One Who Was Both Hero and Villain: Maleficent (2014)

So every year I do a Disney film. So here we go!

…One who was both hero and villain. And her name was Maleficent.

So I never was ever interested in seeing this film. I am the biggest Sleeping Beauty fan and I just felt that this story did not need to be made. After all this film is amazing:

And one of the best parts was the terrifying Maleficent:

And then when she turns into a dragon!!!

AMAZING!!!!!

When I saw the remake, you know me:

I mean why did they have to give her a whole betrayed back story. Why couldn’t she just have been pissed and wanted revenge-fairies aren’t like humans they feel one emotion exponentially.

Or why couldn’t she have just been evil? Wanted to have world domination? Wanted to take down people? If men can be, why not a woman? Like Chernabog.

Anyways, my friend loved the movie. She felt it was the perfect post-betrayed in love film you could watch.

So the film is that Maleficent is this wonderful fairy who protects the forest and one day befriends a human boy, Stephen. They fall in love but are torn apart as he wants money and power and Maleficent wants her home.

The King tries to destroy the creatures on the moors, but are stopped as they are much more powerful. He promises to give anyone ultimate power-daughter’s hand in marriage and be future King if one can destroy them. Stephen sees it as his chance, finds Maleficent and the two reconcile.

Not really as he just did it to get her drunk and kill her.

But he doesn’t kill her, there is a shred of humanity in him, and he instead cuts off her wings.

Nooo

Fastfoward King Stephen and the Queen have a daughter-Aurora. Maleficent does the curse-not nearly as epic as the cartoon and everything progresses as in the film. Except the fairies suck at everything as only focus on themselves-and Maleficent watches over her-becoming a mother to her.

King Stephen has gone crazy and when his daughter and Maleficent come and the curse is played out there is this big fight, blah, blah, blah.

Meh.

I found it so boooooooring.

I actually fell asleep as I just could not stand this character of the film. They acted like it was “new” “never done before” “told in a brand new light”. But it wasn’t. You knew what was going to happen, you knew the ending.

Rather not watch

The only part that was funny was my friend and I were kind of bashing on the betrayal of men, and how Aurora and Maleficent are happy-until a man comes along, Prince Phillip.

Then I saw him, and said “he’s a cute man-but still stay away”-my friend just looked at me and we both started laughing.

I couldn’t help it-he reminds me of a guy I had a crush on ten years ago when I was a teenager.

Very cute

But even without that, I love Prince Phillip-he was always my favorite prince.

Prince Philip

So yeah, I did not care for it-espechially Angelina Jolie. I don’t like her at all as an actress, I don’t think she is good and especially dull in this. Maleficent was powerful, evil, terrifying, the stuff of nightmares. And in this, she was none of that, nowhere near that. Eleanor Audley is the true queen of darkness.

To start Horrorfest VII from the beginning, go to It’s the End of the World: The Birds (1963)

For the previous post, go to Will We Survive the Night?: Rawhide (1951)

For more Sleeping Beauty, go toI Would Go Through Anything for You: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

For more Disney, go toI Can Show You the World: Aladdin (1992)

I Would Go Through Anything for You: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

It is time for our annual animated film pick! This year I am going with:

Most Romantic Moment #9

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Sleeping Beauty. It was my favorite Disney film and she was my favorite princess.

I could go on, but let’s proceed with the review.

After the King and Queen have longed for a child for so long, they are finally able to conceive. All are happy except, an evil fairy Maleficent. She curses the child to die on her 16th birthday after touching the spindle of a spinning wheel.

The fairies are able to save her by having her not die, but fall asleep. They then decide to take her away and hide her, in the hopes of outwitting Maleficent’s curse. There they live in a tiny cottage and try to forgo magic to act “normal”.

Maleficent hasn’t been able to find her and as the end of Aurora’s birthday draws closer she is more determined than ever. Prince Phillip, Aurora’s childhood betrothed, is out riding on horseback when he hears Aurora’s voice and follows it. The two meet, and Phillip falls in love with Aurora, who is actually the only Disney Princess to not fall in love at first sight but is uncertain though willing to meet up again.

However, the fairies reveal she is the princess and spirit her away to the castle before she can talk to Phillip. Through this Maleficent has finally tracked her down and sets upon her evil trap. She has Aurora fall into her 100-year-old sleep and captures Prince Phillip so he can’t wake her up.

Will the fairies be able to save her? Or is she stuck in endless sleep?

