Monday, May 25, 2026

Critics Pan Angelina Jolie’s Directed Movie, Like Her Better Starring as Maria Callas

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Angelina Jolie’s “Without Blood” is also without good reviews.

The film she directed starring Salma Hayek and Demian Bachir has been panned by critics at the Toronto Film Festival.

Five of the six reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes are splats. Others that have just posted to their own publications didn’t like it much either.

Lucky for Jolie, she also stars in “Maria” as opera star Maria Callas. Pablo Lorrain directed Natalie Portman to an Oscar nomination in “Jackie” and got raves for Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana.

Jolie will be in the Oscar buzz circle for “Maria,” according to reviewers, who gave it a 74%.

But “Without Blood” is more problematic. The negative reviews won’t help Fremantle, an odd choice for distributor but also the company Jolie signed a three picture deal with to direct her own movies. “Without Blood” would seem like a quick candidate for streaming.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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