‘Madagascar 3’ is No. 1 and both charming, funny
New DVD releases this week include the good, the bad and the ugly.
• “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” Grade A: Except for the marvelous military-minded penguins, the first two “Madagascar” offerings were lame.
The original 2005 film was a tepid offering that limped along like an aged, mangy lion with bunions. The sequel, three years later, ended up as little more than a crass menagerie.
They must have been saving the best for part three. “Madagascar 3” is charming, beautifully animated and, best of all, side-splittingly funny. This is a rare occasion where the product has improved with age.
• “Alcatraz: The Complete Series,” Grade B-plus: The short-lived Fox series from J.J. Abrams looks at what happens when all of the guards and prisoners at the prison vanish, then begin reappearing years later. It’s “Lost” meets “Prison Break.”
The series was canceled despite strong writing and acting after only 13 episodes. Sarah Jones portrays a strong hero, while Jorge Garcia offers just the right amount of humor to keep this show from being too dark. It also features the always reliable Sam Neill.
• “Chernobyl Diaries,” Grade C-minus: A group of young people find terror at the site of the nuclear accident.
Other than the setting, there’s little about the film to distinguish it from all of the other horror films where a group of good-looking people find themselves in a deadly situation and make silly decisions as they are picked off one by one.
As with so many of these films, it’s not the destination but the journey that either makes or breaks the movie.
The journey here has six tourists taking a trip to the abandoned city of Pripyat. The extreme tourist trip goes bad when the group’s van won’t start, and they soon realize the city is not as abandoned as they thought.
• “That’s My Boy,” Grade D-minus: A bad dad (Adam Sandler) tries to reconnect with his son.
Sandler’s latest film fiasco starts with statutory rape and ends with incest. Let the laughter begin.
The reason Sandler’s film is a movie version of dog droppings isn’t that it tries to get laughs from topics generally off limits in comedies. The problem is that no one seems to try.
Also new on DVD:
“Mad Men: Season 5”: Another superb season of the cable series about the lives and loves at an advertising agency.
“Greystone Park”: Three filmmakers break into an asylum.
“The Cup”: Tale of a jockey’s effort to win the Melbourne Cup.
“Waterloo Road”: Follows students and teachers at the Waterloo Road Comprehensive School.
“Thomas Kinkade Presents A Christmas Miracle”: Eight strangers spend Christmas together.
“The Ice House”: Detectives must decide if a dead body is a new or old case. Daniel Craig stars.
“Brave New World”: Five-part documentary series that looks at technology and biology.
“Touch: The Complete First Season”: Fox series stars Kiefer Sutherland.
“Moonrise Kingdom”: Two 12-year-olds fall in love, run away into the wilderness.
“Psych: The Complete Sixth Season”: James Roday stars.
“Pete’s Dragon”: Disney film is on Blu-ray to mark its 35th anniversary.
“Big Bad Beetleborgs: Season One, Volume One”: Includes 27 episodes.
“Trooper and the Legend of the Golden Key”: The canine detective is on the case.
“Last Ride”: Fugitive takes 10-year-old son into the Australian outback.
“Pound Puppies: Super Secret Pup Club”: Includes five Pound Puppies adventures.
“Legendary Amazons”: Jackie Chan stars in film based on 1972’s “The 14 Amazons.”
“Cagney & Lacey: The Complete Series”: Tyne Daly, Sharon Gless star in the TV cop drama.
“The Heart of Christmas”: A family wants to give their child one last Christmas.
“Company”: Stories told through Broadway musical standards.
“Back From Hell”: Country manor may not be idyllic for renters.
“The Firm: The Complete First Season”: Josh Lucas headlines law drama.
“2016: Obama’s America”: Film based on Dinesh D’Souza novel.
“Lemon”: Story of Tony Award winner and felon Lemon Andersen.
“You Can’t Do That On Film”: Documentary about “You Can’t Do That On Television.”
“Simon & Simon: Season Seven”: Rick and A.J. are back for another season of sleuthing.