly’s façade is ready to take on Harper’s Bazaar or Elle and even Vogue, given years of experience.

Jodilly tries hard every photo shoot to give her best. Giving us new body angles, showing us her body shapes, and giving breathtaking results… she’s just going straight ahead for top three.

But my first concern for her is she’s sometimes giving us a duck face, which I do not fancy and is not high fashion. Although she already has got rid of it (hopefully), I hope she’s going to crush it out of her system.

Another concern of mine for her would be she’s sometimes getting too posey which is actually not the case for all fashion shoots. I’ve noticed in the entire season 2 of AsNTM, all the contestants are TOO posey which I will be talking about after each contestant.

But, in fairness to Jodilly, she’s posey, but the face sums it up in the end. All she needs to do is to take note about the H2T… HEAD TO TOE.

JOSEPHINE

She’s another hit and miss. She has this strong face that is quite like what’s Nicole is giving. Josephine is capable of creating amazing results and it’s really fierce. But the only problem is that, her inexperience gets in the way.

Just like other contestants, she’s too posey which can most of the times become inappropriate. She has photos that I love, including the ones they were on ice which looked really, really fierce.

But then, she sometimes needs to think about correct poses and body positions that will compliment her strong façade, and she needs to think about her strong façade that it will not border ‘scary’, which brings me to the next contestant.

NICOLE

Nicole, Nicole, Nicole… let’s be honest, her attitude is a bit over-the-top even from the start of the show and she’s got behavioral problems that need to be solved.

But what can you do about her when she’s giving great results?

Nicole was the least contestant in the show that I expected to give a fierce and close to perfection results. Week after week, she’s showing what modelling is H2T because she already has this beautiful face and she knows how to work her body.

If Katarina is the beauty queen, and Jodilly is close to getting into Vogue; Nicole is already capable of High Fashion. You would not think that this woman can give breathtaking results via just looking at her personally or on TV.

She has this defeated outlook on the show but when she hits the camera; she’s giving awesomeness frame after frame after frame, and that’s really incredible because you can never really judge a book by its cover, and Nicole is a testimony of it.

Although the last photo shoot, she was on the bottom two because of her stubbornness upon instructions from the mentors. And I was sure they were there to help her. And I realized on that very episode that jungle/amazon theme is not her forte.

She’s put up straight to the top three.

SHEENA

She’s the blonde girl who needs to upgrade herself, because if she does not; she’ll surely be out on the very next episode (if Katarina wont screw it again).

In the last episode (episode 9), she summons this cultural vibe that was good enough for her to be on the 3^rd person to be called. And yes, she’s definitely perfect for jungle/amazon themed photo shoots.

But what can she give more?

We’ve seen her in glamour, sexy, and fierce shots… but then, she’s not giving it that much. She may have, but it’s not enough on screen, and definitely not registering on her photos.

I believe she’ll be fabulous in punk-rock theme.

But as what she’s showing up to the very last episode; I can say it’s now time for her to go.

MARIE

The glamour episode where all of them stood in front of the Petronas towers give me the feeling that this woman, Marie is capable of taking glamour shots.

She’s also definitely perfect for jungle/amazon shots as what we’ve seen on episode 9 on the show, where she nonchalantly posed on the boat looking like a lazy leopard on a tree, only with a notch of fierceness and glamour.

Marie is the person who gives amazing photos, but also gives mediocre ones. Why? Because of her emotions. She definitely gets confused easily, and when she’s confused, it reflects in her photos.

All she needs is focus and I definitely think that she’ll reach the far end of the show.

TOP 3

We see that the top three contenders are Jodilly, Marie and Nicole, for which I also strongly believe that they are going to be the top 3, and I strongly believe that Katarina and Sheena are definitely ready to go.

Josephine, on the other hand has the capacity to reach up to top 3, because it’s either Jodilly will go cray-cray and will screw things up for her, or Marie will get confused in the following episodes, especially when the stakes are high and it will get tougher, or Nicole will lose it (which I bet NOT).

One concern about these remaining strong contestants is that as they all go slowly to the top; they get even more posey.

Coco Rocha has the only authority to be too posey but not too trying hard.

Jodilly, on the other hand, tries her best to pose, yet still sometimes not getting that great results she’s expecting. Josephine, is confused. Nicole is too much posey, that whenever she doesn’t pose that much, she won’t get a good shot. Marie, is like Josephine, a bit confused.

With a little bit more training, I guess they’ll make it right.

That’s my analysis to this and I’ll be blogging again before the very last episode to predict who will win.

Who’s your top three?