With Tangled, Disney returns to its roots with a story of a traditional princess, a reluctant hero, and a wicked witch and although many are tired of this old formula, if anyone can do it right it’s Disney.

Tangled is the classic story of Rapunzel with, of course, a twist. You know, there’s a princess kept in a tower by an evil enchantress who uses her long hair to gain access. One day, a young man runs into her and they set off to find her true parents. There’s magic, adventure, and a nice love story. We’ve all seen this plot before, but here it feels natural and has enough new elements to keep even the most experiences movie-watcher entertained.

First of all, the film looks great. Here, Disney Animation Studios doesn’t try to emulate Pixar, but attempts to imbue this computer-animated film with the magic of their classically animated fairy tales. The entire movie, from the design of the characters to the way the world looks, just feels right. At no point are you left wishing that the film was traditionally-animated. Each medium has its own advantages and disadvantages, and Disney is really starting to see that distinction. This story works with computer animation. The animation in Tangled is vibrant, cartoonish (as in, not too realistic), and fun.

The film is also presented in 3D, which I am not a fan of. Still, the financial benefits at this point all but guarantee that we will have to deal with many more films in three dimensions during the foreseeable future. As with any computer-animated film, the 3D effects work better here than they would in live-action. And while most of the time, the 3D did not add anything to the film, there were occasions where the effect was actually visually interesting. So while I think overall 3D is not worth it, there are sequences, most notably the latern-releasing scene, in which the 3D visuals enhance the film.

The comedy is also spot-on. Kids will find it extremely entertaining, but adults will also find themselves laughing. This is due to the fact that the movie is genuinely funny. It doesn’t rely on cheap jokes, potty humor, or innuendo but instead uses physical comedy and legitimately hilarious moments to be a surprisingly funny movie.

But what really marks this as a high point in Disney’s recent history is its heart. The movie feels like it should. The characters are warm and familiar, the story is magical, the visuals are, as I’ve mentioned, great, and you are emotionally invested in the film. At the beginnning of the movie, I was not impressed, but as the movie went on I found myself more and more invested in the characters and what happens to them. In fact, the finale of the film packs a significant emotional punch, despite the fact that you know that everything is going to be okay in the end.

So while Tangled is definitely no Beauty and the Beast or Lion King, it is definitely a return to form for Disney. The story is fun, you fall in love with the characters, the visuals are breathtaking, real emotions are involved, and the film is pure fun for all ages.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

The Tillman Story is an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and down-right frustrating documentary. If you’re looking for a a feel-good portrait of a war hero, you should definitely look elsewhere. This film is a painfully honest portrayal of one man’s sacrifice and his family’s reaction to the shameful events after the fact that discusses what it means to be a true hero and propaganda in the modern age.

In 2002, Pat Tillman, a highly successful defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, along with his brother, Kevin, enlisted in the US Army. After two years serving in the military, he was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. This inspirational story of heroism and valor in battle seemed perfect for an administration struggling to promote an increasingly unpopular war. But it proved too perfect. In this eye-opening doc, Tillman’s family exposes the cover-up that hid the truth regarding his tragic death and tries to rectify their loved one’s image after the press took advantage of their loss.

Somehow, I had no idea what the real story behind Pat Tillman was. Although it was big news, both when he left his football career as well as when he was killed and all the way through until the massive cover-up was revealed, I missed that last most important part. This film really enlightened me in that respect as I was shocked as the mystery unraveled. However, I’m guessing most people are more familiar with the tale. Still, this fact-filled documentary does its best to spread the true story behind the media mess and eliminate any political agenda or hero-making.

And though the facts are spotless, what makes this such an excellent documentary is simply how much thought-provoking material it hits upon. The nature of heroism, modern propaganda, searching for the truth, privacy, and family ties are just a few of the many deep areas that this doc explores. Was it right for the media to cover his story so much? How much are we, as viewers, to blame for the Tillman family’s lack of privacy? Why did Pat Tillman join the Army in the first place? Was the military doing his family a service when they covered-up the true nature of his death? This extremely intelligent film asks these questions and many more, and will leave you truly questioning them. By the end of the film, you actually care about finding the answers.

