Tangled (2010, U.S.)

I had heard lots of good things about this movie, and it was cute. The story is the basic Rapunzel story, except she's a whole lot more involved in her fate than in the tale I remember. Her standard Disney animal sidekick is a little chameleon named Pascal, who is absolutely adorable. Her adoptive mother is suitably evil. The prince of the story is replaced with a sort of charismatic highwayman named Flynn Rider, which added a lot to the story since he had his own set of problems to add to hers. (They meet as he flees from palace guards when he and two hulking cronies steal the kidnapped princess's crown from the castle.) The hulking cronies (who turn against Flynn quickly) are perfect specimens of grunting stupidity. Rapunzel is spunky and determined. The animation is bright and fetchingly done. (One element that I absolutely loved were the floating lanterns that the entire royal city released on the anniversary of the princess's birth, which were just breathtakingly beautiful and pure magic, even in animated form.) I liked the first person narration that framed the story with quasi-prologue/epilogues. The plot is pretty strong. The only thing I thought was weak was the songs, which were just okay, but they were no Aladdin or Little Mermaid or even Enchanted. Otherwise, good stuff.

Adventure, humor, romance, and a happy ending... It's typical Disney fare and enjoyable as these things go. A fun twist (or tangle) on a classic story.

Rating: 3.5

I Sell the Dead (2008, U.S.)

Of all the bizarre movies, I've ever seen, this one might take the cake. Even considering the other most recent (Kill Your Darlings). It's about a graverobber (adorable Dominic Monaghan) who is about to be executed for his crimes, and he's telling his story to a priest (who is played by Ron Perlman, not a very priestly guy). At first it seems like a sad story about a kid with a tough life, but then he and his mentor start digging up vampires and zombies and goodness knows what else. Meanwhile they have an ongoing competition with a rival graverobbing gang.

Basically, there wasn't much of a plot. They just go around robbing graves, which is often quite eventful, but when it's over, it's over. There's not much forward motion, just repetitiveness.

Even Dominic Monaghan wasn't enough to balance this lack of eventfulness. He was his adorable charismatic self, but not to the level you'd expect. The one thing that really stood out in this film was the score, which was eerie but whimsical—one Danny Elfman would be proud of. It reminded me of the Edward Scissorhands score, but landing more on the eerie side rather than the whimsical one. It fit the tone perfectly.

Still, I was underwhelmed.

Rating: 2.5