Photos Loading
previous next
  • Courtesy of Focus Features

    Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman stars as Suzy and Sam in "Moonrise Kingdom."

  • Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

    (Left to right) Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) go undercover in Monaco on a search for the Penguins in DreamWorks "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."

0 comments | Print

New DVDs this week

Published: Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 24TICKET

"Moonrise Kingdom" (PG-13, 97 minutes, Universal) "Moonrise Kingdom" opens with the sound of raindrops falling on the roof of a cozy house. The house is immediately recognizable as yet another habitat created by Wes Anderson. That opening-scene house has a name, by the way: Summer's End, which turns out to aptly capture a vaguely autumnal tale of young love that takes place in September 1965. The 12-year-old girl who lives in the house, Suzy Bishop, has struck up a pen-pal friendship with Sam Shakusky, a bespectacled, raccoon-tail-capped kid who has just run away from Khaki Scout camp. Anderson confects a distinctive mix of arch humor and solemnity in which Sam and Suzy confront death, abandonment and burgeoning sexuality in very real terms, but in which a character can also be struck by lightning without suffering anything worse than a pair of sooty glasses. Anderson's style may not be to everyone's taste, but he's that rare filmmaker who seems interested in exploring film, not just as a vehicle for narrative, but as a material object in and of itself. Contains sexual content and smoking. Extras: "A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom," "Welcome to the Island of New Penzance" behind-the-scenes guided tours featurette, set tour with Bill Murray.


"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" (PG, 93 minutes, DreamWorks/Paramount): The third outing in the popular series of animated adventures about Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo may be the best of the bunch. To escape from Monaco – where our heroes have traveled from Africa searching for the airplane they hope will take them home – an order is given to shake the Monte Carlo animal control officer, who is determined to stop them from leaving. The film may be the best use of 3-D animation we've seen since "Up." Structured around a prolonged yet picturesque chase that takes Alex and company from Monaco to France to Italy to England, it's a story that lends itself naturally to visual-enhancement technology. What's really surprising about "Madagascar 3" is just how moving it is, largely because of the emotionally engaging character animation. Contains some mild bathroom humor. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, cast bios, "Mad Music Mash-Up" and "Circus Acts" featurette. Also, on Blu-ray: "The Animators' Corner" and "Get Them to the Train" featurettes, and a trivia track.


"Chernobyl Diaries" (R, 90 minutes, Warner) Set in an abandoned Ukrainian town next to the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the catastrophic 1986 explosion, the horror film is moderately spooky, visually stylish and tinged with mystery. What – or who – is haunting Pripyat, the former home to thousands of Chernobyl workers who fled after the disaster? The setup is fresh. A group of young travelers piles into the dilapidated van of a shadowy former special-ops agent known only as Uri to explore Pripyat. Uri is one of the best things about the film. Unfortunately, after the van breaks down and the group is stranded as night falls, Uri is the first to go. One by one, the remaining six visitors start to get picked off. There are some decent frights to be had here, and the scenery nicely evokes a decrepit theme park. Contains violence, bloody images and pervasive crude language. Extras: Alternate ending, Chernobyl conspiracy viral video, "Uri's Extreme Tours" infomercial, deleted scene.

br

"That's My Boy" P (R, 114 minutes, Sony Home Entertainment) Adam Sandler plays Donny, a man trying to reconcile with his estranged son, Todd (Andy Samberg), whom he fathered with his middle school teacher as a 13-year-old. Sandler attempts to mine this disturbing event for comedy, but he also goes after some pretty low-hanging fruit: fat people, the elderly, immigrants, washed-up celebrities and others. Samberg, whose role is essentially as straight man, is inoffensive but forgettable as a bridegroom who is mortified when his boorish old man shows up on the eve of his wedding. Contains crude sexual content, nudity, pervasive language and some drug use. Extras: Gag reel, three featurettes, deleted scenes.


Also: "Neil Young Journeys," "TCM Greatest Classic Legends" (four separate discs, covering Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant and James Stewart, all Warner), "The Christmas Pageant," "Christmas Miracle." Television Series: "Alcatraz: The Complete Series," "Cagney & Lacey: The Complete Series," "Columbo: The Complete Series," "The Complete Red Green Show: High (Quality) Quantity Collection" (Canada, 1991-2006, 50-disc collector's edition), "The Firm: The Complete Series," "Medical Center: The Complete Second Season" (1970-71) and "Power Rangers Samurai: Christmas Together, Friends Forever."

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.



About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.

hide comments
Sacramento Bee Job listing powered by Careerbuilder.com
Quick Job Search
Buy
Used Cars
Dealer and private-party ads
Make:

Model:

Price Range:
to
Search within:
miles of ZIP

Advanced Search | 1982 & Older



Find 'n' Save Daily DealGet the Deal!

Local Deals