Most Romantic Moment: I Will Go Through Anything For You

So originally I was thinking about posting the Once Upon a Dream song but I was looking at a some pics I used from a previous post and realized, out of all the Disney princes I think Phillip goes through the most for his princess. I mean he wants to marry her, and if he can’t because he is a prince he has already decided that he would gladly give up the throne.

When the fairies come in and let him out of the prison he is kind of weirded out like what’s going on, but all he hears is that the girl he loves is in trouble and he springs into action. Fighting demon creatures:

Having to push through a field of thorns:

And even fighting an evil fairy turned dragon by the powers of hell:

I mean at any time he could have turned back or gone home saying this relationship is too hard. They are asking too much of me. (Lord knows that guys in this modern time who go through a lot less say stuff like that.) But he doesn’t give up. He doesn’t stop trying. He does everything he can to save her.

So romantic!

To start Romance is in the Air: Part V, go to I Did It for You: Edward Scissorhands (1990)

For the previous post, go to I Don’t Care About Money or Class, I Love Her: Episode Three, Doctor Thorne (2016)

For more on Sleeping Beauty, go to Fan-do or Fan-don’t. There is No Fan-try

For more Prince Phillip, go to Waiter, There’s Some Disney in My Jane Austen

For more Disney, go to Night on Bald Mountain: Fantasia (1940)

 For more fairy tales, go to Why I Still Love My Fair Godmother

Prince of a Man

Day 2) Your Favorite Disney Prince

Prince Philip

 

Favorite Prince of all time is definitely Prince Phillip. Look at him, he’s a cartoon hottie!

Prince Phillip

He is such a great guy. He is an excellent swordsman and an adventurous soul, going out and checking out his land.

He is also an amazing singer and dancer

Plus he doesn’t care whether or not Aurora is royal, he likes her for who she is.

Deal with it dad! He’s just like Mr. Tilney.

How can you not love a guy who will do that? Screw the crown and riches, she’s worth it. Plus he’s all down to meet the family right away.

When he’s captured he goes after the girl, nothing stopping him. First taking down the evil minions.

A field of thorns

And a dragon

All to get the woman of his dreams

So ya, I LOVE HIM!!!!

 

For more on Sleeping Beauty go to A Horse’s Tale

For more on Disney Princes, go to I’m Not Gonna Lose Her Again!

For more on Disney, go to A True Princess

To read more about a man giving up his inheritance for love, go to Storybook Ending

For more on films based on Fairy Tales, go to Frozen Solid

Even After All This Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

Romantic Moment #13

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)

So during the summer my then boyfriend Michael and I made a deal that for every Harry Potter film I saw he would watch a Jane Austen film. I made this up so that each of us could be a part of something that we both cared about and was a big part our lives growing up. When we broke up (It’s a Wrap and The End),  I had only seen five films and he had seen four. (He still owes me and I totally think he should still have to watch a Jane Austen film, just saying). Anyways, I wanted to finish the series, but since I had soooo many questions and no one to explain everything to me (well I did have my roommate Elaine, but I didn’t want to have to bug her ALL the time), so I decided I would read the books and then watch the films. Check out my Tumblr account to see the stuff I’ve written about the books and films. (Follow Me!) So I originally had another film planned for today, that’s why this is so late, but after watching this one I just felt the need to include it in my postings.

So this film is based on the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The film is pretty close to the book, but the director made some changes that upset me (mostly the Neville scenes)

So the films starts off right where Part I ended. Voldemort has just stolen the Elder Wand out of Dumbledore‘s grave.

Totally pulling a Debbie.

Dobby manages to save Luna, Mr. Ollivander, Hermione, Harry, the goblin, and Ron from Bellatrix Lestrange. However, he himself wasn’t so lucky as he ends up being stabbed and murdered by her. Harry buries him without magic, giving him the honor and respect he deserves. Harry learns that the reason his stolen wand works for him was that he disarmed Draco Malfoy and bested him in battle, thus the wand changing its alliegience. Harry also realizes that a horcrux is hiding in Bellatrix’s vault and that they need to break into the goblin Gringgotts bank. An extremely hard thing to do.

The goblin says he will help them break in, in return he wants the sword of Gryffindor. So Hermione makes up a polyjuice potion of Bellatrix, Ron changes his appearance, and Harry and the goblin use the cloak of invisibility. They go into Gringgotts and make it past the goblins (barely), the dragon, and into the vault. Harry finds the cup of Hufflepuff, but before he can destroy the horcrux, the goblin takes off with the sword; leaving them not only stuck in the bank, but in a fix as the Goblins are cracking down and searching for them.

