Film Review: TANGLED (2010)

Directors: Nathan Greno & Byron Howard
Running time: 100 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Family/Comedy
UK Release date: 28^th January 2011

Watched on Sky+ Friday 27^th October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I thought I’d start my day off with something easy to watch, given a bit of a rough head this morning. Checking what I had recorded, I decided the one that would be easiest on the grey matter was ‘Tangled’. I was right… I was also delighted with my choice! Nothing like as bad as I was expecting, although it wasn’t perfect, Disney have come a long way in the last few years and appear to be on the right track to producing something really great in the next few years. But enough of my nonsense for now… More after this very brief summary.

Having been kidnapped by Mother Gothel as a baby, Rapunzel is kept away from the world in a hidden tower. The only way in or out is to climb up her long golden hair. It is her magical hair that holds the secret to why Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel away… but I’m not going to tell you about that here. Just as Rapunzel is about to turn eighteen, a man, Flynn Rider climbs the tower trying to evade some palace guards who are chasing him. He has stolen something from the palace and they want it back. Each year on her birthday the sky is filled with magical lanterns and Rapunzel wants more than anything to go and see them. But Mother Gothel has made her afraid to go outside. Can she persuade Flynn to take her to see the lanterns and, more importantly, can she overcome her fears of the outside world. I think that’s enough to whet your appetite for now… don’t want the Spoiler Police chasing me down and throwing me in a dungeon again.

Beautifully animated with some really great songs (& some not quite so great) to take you along the journey. This is a really well made family film with some really nice touches. The voice talents of Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider were both excellent. I thought Donna Murphy played the evil Mother Gothel very well, particularly the songs. Honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; Ron Perlman as Stabbington Brother, M.C. Gainey as Captain of the Guard, Jeffrey Tambor as Big Nose Thug, Brad Garrett as Hook Hand Thug, Paul F. Tompkins as Short Thug and Richard Kiel as Vlad.

The comic relief was supplied by a horse, Maximus and a chameleon, Pascal. There is also a band of thugs who help the unlikely pair on their journey; they have the best musical number in the show (IMO). In fact, this film did have the ring of an old fashioned musical about it and I must admit, I did enjoy that aspect of it. On the down side, I thought everyone looked a little bit too ‘Disney cute’ for my liking. The eyes way too big and the waistlines way too thin… it doesn’t look right (to me) I’m afraid. That aside, I did enjoy this film (in 2D) though… Recommended.

My Score: 7.7/10.

IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (based on 60,662 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0398286/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89/100 (based on 179 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tangled/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Flynn Rider: This is the story of how I died. Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story and the truth is, it isn't even mine. This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel.

Rapunzel: Something brought you here, Flynn Rider. Call it what you will... fate... destiny...
Flynn Rider: A horse.

Flynn Rider: [sword-fighting with Maximus] You should know that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!
[Max flicks the frying-pan from Flynn's hands]
Flynn Rider: ... How 'bout best two out of three?

LINKS:
Official Site: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/tangled/textonly/
Trailer:

Film Review: DEDICATION (2007)

Director: Justin Theroux
Running time: 95 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Mexico release date: 10th October 2008

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 1st January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I can’t say I knew anything about this movie before it came up on TV this week. With only a very brief description to go on, it looked kind of interesting, so I thought I’d give it a go. It’s one of those that’s almost there, but not quite, like it just needed a little bit extra to make it a great movie. But more of my thoughts later, here’s a very brief summary first (summary haters please comb the beach for that pebble that Henry threw away).

Henry Roth and his partner, Rudy Holt hit the jackpot when they write a children’s book about a character called Marty the Beaver. Henry wrote the words and Rudy did the illustrations. Unfortunately, Rudy is taken ill and dies just before their publisher, Arthur Planck, gives Henry the deadline for the next book. A replacement artist, Lucy Reilly, is found, but it is going to be a struggle working with Henry. She is heartbroken after her boyfriend left her and Henry, apart from grieving for his friend, has many quirks that make his awkward to be around, let alone work with. Lucy’s ex-boyfriend, Jeremy, appears on the scene, again, just to spice things up a little. Having discovered the penalties for not fulfilling his contract and after Lucy is offered a substantial bonus; the pair decides to work together. Moving out to Arthur’s beach house to get away from the distractions of city life, they begin to be drawn together. You know something’s about to go wrong with this budding romance, but I’m not going to tell you what it is here.

This is a very quirky film with a very quirky soundtrack, some of which is by the band Deerhoof. It’s pretty well made, but you can tell they had a limited budget to work with. Decent performances all round, so honourable mentions go to; Billy Crudup as Henry Roth, Tom Wilkinson was excellent as Rudy Holt, Mandy Moore as Lucy Reilly, Bob Balaban as Arthur Planck, Martin Freeman as Jeremy and Dianne Wiest as Carol (Lucy’s mother).

Although the tale it tell is quite endearing, I found it hard to empathise with any of the characters. I also found the attraction between Henry and Lucy a little far fetched (although stranger things have been known to happen in real life). Over all, it’s worth a viewing for Tom Wilkinson, but I didn’t find a lot else in it for me.

My score: 5.7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0490579/
Official Site: http://www.dedicationmovie.net/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi1889599769/