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The Company of Wolves (1984)
The Company of Wolves (1984)
1984 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Curious British-made feminist werewolf movie retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood (along with various others). A young girl dreams of a fairy-tale world of wolves and dark magic, where some people are hairy on the inside and everyone has a bit of a beast in them.

One of those movies laden with a slightly ponderous symbolism; doesn't really make sense except as an allegory for something-or-other; quite what that is is a bit unclear. It's not that all men are wolves at heart, but something slightly more even-handed. Good cast, nice production values; some of the special effects have dated a bit, but not risibly so. In the end it is all quite impressive but at the same time wilfully oblique.
  
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
In “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”; Angelina Jolie returns as the title character to the smash Live-Action film based on the classic Fairy Tale and Animated film.
In the years since the last film ended; Aurora (Elle Fanning) has relished in her role as Princess over the Moors and all of the enchanted creatures that live within it. When she accepts a proposal from Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson), this sets off a chain of celebratory events as they all prepare for the big day which will unite the two lands.

Phillip’s parents King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) are eager for the union while Maleficent strongly opposes it and tells Aurora that there will be no wedding. When Aurora persists; Maleficent reluctantly accepts an invitation to dinner at the Castle where things soon go horribly wrong and Maleficent is accused of putting a curse on the King.

Injured while fleeing, Maleficent is wounded and takin in by others of her kind who are preparing for war against the humans as a dark and dangerous plan is underway and the survival of the enchanted creatures is threatened.

The film then becomes a tense adventure with plenty of action, magic, and fantasy which is a nice framework for the great visual effects of the film.
I had been concerned that the film might be too dark for the usual audience for this type of film and there are moments where my concerns are validated. However there is much more charm, fantasy and wonder in the film and if anyone has ever read the original Grimm Fairy Tales; they will know that this is considerably toned down compared to what they offered.

The film has some great visuals to it but they never overshadow the characters in the film as Jolie seems to be taking gleeful delight in playing the title character but allows herself to have some fun with the character at times which helps her emerge as a well-rounded character versus being a staple Fairy Tale Villain.

The film may take a bit of time getting up to the main events but it does so to give more time for the characters to develop which helps them stand out from the usual good/bad monikers given to many fantasy characters.

The supporting cast is solid especially the performances by Pfeiffer and Chiwetel Ejiofor who add much to the complexity of the film and also invoke many themes of discussion that mirrors what is happening in much of society today.

In the end the film delivers a strong performance by Jolie and plenty of magic to make this a modern Fairy Tale Disney classic in the making.
3.5 stars out of 5.
  
Blaine's Beast
Blaine's Beast
Joel Abernathy | 2022 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Needed Rohan and Beast
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is a retelling of a fairy tale, but please shove your knowledge of that fairy tale aside, cos this was brilliant! Bar one teeny tiny thing!

Blaine finds himself caught out in a storm, and then surrounded by wolves and then looked after by some lovely, if slightly odd, people. But nothing is as it seems and when Blaine finds out the truth, he vows to help fix things.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, I really did.

While, to me, it was very obvious who Rohan was, I liked that THAT fact wasn't dragged out for too long.

What surprised me was how things went down at the end. I was happily reading away, there was an ending of sorts and I was expecting that to be it. But I still had 25% to read! And then things happened and I loved being surprised!

It's steamy, and smexy and dark and gritty. It has a few sweeter moments too.

BUT!

And this is the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars. It pains me, but its my review.

We ONLY get Blaine. And I wanted Rohan and Beast, I really did. I needed them to tell their story. And I don't get them. So, I was not very happy about that. I wanted in their head, you know? How they felt about Blaine arriving, then leaving, then things happening at the end. I needed that, and I don't get it.

so, 4 very good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere