The character of Rapunzel is much better known than her story is, which gives Team Disney a certain amount of license to sweeten up her saga in "Tangled," a buoyant, often uproarious musical comedy that already has a hallowed place in the studio's history: It is, as the opening title informs us, Disney's 50th animated feature.

You might need it to mop away the sweat ' and possibly the tears ' triggered by director Danny Boyle’s electrifying, nervewracking portrayal of the perils of Aron Ralston (James Franco), the adventurer who set out to explore Utah’s Blue John Canyon...

For proof of how one outstanding performance can give elevate a middling movie, look no further than director Edward Zwick's "Love and Other Drugs." Based on Jamie Reidy's "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman," the film starts off as a reasonably raucous and raunchy comedy revolving around fast-talking Pfizer pharmaceutical peddler Jamie Randall (a vibrant, funny Jake Gyllenhaal), who isn't thrilled to be pushing Xanax in the Ohio River Valley in the late 1990s, until he meets bohemian artist Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway).

It all sounds perfectly innocuous. A lonely mouse befriends a snake. A stalwart rabbit stands guard at the gate to his forest. A chipmunk thinks she’s found Mr. Right in the form of a sophisticated squirrel.But despite its seemingly cuddly characters and an array of beguiling illustrations by Ian Falconer, David Sedaris’ “Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk” is probably not the best holiday gift for that special youngster on your shopping list.

In less than two hours, Aral Gribble and Wayne David Parker put themselves through a sort of acting aerobics workout, changing costumes and altering their voices every few minutes to portray an assortment of oddballs: a pair of garrulous radio disc...

With Michigan caught up in movie mania, the time seemed right for the launch of a new film festival. So Cochran, director of Lansing’s Office of Community Media, and his partners launched the Capital City Film Festival, scheduled for April 14 to 17. Submissions are being accepted.

Swoop! Swooosh! Swirl! Denzel Washington and Chris Pine may be the stars of “Unstoppable,” but it’s cinematographer Ben Seresin who gets the most taxing workout. Even when characters are simply standing around or engaged in tense conversations, the camera behaves like a first-grader that’s been force-fed Pixy Stix and Monster Energy Drinks. It circles, it spirals, it bobs and weaves: It’s as if poor Seresin spent his days strapped to a carousel from hell.

Looking for a place to screen your latest film? Dominic Cochran can help you out.Cochran, a partner of Lansing's Ahptic Film & Digital, has just announced the first Capital City Film Festival, to be held April 14-17 in downtown Lansing. It's open to everyone and submissions are now being accepted.

The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club opened last year in Universal City, near Hollywood. Although Lovitz is quick to admit his place (where he often performs on Wednesday nights) won’t be mistaken for the usual brick-wall, cabaret-style stand-up space.

In writer-director James L. Brooks’ classic 1987 comedy-drama “Broadcast News,” dynamic, idealistic producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) spent much of her time fretting about the rise of puff-pieces in network newscasts.