Posts Tagged ‘Kenneth Cranham’

Maleficent

Director: Robert Stromberg

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Kenneth Cranham, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Leslie Manville

The classic Disney tale of Sleeping Beauty is gorgeously reinvented entirely from the perspective of the jilted fairy Malificent who after a brief romance with a young teenage boy, Stefan soon discovers humanity’s tendency for greed and ambition.

Oscar winner Angelina Jolie’s magnetic screen presence reverberates throughout this spectacular fantasy as she transforms from an innocent though powerful fairy to an evil, caustic fairy who avenges the older Stefan, played by District 9’s Sharlto Copley, who in his ambition to become King of the Human Realms, clips Malificent’s powerful wings while she is sleeping.

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Malificent in turn seeks revenge on the nearby kingdom with a spectacular entrance at the christening of Stefan’s only baby daughter, the cute and adorable Aurora, casting a spell on the child that by the time she turns 16 she will have pricked her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a treacherous sleep, only to be broken by the kiss of her true love. Naturally Stefan bundles the child off to a safe haven in the countryside with the help of three hapless fairy guardians, played by Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Leslie Manville away from Malificent and any lethal needles from nearby spinning wheels, most of which have been tossed into a dungeon and burned.

Meanwhile the war between the fairies and humans intensifies as Stefan sends his burly soldiers to destroy Malificent’s magical realm only to be met by an impenetrable wall of thorns. Curiosity gets the better of the teenage Aurora, a luminous performance by the new Hollywood It girl Elle Fanning (Somewhere, Super 8, Ginger and Rosa) who ventures into Malificent’s domain and naturally meets the menacing if not curious evil fairy who soon harbours an unnatural affection for the cursed youth.

Malificent is ably assisted by Diaval, a changeling creature, played by Sam Riley which enables her to keep an eye on Stefan’s Kingdom.
The stage is set for a showdown between Malificent and King Stefan with the wandering Aurora a luscious pawn in their bitter fight representative of eternal unrequited love.

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What makes this cinematic retelling of Sleeping Beauty truly astounding is the spell bounding special effects and an astounding powerful performance by the dazzling Angelina Jolie, whose star power clearly is the main reason Disney Studios choose to reinvent a darker more accessible version of the original animated Sleeping Beauty classic.

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Malificent is dazzling, intriguing and while retaining its childhood charm, balances a subtle attraction for older audiences, who prefer their fairies darker and vengeanceful. Angelina Jolie is central to this fine balancing act and the scenes between her and Fanning as Aurora are especially infused with delicacy and dimension, making Malificent one of the more complex and sympathetic hero/villain characters ever created in the pantheon of modern day fairy and folklore tales.

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Malificent is highly recommended viewing not just for Angelina Jolie’s powerful and superb performance but also for the brilliant special effects orchestrated by first time director Robert Stromberg who served as a Visual Effects Supervisor on such films as 2012, The Hunger Games and Shutter Island. Watch out for newcomer Australian actor Brenton Thwaites as the naive Prince Phillip aka Prince Charming.

The Legend of Hercules

Director: Renny Harlin

Cast: Kellan Lutz, Liam McIntyre, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee, Liam Garrigan, Rade Serbedzija, Kenneth Cranham

After his roles in the Twilight series and in the lavish film Immortals, Kellan Lutz shows off his muscled torso in the action adventure The Legend of Hercules, directed by Finnish born action director Renny Harlin (The Long Kiss Goodnight, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger). Hercules from his birth is destined for glory after his mother Queen Alcmene is inseminated by the powerful Greek God Zeus, making him a demi-God, ready to grow up and battle his evil stepfather King Amphitryon, played by Scott Adkins and half brother the vicious Iphicles played by Liam Garrigan who plan on expanding their Greek empire and taking Hercules’s Cretian love interest Hebe away from him.

Its all super Greek Tragedy set in 3D with lots of barely clad Gretian soldiers battling it out from Heliopolis (modern day Cairo) to Sicily and back to Greece. This is essentially a popcorn flick and there won’t be any prizes for acting as most of the cast are unknown actors except for Rade Serbedzija (Taken) as Chiron and Kenneth Cranham (Layer Cake) as Lucius, the compassionate slave dealer. Best scene in the film is when the angry Hercules is captured and tied to stone pillars and he rips these pillars down which is spectacular especially in 3D. The action is fabulous, the acting mediocre, but audiences who love ancient Greek tragedies should see this film, but its not in the same imaginative league as the first 300 or as bloody as the recent sequel, 300: Rise of An Empire.

There is a hefty dash of romance between Hercules and Hebe, played by Gaia Weiss of the Vikings TV series fame, especially lots of soft focus scenes in the Greek countryside, which borders on corny, but then again audiences get to see Kellan Lutz showing off his fantastic physique for the entire length of the film. The Legend of Hercules is not in the same league stylistically as Alejandro Amenabar’s fabulously conceived Agora or Zack Snyder’s 300, it is nevertheless fun to watch and shouldn’t be taken to seriously and definitely worthy entertainment.

If this film achieves anything it will be to introduces a 21st century audience to the ancient Greek myths and legends which seem to be perpetuated by Hollywood as much as the Shakespearean tragedies. The Legend of Hercules also stars Kenneth Cranham soon to be seen in Maleficient, Roxanne McKee, Johnathon Schaech (Ray Donovan TV series) and Liam McIntyre as Hercules’s wing man Sotiris. Fun, but not exceptional or even erudite cinema.