Capsule reviews, by Standard-Examiner movie critic Steve Salles, of next Tuesday's releases:
TANGLED **** (PG) Brief mild violence. Loosely based on the Grimm's fairy tale "Rapunzel," this Disney creation is a CGI film that looks hand-drawn, while providing characters and songs that will remind you of the "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" era. However, leave it to the silent but expressive horse Maximus to steal the show. This is a crowd-pleaser for the entire family. 100 minutes.
COOL IT *** 1/2 (PG) Thematic elements. This documentary takes a different approach from that of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Instead of being fear-based, it seeks rational solutions in an area where none seem forthcoming. It's a refreshing and thoughtful approach. 89 minutes.
FAIR GAME *** (PG-13) Some language. A former U.S. ambassador calls out the Bush administration for manufacturing reasons to invade Iraq. The Bush White House fires back by outing the ambassador's wife as a CIA operative. 108 minutes.
MADE IN DAGENHAM *** (R) Language and brief sexuality. A group of women, working at a Ford plant in England in 1968, went on strike for equal pay. Seems fair. Not surprisingly, the women were met with resistance. This is their brave, true story. 113 minutes.
BLACK SWAN ** 1/2 (R) Strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use. Natalie Portman sheds her nice girl persona for a journey to the dark side. She somewhat pulls it off, but gets swept away into this cinematic mind-messing that is interested in technique over terror. Plus, it's so darned depressing. Portman won an Oscar for her performance. 108 minutes.
* * *
Also being released:
HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET, CHARLIE BROWN (G) The Peanuts gang learns a valuable lesson in the importance of security after Linus learns that his grandmother plans to rid him of his beloved blanket during an upcoming visit, in this animated special inspired by the comic strips of Charles Schulz. 46 minutes.
HEAVEN AIN'T HARD TO FIND (PG-13) A young fugitive teams up with a beautiful woman and a trio of hallowed spirits in saving a Baptist church from greedy land developers so that the community will have a place to gather and worship. 77 minutes.
HUSK (R) Horror violence and language. A small group of friends becomes stranded in the country following a horrific car accident, and encounter a psychotic scarecrow while searching for help. 83 minutes.
PROWL (R) Bloody violence, language and some teen drug and alcohol use. A small-town girl with big-city dreams gets dragged into a terrifying nightmare of unimaginable horror while scouring the city for an apartment with her fun-loving friends. 84 minutes.
THE RESIDENT (R) Brief nudity, violence, profanity, sexual situations. Recently separated from her husband and seeking to start a new life in the city, doctor Juliet (Hilary Swank) rents an apartment in Brooklyn and finds herself beset on all sides by a mysterious, unseen force of evil. 91 minutes.
TEENAGE PAPARAZZO (Not rated) After several years of playing a famous actor on the HBO series "Entourage," Adrian Grenier profiles a young man who is a unique product of our star-struck society, in this documentary. 95 minutes.
Steve Salles can be reached at films@standard.net.
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