I Was ‘Tangled’ in Disney’s Charming Film
November 27th, 2010 by Aaron Neuwirth
How about a big, broad statement to start? Anyone who is a fan of films like Aladdin or The Little Mermaid, for example, should be very pleased with Tangled. In what is, for now, the last Disney animated princess movie, people are in for a film that looks great, is quite funny, tells a familiar but well handled story, and feels right at home with other popular films of this type. It has the same kind of appeal that many of these past animated Disney films have, and even the 3D is put to good use. It always helps when I am genuinely surprised at how much I enjoy a feature, and this was one that had that effect on me.
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I was very close to giving this flick a pass simply because Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has finally come back to the action scene, after pushing hard in the family-friendly film territory. Unfortunately, this revenge/thriller does not quite reach a passing grade for me. It does come close however. I admired this film for its simplicity, especially when we get what we would want in a film like this: The Rock moving through town, hunched forward, gun in hand, with killing on his mind, as 70s rock plays in the background, and not giving a damn about anything in his path. 
Love & Other Drugs is a simple romantic comedy-drama that tries to break away from its simple mold by having deeper parts of a story to explore as well as a hard R-rating. Despite these elements, the film has problems with breaking away from the traditional formula along with balancing its tone. Fortunately, both Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway bring enough talent to the film to keep it entertaining and sold on its performances. These two make a good pair and do the film a service. 
First thing’s first. Christina Aguilera…where have you been all my life? Why have I never recognized your…um…talents until 2010? Well anyway, the original deal between my writing partner Gregg Senko and I was that I would tackle the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie review last week and he would take on Burlesque. After all, it only seemed more fitting since Gregg is into dance and musicals way more than I. Funny thing though was that while I immensely enjoyed Burlesque (oh no…the cat’s out of the bad…already!), Gregg only so-so cared for it. 
I’m learning how to properly execute a head-butt. You may ask why and I can tell you it has something to do with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. No, I’m not trying to emulate his wrestling career. I had the misfortune of watching Faster this week and I’m attempting to pound the memory out of my head. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino…oh Carla, why did you have to take this script…anyway, it features those aforementioned “actors” (let’s face it, Dwayne Johnson isn’t an actor) and throws them together in this revenge-oriented tale of brotherly love and determination. 
I was very happy to receive to be able to review this collection of holiday classics since they’ve been been a part of my family’s holiday tradition for as long as I can remember. I’m sure that’s true for most people since these specials have been shown on television every year since they first started airing way back in 1965. And every year, people still continue to watch them. 
I’m a little late getting this press release posted, but no Thanksgiving holiday would be complete without a little vampire news, right? Well I am pleased to announce that Anchor Bay will be bringing one of my favorite films of the year, Let Me In, to the Blu-ray format on February 21st. I’m sure it goes without saying, this is the 2010 remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In. Remake or not, this movie still kicked arse and it stars one of my favorite up and coming actresses, Chloe Moretz. 
It was only a few months ago when I was wondering if and when one of my most favorite films of all time was coming to Blu-ray. For fans of the Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves, we can all rest easy now as the western frontier film will be dancing on Blu-ray this January. Arguably Kevin Costner’s greatest work, the multi-award-winning production makes its high def debut 20 years after it graced theater screens around the world. Read MGM’s press release to find out what we can expect from the 3-disc set: 
Man…if I only lived in the Los Angeles area…I would be all over this! This email from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment just came across my desk today in regards to my favorite television show of all-time, 24. In the Ultimate 24 Fan Competition, you have the chance to become a real-life Jack Bauer and experience his longest day in the 24 Marathon Challenge for a chance to win $10,000. Full details of the contest can be found below. Are you ready to fill Jack’s shoes? Man up! 
We normally don’t post about local events like these, but since we are in the holiday spirit around here and I would do anything asked by my kind PR folks who arrange all our advance movie screenings, here we are. Warner Bros. Pictures and Cleveland Metroparks are teaming up for a YOGI BEAR Thanksgiving Holiday Food Drive to benefit The Cleveland Food Bank on Saturday, November 27th, 2010 at the Cleveland Metroparks Chalet. Check out below for all the details and how you can win two advance screening passes to see YOGI BEAR. 
The latest entry in the long running Doctor Who series is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Starring Matt Smith as the new “Eleventh Doctor,” who has taken over the role from the well-regarded David Tennant. Joining him as the new companion is Karen Gillan as Amelia Pond (or Amy as she prefers to be called later). The show’s amazing longevity is truly impressive considering that it started in 1963 and it’s still playing today. The show is popular across the world and for all ages and it’s currently listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest running science-fiction show. 
The night of November 20th saw a fight card of twelve mixed martial art matches, pitting rookie against rookie as well as veteran against veteran. While evening mastermind, Lorenzo Gentile (pronounced jen-tilly), moved about with a look of determination tending to administrative duties, a crowd of 3,000 began to amass in a relatively short time. Boxing hall of famer Joe Gentile was also on hand for a meet-and-greet with fans as well as to oversee the evening’s event. Before the first bell rung at 7:00 pm, some of us Why So Blu staffers roamed the fighters’ gathering area in search of an interview. As Brian White pointed out, we were all a bit surprised as to how calm the athletes were before entering the cage. It was almost as if you were passing one of these guys on the street and it was no big deal. 
To celebrate renowned composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, this star-studded tribute concert was assembled by Lonny Price and held at the Avery Fisher Hall last March 2010. For those of you that aren’t aware of who Sondheim is, he has won an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammys, and a Pulitzer Prize. His best know works (as composer/lyricist) are A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins, as well as the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
In a game such as Chess, the player progresses through by strategically moving their pieces into specific locations, one by one, hoping to reach a particular attack point. Once all of the pieces are set, a series of actions could take place leading to the end of the game. For this chapter in the Harry Potter saga, all of the pieces are being setup and moved into their appropriate locations. This film is based on the final novel in the series. As the novel is quite large, the only way to seemingly make this into a satisfying ending for the film series was to divide it into two parts. 
It seems like every year we get some kind of Christmas movie and they usually all follow certain patterns which can be comforting or annoying depending on how well executed it is. Some movies like Elf, take familiar story that comes with the usual plot-lines but somehow manages to create something new and original. 
I recently had the chance to talk about this film with it’s director, Jon Turteltaub which you can read 
