Movie Screening: Disney's Maleficent

JAM and I got invited to attend an advanced screening of Disney's newly anticipated movie, "Maleficent". I can't say that I'm a wild fan of Angelina Jolie, but Disney hasn't really shown the villain's point of view so I was intrigued.  Disney made me fall in love with their movies once again with their last popular movie release of "Frozen" so I couldn't wait to see what they had lined up next. Here's a quick synopsis for you:

"Maleficent" explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.    

Disney has done it once again with this movie. Without giving too much away, I appreciate that Disney has gone back to their roots and has created movies that I feel will turn into classics. For being a movie about a villain, it wasn't as dark of a movie as I anticipated. It was a great balance between evil, action, and humor. However, I think that this movie is better suited for kids JAM's age (ages 6+) mainly because some of the action scenes can get a little intense for the wee ones. My BFF loves taking her nieces and nephews to the movie theater and I did mention that last year's "Oz the Great and Powerful" movie was a lot darker and scarier for the little ones in my opinion. So, if your kiddos were able to handle Mila Kunis' Wicked Witch character, then they'll be just fine watching "Maleficent".

Disney's "MALEFICENT"..L to R: Aurora (Elle Fanning) and Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites)..Photo Credit: Film Frame..©Disney 2014

It's been a long time since I've watched "Sleeping Beauty", but I do remember the gist of it all: Princess Aurora has fairly godmothers that care after her, but Maleficent puts a curse on her where Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and put her into a deep sleep that can only be broken my her true love's kiss. "Maleficent" referred back to that whole aspect throughout the whole movie, but after looking back at the movie as a whole, this untold story was more beautiful and magical than you could ever imagine. It shows a side of Maleficent that I never knew about, and it tells the tale of the delightful relationship that Aurora and Maleficent actually had. Angelina Jolie did an amazing job showing the villain side of Maleficent, but also wore her heart on her sleeve when needed. You felt her pain, her happiness, and her determination. Her sarcastic quirkiness throughout the whole movie just made it all come full circle and was the icing on the cake to make me fall in love with her character.

Disney's "Maleficent"..L to R: Diaval (Sam Riley) and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie)..Ph: Frank Connor..©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Out of all the characters, however, JAM's favorite was Diaval, Maleficent's right hand man. He was a simple raven that Maleficent can change into a human or various animals with her magic. JAM loved watching Diaval transform throughout the movie, especially into a fire-breathing dragon. The coolest thing that I loved about this character is that even though Jolie's character changed this raven into various animals, it kept it's raven-like features so it was understood that it was still Diaval. For example, Jolie's character transformed Diaval into a horse. He had all the features of a horse but he was black in color, he had a feather-like texture instead of horse hair, and his head had distinct features of a raven. All the transformations were executed wonderfully and Sam Riley did a great job balancing out Maleficent's personality throughout the whole movie.

Maleficent opens nationwide TODAY! JAM and I both give it two thumbs up, and I already can't wait until this movie comes out on DVD. Go see it!!

Like Maleficent on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyMaleficent

Follow Maleficent on Twitter: @Maleficent

Instagram: http://instagram.com/disneystudios

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/disneystudios/maleficent/

Have you seen it yet? Tell me what you think below! 

Influenster UniVoxBox

If you didn't know already, I'm a online review junkie. If I'm purchasing something that I've never purchased before, I'm heading straight to Google or Amazon to read the 11,000 reviews. If I loved or hated something, darn skippy I'm writing a review! Then this magical website appeared where I can review products I already use on a day to day basis and can possibly receive complimentary products to test and review! Whaaa?? The moment I signed up for Influenster I immediately thought receiving the "sacred" VoxBox was out of reach. You had to do tasks and write reviews to heighten your Influesnter score to be considered for VoxBox retrieval. Well, yay for being a college student because I got a lovely email saying that I qualified for their UniVoxBox Yippie! I finally received my first VoxBox after only being a member for about 6-7 months. Ladies and Gents, if I can get one, you can get one. I was so excited, I even popped my YouTube video cherry to reveal my VoxBox to the world.

Once again, I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All thoughts and opinions about the products are all my own.

1. Broadway Nails imPress Press-On Manicure
I LOVE getting my nails done. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I got a full-set of acrylics with a circus theme for my nephew's first birthday. I love getting acrylics because it's super sturdy, but the only thing I hate is the thickness. I can't even open a pop can with those darn nails. The natural thinness of these Broadway Press-On nails were definitely something I appreciated. The design was super cute and I loved the "NO glue needed" aspect. You simply peel off the backing, press them on, and voila! A beautiful set of manicured nails. I put it to the "mom test" to see if simple press-on nails would last through my day-to-day of doing dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc.  For whatever reason, my press-on nails on my index finger always popped off, especially after doing dishes. Also both of my thumb nails didn't press-on completely against my natural nail so there was a gap. That became a nuisance when mixing raw meat by hand for dinner and muck would get stuck in that gap. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the press-on nails stayed put. If I was using my nails to dig into something or even to shampoo my hair in the shower, I did feel a shift in the nails. They would dig a little into my cuticle, but I would just ease the pressure into whatever I was doing to fix the issue. All in all a great concept. If I ever needed a quick glam manicure for a date night or an event I would totally purchase these press-on nails. There are so many designs and cute colors to choose from! Available at Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Kmart, Rite-Aide, & Target.

