Find out where you belong when you escape

In the highly-anticipated sequel to 'Madagascar,' Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane--sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all--the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place...but is it better than their Central Park home?

The five-year-old didn’t laugh as much as his 40-year-old father, which, granted, isn’t the basis upon which to conclude too much. Then again, most of the adults at a Saturday-morning sneak preview of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa were clearly having a better time than the wee ones, which should be expected from a film proffering wisecracks, class-warfare one-liners, smoky backroom union brokering (including a monkey subbing a spark plug for a lit cigarette), and Alec Baldwin reprising his every last dick-boss role as an alpha lion with a shellacked, gray-streaked mane. The kid adored all heck out of the first movie, which, like its subversive sequel, featured the voices of Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, and Chris Rock; he didn’t have much to say about the second one, save for his fondness for the gag about the crashing plane and the penguins, the latter of whom emerged as the acting-out favorites among the pre-K crowd. Alas, a sad note as Stiller’s Alex is reunited with his parents in Africa—the dad’s played by Bernie Mac, whose performance ranks among his richest. On a happier note: Sacha Baron Cohen’s King Julien has an expanded role, while Rock’s zebra, who isn’t as special as he thinks, provides a kids’ movie with a thoughtful moral about fitting in and standing out. I loved the new addition of characters such as Moto Moto (voiced my Black Eyed Peas bandmate Will.I.Am), and Mukunga (Alec Baldwin). In The end they all realize where they belong. Africa is now their home and it looks like they will be quite happy. Take the kids and there is even enough for the adults to keep you interested. A Happy 4 on my "Go See" scale.

Halloween DVD Treat

Today is Halloween and for those who are either too old to go out and Trick-Or-Treat or not really interested in going to costume parties I suggest you stay in and watch a good movie. Classics like Child's Play, Halloween, Friday the 13th, or even Carrie come to mind, But my pick will always be Shaun of the Dead.

Edgar Wright's horror-comedy film, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, follows the title character (Simon Pegg) through his mundane life in London. Joined by his immature and ever-present roommate, Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun excels at nothing except drinking pints of ale and watching television, which causes friction with his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield). Before Shaun can save his relationship, however, he's got to fend off a horde of zombies that are slowly taking over the city. Armed with a cricket bat and a vague sense of direction, Shaun must rescue his friends and loved ones, and bring them to the only safe place he can think of--the pub.

Cowritten by Wright and Pegg, SHAUN OF THE DEAD succeeds remarkably well at combining droll British humor with good, old-fashioned zombie cinema. While the movie is often hilariously amusing, it takes its horror pedigree seriously, offering up moments of genuine suspense, and even a healthy dose of gore. Pegg is oddly charming as the put-upon lead slacker, and Frost is appropriately oafish, but the living dead themselves also take up a fair amount of screen time, shuffling and limping in their best Romero form. For lovers of zombie films and other chills-and-chuckles outings like EVIL DEAD II and DEAD ALIVE, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is an instant cult classic. The first half of the film contains many of its best moments, as when Shaun walks through his zombie-ridden neighborhood so concerned with his own problems that he doesn't even notice the undead surrounding him. How did it get so bad so without Shaun noticing? Well, he had ample opportunity what with the non-stop news and radio coverage, but Shaun and his couch-potato pal Ed have itchy remote control fingers. Plus, Ed took Shaun on a weekend-long bender to drown his sorrows after his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield, smart without being too perky) dumped him. It seems that Shaun only ever wants to sit around and go down to his favorite bar, The Winchester. When the zombie menace (which, thankfully, is never explained) becomes clear, Shaun (and, to a lesser degree, Ed) springs into action, rounding up Shaun's mom, Liz and her two annoying friends Dianne and David, and bringing them to - where else? - The Winchester. In a series of amusing flash-forwards, Shaun and Ed try to determine the safest possible haven. They decide on the local pub because, among other reasons, Ed can smoke there. The whole outlandish situation is treated with typical English stoicism, leading to some wonderfully funny moments. Shaun’s mother (Penelope Wilton) doesn’t want to be rude, so she describes the zombies as being “a bit bitey.” And Shaun’s step-father (Bill Nighy) isn’t worried about having been bitten, because he ran the wound under a cold tap. Throw in Shaun’s best friend, Ed , who manages to work a fart joke into his death scene, and you have one of the better comedies of the year. Oh yeah, it’s also a horror flick with buckets of blood and crowds of unrelenting zombies. If there’s a downside, it’s that the film’s not very scary, although what zombie flick is? Every time something horrific happens, Shaun and his mates diffuse the tension with a cheeky one-liner, which makes for a terrific comedy but only and an even funnier horror flick. Pop this one in for a double dose of horror and comedy. Hell, i'd put this on just for Simon Pegg alone. This gets my holiday DVD pick. And it gets a much deserving 5 on my "Go See" scale.

