A Tale of Two Stories

Yes, the title is a bit redundant, get over it.

Today, I saw two movies: one in the theater and one on digital video disc. The one that I saw in the theater was the Warner Brothers-banked 'Sucker Punch' and the one I saw on video was Disney's 'Tangled.' Let me just say that, if you had told me at the beginning of the day that I would have seriously liked one of these movies and really disliked the other, I would not have guessed that Disney would be the day's winner. However, this was definitely the case. Let me tell you a little of what I thought about both of these movies.

Sucker Punch

Overview: Just let me say that I'm never seeing a movie that already has the word 'Suck' in the title ever again. I went into the movie not really knowing what the plot would be and I was pretty much disappointed from the moment the plot actually commenced. All I knew about it was that it was a movie about some bodacious babes kicking -A- and taking names, until they ran out of names. This was true to a certain degree, but that plot that surrounded the scenes of trash-kicking babeage was disappointing.

My Favorite Part: The action. There are at least four extended scenes in which the five babes in this movie kick some serious trash. These action scenes have a little bit of something for everyone. There are guns, swords, explosions, killer robots, and a dragon... no car chases though. I amend my earlier thought.

My Least Favorite Part: The resolution. Without revealing too much, the resolution involves a protagonist shift, in which another character takes the lead from the primary protagonist, Babydoll. Also the movie ended with a black screen and a short monologue by the new protagonist. I don't like this. I think this film could have been good, or even very good if the writers had not taken the mantle away from Babydoll and given it to another character, but as it is, it left much of its cinematic tension unresolved. The overarching theme of the movie is that any individual has the power to change his/her life and to win his/her freedom, however I don't think the plot went about it in the most inspiring way possible.

My Favorite Character: Though I really enjoyed the fact that Blondie was one of the few women who wasn't blonde, my favorite character had to be Rocket. She took the primary protagonist, Babydoll, under her wing and was pretty much her biggest fan during much of the movie. Though she had made some big mistakes in her life, she was doing her best to overcome them and to help others escape the circumstances in which they were. Rocket, in a way, is a manifestation of this theme of the story.

Random Thought(s): Babydoll is either left-handed or left-eye dominant. I know this because she held a gun to her stepfather's face at the beginning of the movie with her left hand. She should have killed him when she had the chance.

Overall Grade: C+

Tangled

Overview: I really enjoyed this new take on the classic fairy tale, Rapunzel. There seemed to be just the right mix of comedy and drama with a plot that only sociopaths would dislike. The last animated Disney movie that I actually enjoyed was 'The Emperor's New Groove' in 2000. Tangled definitely broke that streak and has, at least a little, renewed my faith in the Walt Disney Corporation.

My Favorite Part: Outlandish, but well-placed comedy. In one of my favorite scenes, the 'prince' Flynn and a determined horse, Maximus are fighting on a tree stretched over a cliff for a satchel on the edge. The tree ends up experiencing a transverse shear failure (i.e. doesn't bend, just suddenly becomes detached) and falls off the cliff. I thought that was hilarious, but that's mostly because I'm an engineer. There's also a scene in which Flynn is using a frying pan to duel Maximus, who has a dagger in his mouth; classic! There were so many scenes and lines that made me laugh, I could dedicate a blag post or two just to them. The comedy was always well-placed, without detracting from the plot, which, in and of itself, did not disappoint in the slightest.

My Least Favorite Part: The [Romantic] Tension. I'm not going to drop the S-bomb in my evaluation of a Disney movie, that's just a little over the top. Anywho, I felt that the romantic tension that builds between Flynn and Rapunzel developed in a very strange way. Rapunzel seemed to make a totally seamless transition from being deathly afraid of Flynn to being infatuated with him. And likewise, Flynn went from being totally self-motivated, to genuinely caring for Rapunzel with no single, galvanizing event between the two of them. This isn't how things really work, but then again, this is quite literally a fairy tale. And really, I had a hard time finding anything else I didn't like about this movie.

My Favorite Character: Pascal, closely followed by Maximus. Yes, I thought the animal characters really cleaned up in this movie. Pascal, the chameleon, seems to manage to express the intended emotions of the audience without using even a single word. It helps that he can change colors with every mood change. He also seemed to be looking out for what's best for all the characters, though especially Rapunzel, without making many enemies. In short, I wish I could meet more people like Pascal. Maximus is out for Flynn's head at the beginning of the story, but through the kindness of Rapunzel, he comes to make friends with him at the end. Probably my favorite subplot of the movie.

Random Thought(s): "Did I ever tell you that I have a thing for brunettes?" I've mentioned before that I have a thing for a woman with green eyes. Well, to be more specific, I have a thing for green-eyed brunettes with short(ish) hair, because I thought the post-haircut Rapunzel was absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. Significantly more so than pre-haircut Rapunzel. Also, the piano wasn't invented until the 18th century and Mozart didn't live until the latter-half of that century. Finally, this movie cost $260 (m) for Disney to produce, and for that kind of money, it better be that good.



Overall Grade: A

Yeah, I definitely would have picked the action-packed, PG13-rated, violent babefest to come out on top at the end of the day. However, if you've looked at my bracket, you'd know that I'm not exactly on a prophetic hot streak.