Madagascar 3: The Review

A child-friendly summer movie not to be missed, the third chapter of this 90 minute animal themed movie teaches values and morals such as teamwork, friendship, determination, the truth will always come out and helping others. This movie carries on from where the previous chapter ended-- in Africa. Alex the lion has nightmares of ageing in Africa and unable to return home.

Alex and his friends have a strong desire to return back to where they originally came from, the Zoo in New York's Central Park. With that, Alex, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the giraffe and Marty the Zebra set off to Monaco by scuba diving (as shown from their head gear when they pop out from underneath the sea) in search of the penguins and King Julien. They reach the casino and trouble ensues when teamwork does not go as planned-- introduce the villian, Captain Dubois, for the first time ever in the movie.

 The casino is wrecked apart and a high speed chase through the streets with the penguins piloting the van, which is later taken over by Marty who is unable to drive on the right side. Their plane is damaged as they attempt to escape back to New York and they encounter a traveling circus train and claim that they are circus animals in order to fulfill their dream of reaching back, as Vitaly the tiger was very stern and did not allow stowaways on board. Gia the snow leopard and Stefano the sea lion are the main characters on board the trains carriage.

At the circus in Rome, the show goes bust and finally on board the train to London, Alex decides to help Vitaly, Gia and Stefano rediscover and remodel what a circus is all about. Vitaly is a defeated tiger whose days of being the star have faded due to a freak accident while performing. King Julien meets Sonya the brown bear and falls in love with her, through the streets of Italy, she acquires a new motorbike going into a shop and scaring the customers and owner. On the way to London, Alex has convinced Vitaly to give it another shot and the troupe begin rehearsing in the mountains, fleeing when the cops strike. Meanwhile, Captain Du Bois is still hot on her heels to chasing down Alex in order to have his head mounted on the wall of prized catches. She makes her moves in calculated fashion. In London, Alex's relentless effort pays off with the boss awarding the traveling party a contract to perform in New York after a slam-dunk performance with dazzling lights and lots of intriguing stunts.

However, once they arrive in New York outside the gates of their old home, Captain Du Bois manages to capture Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria. They are locked up in prison style cages and Captain Du Bois is given a reward for finding the Alex. However, she rejects it and reveals her evil intention. Her plans are foiled by Vitaly, Stefano and Gia, (whose feelings were hurt and when the truth was revealed to them that Alex and his friends were masquerading as circus animals) who rescue them as their circus act was revived. Another round of antics sets of the fireworks and inflated balls given to the children, ending the movie off with a bang.

The penguins were not featured as much as I would have loved them to be shown in the movie, but all in all, every leading character was given an equal amount of face time which enabled the audience to decipher their character and personality. The catchy tunes such as Everybody Dance Now by CC Music Factory, Hot In Here by Nelly, I Like to Move It and Firework by Katy Perry will certainly get you grooving in your seat! And as for "We Speak No Americano", if you've watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, you might recall hearing it, in the chipmunk version. The adults could relate to it with this song originally released in the 1950's.  I'd gladly watch this movie again, wholesome educational fun for the family!

(Side note: I would recommend watching this movie in 3D, the effects are way more stunning),  credits to Pat who advised me to.

Down went the Spurs to OKC. They are the first team in NBA history to win 20 straight games then lose 4 straight and get bounced from the postseason. This one sure did hurt. It might have been Tim Duncan's last chance at winning another title, slipped away thanks to the hungrier, younger and fresher OKC team.

Miami beating Boston, I was very surprised that the ageing Celtics managed to push the series to the brink but LeBron and Wade were too much to overcome, and Shane Battier, the unsung hero who is quietly filling up the stat sheet.

As of now, the NBA finals is tied at one apiece. It's anybodys game but I've got a feeling that this is the year that LeBron will win his first title.

The LA Kings won their first Stanley Cup. New Jersey won two straight games but couldn't hang on to force a game 7, since game 6 was played in LA. Jonathan Quick outplayed Martin Brodeur who is in his twilight years and at the tail end of his career.

I might have spoke too soon.

The Spurs were up 2-0 but had their winning streak snapped and went down without a fight in game 3 at OKC. Then they lost game 4 today, so yes, series tied and they do need help with defending the paint. In the first two games, they destroyed OKC and shut them down, forcing the team to take jumpshots.

The Yankees lost to Detroit today. Previously they dropped 2 out of 3 to Anaheim, then won the first game at Detroit thanks to a Curtis Granderson grand slam! Consistency doesn't exist.

Both games in the Stanley Cup finals went to overtime and the Kings are now up 2-0. The road warriors of this year's playoffs (or basically any of the major professional sporting leagues.) Never have I seen an eight seed win that many road games in one postseason! Now they head back to Los Angeles and get to close it out at home to win their first cup in franchise history.

I'm rather tempted to start writing about other things on this blog, perhaps on daily life such as food blogging or travel or product reviews.