MOVIE REVIEW: Disney's Maleficent in 3D + FREE Behind the Scenes Movie iBook #EvilIsComplicated

Disclosure: My son and I received a media invitation to attend an advance screening of Disney's Maleficent

Evil is complicated... and pretty humorous

On Wednesday, my son and I had the pleasure of going to the AMC 20 in Livonia, mI for an advance screening of Disney's new movie Maleficent, staring Angelina Jolie. The entire audience was treated to pairs of horns to get us in a nice evil mood and my son could not wait to put on his pair.

I really did not know what to expect from this movie. Would it be scary? Would be violent? After all Angelina Jolie plays some pretty kick-butt, take-no-prisoner roles.

What I found was a beautiful to watch 3D fairy tale full of complicated drama,  shocking betrayal, fierce revenge, unexpected humor, and touching redemption. It was a totally modern spin on everything that you think about fairy tale love.

The story opens with a child-aged Maleficent who is a beautiful, happy and very caring fairy in a land that is so magical that I could not believe everything that I was seeing in my 3D glasses. Maleficent even as a child has powers that are off the charts, but she uses them for good and to help her people.  Her land borders a kingdom of humans who know better than to attempt to cross over into Maleficent's mysterious land.

But one day a boy does cross over and he and Maleficent form a friendship that lasts for many years. Until a betrayal happens that changes friends into mortal enemies and causes everything to change for the worst in both the human kingdom and the fairy kingdom.

Image courtesy of Disney

A bitter and wronged Maleficent is not someone that you want to meet in a dark alley. And Angelina Jolie played the role brilliantly. She is not only scary good, but also scary funny, At times the entire audience just burst into laughter at some of her one liners. The way she played the role reminded me of the way Julia Roberts played the evil queen in the movie Mirror, Mirror.  But Angelina Jolie played this role so much better since Maleficent is neither pure evil nor pure good - she is very complicated and she takes all of us on a journey through happiness, love, pain, anger, revenge, and redemption.

Image courtesy of Disney

There is plenty of action in this movie with war battles and fight scenes that include fantasy warrior creatures and a fire breathing dragon. The 3D in the movie is well worth the money in my opinion since it makes the land of the fairies that much more magical. My son and I loved the entire movie. And I personally would love to see it again.

Maleficent opens in theaters today, Friday, May 30, 2014.  It runs 1 hour and 37 minutes and is rated PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images.

FREEBIE ALERT!!!

Disney has just released Maleficent: The Official Multi-Touch Book, a FREE iBook for iPad and Mac based on Disney’s new film Maleficent, The book explores both the legacy of Disney’s classic animated film, “Sleeping Beauty”—which first introduced the iconic villainess Maleficent—and the making of the all-new live-action film, Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie.

Features of the book include an interactive timeline of the origins of the timeless “Sleeping Beauty” tale, with rare content from the Disney archives; rich and explorable environments, filled with fantastic creatures from the world of Maleficent—waiting to be discovered at your fingertips; interviews with Angelina Jolie and the cast and crew responsible for bringing the reimagined story to the big screen; an afterword by director Robert Stromberg, two-time Academy Award–winner for production design on Alice in Wonderland and Avatar; exclusive behind-the-scenes photo galleries and video featurettes; never-before-seen concept art, storyboards and sketches from pre-production; fun facts from the set; and profiles of the characters from the film—all created by Apple’s digital book creation app, iBooks Author.

Maleficent The Officical Multi-Touch Book is available for FREE, exclusively on iBooks by clicking here

Enjoy!

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