Blu-ray Review: The Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

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Tired of simply listening to the unofficial but oft-repeated Madagascar franchise theme song, the trilogy's scene-stealing penguins take the lyrics to "I Like to Move It" literally – launching themselves out of the circus setting of the third film (by cannon no less) and into their very own adventure in their eponymous debut feature, The Penguins of Madagascar.

Moving quickly once again, we flash back to the cocky characters’ more humble beginnings marching for the cameras aimed by documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog, who uncharacteristically encourages a member of his crew to give his adorable subjects “a shove.”

And once the Herzog described "frisky little snow clowns" tumble a long way down to rescue an egg, the trio of quick-witted penguins make like three men in an '80s movie and take it upon themselves to raise a baby.

Rule-breakers from the start, after mixing things up internationally – both with and without their Madagascar costars on screens big and small (given the success of their eponymous Nickelodeon spinoff series as well) – the black-and-white foursome put their love of orange on the line.

Breaking into Fort Knox to raid the Cheezy Dibbles snack machine of their dreams, the guys get much more than they bargained for than mere chips while attempting to satisfy not only their appetite but replish their arsenal as well, given their habit of turning the cheese puff-like chips into effective weapons via a form of salty self-defense you could call Crave Maga.

Suddenly hurled high into the air, the penguin army's food filled reverie is quickly interrupted when they're abducted by Dave, a former zoo-mate whose enthusiasm for cheese, mayhem and pop cultural witticisms rivals their own.

Tired of being given the cold shoulder by zoo attendees who perpetually marched past the overlooked octopus in order to visit the photogenic penguins instead – causing him to be sent from one zoo to the next like a baseball player traded from team to team – the John Malkovich voiced villain decodes to reinvents himself as Dr. Octavius Brine in order to exact revenge.

Whisking his enemies away by helicopter to Venice where we discover that he's been hard at work on an elaborate plot to declare war on the animal kingdom, Dave's ultimate showdown with penguin nation is put on hold when our heroes are intercepted by an "elite undercover interspecies task force" called the North Wind.

As organized and highly technical as the penguins are scrappy and bold, although the Benedict Cumberbatch led uber classified North Wind promises to be "dedicated to helping animals that can't help themselves," the ragtag penguins are eager to prove they have the guts and Dibbles to do the job themselves.

Fast-paced and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Penguins features some highly quotable celeb driven punchlines including "Nicolas Cage them," "Hugh Jackman the battle stations and "Charlize Theron their way" employed throughout.

And although it gets increasingly outlandish as it continues, not realizing that it's at its best when it doesn't over-complicate and threaten to bog down its character rich plotline, it’s a great showcase for the Madagascar MVPs.

Gorgeously transferred to Blu-ray in a combo pack that also includes DVD and Digital Copy, this Madagascar spinoff more than stands on its own as a family film of equal interest to adults and children, which is an enviable feat in its own right.

From its James Bond infused paradigm as well as its spectacularly inventive animated fight scenes that ridicule the editing and cinematographic styles of contemporary live action movies made by Michael Bay and company, much like those Cheezy Dibbles, The Penguins of Madagascar leaves you hungry for more.

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DVD Review: Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World (2 DVD Set)

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Excerpts from
"A Letter to Werner Herzog" by Roger Ebert*:


(photo source)

"You have had the visions and made the films and trusted people to find them, and they have. It is safe to say you are as admired and venerated as any filmmaker alive—among those who have heard of you, of course. Those who do not know your work, and the work of your comrades in the independent film world, are missing experiences that might shake and inspire them."

"You often say this modern world is starving for images. That the media pound the same paltry ideas into our heads time and again, and that we need to see around the edges or over the top. When you open “Encounters at the End of the World” by following a marine biologist under the ice floes of the South Pole, and listening to the alien sounds of the creatures who thrive there, you show me a place on my planet I did not know about, and I am richer. You are the most curious of men. You are like the storytellers of old, returning from far lands with spellbinding tales."

