Review: Tangled

Tangled (2010)
100 minutes
Rated – PG
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard

Grade:  B

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Disney is known for their princess stories where the girl meets Prince Charming or some other perfect guy. And then they live happily ever after. But since Pixar has secures itself as the animation kings, Disney animations haven’t been up to par for years. Fortuntely, they’re back on track with their latest princess story, Tangled.

Tangled is a story about Rapunzel, a princess who was kidnapped by Mother Gothel as a child for her magical healing powers in her hair. To remember the princess, and as a desperate attempt to reach out to her, the king and queen and the whole village release sky lanterns into the sky on her birthday every year. Rapunzel, trapped inside a tower, watches the sky lanterns in awe every year and wants nothing more than to see them up close.

Where’s the dashing gentleman that wins over Rapunzel’s heart? Well, that would be Flynn Rider, a theif who stole the princess’ crown from the village’s castle. Running away from the authorities, he accidentally finds the tower and is met by Rapunzel with a frying pan. A woozy Flynn Rider strikes a deal with Rapunzel: she’ll return the crown she hid if he takes her to see the sky lanterns. And off they go on their adventure.

What I enjoyed so much about Tangled is how it took the winning formula of past Disney films. There are heart-warming musical numbers, a princess and a sensitive outlaw, magic, a cute side-kick, a bad guy, and a moral. Although Tangled isn’t groundbreaking in any way, it’s very satisfying for children and parents as well. Let’s hope Disney can move forward from the success of Tangled.

Movies That Made Me Cry: Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

 

This post contains spoilers to the film, Bridge to Terabithia.

I have never read the award-winning children’s novel by Katherine Paterson, so the first time I watched Bridge to Terabithia, I didn’t have any idea what was in store for me. The deceiving movie previews made it seem like Bridge to Terabithia was the next Chronicles of Narnia. Fortunately, it wasn’t.

The film is based around two kids, Jesse and Leslie, who spark a unique friendship with each other on the basis that they both never had friends before and how they both have a wild imagination. From there, they’re able to open each others’ minds to a world they call Terabithia.

In my opinion, Leslie meant a lot more to Jesse than he did to her, though they both expressed their best friendship openly towards one another. With Jesse’s broken house, strict father, and annoying sisters, all he looked forward to day after day was hanging out with Leslie and going to Terabithia with her. 

We all had that “something” we could do or go to escape from the stress and hardships of reality when we were younger. Personally, I used to build forts or tents in my own room, pretend my bed was a ship that was sailing to a distant land, or I allowed my imagination to take over with my action figures and Legos. The feeling of being consumed by a fantasy world, if only temporary, is enough to keep a child’s innocence intact. 

The truly tear-jerking moment was when it was brought to our (and Jesse’s) attention that Leslie died. She was swinging on the rope to Terabithia when the rope snapped, she hit her head, and drowned. I honestly cannot imagine the feeling of losing a best friend at such a young age. 

I feel the way the movie portrayed the way Jesse handled the news was true to heart and accurate. He didn’t believe his family at first. He got mad at anyone who provided sympathy towards him. The morning after, it didn’t seem like he remembered that she was dead, until he visited the house for the wake. And then the next few days dragged on like a lifetime. He felt completely lost and alone without Leslie. He even ran through Terabithia calling out her name. Slowly, he began to leave her memory behind but it was undoubtedly painful for him. 

It’s tragic when someone dies, but exponentially more tragic when it’s a child. In the movie’s case, it was the bright and sweet Leslie, who was the one strong beam of light in Jesse’s murky world. She showed him a world of fun and imagination. She allowed him to celebrate the life of being a kid. It’s horribly sad when someone of such great importance is taken away. This is why Bridge to Terabithia is such a powerful family film. Life, whether that of an adult or a child, is full of surprises and pain. For Jesse, Leslie was both.

Toy Story 3 Poster

Yeah I can’t wait.

Box Office Results: 2-D animation still sells with ‘Princess and the Frog’

Studio Estimates for Dec. 11-13:

1.  The Princess and the Frog – $25 million
2.  The Blind Side – $15.5 million
3.  Invictus – $9.1 million
4.  New Moon – $8 million
5.  A Christmas Carol – $6.9 million

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Disney took advantage of a relatively weak box office showing this weekend as The Princess and the Frog topped the weekend grossing $25 million.  It’s not the grand box office opening that other animated features received, but as a traditional 2-D animation in December, expect this film to rely on lasting power to up its total gross rather than the first weekend explosion many bigger blockbusters go through.

As we find ourselves in the middle of awards season, Sandra Bullock and The Blind Side are continuing its impressive run, grossing $15.5 million this weekend with Oscar buzz for Bullock stronger than ever (she was on the cover of EW).  I still haven’t seen the film yet, but I cannot completely buy into the idea of The Blind Side and Sandra Bullock being serious contenders for the Academy Awards.  If they keep this momentum up though, it’ll be pretty hard to ignore their accomplishments.