Appears this goblin had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark too many times as he acts just like Satipo

They use the dragon to escape, setting it free in a way that would have made Hagrid very proud. They travel to Hogsmeade and use a secret passage to get into Hogwarts, becoming aware of the resistance that Neville has been leading against the Death Eater professors and their new headmaster, Snape.

Snape calls everyone to the great hall were he questions them about Harry Potter. Harry appears and McGonagall battles Snape to protect Harry. Snape disapperates, taking the Death Eaters with him; and everyone rejoices. Soon the celebration is over as Voldemort, vis a vie the Joker, asks them to give him Harry and he will spare them all. Voldemort is refused and preparations for the battle begin.

Luna takes Harry to meet Rowena Ravenclaw‘s daughter’s ghost in order to find the lost diadem and the  second to last horcrux. Ron goes down to the Chamber of Secrets where he uses parseltongue to open the doors and retrieve the Basilisk fang and destroy the goblet. Meanwhile, Harry has learned where Voldemort hid the diadem and runs to the Room of Requirement. While there Draco, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini attack Harry, but Ron and Hermione intervene. Goyle uses a Fiendfyre curse, but  is unable to control it, and is burned to death along with destroying the diadem. Malfoy and Zabini almost die, but Harry and Ran save them.

The three go down to the boathouse where they see Voldemort kill Snape, thinking that woth Snape dead he will have full power/control of the Elder wand. Before dying, Harry takes Snape’s memories, in which he uses the  Pensieve to view them.

Harry learns from that Snape loved Harry’s mother, Lily, but hated his father, James, who had bullied him. After she died Snape worked secretly with Dumbledore to protect Harry from Voldemort. Snape’s murder of  Dumbledore’s death at Snape’s hands was planned between them so that Draco wouln’t have to do it.  Harry discovers that he is the last Horcrux must die in order to kill Voldemort. Harry goes to Voldemort who uses the Killing Curse on him.  Harry finds himself in limbo, where he meets up with Dumbledore’s spirit who explains that due to Voldemort killing the Horcrux inside Harry, he is able to return to his body, and defeat Voldemort.

Narcissa realizes that Harry is alive, but doesn’t care about him and the Death eaters only wanting to know if her son is alive. She lies about Harry being dead so that he can save her son. Voldemort returns to Hogwarts to announce Harry’s death. Neville stands up to Voldemort and makes a dramatic speech, and Harry reveals he is still alive and duels with Voldemort throughout the castle. A general battle begins as a defiant Neville draws the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and kills Nagini; Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix; etc. . The final stand of Harry and Voldemort’s fight is Harry’s Disarming Charm rebounding Voldemort’s own Killing Curse and obliterating him. After the battle, Harry explains to Ron and Hermione that the Elder Wand recognised him as its true master because he had disarmed Draco, who earlier had disarmed Dumbledore, which then explains why the wand didn’t kill Harry in his final battle with Voldemort. Harry rejects the power of the wand and destroys it.

Nineteen years later, we see Harry, Ginny, Draco, Ron, and Hermione married and happy, dropping their children off for another year at Hogwarts.

Most Romantic Moment:

So the most romantic moment that I picked was one of Snape’s memories. Now I am a huge Snape fan. I just love him so much, he was my favorite character. You just feel so much for him, he was so misunderstood and mistreated, that he turned to the bad crowd because they promised to protect him. After he lost Harry’s mom to James Potter he felt like he lost everything, and only focused on himself and power. A modern-day Heathcliff. But Snape redeems himself. He hears a prophecy and tells Voldemort, but after he realizes that Voldemort plans to kill Lily and her family, he secretly teams up with Dumbledore to ensure their  protection. He continues to help Harry Potter because he is his mother’s son; saving him from Quirrell (Sorcerer’s Stone), protecting him from Ron’s busted wand (Chamber of Secrets), Lupin’s werewolf form (Prisoner of Azkaban), from Umbridge (Order of the Phoenix), from Voldemort (Half-Blood Prince), and giving him the sword of Gryffindor/protecting him from Voldemort (Deathly Hallows).  Snape did it all, even joining the Death Eaters as a double agent to help the Order; all was for Lily.

So the romantic moment is when Dumbledore is talking to Snape (in his memory) about Harry being the last Horcrux. Snape is upset that they have to send Harry to Voldemort to be killed, wanting to protect Lily’s son. Dumbledore tells Snape that it must be done and questions whether Snape truly loved Lily, because if he did he would not let her die in vain. Snape responds by making his patronus appear. His patronus is a doe, the same as Lily’s. Because he loved her so much, his patronus became what hers was, she was his happiest memory.

So romantic!

And to make that even more romantic:

“Dumbledore: After all this time?

Snape: Always.”

