New to Home Video: 'Madagascar,' 'Zack and Miri.' and 'Nick and Norah'

This week's DVD world tour offers a little bit of a lot. I would say a little bit of everything, but it does lean rather on the comedy side of the spectrum this time around. But if you need something to keep the kids occupied, you're covered, if you're just out of college and nobody understands you, there's a comedy for you this week, and there's stuff for grownups as well as Kevin Smith fans, which aren't necessarily the same thing. Oh, and racial tensions in the south. Always a good time there... Incidentally, our list is just an overview of some of the bigger releases. For a complete rundown, including re-released DVDs and TV series box sets you can pick up today, check out Video ETA.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa I think DreamWorks animation will become a fairly potent player in the animated film industry. In a way, they're already there; no Pixar movie has outgrossed Shrek and they have a couple of Oscars. I say this because one day, they won't be so proud of the Madagascar franchise. The first one was OK, but this one is...just a sequel.The movie has more of the same from the four escaped New York Zoo animals, only this time, the Ben Stiller lion guy discovers his past and the neurotic David Schwimmer giraffe guy expresses his love for Jada Pinkett Smith's hippo. Pretty tame stuff. (Here's our review)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno The latest Kevin Smith comedy goes downhill from the title. More precisely, it never raises its game beyond the parameters of its premise. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) make a porn movie to earn cash. But Smith's porn flick is terribly outdated; it wouldn't have seemed racy 20 years ago, nor is the raunchy humor all that funny. Banks is reliable, proving again that she'll do just about anything they ask her to, and Craig Robinson gets the most mileage out of the least screen time. Not one of Smith's finest, though. (Our Zack and Miri review)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist This is a movie custom made for its audience. Nick and Norah doesn't spend a lot of time explaining its niche musical references or anything else, knowing that it's likely hitting at least for extra bases with the 20-something crowd. Casting Michael Cera doesn't hurt, but this movie really belongs to Kat Dennings, who becomes a pin-up girl for lost, wandering emo kids everywhere. One other note about the DVD: The soundtrack is really quite good - one of the better ones of 2008, in fact - so if you're in your 30s, clutching desperately at your pop culture relevance, you might want to pick that up, too. (Our review of Nick and Norah)
The Secret Life of Bees It means well, but The Secret Life of Bees tries way too hard to cram too many things into two hours. There's racial strife because of the setting (the Deep South in the 1960s), there's Dakota Fanning kissing a boy, there's the family of sisters led by Queen Latifah, filled with its own problems. And there's abusive dad Paul Bettany, from whom Dakota is on the run. There's nothing wrong with any of that stuff, but I do think it's a lot to force on one movie. Fanning's good, Latifah's good, and Bettany is, too, but I thought Sophie Okenedo and Alicia Keys were the real highlights. (Our review)
Bottle Shock About once a year or so, you can count on Peter Travers, the film critic for Rolling Stone, to fall back on his favorite quote whore quote: "There's Magic In It." I have two DVDs with that exact phrase plastered across the box, Whale Rider and A Prairie Home Companion. I'm sure there are countless others yet to be discovered. This year, Travers found magic in Bottle Shock, which is a non-offensive light comedy about the establishment of California wine on the worldwide stage. Alan Rickman is in it, and that's good enough for me. But magic? Hardly. Still, if you like ensemble comedies, this isn't a bad choice. (Our review: There's magic in it...)