Speaking of awards season, veterans Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman and their film Invictus landed the third spot in the Top 5 with $9.1 million this weekend.  Also starring Matt Damon, this fairly strong result just shows how these all-stars can pull their weight in December. 

Rounding out the Top 5 was New Moon with $8 million and A Christmas Carol with $6.9 million. 

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As for our predictions, both Sheehan and I were able to correctly predict four of the Top 5.  We both included Brothers in the fifth spot, but the drama only grossed $5 million.  The two of us did fairly well with our predictions, but I edged him out with my gross estimates. 

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Check back for our new predictions on Friday when two new releases hit the theaters nationwide.  First, the romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker.  And then the much anticipated sci-fi film, Avatar, that has been said will transcend the 3-D technology for films.

Box Office Predictions (Dec. 11-13)

In the second weekend of December, the power-houses of cinema are coming to life in time for the holiday season along with awards season.  Many high-caliber films are in limited releases such as The Lovely Bones, A Single Man, Me and Orson Welles, and Up in the Air.  But if you aren’t lucky enough to be in areas where those movies are playing, just sit tight because they’ll receive a wide release soon.

Meanwhile, there are two big releases this weekend.  First and foremost is Disney’s return to the 2-D animation that we all loved before all this CGI and 3-D madness hit.  The Princess and the Frog is the latest from those who made The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.

I feel that Disney and The Princess and the Frog have their work cut out for them to be a box office success along with receiving the critical acclaim their past animations got.  Has the public already moved on from the traditional animations?  Does a story about an African American princess limit the film’s demographic?  We’ll just have to wait and see.

The other big film to hit the screens this weekend is Clint Eastwood’s Invictus.  This is a biopic of Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) and also co-starring Matt Damon as the captain of the South African rugby team.  The star power in the film will be the reason if Invictus does well at the box office for its opening weekend.  Like a lot of Eastwood’s films, their longevity will last through the awards season to accummulate a decent total gross.

Here are our predictions…

My Predictions:

1.  The Princess and the Frog – $28 million
2.  Invictus – $16 million
3.  The Blind Side – $15 million
4.  New Moon – $7 million
5.  Brothers – $6 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  The Blind Side – $20 million
2.  The Princess and the Frog – $19 million
3.  Invictus – $15 million
4.  New Moon – $12 million
5.  Brothers – $7 million

Box Office Results: ‘The Blind Side’ dethrones ‘New Moon’

Studio Estimates for Dec. 4-6:

1.  The Blind Side – $20.4 million
2.  New Moon – $15.7 million
3.  Brothers – $9.7 million
4.  A Christmas Carol – $7.5 million
5.  Old Dogs – $6.9 million

6.  Armored – $6.6 million
10. Everybody’s Fine – $4 million

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The Blind Side kept up with its impressing momentum by grossing over $20 million this weekend and taking the top spot of the box office from New Moon ($15.7 million).  To date, The Blind Side has grossed over $129 million, something that I definitely didn’t expect when the film was released.  Meanwhile, New Moon has grossed a total of $255.6 million thus far. 

The debut of the war/drama, Brothers, took the third spot this weekend with $9.7 million.  And rounding out the Top 5 were A Christmas Carol with $7.5 million and Old Dogs with $6.9 million.

The other two new releases didn’t do as well as they hoped.  Armored only made $6.6 million and missed the Top 5, while De Niro’s Everybody’s Fine grossed $4 million.

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As for our predictions, this was a very difficult week for the Predictions Panel.  While Phil and Sheehan didn’t buy into the hooplah that was The Blind Side overtaking New Moon, I did.  We all had Armored in the fifth spot, which just missed by less than $1 million.  None of us predicted more than three of the Top 5 films.  Yeah, it was a bad outing for all of us, but I was still able to accurately estimate the grosses of my predictions, putting me on top of the Panel for this weekend.

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Check back on Friday when seroius Oscar contenders hit the silver screen.  Clint Eastwood’s drama, Invictus, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman will debut in over 2,000 theaters.  Also, Disney’s latest, The Princess and the Frog expands wide to over 3,300 theaters.  Meanwhile, Up in the Air received a wider release and The Lovely Bones and A Single Man will see a limited release.

Disney buys Marvel

Wolverine, Aladdin, and The Dharma Initiative walk into the same bar….

You would think that there is a punch line coming up, but you would be wrong. What I’m referring to is the fact that Disney has acquired Marvel. That’s right, Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion! It sounds like something out of a movie (Austin Powers to be precise).

Disney now owns the rights to over 5,000 characters… That’s about $800,000 a character. That is a lot of money for a character, but what does this mean? Well, Disney is known for making brand names out of their products so buying Marvel means that any character will now be in all Disney stores, parks, and possibly even movies.

Now you’re probably wondering what Dharma has to do with all this… well as you may or may not know, Disney owns ABC. This means that Disney could possibly create a TV show based on a Marvel character. They wouldn’t have to worry about paying licensing fees because they own the product and can market the crap out of it. I like the idea of maybe seeing some new shows pop on ABC in the future… maybe a show similar to Smallville or something.  Things could get interesting.

