A scene from 'Tangled'. Courtesy Walt Disney Studios.
Tangled – Disney’s 50th animated feature is a take on the story of Rapunzel — the princess with magical long hair who has been locked away in a tower by an evil witch. The animation is beautiful, and although it’s computer generated and in 3-D, it resembles classic Disney movies such as Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast more than the new wave of Pixar-style films. The voice work of Mandy Moore (as Rapunzel) and Zachary Levi (as leading man Flynn Rider) also works perfectly, and the laughs and adventure never stops (even the 3-D is quite impressive). Take the entire family and enjoy this amazing tale. **** out of 5 stars.
Made in Dagenham – In 1968, the Ford plant in Dagenham (a suburb of London, England) had an issue with 187 female employees who wanted equal pay as their male counterparts received. When the executives at Ford didn’t abide, the women walked off the job and eventually the plant had to shut down. Made in Dagenham is a superficial and flighty dramatization of this historic strike, directed by Nigel Cole, the man behind 2003’s Calendar Girls. He fills the screen with pretty actresses and unrealistic scenes and turns this story into the Sex and the City of historical films. Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike, and Bob Hoskins star. ** out of 5 stars.
Also opening this week is the hyper-action flick Faster (starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), the Jake Gyllenhaal-Anne Hathaway romance Love & Other Drugs, Burlesque — the musical starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, The Nutcracker 3-D, and the documentaries Waste Land (Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal) and Cool It (Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal).