 Follow Broadway Nails: 
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2. Expert Last Lip Color in Forever Fuchsia
This Forever Fuchsia lipstick color was right up my alley because I love playing with bright and vibrant makeup colors. I've never tried any NYC New York Color products before so I was excited to give this lipstick a try. This NYC Expert Last Lip Color is affordable at only $1.99 and this color line comes in twenty different shades. The color on my lips was just as vibrant as it looked on the lipstick. It glided right on and it easily lasted through my Mother's day brunch. My only complaint is that it didn't moisturize my lips as much as some of my other lipsticks. A quick lip balm touch up quickly solved the problem and I was back in action.

                                                         Follow NYC New York Color:                                                  
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3. Pilot Acroball PureWhite
Like I said in my YouTube video, I'm an office supply nerd. When I saw the Pilot Acroball PureWhite pen included in the UniVoxBox I was ecstatic. The physical appearance of the pen was a little blah for me with an overall glossy white barrel and yellow accents (one of their Spring Pantone inspired colors). However, this pen writes like a dream! I'm kind of a pen snob and will buy 10,000 pens until I find one that suites my needs. Being a college student, I take notes all day, every day. It's a pain in the butt to have a crappy pen that takes so much muscle to write or the ink skips every other word. You don't have to worry about any of that with the Pilot Acroball PureWhite. It's a clicky pen so no worries to those who always lose the pen cap. It writes with a fine tip and the gel ink glides so smoothly against my notebook paper with the quick drying benefits of ballpoint ink. I keep it in my purse for personal use so that Mahal and JAM don't snatch it from me.

                                                         Follow Pilot Pen:                                                       
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4. Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation
I'm always hesitant to try any kind of foundation not only because I have sensitive skin, but because I hate the "cakey" look most of them give. When squeezing the Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation out of the tube, it did have the appearance of a lightweight mousse. I was offered the "201 Classic Beige" and as I applied it to my face, the color match was perfect. It applied really smoothly and only took a few minutes to set. I didn't mention to Mahal that I put anything on but he instantly noticed. He said, "Did you apply something to your face? It looks like an angel. It's so flawless" (Haha). It did feel like a very lightweight liquid mousse and it did reduce the shine of my naturally oily skin. However, by the end of the night my cheeks started to itch a little so I knew it was time to wash my face for the night. Like I said, I have fairly sensitive skin so I guess it just wasn't used to having foundation on it. All in all a great product, and it's available in eight shades.

                                                         Follow Rimmel London:                                                    
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5. Playtex Sport Fresh Balance
Mother nature was calling so these Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons couldn't have come at a better time. But honestly, a tampon is just a tampon right? WRONG! I was pleasantly surprised with how awesome these little things were. As awkward as it is to talk about tampons, you must know how awesome this product it. I was sent the regular absorbency tampons to test and I did notice that the size was a little smaller than some of the other tampon brands I naturally use. However, despite its size, this little bullet gets the job done. I never leaked once and I honestly forgot I was wearing a tampon with how comfortable it was. I don't play any sports but I'm always on the go and I workout. Doing BodyPump and BodyCombat classes where your lifting weights, doing high kicks, and tons of squatting, it gets a little nerve-wrecking to have your monthly friend around. The Playtex Sport Fresh Balance made that all doable with no discomfort. I'm definitely switching over to this.

Follow Playtex:  
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6. Red Rose REAL TEA Premium Water Enhancer
Finally! A water enhancer with no dyes or coloring that's made from real brewed tea. I've added various brands of flavoring to my water in the past, but I've never used a liquid add-on. I was actually quite hesitant to try the Red Rose Real Tea Premium Water Enhancer. The flavor I received was Blackcurrant Raspberry and it honestly didn't sound very appealing. Regardless, I gave it a try. The directions say to add one squeeze for each 8 fl. oz serving. I added the water enhancer to my 16 oz bottle of water as directed and it came out shooting! It caught me off guard, but I shook up my water bottle to blend it a little better. I still felt it tasted a little diluted when following the directions so I added a couple more squeezes for a more potent taste. Wow! It actually tasted really good! I order raspberry tea when we're out dining all the time and the quality of this Read Rose Real Tea Premium Water Enhancer was just as good, if not better. One bottle holds 24 servings, and I love the convenience of being able to make raspberry tea at home. Plus, it's only 5 calories. Yippie!

Follow Red Rose:
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What did you think of my first VoxBox?