Brave (Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson) in Theatres on August 1, 2012

Brave (2012)

Audience
Average Rating: 4/5
Liked the Movie: 82% (n=114,380)

Critics
Rating: 3.5/5
Liked the Movie: 77% (n=183)


Reviews

"I really hope that people will give this imaginative little fairy tale a chance, and I can't wait to show it to my 6-year-old daughter." - Dana Stevens, Slate

"In addition to being fast, funny, and unpretentious, Brave is a happy antidote to all the recent films in which women triumph by besting men at their own macho games..." - David Edelstein, New York Magazine

"Brave offers young audiences and fairy tale fans a rousing, funny fantasy adventure with a distaff twist and surprising depth." = rottentomatoes.com

"The tone is uneven and more often morose than joyful. The pacing is slow and at times almost tedious. The end result is something that feels like it was put together from a jumble of Disney clichés tacked onto the skeleton of Beauty and the Beast." - James Berardinelli, ReelViews

"It's a subpar story that seems to exist mainly to sell a new Disney Princess in the form of wild-haired Merida." - Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News

"While co-directors Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell have successfully made a family action fantasy featuring a girl hero - a long-overdue revolution - the story is not as special as the princess inside it." - Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

"We would expect this kind of overstuffed joyride from Dreamworks Animation or the folks at Fox or even Disney itself. But it's terribly ordinary for Pixar, and ordinary is no longer enough." - Ty Burr, Boston Globe

"Brave" isn't a bull's-eye, but it's close enough. - Tom Long, Detroit News


Movie Info

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane). Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late. -- (C) Disney

Rated: PG

Running Time: 1 hr. 33 min.

Genre: Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

Directed By: Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews

Distributed By: Walt Disney Pictures

Cast
Kelly Macdonald (Merida)
Billy Connolly (King Fergus)
Emma Thompson (Queen Elinor)
Julie Walters (Wise Woman)
Kevin Mckidd (Lord MacGuffin)
Craig Ferguson (Lord Macintosh)
Robbie Coltrane (Lord Dingwall)

Source: rottentomatoes.com

Cars 2 (Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy) in Theatres on August 24, 2011

Cars 2 (2011)

Hazel's
Rating: 2/5
Review: The worst Pixar movie I have ever watched. I really liked the original 2006 Cars movie and I'm totally disappointed with this sequel. I even slept at some parts!

Audience
Rating: 3.4/5
Like the Movie: 59% (n=71,410)

Critics
Rating: 2.8/5
Like the Movie: 37% (n=187)


Reviews:

"Visuals look spectacular and action sequences take full advantage of the 3D format so you feel like you are burning rubber down winding roads at dizzying speed." - Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo

"It is all quite jolly and fast-paced, a feast for the eyes, but there's not much for the mind or the heart." - Derek Malcolm, This is London

"Cars 2 is as visually appealing as any other Pixar production, but all that dazzle can't disguise the rusty storytelling under the hood." - rottentomatoes.com

"Pixar's first bad film relies more on merchandising opportunities than storytelling ones." - Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy

"Cars 2 is beautifully animated but it's also frequently dull and painfully unfunny, thanks to an irritating lead character, an overstuffed script, several poorly conceived jokes and a plot that's probably too complicated for its target audience." - Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

"Although it would be unfair to label Cars 2 as unwatchable, it is surprisingly tedious in parts and not as satisfying as one might expect." - James Berardinelli, ReelViews

"Someone must like Mater, who's already had his own spinoff TV show. Just as someone must like Larry the Cable Guy, who voices him. But that someone isn't me, and if it isn't you, you're in for one very long matinee." - Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

"Cars 2 demonstrates that not every hit movie merits a sequel." - Carla Puig, USA Today

"One for the scrapheap." - David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]

"Not much engine-power here." - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

"Sweet turbo mother of fuel injections, what is this?" - Nell Frizzell, Little White Lies


Movie Info

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and the stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer). -- (C) Disney

Rated: G

Running Time: 1 hr. 52 min.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

Directed By: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar

Cast
Owen Wilson (Lightning McQueen)
Larry The Cable Guy (Mater)
John Turturro (Francesco Bernoulli)
Eddie Izzard (Miles Axlerod)
Michael Caine (Finn McMissile)
Emily Mortimer (Holly Shiftwell)
Bonnie Hunt (Sally)
Vanessa Redgrave (Mama Topolino)

Source: rottentomatoes.com

Prom (Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell) in Theatres on July 20, 2011

Prom (2011)

Audience
Rating: 3.2/5
Like the Movie: 51% (n=14,839)

Critics
Rating: 2.6/5
Like the Movie: 34% (n=77)


Reviews

"There are new tweeners every year. To them, the characters and plot devices in this perfectly competent film might well seem fresh." - Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

"Prom" is pure bubble gum, from its shiny wrapping to its mushy insides to its fleeting aftertaste. And sometimes, there's nothing wrong with chewing bubble gum." - Tom Horgen, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"She's a conformist overachiever, he's a troubled soul; a third-grader could tell that the two will fall hard for each other by the movie's halfway point." - Sandie Angulo Chen

"Given its flatly descriptive title and live-action Disney pedigree, Prom is more nuanced and less cynical -- but also just as corny and cliched -- as you might expect." - rottentomatoes.com

"Except for a couple of nice touches, "Prom" is a remedial class in cliches." - Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