Box Office Results: G-Force takes down Harry Potter

Studio Estimates for July 24-26:

1.  G-Force – $32.2 million
2.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $30 million
3.  The Ugly Truth – $27 million
4.  Orphan – $12.8 million
5.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $8.2 million

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince failed to top the box office for a second straight weekend thanks to Disney’s family-adventure film, G-Force.  I knew pets sell but that basically involves dogs.  I did not expect guinea pigs to be at center-stage stealing the show from Harry Potter.

The Ugly Truth had a very nice opening weekend with $27 million.  Orphan placed fourth with a $12.77 million opening and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs nabbed the fifth spot during its fourth weekend.

As for our predictions, Phil and I were able to guess all of the Top 5 films correctly.  Our only mistake was underestimating G-Force and leaving Harry Potter on top.  As for Sheehan, he failed to list The Ugly Truth on the Top 5 and instead predicted Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to make the Top 5.  Transformers landed the sixth spot with $8 million.

Check back on Friday for our new predictions for next weekend when three new films hit the theaters:  Aliens in the Attic, The Collector and a film I’m highly anticipating, Funny People.

Box Office Predictions (July 24-26)

We got a nice variety of new releases this weekend:  one horror, one R-rated romantic comedy, and one family-adventure featuring gerbils.  But will any of these films have enough magic to knock off Harry Potter for the top spot at the box office?  Let’s break it down…

G-Force is a kids movie from Disney about a bunch of gerbils going Mission Impossible style.  Hey, it’s the summer and I guess kids love movies with animals going all “secret agent” right?  Look at the Madagascar penguins… they’ve become a huge hit.  With a friendly PG-rating and a bunch of 3-D screenings around the nation, G-Force could be a powerhouse this weekend.

The Ugly Truth is a movie that I certainly don’t want to see, but will America go see it.  It looks more like a chick-comedy than an actual romantic comedy, but maybe that’s just my opinion.  Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler are two pretty big names in the industry and should be able to push their weight around for a pretty decent result this weekend.  I’m just surprised at the R-rating the movie received.  How raunchy could this movie be?  And is it really necessary?  Most importantly, will it hurt its box office numbers?

And finally, Orphan… the horror movie about a disturbed little girl named Esther who does some evil things.  This is another R-rated film starring… well relatively no one.  I wasn’t impressed by the trailers and commercials, but it has been getting pretty decent reviews thus far.  Besides horror fanatics, will there be anyone else passing up Harry Potter or The Ugly Truth to see this movie?  I don’t think there will be too many.

Here are our predictions…

My Predictions:

1.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $38 million
2.  G-Force – $25 million
3.  The Ugly Truth – $24 million
4.  Orphan – $12 million
5.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $10 million

Phil’s Predictions:

1.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $37 million
2.  G-Force – $32 million
3.  The Ugly Truth – $20 million
4.  Orphan – $14 million
5.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $6 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $65 million
2.  G-Force – $27 million
3.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $16 million
4.  Orphan – $15 million
5.  Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen – $14 million

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As you can see, none of us believe that any of the new releases can knock off Harry Potter from the top spot for a second straight weekend.  In addition to that, our predictions are very similar.  We picked Disney’s G-Force in the #2 spot.  Phil and I also have The Ugly Truth in the third spot while Sheehan failed to include that in the Top 5.  And we all have Orphan in the #4 spot with a range of $12 million – $14 million.

Let’s see how our predictions hold up.  Check back on Monday for the box office results.

The Weekly Top 5

1.  Easter Eggs in Pixar’s “Up” Revealed.  From SlashFilm, they point out a good number of subtle and hidden things inside the movie.  The Pixar team loves to include easter eggs in their films.  For instance, the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story appears in every Pixar film to date.  Check out what other things you missed in Up.  Warning, the SlashFilm post contains spoilers.

2.  Conan O’Brien is about to premiere The Tonight Show.  New York Times reports.

And a guest list of his first week’s guests:

Monday, June 1: Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam
Tuesday, June 2: Tom Hanks and Green Day
Wednesday, June 3: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Sheryl Crow
Thursday, June 4: Gwyneth Paltrow and John Mayer
Friday, June 5: Ryan Seacrest and Chickenfoot

3.  Funny or Die: Cam Gigandet beats up Twilight Fans.  I’d watch a swarm of little Twilight girls get punched in the face any day.  But seriously, this skit is pretty funny.

4.  Early Reviews for Terry Gilliam’s new film The Imagination of Dr. Parnassus.  Haven’t heard of it yet?  You will.  This is Heath Ledger’s very last acting role.  He actually passed away in the middle of filming, which put Gilliam’s film in jeopardy.

5.  Cinematical explains how this summer blockbuster season isn’t having as huge an impact in the box office as usual.  With Star Trek just passing the $200 million mark this weekend, and none of the May blockbusters look like they will cross the $300 mark… what’s going on?  Surely, there are still a few huge blockbusters to come such as Transformers 2 and Harry Potter.  But just maybe since last year was such a monster summer year, we’re getting a bit carried away.