Without the family behind it, this movie would have been very cold. By having his own family tell of their predicament, the film becomes truly engaging. Too many documentaries devolve into boring talking heads, but that is definitely not the case here. Interviews, stock footage, and other related images are edited together in such a way that really keeps your attention and tell a coherent, gripping narrative that drives the film’s points forward. This great flow enables the filmmakers to get their points across in an unobtrusive, organic way.

The beginning of the film establishes the mystery of what really happened that fateful April day and then we rewind and look at what Pat Tillman was like as a person, with his family, his teammates, and his fellow Army Rangers reflecting on his life and what drove him to make such a drastic change of lifestyle for the sake of his country. This section makes this movie into a heart-felt character piece, and also gives more weight to the mystery at hand. After the mystery somewhat resolves itself, the film follows the Tillman family as they try to bring to light the men responsible for covering-up the tragic event. This documentary has everything – a great mystery, a heart-felt core, a government cover-up, as well as a frustrating conclusion.

In the past decade, the documentary has seen tremendous growth in both fact-finding as well as storytelling. In this new era of highly competitive documentary filmmaking, a film must truly stand out to be noticed. The Tillman Story is that kind of powerful film and although it has no real cause to rally behind, many will find it illuminating and thought-provoking to the extreme.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Animal Kingdom is basically your typical crime drama. A newcomer comes into the “family” and is forced to respond – accept or reject what those around him are doing. On the surface this is exactly what David Michôd’s crime film is, but at the same time it is a gross understatement. Animal Kingdom is an excellent crime drama that stays within its genre, but tells its story very well.

The film begins with J (James Frecheville) moving in with his grandmom (Jacki Weaver) after his mother’s death. He shortly realizes why his mom kept him away from her family. J’s uncles are all deep in the criminal underworld; Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) is a dealer while Baz (Joel Edgerton), Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), and Darren (Luke Ford) specialize in armed robbery. Pope is on the run, and isn’t around much, while Baz is slowing trying to make himself into a legitimate business man. Unwittingly, J is sucked into this world of crime, and soon has two cops (Guy Pearce and Anthony Hayes) trying to get him to testify against his family.

Animal Kingdom looks great; the cinematography and production value are magnificent, especially taking into consideration the film’s relatively low budget. The soundtrack is also excellent, combining some original music such as the opening sequence, and familiar bands like Air Supply.

However, where the film really succeeds is in the characters. With little exposition, we meet every member of the family and quickly learn their part in the family. The story is written in such a skillful way that we are shown, not told, who all these people are. This allows the story to unfold unhindered by background information. However, these characters that drive the story would be nothing without fantastic performances from the entire cast. Every major player is backed by a good to great performance.

Another interesting thing about this movie is the violence. For a film about organized crime, there is very little actual violence. Yes, people are killed, but the movie purposefully holds back from copious fighting in order to keep the effect the same. When someone is murdered in this story, it means something. This is the opposite of the gratuitous violence seen in many recent films (which can be used to good effect if done right) and is a breath of fresh air.

So the story unfolds as an interesting crime drama. The bulk of the film is nothing new to any experienced filmgoer, but the audience is invested in the characters, so we go with them through their tale. If the audience didn’t buy into these characters, the story would have no weight. And, wow, does the end of the movie really resonate. After being what I considered the antithesis to The Godfather, in terms of message, the story is turned on its head and the protagonist is forced to make a choice. I was at first a little disappointed, but then the final moments of the film really bring the story to its logical, satisfying conclusion.

In the end, the themes are what matter. Animal Kingdom is a story that explores family loyalty, revenge, and the consequences of your actions. J is thrust into a very difficult situation and must make a place for himself in the “Animal Kingdom” of the Melbourne underworld.