Watch this Slumdog become a millionaire

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika (Frieda Pinto), the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Intrigued by Jamal’s story, the jaded Police Inspector (Irfan Khan) begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out.

Slumdog Millionaire, a sweeping, hopeful story about a boy in the slums of India who becomes an instant celebrity after he wins millions on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Adapted by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) off the novel Q &A by Vikas Swarup, the tale is framed within an interesting narrative structure that revolves around the young man, Jamal, being interrogated for fraud by the police, who cannot believe that a "slumdog" orphan could possibly have known the answers to the questions on the show. Boyle uses this conceit to take us back and forth from the police station, where Jamal ( Patel) is tortured to get him to confess how he cheated, to his appearance on the show, to the events throughout his youth that led to him knowing the answers to the game show questions. How did a boy growing up in the slums amid piles of garbage and filth know which US president is on the one hundred dollar bill, or who invented the revolver? Boyle takes us back through Jamal's life story to show us the mean-streets education that led to him knowing the answers, while managing to avoid making the set-up feel contrived. The scenes that take place during the game show are a masterwork of interplay and intellect, as Jamal duels verbally with wealthy, narcissistic host Prem Kumar (veteran Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor), who's sort of a Hindi version of Regis Philbin. There's a certain level of class struggle going on within the framework of the game show, pitting the wealthy, arrogant host against the soft-spoken, affable kid from the slums. Kumar, fearing that the eminently likable young man might detract from his own popularity with the audience, taunts Jamal for being a poor chaiwalla (tea bearer) and subtly -- and not so subtly -- tries to get Jamal to cash in and end his winning streak. What Kumar doesn't get is that Jamal's not really in it for the money at all. This is a character-intensive story, with the narrative lens focused firmly on Jamal, who, in spite of growing up amidst filth, abuse and the threat of starvation, emerges with his spirit, honesty and courage intact. The heart of the film, though, is the thread of love and friendship between Jamal and another young orphan, Latika, who's befriended by Jamal and gruffly tolerated by his older brother. The trio call themselves "The Three Musketeers" -- Jamal and his brother, Salim (Madhur Mittal) having been enraptured by the classic tale when they attended school before their mother died. Fate, life, and adults preying on the vulnerable youth of Mumbai's slums conspire to keep Jamal and Latika apart, but Jamal never sways from his belief that he and Latika are destined to be together. This love story, interwoven throughout the film, lends a classical, metaphorical level to the film that adds depth to its mainstream-audience friendly, accessible surface. Orphaned children in places like Mumbai are easy prey for adults who force or coerce them into servitude as beggars, prostitutes, and criminals. Jamal's older brother succumbs to the lure of crime as a path out of poverty; Jamal, on the other hand, does what he has to in order to survive -- when you're five years old, homeless and starving while the adults around you kick you around like a dog for merely trying to scrounge enough to keep from dying, the morality of theft and ownership doesn't really amount to much -- but he never loses his sense of fairness, justice and compassion. Jamal's pursuit of Latika is single-minded; She is the only thing in his hard-knock life that he's ever cared about other than his mother and brother. Even when Latika gives up and resigns herself to the life of abuse that it seems fate has mapped out for her, Jamal is her white knight, relentlessly fighting to free her from the prison in which beauty and destitution have trapped her. Patel, with his wide-eyed openness and mournful brown eyes, utterly charms as Jamal -- I want to see much more from this young actor in the future -- and all the cast, including the kids who play Jamal, Latika and his brother in their childhood, bring life and energy to their roles. Sweeping cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle brings the slums of Mumbai to life, finding the beauty and humanity amidst crushing impoverishment that most of us who will see the film could never imagine surviving, much less thriving in. There's sadness and tragedy within Slumdog Millionaire -- starvation, genocide, child prostitution and overwhelming oppression -- but there's humor, humanity and dignity as well. Boyle, stepping outside the UK to focus his lens on India, seems to have freed himself here to bring his brilliance as a director to its fullest fruition. Slumdog Millionaire is Boyle's best film to date, which is saying quite a lot; He's made a joyous, fun, and wonderfully accessible film that should play well, but even though this turned out so well, it MAY get overlooked by most moviegoers. I say go and see this one, you won't be disappointed. A definite 5 on my "Go See" scale

