Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Saved from her curse by Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) is queen of the fairies in the Moors, solving grievances from tree creatures and keeping peace between humans and magical creatures.
Trouble comes in the form of love.
When Maleficent discovers that Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) has proposed to Aurora, she fears losing her surrogate daughter to the human world. Her fears seem confirmed when she meets Aurora’s future in-laws, King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Then tragedy sparks tensions between humans and the fairies, putting Aurora and Maleficent on opposite ends of the conflict. Can they come together again? Or are the fae and humans doomed to fight forever?
Once upon a time, a terrible movie was cursed by a screenwriter and director with terrible characters and a nonsensical plot. …
Director Joachim Rønning (Doomsday) cobbles together a cacophony of goofy comedy, with humans bonked on the head as funny music plays, and troubling violence, with fairies screaming as they are exterminated in a red mist. The movie swings wildly between these tones, never settling on one.
The worst element of the first film, Aurora is worse here. She twirls. She laughs. She falls off of high places. She needs saving every 10 minutes of the film. It’s maddening to watch her simper and gawk. I wish Maleficent would bring back the curse.
Keeping the audience from being put under a sleeping spell is Jolie. In a perfectly wonderful performance that belongs in a better film, she’s arch and amusing at every turn.
Pfeiffer also camps it up like a champ. She’s a delightfully cartoonish baddie, complete with sneering and raised eyebrows. Her Queen Ingrith is the pure embodiment of what an evil queen should be, which makes Aurora’s obliviousness even more infuriating. Jolie and Pfeiffer give us a great battle of the cheekbones, so it’s too bad they get so little screen time together.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a mass of wasted potential. It’s the sort of dreck that parents are forced to take their children to for lack of better options. Still, considering Disney’s ability to enchant money out of the wallets of audiences, it will likely be a success.
Poor Fantasy • PG • 118 mins.
~~~ New this Week ~~~
Dolemite Is My Name
Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) believes he’s born to be famous. With no one willing to give him a break, he decides to make his own break by funding his own movie.
This story of what happened behind the scenes to create the cult classic Dolemite is being lauded as Murphy’s big comeback role. He’s getting Oscar buzz and earning raves for this hilarious, obscene comedy.
Prospects: Bright • R • 117 mins.
Zombieland: Double Tap
Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) are still trying to figure out their family dynamic when the zombies rise from the dead. They must deal not only with a new form of zombie but also other human survivors.
The sequel to the beloved comedy, Zombieland: Double Tap should be a load of fun. Harrelson, Stone, Eisenberg and Breslin have brilliant chemistry, and the writing and directing for the series is sharp.
Prospects: Bright • R • 99 mins.