Animal Kingdom surprised me. I had never heard of the film before I sat down to watch it, and I love going into a movie cold like that. Especially when you don’t know what to expect and a film pleasantly surprises you. Even if you have high expectations, this movie will not dissappoint. It is an excellent film, and while it is not an action-packed summer blockbuster, its a traditional crime drama that has emotional weight and should not be passed over.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

The first full-length trailer for Despicable Me has dropped online. See it embedded below.

Despicable Me stars Steve Carrell as Gru who, along with his army of minions, is planning to steal the moon. A wrench is thrown in his plan in the form of three orphan girls, who view Gru as their new dad. Has the world’s greatest supervillain met his match?

Directed by Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin, the film also features the voices of Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Julie Andrews, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Mindy Kaling, Ken Jeong, and Miranda Cosgrove.

When the first sneak peek of DM premiered a few months ago, I wasn’t expecting much. It seemed like an unoriginal concept that wouldn’t work out. Now that I’ve seen the trailer, I have to say that my expectations have risen. Although the movie uses the “bad guy learns to be good” storyline, Steve Carrell looks to have created a great character that should be able to hold the movie.

In addition to the new trailer, several new stills have been released, which you can see below. Click for high-resolution.

Despicable Me hits theaters July 9th.

What can be said really about Our Family Wedding that its previews don’t already cheerfully display? One more in a long line of nuptial nightmares where two diverse families spar with one another, OFW at least presents the context a little differently; the bride’s family is Mexican American and the groom’s African American. America Ferrera(Ugly Betty) asLucia and Lance Gross(House of Payne) as Marcus give sweet, cheerful performances amidst a large cast of worn-out sitcom stereotypes.

Wedding aims sharply at fans of screwball family comedies and anyone who’s currently got marriage on the brain. It’s nice enough and silly enough that it even sort of works for what it is. Unfortunately, there’s always that pesky sense of genuine emotion suggesting how it could have been better if not for the flat screenplay.

I have been so recently beleaguered by ensemble comedies–especially romantic ensemble comedies– that the simplicity and directness of Wedding nearly won me over at the get-go. The storyline wasn’t new when Shakespeare was borrowing elements from it, but here it’s got to set up the possibility of frisson between two disparate clans. The heads of those clans are gamely played by Carlos Mencia as Lucia’s traditional, protective pop and Forrest Whitaker as Marcus’ swinging bachelor dad, who’s bold enough to bring Shannyn Sossomon as his date when he meets Mencia and his wife.

As it turns out of course, the script has already had Mencia and Whitaker at odds with one another long before that dinner, and thus starts along line of bitter back and forth, argument, and misunderstanding as both families vie against one another, forgetting to lift up the stranded couple sitting in the midst of their domestic hurricane.

As the wedding begins to count down, the filmmakers just keep piling on incident and contrivance, with plenty of purely idiotic comedy moments. That might be the picture’s biggest weakness actually; there’s not much that’s truly funny in it. I can understand old bits reused in new ways, but this movie goes completely sideways into territory that may have looked humorous on page but isn’t once you see it. Case in point: Goat hopped up on Viagra. Think about that for a minute. I can  guarantee you that whatever you came up with is funnier than what we see.

The supporting cast is mostly forgettable but there are a couple of notable performers who do some nice work and light up the film every once in a while. Chief among them is Regina King as the long-suffering best friend of Whitaker’s clueless, out-of-season playboy. King energizes Whitaker when they are onscreen together and she’s elaborating her sassy, tell-it-like-it-is character with a welcome quality; wisdom. Sossamon in a brief stint at the dinner party, plays her role purposefully awkward and it’s one of the few scenes that’s actually pretty funny.

America Ferrera is wonderful here. She’s bright and lively and sure in the way she plays Lucia, and you can admire her pluck in dealing with the family members. The subplot that involves her fear of her parent’s reaction to the fact she had premarital sex with Marcus is something of a dead-end, though, and it distracts more than it should. Lance Gross isn’t ringing bells and whistles to get noticed and that’s one of the best things he brings to table for Marcus. He’s playing it understated and suggesting the way that the groom can often fade into the background when supercharged personalities start battling it out over wedding plans.