Was this the Sixth Sense all over again?

After a plane crash, a young therapist, Claire (Anne Hathaway), is assigned by her mentor (Andre Braugher) to counsel the flight's five survivors in Passengers. When they share their recollections of the incident – which some say include an explosion that the airline claims never happened – Claire is intrigued by Eric (Patrick Wilson), the most secretive of the passengers. Just as Claire's professional relationship with Eric – despite her better judgment – blossoms into a romance, the survivors begin to disappear mysteriously, one by one. Claire suspects that Eric may hold all the answers and becomes determined to uncover the truth, no matter the consequences.

As the film opens, we see Eric Clark (Patrick Wilson) trudging dazed along a beach, with a horrendous airplane wreckage all around him. He has evidently done what few people ever have --- walk away from a plane crash. In fact, he has barely a scratch. We later learn that out of 109 passengers, six managed to survive. The section of the fuselage that remained relatively intact after impact contains at least six undamaged seats, as we see from the effective set design by Carol Lavallee, and lends some credence that six people could have actually lived through this nightmare. A while later we are introduced to Dr. Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway), a grief counselor who is prepared to work with the survivors to help them over what surely will remain a traumatic experience. Of course, Eric is immediately smitten with Claire, and while she resists his obvious flirtations, we know the inevitable will happen, albeit their first kiss occurs in a most unlikely place. Their evolving relationship is so gradual we wish they would get on with it, already, and oh yeah ---- where is this story taking us??The rest of the cast features veteran actors David Morse, Andre Braugher and Dianne Wiest, but Wilson and Hathaway dominate most scenes. Once the plot is unraveled, there is one pretty good jolt which comes out of the blue. The premise here is not new, though ---- WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: it is reminiscent of Nicole Kidman's eerie The Others, as well as the Haley Joel Osment/Bruce Willis thriller The Sixth Sense that made M. Night Shyamalan a household name (well, almost). But Passengers isn't quite in that class.You will leave the theater with more questions than answers, which could either promote a lively discussion afterwards or leave you less than satisfied.Passengers is a haunting little movie that builds ever so slowly to an electrifying climax. Some films take their time reaching their destination, and the payoff is disappointing or non-existent. Here, although the plodding story is irritating, at times, you will likely agree that the end justifies the means. Although it tried too hard to be another Sixth Sense, it still held my attention to the very end, but this only get a 3 on my "Go See" scale.

Kevin Smith does it AGAIN!!

After the success of KNOCKED UP, Seth Rogen pairs up with another comely comedienne in ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO. In this Kevin Smith comedy, two desperate friends (Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) decide to earn a little extra money by creating their own adult film, but they also discover that they may be more than just pals.