Grimwood Ghouls’ Gym Teacher: Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

Maybe I shouldn’t have taken this job as a gym teacher.

I love this film so much! I remember that I used to watch this all the time as a kid on TV when Fall would come around. I still do as I love it, and my nieces and nephew are always bugging me to watch it with them. We are all big Scooby fans.

Cartoon Network on Sarurdays used to be the greatest. They would to show Boomerang, and have Scooby-Doo marathons. And every Saturday night they used to do a double film feature. During October they used to do a Creature Double Feature and would show Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo and Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, and Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. My sister and I used to watch these all the time. My all time favorite  was always Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. I loved that they refrenced old monster movies, and I remember wanting to be Sibella because I though she was the prettiest of all the “ghouls”.

So the story starts out with Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy all going to Grimwood School for Girls to be P.E. teachers. Every year the girls compete against the Calloway military school at a volleyball game and lose; so this year Ms. Grimwood decides to hire someone to coach them. Fred, Daphne, and Velma aren’t there with them for some reason.

So when the guys get there, they discover that the school is for GHOULS not GIRLS! They being Shaggy and Scooby, are totally terrified and want to leave, but Scappy convices them to stay and hang out.

So the ghouls are Sibella, Dracula’s daughter,

It’s fangtastic to meet you

Winne the Wolfman’s daughter,

Hellooooooooo!

Elsa Frankenteen, Frankenteen (Frankenstein)’s daughter (her name also alludes to Elsa Lanchester who was in the Bride of Frankenstein),

Hello der

Tanis daughter of the Mummy,

And Phanty (Phantasma) the Phantom’s daughter. I think they are alluding to the Phantom of the Opera because she plays the organ, but they actually make her a ghost in this.

There is also a dragon named Matches and they also allude to The Adam’s Family by having a mobile hand crawling around.

So anyways; Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy start preparing the girls for the tournament. All are eager to win, espechially Tanis who wants to put the trophy in her mumuy case, and Winnie who wants to teach the Calloway Cadets a lesson.

I love the cheesy, punny lines in this film. “It’s Batastic”, “This helps me unwind”, and “it’s a real Howl”.

Couldn’t resist

Meanwhile the Cadets are also preparing for the tournament. In fact Tug, the leader of the group, has created a remote control volleyball so that they are sure to win.

There’s no way we’ll lose

However, everything that Tug creates ends up blowing up. Usually hurting him or the captain of the Academy.

The next day, they have the tournament where the boys try out their secret weapon.

As cheaters always get what’s coming to them, the boys lose due to their attempt. The remote control they have ends up getting swallowed by Scooby-Doo, and his hiccuping with it helps the girls win.

The next day the school is all in a flutter as they are having an open house. All the monster dads are going to come which starts freaking Scooby and Shaggy out as they realize they will have The Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula, Phantom, and Frankenteen all under one roof.

They have a fun time, but then all the monsters let Shaggy and Scooby know that if anything happens to their daughter and her friends; their lives are OVER!

Unbeknowest to them all, evil lurks in the area. Revolta, the evil swamp witch wants to kidnap the girls and turn them into her evil slaves.

She uses her evil spider bats to spin webs around Shaggy’s head, convincing him to take the ghouls out on a jog through the swamp. The girls love it, but pretty soon the Spider Bats have captured all the girls, and Revolta spirits them away to her lair.

The Calloway boys see what’s happening, but don’t do anything. They are supposed to be going on a hike through the swamp as well are trying to just get back home.

It’s up to Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy, and Matches to save the day. In Revolta’s lair they have to defeat evil mirror monsters and giant swamp creatures to try and save the girls.

In the end they are captured and Scooby-Doo is turned into a frog. Revolta hooks all the ghouls up to her machines to make them her evil minions, but before she can finish Scooby is able to jump around and cut off the tubes, having all the girls turn back to normal. They then use Revolta’s wand to get rid of her and the Calloway boys come back and save the day using a helicopter they created.

At the end, the ghouls and cadets have a big party and dance the night away. The monsters also come and join in.

Scooby and Shaggy are feeling really confident with themselves, when Ms. Grimwood introduces the newest recruits. One of which is The Creature from the Black Lagoon’s daughter,

And what appears to be The Great Gila Monster’s or Godzilla’s daughter.

This is too much for Shaggy and Scooby as they cannot handle any more ghouls and monsters. They quickly grab Scrappy and jet outta there. It ends with them waving good-bye to everyone, and heading out on the road to a new place.

Good-bye!

 

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong In the World

To go to the previous post, go to The Only Thing That Matters is the Ending

To purchase a copy of this film,  click on the image below: