Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

-by Kim Yonick

Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria are back, but this time on a brand new adventure.

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" starts off where Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) left off in Madagascar. The animals travel in plane back to New York City, when the plane stalls out and they find themselves in Africa. Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria meet animals like them and learn valuable lessons about themselves and about their friends.

The movie has returning cast of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith, but this time with a twist. The cast had some new actors brought in to help advance the movie. Bernie Mac makes a voice appearance as Zuba, Alex's father. This marked Mac's last voice acting for an animated film since his death. Also voice acting in the movie is Alec Baldwin and Sherri Shepard.

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" kept the same animated characteristics as the first "Madagascar" movie. The coloring and movements of the characters were smooth on the screen and with the advances of animation, the characters have real world characteristics of the animals they are portraying.

This animated film was directed by both Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. Both Darnell and McGrath has worked on the first installment of Madagascar, but have also worked on other hit animated movies. Darnell is known for his directing of the movie, "Antz." While McGrath worked on movies such as "Flushed Away" and "Shrek the Third."

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" is recommended for anyone who has seen the first installment of "Madagascar" and likes animated story lines. Also when buying the movie, there is once again a surprise with short animated stories of the sneaky penguins, which is has a great storyline.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

-by Kim Yonick

The second installment of "Hellboy," "Hellboy II" has full action packed scenes that keep the viewer engrossed.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is back on the screen with Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) taking control of what seems to be a bedtime story. Hellboy has to face an evil elf, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who breaks an ancient pact between humans and creatures. Hellboy and his crew venture out to stop Prince Nuada from raising The Golden Army.

Ron Perlman is back on the screen with Doug Jones and some new actors. Selma Blair (Liz Sherman) is Perlman's on screen lover who has her own special ability. The rest of the actors worked well on the screen and helped push the story forward.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" has many action packed scenes with high intense, fast paced choreographed moves. These scenes help keep the viewer involved and help push the storyline forward. Also the camera has close up shots of Hellboy's guns to help intensify the movie's scenes.

Guillermo del Toro directed "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," making this his second "Hellboy" movie. This isn't the only high intense film, del Toro has directed. He is known for some of his other movies such as "Blade II" and "Mimic."

This movie would be recommended for anyone who saw the first "Hellboy."