When Kevin Smith’s Clerks came out in 1994, who could have known that the first-time filmmaker from Jersey was paving the way for filmmakers like Judd Apatow to take over the world? “Bromance” may not have been in our cultural lexicon 14 years ago, but that’s what Mr. Smith was dealing with—whether it be Jay and Silent Bob, or Ben Affleck and Jason Lee in Chasing Amy, or Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in (the underappreciated!) Dogma. But now, Mr. Smith has turned his attention to a more typical kind of romance, even though at the beginning it’s obscured by, well, porn. In the descriptively titled Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Seth Rogen plays Zack, a coffee barista who lives with his longtime best friend Miri (Elizabeth Banks) in a crumbly apartment under a mountain of unpaid rent and bills. After the water is shut off, and the heat, too (and gosh, it looks awfully cold in Pittsburgh—good thing Elizabeth Banks has so many homemade knit scarves and hats to be draped in), the two come up with a plan to save themselves: a homemade porn movie. One best not trouble themselves with the question of whether there was some other way Zack and Miri may have raised some money before resorting to onscreen sex—what’s the fun in that? Especially when it means you can come up with fun porn title spoofs on popular films (Star Whores!).

Still, it’s hard to imagine this film succeeding on any level without Mr. Rogen and Ms. Banks as the leads. The two of them share a natural chemistry, and while the film has some clunky moments and a couple of beats-off jokes leading up to the, um, climax of the film, when Zack and Miri inevitably get together (in quite an unusual fashion), the movie takes a surprising turn from the somewhat crass to heartwarming. Mr. Smith does an admirable job creating a character such as Miri, who can hang with the boys in a totally fresh and believable way. Some of Mr. Smith’s old reliables show up; warning, you might be shocked to see how the once baby-faced Jason Mewes has aged. Mr. Rogen brought some of his own friends into the mix, too—Craig Robinson (Darryl on the American Office) in particular walks off with a couple of scenes. As expected, there are a handful of obligatory racial and homosexual gags, and maybe a wee bit too much physically raunchy humor, but hey, if it gets seats filled, who are we to argue?

Kevin Smith’s fans are always eager to point out that without him, there would be no Judd Apatow. The foulmouthed, pop-culture-and-sex-obsessed guy pals of The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Superbad are the spiritual children of Dante Hicks and Randal Graves in Clerks. With Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith seems eager to retake the fast-talking-filth crown, and also get in on a little of Apatow’s racket of throwing in some sentimentality. On the first count, the collaboration of Smith and Seth Rogen yields solid results. When it comes to handling romance, the director can’t resist putting one of his characters on a toilet for the climactic admission of love. For the two old friends, though, actually having sex — even in front of a video camera and a crew of low-budget porn-makers — winds up being a game-changer, which is what “Zack and Miri” is for Smith. As the filmmaker matures, so do his characters, and after getting the amusing but featherweight “Clerks II” out of his system, it seems that Smith is ready grow as a filmmaker while still embracing his very R-rated comic sensibilities. The result is his smartest and funniest film since “Chasing Amy.”Smith has always had a gift with young actors — he is, for better or worse, responsible for launching the careers of Ben Affleck and Jason Lee — and his streak continues here. Rogen has become comedy’s favorite Everyman, and his rapport with Banks confirms his status as a dashing romantic lead in a schlubby stoner’s body. Even old dogs can learn new tricks, and thus Kevin Smith just directed a good movie. Highly recommendable! You'l laugh from beginning to end! I sure did. A Strong 5 on my "Go See" list.

You won't believe how it ends....or how it began

With everyone else dead and rotting, it's up to Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) to continue Jigsaw's murderous traditions. When he feels that his identity might be discovered, the killer has to use all his training as a detective to track down anything--and anyone--that might expose him in Saw 5.

The film opens with an EXTREMELY graphic torture scene that involves a pendulum. Seth Baxter plays a very important role to the story. We find out here that he mudered Hoffman's sister. He was sentenced to 20 years, but was let out after 5 due to a technicality prompting Hoffman to create a Jigsaw-like contraption to exact his own brand of justice. This catches the eye of the REAL Jigsaw. We found out in the 4th film that Detective Hoffman (Mandylor) was helping out Jigsaw (Bell) with the murders. Since Jigsaw is now dead, he needed someone to continue his legacy and that is what Mandylor was used for. This time around, Mandylor is now considered a hero because he saves a little girl in the beginning and basically "takes down Jigsaw," even though he is already dead. He becomes the hero but the problem lies in the fact that one of his victims, Agent Strahm (Patterson), makes it out alive, in what I would say is a pretty brutal scene. Strahm makes it is his goal the entire film to piece this together to find out who the accomplice is. He finds out pretty shortly that it has something to do with Hoffman and wants to bring him down. While all of this is occurring, there is a new game being played between five new characters that are somehow connected. Therefore, you have Strahm looking for Hoffman, a new five person jigsaw game and Jigsaw's ex-wife, Jill (Betsy Russell) participating in the fun as well. Though, her character was very vague throughout the film and we never really figure out her whole deal. Surprisingly, the fifth installment of the series has a nice flow to it and is still being able to dish out newly designed horrific torture scenes. Just when you thought all of the torture scenes had been used up in the past 4 films, think again. It turns out they spit out a very decent torture flick yet again.

We start off with 5 new victims who are connected, but it's not yet revealed how. We meet Brit (Julie Benz), Luba (Meagan Good), Charles (Carlo Rota), Mallick (Greg Byrk), and Ashley (Laura Gordon). They awake to find that they are in neck harnesses and are on a pulley system with sharp blades behind their heads. Jigsaw tells them that they have to work together to get the keys to get loose or they lose their heads and if they can't figure out how to within 5 minutes there are nail bombs also in the corners of the room that will dispose of them if they don't make it out of the room in time (these are in each room so I'll only explain it this one time). First they argue then do their best to get their keys. Needless to say one doesn't make it. The second room displays what looks like a section of an underground sewer. Overhead are jars that hold keys with shapes on them that unlock the drains so that they can get in before the time runs out (there are bombs in the room). Again, one doesn't make it. The last two rooms are quite creative. The next room has a tub of water in the center of the room and 5 electrical boxes which the currents need to be stopped in order to open the door in time. The electric cables don't quite reach the tub. With 3 people left by this time, one is sacrificed to get the door open. Now, it's down to 2 people and now they have figured out how they were all connected. For someone to get their hands on some property to build upon, they all find out that they had a hand in the deaths of the 8 people that resided in the building and now they are being judged or being given a chance at redemption if you look at it from Jigsaw's point of view. Now, in the last room the last two standing are faced with a new contraption that involves blood and a beaker that has to be filled with 10 pints of blood. This one is SO gruesome that it needs to be seen to be believed! Also they figure out at this time what exactly Jigsaw said back in the first room about working together and they realize that it's too late to turn back now and they perform the last task. All while this is going on Detective Strahm is pursuing Detective Hoffman who he knows is the Jigsaw accomplice. Back in the beginning (exactly where 4 ended) Strahm finds a tape from Jigsaw basically instructing him NOT to go ahead with his deeper investigation and that if he did that it would be his undoing...which it does.

I've noticed quite a few things from these Saw movies....the people being tested NEVER listen or fully comprehend what Jigsaw says until the very end. Best noted was Saw 2, where Detective Eric Matthews is instructed by Jigsaw to just give him a bit of his time and to talk to him and no harm would come to his son. He gets so agitated that he flips out and ends up being captured himself in a trap while his son was in the same room the whole time unharmed. In this one he instructs the 5 victims to work together to stay alive. In the first room where they wake up in the last 2 figure out that they only needed 1 key to get all of them out because the keys were ALL the same. In the 3rd room with the tub of water and electricity, if they had all worked together to make it to that point they would've gotten a small shock enough to open the door instead of one person taking it all. The last room would have still been brutal, but it would've taken 2 pints from them all to fill up the 10 pint beaker to open the door. Jigsaw gives these people the choice to redeem themselves, but they never quite figure that out...mainly because they end up dead before they do.

Jigsaw is DEAD, but his legacy will continue. During the movie we see how Hoffman was trained to take over and we see that he was connected to it all the way back to the first movie. It wasn't the best of the series, but interesting enough to keep any Saw fan intrigued (like me). Just to see the new traps alone is enough to bring me back time and time again. A definite addition to the franchise and a must see for any Saw fan. A gruesome 4 on my "Go See" scale.

How do I sign up to be a RockNRolla?

The action comedy RockNRolla, takes a dangerous ride into high crime and low life in contemporary London, where real estate has supplanted drugs as the biggest market, and criminals are its most enthusiastic entreprenuers. But for anyone looking to get in from small-time crook One Two (Gerard Butler) to shady Russian billionaire Uri Omovich (Karel Roden) theres only one man to see : Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson). A Mobster from the old school, Lenny knows the right wheels to grease and has his hand on the throat of any bureacrat, broker or gangster. But as Lenny's right-hand man Archy (Mark Strong) tells him, London is ground zero for the changing times, with big-time mobsters from the East, hungry criminals from the streets, and everyone in-between, all vying to change the rules of commerce and crime.

Archy (Mark Strong), our narrator, works for London kingpin Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson), who double-crosses charming thugs One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba) on, of all things, a semi-lucrative real estate deal. As can be the case with Ritchie, this deal is the tip of a filthy, dirty iceberg that sweeps up Russian money-man Uri (Karel Roden), crooked accountant Stella (Thandie Newton), and One Two's loyal crew, the Wild Bunch. Ritchie, who wrote the Rock script, keeps us guessing which game will eventually take center stage. Will it be the house One Two and Mumbles hope to acquire? Or will it be the Euros Lenny owes to Yuri? How about Yuri's missing painting, which we're never shown (a la the glowing whatever-you-think-it-is in Marsellus Wallace's briefcase)? Or will Ritchie's focus fall on Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), Lenny's oft-mentioned rock star son-in-law with a debilitating drug habit? A scrawny drug addict who has faked his own death in an attempt to boost album sales, Johnny should be laying low but can't resist turning up to throw a wrench into his father's carefully laid plans. Kebbell so effectively steals this show. We're witnessing the birth of a star in Rock, as Kebbell unleashes a wild-card performance from his gut. When he's on screen, it's impossible to look away. And that's impressive when you consider the eye-catching insanity Ritchie attempts in Rock. One Two and Mumbles pull off the most gentle carjacking you'll see on screen this year. Later, they endure the longest (and strangest) footrace, as they are relentlessly pursued by unstoppable Russian war veterans. It's one of many scenes played for big laughs.Ritchie has gone back to writing lyrical dialogue, tough-guy poetry delivered by a hardened but extremely polished cast. And for the first time in a long time, you can understand almost every spoken word. Butler's quite at home in Ritchie's underbelly. Newton manages to be more than eye candy, and Kebbell's an exhilarating treat. With even stellar and memorable performances by co-stars Tom Hardy(as Wild Bunch member Handsome Bob), Jeremy Piven (Mickey), Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (as Roman, a HUGE step up from the disappointing Max Payne), Matt King (Cookie), and Jimi Mistry (The Councillor), just to name a few.

Near the end of the film, I realized I was going to miss these original characters. So, apparently, is Ritchie. A brazen title card dropped before the credits promises more adventures with Archy, Johnny, and the Wild Bunch. Even more good news for fans of Ritchie and RocknRolla. I can't wait! In the end RockNRolla does NOT disappoint. It does everything that it set out to do and more. Highly recommendable. A definite 5 on my "Go See" scale