"You and your work are unique and invaluable, and you ennoble the cinema when so many debase it. You have the audacity to believe that if you make a film about anything that interests you, it will interest us as well. And you have proven it."

(Click Here to Read the Entire Letter)

* Note: Encounters was dedicated to Roger Ebert, whom filmmaker Werner Herzog describes in Disc 2's extensive New York City Museum of the Moving Image interview with director Jonathan Demme as a man, "whom I love as a wonderful warrior; a soldier-- a good soldier of cinema."

Obviously, indeed to myself and certainly any other film buffs who found themselves continually seeking out worthwhile cinema over the last few decades, Roger Ebert has been our guiding force and an amazingly heroic champion of unheralded film-- whether in his former successful television series he co-hosted with Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper or in his delightful column and blog from The Chicago Sun-Times, which has inspired him to branch off releasing some truly remarkable and valuable works of nonfiction scholarly film study. Yet, at the same time such high praise from the humanistic, endlessly compassionate, witty, and inspiring filmmaker Werner Herzog seems equally fitting of Herzog himself.

While there's no way that anyone can begin to poetically describe his work with such amazing clarity and insight as Ebert managed to capture in that heartfelt letter, (which Herzog reveals he'd kept completely private and never would have published) interviewer Jonathan Demme makes a great point early on in their interview that justifies its release on the web. He does this by noting an issue that's been cropping up more and more in the world of journalism-- namely the dwindling amount of film critics being fired every day in favor of syndication, popular catch-all sites like Rotten Tomatoes which has led to an overwhelmingly narrow point of view being parroted again and again on the biggest blockbusters.

Thus, the public access to this letter and Ebert's constant fight to get the word out on work he passionately cares about makes soldiers like Ebert and Herzog incredibly important here in the twenty-first century. Do we really need two thousand reviews of Mamma Mia! when only a handful of critics may actually venture outside the comforts of cushy big studio screenings to seek out images that may "shake and inspire them?" It's a fascinating problem and one that doesn't really belong in this review either except that it's a question that is raised by Demme and by the very few scholars like Ebert we have left who haven't given in to box office predictions and gossip pieces.

Moreover, additionally, it's applicable as well to Herzog-- the man they both celebrate in regards to this amazing documentary-- which in its own way by discussing some of the questions facing us regarding our perhaps bleak environmentally jeopardized future also goes in tandem with the movie industry as well.

Of course, it's all subtext (or the questions behind the questions,) yet instead of delving beneath the ocean on that heated topic, we'll plummet into the icy waters of Antarctica with Werner Herzog who ventures to the continent to film anything aside from another penguin movie. Again, working with the Discovery Channel which aired the series-- Herzog decides to "go someplace cool," accepting the National Science Foundation of America's invitation to make his next nonfiction work in a faraway land but in typical Herzog fashion, explore the landscape in a way that it's never really been captured.

Whether he's likening the underwater divers to astronauts as the bravely daring scientists "sink into bliss" without tethers and without the use of compasses since the magnetic needle would point straight downward or wondering why chimpanzees don't straddle goats and ride into the sunset like our famous cowboys-- his point-of-view is always distinct and amusing. And it's especially thus when evaluating the set-up of the man-made McMurdo town and its noisy construction sites, fixed research labs, "Freak Train" entertainment act, ironic "Happy Camper" survivalist training, or the "Frosty Boy" desert machine that keeps everything running smoothly and without crisis.

While he considers the comfortable luxuries like aerobics and yoga centers, bowling alleys, and ATM machines "abominations," with his wry, witty, observational narration that runs throughout as he tries to get away from the very nice people of the Science Foundation who were "just a little too concerned with my safety," the film really gets going when he moves into the desolate, endlessly white landscape.

Visiting the continent when it exists in that surreal state of five months without night, he gives us a nice historical overview of the early explorers whose ships became stuck in the ice floes, leaving them stranded in the failed, nearly one-hundred year old Shackleton Expedition to the way that now the mesmerizing yet unforgiving landscape of white-outs and violent winds has become a near-magnet for "people with the urge to jump off the edge of the map," as one interviewee notes.

