Those Madagascar penguins, starring in their own movie, and other family films lead a mixed bag of new movies on DVD and Blu-ray this week.
Penguins of Madagascar (Dreamworks/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, deleted scene, featurettes, music video, photo gallery; two Poppin Penguins toys). After three Madagascar animated features and their own TV series, the four slapstick-prone covert-operative penguins got their own feature. And while the film didnt quite crack the $100 million box-office benchmark domestically, it nonetheless earned $283 million overseas, assuring a sequel down the road.
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private get a brief origin-story introduction and then its off to an adventure that is overstuffed with plot lines and sometimes a bit too frenetic, but which generally delivers the goods. The central story has the foursome going up against a villainous octopus (voiced by John Malkovich), which leads to globetrotting with an undercover task force led by a gray wolf (Benedict Cumberbatch). The puns fly fast and furious, keeping pace with a wide array of visual gags, some of them hilariously inventive.
Song of the Sea (Gkids/Universal/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, audio commentary, featurettes, art gallery, trailers). Beautifully animated Irish fantasy about selkies mythical creatures that live as seals in the water and humans on land. The story revolves around a young brother and sister living in a lighthouse with their widowed father. The 6-year-old girl has never spoken, but the boy discovers a way to communicate with her, and together they discover that she has a destiny, a fated mission to save the world of magic.
Annie (Columbia/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, deleted song, audio commentary, featurettes, music video, sing-alongs, photo gallery, trivia track). Young Oscar-nominee Quvenzhane Wallis takes on the title role in this modern-day reboot of the Broadway smash (after a 1982 film version and a 1999 TV-movie remake), playing opposite a horribly miscast Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan and a mugging Jamie Foxx as a mobile-phone mogul running for mayor (an updated variation on Daddy Warbucks). Wallis and Rose Byrne, as Foxxs assistant, fare best. The most famous songs have been reworked for a contemporary New York setting (a hip-hop Hard Knock Life?) and a few new songs have been added, but the shows magic eludes the filmmakers.
Wolfy: The Incredible Secret (Cinedigm/DVD/Digital, 2013, not rated). This French animated childrens film, dubbed into English, has two inseparable friends, a young rabbit and a young wolf, setting out to find the wolfs mother. When they arrive at their destination, they find themselves at a carnivore food fest. Bad idea.
Top Five (Paramount/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014; R for sex, nudity, language, drugs; deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, outtakes). Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in this comedy about a former stand-up comedy star in New York promoting his latest movie and about to marry a self-absorbed reality-TV star (Gabrielle Union). But when he spends the day with an aggressive journalist (Rosario Dawson), he finds himself contemplating his future in surprising ways.
Vice (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital, 2015; R for violence, language, sex, nudity; audio commentary, featurettes). A hedonistic resort called Vice lures men and women to act out their wildest fantasies in the company of compliant robots that seem human. A cross between Westworld and The Stepford Wives, with none of either films wit. Thomas Jane stars and Bruce Willis is here, but not much.
Son of a Gun (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital, 2014; R for violence, language, sex, nudity, drugs; audio commentary, featurette). Australias most notorious criminal (Ewan McGregor) strikes a deal with a fellow prison inmate, a 19-year-old (Brenton Thwaites) who will soon be released. In exchange for protection while hes incarcerated, when he gets out the lad must facilitate McGregors escape, which leads to a gold heist, which leads to dubious allegiances and double-crosses.
The Divine Move (CJ/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, not rated, in Korean with English subtitles or English dubbed, featurette, trailer). Relentlessly brutal Korean revenge thriller about a professional gambler who is framed for his brothers murder and sent to prison. Then, after his release seven years later, he gathers a crew and seeks vengeance on the kingpin who framed him.
Penguins of Madagascar (Dreamworks/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, deleted scene, featurettes, music video, photo gallery; two Poppin Penguins toys). After three Madagascar animated features and their own TV series, the four slapstick-prone covert-operative penguins got their own feature. And while the film didnt quite crack the $100 million box-office benchmark domestically, it nonetheless earned $283 million overseas, assuring a sequel down the road.
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private get a brief origin-story introduction and then its off to an adventure that is overstuffed with plot lines and sometimes a bit too frenetic, but which generally delivers the goods. The central story has the foursome going up against a villainous octopus (voiced by John Malkovich), which leads to globetrotting with an undercover task force led by a gray wolf (Benedict Cumberbatch). The puns fly fast and furious, keeping pace with a wide array of visual gags, some of them hilariously inventive.
Song of the Sea (Gkids/Universal/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, audio commentary, featurettes, art gallery, trailers). Beautifully animated Irish fantasy about selkies mythical creatures that live as seals in the water and humans on land. The story revolves around a young brother and sister living in a lighthouse with their widowed father. The 6-year-old girl has never spoken, but the boy discovers a way to communicate with her, and together they discover that she has a destiny, a fated mission to save the world of magic.
Annie (Columbia/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG, deleted song, audio commentary, featurettes, music video, sing-alongs, photo gallery, trivia track). Young Oscar-nominee Quvenzhane Wallis takes on the title role in this modern-day reboot of the Broadway smash (after a 1982 film version and a 1999 TV-movie remake), playing opposite a horribly miscast Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan and a mugging Jamie Foxx as a mobile-phone mogul running for mayor (an updated variation on Daddy Warbucks). Wallis and Rose Byrne, as Foxxs assistant, fare best. The most famous songs have been reworked for a contemporary New York setting (a hip-hop Hard Knock Life?) and a few new songs have been added, but the shows magic eludes the filmmakers.
Wolfy: The Incredible Secret (Cinedigm/DVD/Digital, 2013, not rated). This French animated childrens film, dubbed into English, has two inseparable friends, a young rabbit and a young wolf, setting out to find the wolfs mother. When they arrive at their destination, they find themselves at a carnivore food fest. Bad idea.
Top Five (Paramount/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014; R for sex, nudity, language, drugs; deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, outtakes). Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in this comedy about a former stand-up comedy star in New York promoting his latest movie and about to marry a self-absorbed reality-TV star (Gabrielle Union). But when he spends the day with an aggressive journalist (Rosario Dawson), he finds himself contemplating his future in surprising ways.
Vice (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital, 2015; R for violence, language, sex, nudity; audio commentary, featurettes). A hedonistic resort called Vice lures men and women to act out their wildest fantasies in the company of compliant robots that seem human. A cross between Westworld and The Stepford Wives, with none of either films wit. Thomas Jane stars and Bruce Willis is here, but not much.
Son of a Gun (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital, 2014; R for violence, language, sex, nudity, drugs; audio commentary, featurette). Australias most notorious criminal (Ewan McGregor) strikes a deal with a fellow prison inmate, a 19-year-old (Brenton Thwaites) who will soon be released. In exchange for protection while hes incarcerated, when he gets out the lad must facilitate McGregors escape, which leads to a gold heist, which leads to dubious allegiances and double-crosses.
The Divine Move (CJ/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, not rated, in Korean with English subtitles or English dubbed, featurette, trailer). Relentlessly brutal Korean revenge thriller about a professional gambler who is framed for his brothers murder and sent to prison. Then, after his release seven years later, he gathers a crew and seeks vengeance on the kingpin who framed him.