"You certainly don't expect a Disney live-action movie to be ambitious or edgy, but you don't necessarily expect this degree of sloppiness either." - Andrew O'Hehir, salon.com

"Less engrossing than a Clearasil commercial and more synthetic than a Rebecca Black video." - Nel Minow, Chicago Sun-Times

"Prom" is so strenuously inoffensive it makes Disney's "High School Musical" look almost racy by comparison." - Lou Lumenick, New York Post

"By and large "Prom" is exactly what the prom-haters in the cast say it is, a lot of build-up for something that isn't remotely as "special" as those obsessed with it wish it to be." - Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

"Nussbaum's crew works hard to maintain a fresh-scrubbed look to the school, its students and the small community that contains it. They succeed all too well. Couldn't there have been at least one wall with graffiti?" - Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter


Movie Info

At "Prom," every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. Several intersecting stories unfold at one high school as the big dance approaches; "Prom" portrays the precarious passage from high school to independence as some relationships unravel and others ignite. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it's a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDonell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei (Yin Chang) and Tyler (De'Vaughn Nixon) harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school's most seminal events. There are hundreds of nights in high school, but there's only one "Prom." -- (C) Disney

Rated: PG

Running Time: 1 hr. 49 min.

Genre: Comedy

Directed By: Joe Nussbaum

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Cast
Aimee Teegarden (Nova Prescott)
Thomas McDonell (Jesse Richter)
De'Vaughn Nixon (Tyler Barso)
Siu Yin Chang (Mei Kwan)

Source: rottentomatoes.com

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz) in Theatres on May 20, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Audience
Rating: 3.7/5
Like the Movie: 67% (n=99,123)

Critics
Rating: 2.5/5
Like the Movie: 33% (n=221)


Reviews:

"Captain Jack Sparrow is back in excellent form for his fourth adventure in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is more serious in the hands of a new director, Rob Marshall, and thanks to Penelope Cruz it's also a good deal sexier." - Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides serves as a welcome corrective, reviving the fun, feather-light frivolity that any film based on a Disneyland ride ought to exhibit." - Andrew Barker, Variety

"It's shorter and leaner than the previous sequel, but this Pirates runs aground on a disjointed plot and a non-stop barrage of noisy action sequences." - rottentomatoes.com

"The movie is a series of distractions tossed together in the hopes that they will come together in a coherent story. That never really happens." - Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

"Repetitious, tedious, and pretty much joyless, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" strains to reboot what was up until now a generally fun and always profitable cinematic enterprise." - Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

"Pirates 4 struggles to stay afloat but finally sinks under the weight of its computer-rendered fakery, which the addition of 3-D does absolutely nothing to improve." - Peter Howell, Toronto Star

"The pirates of the Caribbean are back, and this time they've given up on the doubloons and galleons to plunder something really precious. Our time." Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

"Its one real act of piracy is stealing away your excitement." - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly


Movie Info

Synopsis: Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed adventure. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz), he's not sure if it's love-or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the "Queen Anne's Revenge," the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past. -- (C) Disney

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hr. 17 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

Directed By: Rob Marshall

Written By: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Cast
Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow)
Penelope Cruz (Angelica)
Ian McShane (Blackbeard)
Geoffrey Rush (Captain Hector Barbossa)

Tangled (Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi) in Theatres on February 2, 2011

Tangled

Hazel's
Rating: 4/5
Review: I watched this in 3D at SM Tarlac. The songs by Alan Menken were just ok, unlike his previous work for Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast wherein I really wanted to buy a cassette tape (yun pa uso noon) after watching the movie. Though there were some dragging parts, I love the story and "Pascal" as well =)

Audience
Average Rating: 4.2/5
Like the Movie: 89% (n=80,478)

Critics
Average Rating: 3.75/5
Like the Movie: 89% (n=161)


Reviews

"Tangled is the best animated film from Disney in the past 15 years." - Tom Long, Detroit News

"Tangled is unusually attuned to the emotional frequencies of mothers and daughters, considering that, like basically every Disney/Pixar feature, its writer (Dan Fogelman) and directors (Nathan Greno and Byron Howard) are a bunch of dudes." - Dan Kois, Vilage Voice

"If "Tangled" hasn't morphed into a Broadway show within five years, then Disney isn't as smart as I think it is." - Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

"While far from Disney's greatest film, Tangled is a visually stunning, thoroughly entertaining addition to the studio's classic animated canon." - rottentomatoes.com

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, you are lovely to look at and occasionally charming. But there just ain't much to you beyond the hair." - Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

"I don't feel like writing a review of "Tangled." I feel like throwing it a parade." - Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune


Movie Info

Genre: Animation, Kids & Family, Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

Synopsis: Walt Disney Pictures presents "Tangled," one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told. When the kingdom's most wanted-and most charming-bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) hides out in a mysterious tower, he's taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn's curious captor, who's looking for her ticket out of the tower where she's been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. In theaters this holiday season in Disney Digital 3D(TM), "Tangled" is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair-lots of hair. -- (C) Disney

Rated: PG for brief mild violence

Running Time: 1 hr. 40 min.

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Directed By: Nathan Greno , Byron Howard

Written By: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Dan Fogelman

Cast
Mandy Moore (Rapunzel)
Zachary Levi (Flynn Rider)
Richard Kiel (Vlad)
Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel)


Source: rottentomatoes.com