And while the research is remarkably fascinating as we discover the study of icebergs not as just chunks of ice that sunk the Titanic but instead as the filmmaker notes "dynamic, changing, living entities" (that are now producing change that they broadcast to the world in response to what the world is broadcasting to the icebergs in terms of the global temperature rise), is the breathtaking footage of the wonders of the land itself.

From the underwater exploration of single-cell organisms to finding an extremely unique angle to film one unforgettable penguin who wanders off from his group alone, ready to venture into the unknown optimistically (despite inevitable doom), who--much like the Energizer Bunny-- will just keep going and going no matter how many attempts are made to bring him back, Encounters is an incredibly unique portrait of all life coexisting on the continent.

And Herzog, always drawn to eccentric tales and larger than life figures manages to find some truly unforgettable individuals captured on film as he interviews the various adventurers and PhD "part-time workers" turned "professional dreamers" all with a wild story to tell from nearly being hacked by a machete in Guatemala while working in the Peace Corp, a contortionist who can "travel as hand luggage" who trekked from Ecuador to Peru in a sewer pipe, or a heartbreaking look at an escapee who made it out from behind the Iron Curtain yet still keeps a bag packed at all times should he need to leave at a moment's notice.

In this lush digital transfer, available from Image Entertainment in a 2-DVD set also debuting on Blu-ray, audiences are treated to a plethora of extras from additional featurettes such as "Under the Ice" and "Over the Ice" coupled with bonus Herzog interview footage with divers and scientists.

Of course, aside from the film, the standout is that incredible roughly sixty-seven minute interview with Demme that fills disc 2 and is a rare treat for Herzog fans who by now have come to cherish the way that he always stays true to his own vision and charts his own course, much like-- not just the human inhabits of Antarctica he films but also that penguin who is waddling onward-- perhaps planning to make his own documentary, now that he's been inspired by masterful films like Encounters at the End of the World.

The Grand

Director:
Zak Penn

In The Grand, Woody Harrelson’s character Jack Faro is proof that for addicts, sometimes admitting you have a problem is not the first step. In fact, in his case, it seems to have been the gateway that perhaps just having only one, two, or eight addictions weren’t enough as—cheaper by the dozen—it’s Jack’s policy to “bring ‘em on” becoming addicted to every possible drug known to man. And while we’re at it, he threw marriage into the mix, making Elizabeth Taylor look like a blushing amateur, having walked down the aisle exactly 74 times and although he tells the camera in Zak Penn’s hilarious Christopher Guest-like mockumentary that he loved each and every one of his wives, within minutes we realize that he can’t exactly place them all.

Soon, true to form, Jack completely forgets the fact that he’d once wed the lovely, Shannon Elizabeth who works as an employee of the casino he’d inherited from his grandfather. Incidentally, it's the same place he’s darn near run into the ground with disastrous theme choices for its reconstruction including renovating the classic old school Rabbit’s Foot Casino so that it resembles a nuclear reactor or pays homage to the great Chicago Fire. Obviously, the drugs have affected his mental state and rock bottom for Jack came when he was kicked out of his own casino and-- although he can’t honestly remember-- he believes he’d given the order himself.

Needless to say he’s got a lot of work to do and fittingly we first encounter Jack where he’s resided for two years at rehab where he’s up to his Casanova like old ways, wooing his doctor with a song about the twelve steps, although he’s only on the first one. Promising his lovesick doctor that he’ll write, he’s convinced to leave rehab to try and save his family’s Rabbit’s Foot Casino by playing for a place in the final round of the six person North American Indoor Poker League winner take all tournament, complete with a ten million dollar prize.

