Maleficent

[prettyxcool]

Can't believe that we have been embargoed!

Ok to talk about the event though?

Lovely to see so many FMUKers there this morning though. There were two queues, one for proper tickets and one for email tickets. As I had won tickets, our queue went in really quickly and we headed straight upstairs, only to find the first four rows reserved, and when looking at the reserved signs, they were actually named, e.g. Jonathan Ross, Vanessa Feltz, Bonnie Langford, Lucy Watson etc.

After finding suitable seats, we had our arms painted, and photos taken at the green screen, and hang around until Jonathan Ross arrived. We stalked him to the Gents and got a photo with him. Finally, after catching him at so many premieres. There were popcorn and water on the seats.

A lovely morning!

The Daily Mail has reported it though, plus photos:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... ening.html

[Sunny Saver]

Arms painted?

[prettyxcool]

As opposed to face painted!

[prettyxcool]

Just for you Sunny Saver!

[Rainey]

We had a really great morning, girls had faces painted, the green screen photo's were good, popcorn went down well and we caught Jonathon Ross for a photo too! Were also seated adjacent to him.

Lovely to finally meet cinefila1.

Very long day though, lunch on the south bank followed by Little Mix at the O2 tonight! Very tired now!

[Rainey]

Finally it's 28th May, we can talk about Maleficent!

We were really looking forward to this film and were not disappointed, we enjoyed it so much. Angelina Jolie put in an amazing performance, although I think this may have detracted somewhat from some of her fellow cast. I like the twist in the tale and this version of events as did my daughter, who each time an advert comes on say's can we see it again!

However, I have seen mixed reviews so wondered what those who were lucky enough to attend Sunday thought?

[funthing29]

It is no surprise this has received mixed reviews.

This film would have been a disaster were it not for Jolie’s performance (which is magnificent) but the story does not do the character justice. It feels like a film of two halves with the second half far superior to the first; the setup was not executed well but the final act where a different interpretation is taken on a well known story was more successful. Some of the special effects were questionable and the 3D was not particularly impressive. I expected much more from this. 6.5/10.

[canadian_turtle]

I really liked it along the same vein of Snow White and the Huntsman, except I thought that the CGI in Maleficient was MUCH better (except for the three good fairies *shudder*) and the story more consistent.

The scenery in the film looked stunning and I really enjoyed all the creative magical aspects to the world it was set in. While I am not a particular fan of Angelian Jolie, I thoroughly enjoyed her in this role, which she was clearly meant to play (if only for the physical likeness). I also loved how the story was retold from the 'villain's' POV and completely turned around what we know about this fairytale. It reminded me of the clever spin in Wicked and just like with the Oz turn-around, this made sense as well.

[spoiler]One thing though, while I am pleased that Disney is steering away from female characters having to fall in love with a prince to be happy, and related to that the True Love's Kiss not being that from someone from the opposite sex but rather a person who loves you dearly, they did almost the exact same thing in Frozen (when it was a sister's love, rather than romantic love that fixed all the problems) and doing it again in this film (the next Disney release after Frozen, unless I'm forgetting one), kind of cheapens it for me.[/spoiler]

8/10 - would happily see it again.

[kevinknapman]

It was...alright.

Like most modern Hollywood attempts at fantasies and fairy tales it makes the mistake of thinking you have to cram the screen with as many CGI creatures as possible. Sadly that makes quite a few scenes something of a visual nightmare (it came as no surprise to discover that director Robert Stromberg was the production designer on Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and the Powerful and Avatar). It works better when it tones down the excesses.

It also suffers from having many similarities to another recently released film. A fact which becomes especially jarring towards the end.

Thank god then for Angelina Jolie who is clearly enjoying herself in the lead role, the christening/curse scene in particular. She makes the film much better than it otherwise would have been. Plus it's preferable to the snooze fest that was Snow White and the Huntsman, which is something I guess.

[elysia]

Gosh, I loved it and was thrilled to be able to see this much-anticipated film before its general release.

Suppose I'm a big kid at heart, however, I thought it was a complete feast for the eyes and very entertaining. I only wished they had taken more time to further develop the characters and allow the camera to linger in Maleficent's beautiful realm. I wanted the opportunity to truly savour and appreciate the detailed creatures and scenery - where's the director's cut?!

The green screen photos, face/body painting and opportunity to win some velvet horns all added to the experience and made for a wonderful day. In fact, I am looking forward to seeing it again this weekend!