How to Train Your Dragon 2 *Spoilers*

One of those rare sequels that dared to reinvent itself and stray from the original while still staying true to the heart of the story.

More often than not movie sequels these days are born purely because the original smashed it at the Box Office. Film makers then attempt to piggyback off the formula of the first movie, with only a few minor adjustments (adding a new villain or creating a new love interest). Or you know, make like “The Hangover” and simply switch the setting of the movie to Thailand and voila – a sequel is born.

I came into the cinema half expecting the same for HTTYD2 but boy was I wrong.

10 Things I Learnt from Maleficent (2014) *spoilers*

#10 General Life Advice (Part I)

What do you do when your baby girl is cursed to fall into a coma on her sixteenth birthday? Send her off to a cottage that’s so far in the middle of nowhere that you’ll never spend a day with her until the very day she’s supposed to fall into a lifeless coma.

#9 Breathtaking visuals

The Director, Robert Stromberg previously specialised in Visual Effects with quite an impressive C.V. including Avatar, The Hunger Games, Life of Pi, Alice in Wonderland, Pan’s Labyrinth and even a few episodes of Game of Thrones. With a couple of Oscars under his belt for Art Direction, Stromberg is certainly no stranger to the art of creating a magical alternate universe in which  the viewer can fully immerse their senses, which in this case is a world full of mud-slinging trolls, talking and walking trees, fairies and other winged creatures.

#8 All faults with the script may be forgiven as long as you have Angelina Jolie to carry the film along