Harrelson’s hilarious performance serves as the film’s anchor and coming off the heels of his impressive work in the somber No Country for Old Men and The Walker, it's a nice stepping stone to an even funnier ensemble piece than his work alongside Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro. In order to give Harrelson more to work with, Zak Penn invites numerous veteran comedians to the cinematic party as well. Although IMDb reports the script was a mere twenty-nine pages, in the hands of improvisational pros and versatile entertainers like Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Richard Kind, Judy Greer, and countless others, they elevate what should have been a lackluster forgettable rental into one of the most surprisingly entertaining DVD sleepers of 2008.

One of the first and incidentally least likable competitors we meet is Chris Parnell’s angry, anal-retentive, mathematically obsessed Harold who not only lives with his mother but makes her life a living hell ensuring she’s always preparing his nutritious brain food, complete with supplements. Moving the action to Massapequa, we meet one of the competition’s likeliest frontrunners, Lainie (Cheryl Hines), who given the rarity of her gender in the finals is merely dubbed “The Woman” instead of being served up one of the memorable, alternately cheesy, and hip nicknames. Having been raised by a hyper masculine, challenge hungry, dysfunctional father (Gabe Kaplan) alongside her fellow aggressive and obnoxious player and brother Larry (David Cross), Lainie is used to dealing with difficult men. However, her main preoccupation away from cards seems to be tirelessly supporting her husband Ray Romano who hasn’t been the same since he survived a lightning strike. Now filling his time by inventing new ideas such as “the round beach towel,” nonsensical sayings, and odd handshakes, Romano’s biggest concern seems to be in negotiating with his wife over who has to look after their children if her shot at the championship conflicts with his Yahoo Fantasy Football draft time slot.

Of course, Vegas isn’t Vegas without veteran old-timers and they arrive in the form of an odd turn from legendary director Werner Herzog as a surprisingly hilarious and frightening man simply dubbed “The German” who shares that he feels most alive and ensures maximum human energy by killing an animal everyday. We also meet Dennis Farina’s cowboy-hat-and-boot-wearing Deuce Fairbanks who, when he isn’t threatening to whack those who annoy him, bemoans the downfall of Sin City when they began letting people wearing culottes into the casinos.

Ordinarily with that many players, one would think they’d have their work cut out for them already, but the biggest question mark arrives later on. The players don't know exactly what to think when the laughably amateurish and earnestly friendly, successful online party poker winner Andy Andrews (Richard Kind) abandons the icy temperatures of Wisconsin, complete with his supportive wife (Judy Greer) in tow, hoping they’ll be the ones to capture the ten million dollar booty in order to flee the cold weather and Greer’s self-owned Ribbon Store to move somewhere warm.

One of the perils of releasing a mockumentary after Spinal Tap performer turned director Christopher Guest has basically perfected the art and turned it into a science with his brilliant classics Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, is that one will never be able to reach the astronomically high bar set by those films. However, as mock-docs go, I’ve seen far worse, and I was quite surprised by the freewheeling, rapid-fire humor of The Grand which seemed to belong to the vintage Woody Allen and Steve Martin school of a gag-a-minute approach (with only half being successful). I’d even go as far as to say I’d watch this one again in a heartbeat before I popped Guest’s sharp but largely melancholy A Mighty Wind back into my disc player.

Predictably most critics employed a “party” analogy to utilize in their critiques in describing The Grand’s overwhelmingly large cast that’s nearly bursting at the seams, thus pointing out that with that many “attendees” it’s hard for viewers to become attentive hosts, giving each an adequate amount of attention. This being said, Penn knows which individuals are worth spending more time with and which cameos are best left trimmed for by the editors (for example: only a few moments of Brett Ratner and much more Jason Alexander). And with the one exception of wanting to see more of the scene stealing Herzog as we’ve never seen him before—amazed that this tyrannical, mad Dr. Strangelove like character is embodied by the same person who brought us the masterful Rescue Dawn-- when our attention is largely directed at veteran performers like Harrelson and Hines, we know we’re in good hands.

So when Incredible Hulk writer Zak Penn is the one holding The Grand’s deck of cards, the audience can lean back and say, as Shirley MacLaine famously quipped at the end of The Apartment, “shut up and deal.”