Family comedies and dramas that want to make us laugh and still tell the truth are hard to find, especially done well. Our Family Wedding has its heart in the right place, but it should have grated it into the body of a better story. You can already see underneath the stitched-on dead parts that the materials are here. Look at some of the interactions with Whitaker’s character and the presence of King, as well as the tact the couple takes when dealing with their troublesome future in-laws.

For everyone who has been through the pain and pleasure of planning a wedding, OFW gets enough right that you are bound to smile at least a few times. As for that part where the grandmother passes out because she sees that her granddaughter’s fiancé is black? Not so much.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

I think Manoel de Oliveira might just be my new hero. The Portuguese director turned 101 on Friday, but age is definitely not slowing him down. Instead, the director is trucking along with his newest film, The Strange Case of Angelica. Man, I hope that if I manage to live that long that I can still be doing the thing I love!

Aside from still making movies at the age of 101, Oliveira is keeping his family close to him in the process. His grandson, Ricardo Trepa, has been a regular in Oliveira’s films since 1990, and now will be starring in Angelica.

In the film, Trepa will play a photographer who is asked by the owners of a hotel to take photos of their daughter (Angelica) who just died. The ghost of Angelica later begins to appear to the photographer as a ghost. Pilar Lopez de Ayala will play the role of Angelica.

How do you go head to head with one of the summer’s most anticipated blockbuster movies? You do it by crafting a masterpiece on family dynamics that should draw everyone but teenage boys and young adult males. Based on Jodi Picoult’s novel by the same name, My Sister’s Keeper takes you into the family life of a child with cancer. Exploring the boundaries of what is ethical in keeping your child alive, you find yourself wrestling with the choices the family made and wondering what lengths you would go to for your own child.

As Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) struggle to make the right decisions for their sick child, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), we see how it affects the other two kids. Older brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson) is the one that gets neglected to the point of basically being invisible. And while younger sister Anna (Abigail Breslin) gets a lot of attention, it isn’t the kind she wants. This leads to the crux of the film as Anna goes to ‘91% successful lawyer’ Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) to sue for medical rights to her own body. It seems Anna is tired of being the living donor keeping her older sister alive.

While this is a poignant, tear-inducing movie for any parent (or anyone who has been touched by cancer or a child’s terminal disease), the brilliance behind the story are the uplifting moments of beauty that are celebrated throughout. From a first boyfriend, to a late in life trip to the beach, the snapshots of life show what it means to live everyday to the fullest instead of simply waiting for the inevitable.

And those snapshots come alive with this cast. Diaz is brilliant as a successful lawyer turned unrelenting advocate for her suffering daughter. Understated performances by Baldwin, and Joan Cusack (as the judge who presides over the case) round out a distinguished cast that keeps this from being just another teary chick flick. And while Breslin continues to show acting skills beyond her years as she did in Little Miss Sunshine, Sofia Vassilieva steals the spotlight. Her presence, and her smile, fills the screen with a joy that breaks through the sorrow of the film with a promise that there is more to life than pain.

Readers of the book will be surprised by some major changes in the story, but I believe they’ll see that the spirit of the book has been captured and released on a movie-going public that will cherish this adaptation. And while there will be some disappointment that there couldn’t be more focus on the father and son dynamic or the lawyer’s role from the book, they’ll have to acknowledge that you simply can’t include everything in a movie. What director Nick Cassavates (The Notebook) leaves out from the book, he makes up for in the careful weaving together of the different points of view and story pieces that tie this tour de force together.

They’ll be plenty of loud, action, summer extravaganzas to check out all season long. Take a break from the sensory overload and go with a friend to remember what really matters: doing life together with the ones we love.

Rating: ★★★★★