"When you have three kids, you’ve got to take your opportunities when they come," Jada said. "In a limo, on the way to the Academy Awards this year, Will started looking at me in this way that drives me wild. We started kissing passionately, and the next thing I knew, well, let’s just say we missed the red carpet and I ended up with almost no makeup on."

Hey, more power to them! Will Smith is currently producing "The Karate Kid" (featuring their son, Jaden Smith), and you can catch Jada in TNT’s "Hawthorne." (I know she’s got a great body, but that Shape cover’s gotta be airbrushed, right?)

Image: splashnewsonline.com

Post from: Film Gecko

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" – Blu-ray Bonus Features:

• Filmmakers’ Commentary
• It’s A Family Affair: The Cast of ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (HD)
• The Making of ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (HD)
• Crash Landing (HD)
• African Adventure (HD)
• Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak (HD)
• The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar (HD)
• Alex’s Dance Off (HD)
• Test Flight of Air Penguin Game (HD)
• The Heart of a Lion (HD) – BD-LIVE
• MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA Activision Game Trailer

Music Videos:

• "Move It, Move It" (HD)
• “Big and Chunky” (HD)
• “She Loves Me” (HD)
• “The Traveling Song” (HD)

THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR

• “Popcorn Panic”
• “Gone in a Flash”

Penguin Easter Eggs

• Move It, Move It
• Hock Shop
• Julien’s Birthday
• Tug of War
• Fully Armed
• No Thanks, I’m Stuffed

Blu-ray Exclusive Content

• The Animators’ Corner (HD)
• Trivia Track (HD)

Post from: Film Gecko

“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” is Too.Much.Fun! I love that they didn’t make us wait for the “Move it, Move It” song, and jumped right into it at the beginning. My kids and I loved everything about it from beginning to end. We all agreed that it’s even better than the first movie. And a third movie is on the way for 2011, so we’ve got that to look forward to.

All the originals are back — Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). It begins on the distant shores of Madagascar, where we last left our fun-loving group. They’ve finally figured out a way to get back to New York City and their beloved Central Park Zoo. The resourceful penguins have repaired a dilapidated WWII plane and turned it into Air Penguin.

But they’re barely in the air when the plane crash-lands in the African savannah. The kicker is that it turns out to be Alex’s former stomping grounds. We learn that he began life as a cub here, until poachers grabbed him while his father, Zuba (Bernie Mac) was fending off an attack by a foe, Makunga (Alec Baldwin).

Alex’s parents are thrilled to see him, even putting him up in the room they’ve kept with his things all these years. But Makunga quickly manages to get him banished to the wilderness, thanks to Alex’s bumbling of a rite of passage. He thinks it involves dancing, not fighting!

Meanwhile, Gloria finds interest in a group of hippos there, including a certain male hippo, Moto Moto (will.i.am, whose deep voice is like the Barry White of Hippo-World). Melman wrestles with his jealousy over Gloria’s situation, and Marty is dismayed to learn that every other zebra is his exact replica, right down to the voice!

There are so many pop culture references and funny sequences, it’s impossible to name them all. But here are a few highlights:

• An Air Penguin crewman tries to handle a screwdriver, saying “Darn you Darwin!” when the tool slips from his flipper.
• Alex the dancing lion, expertly doing Jerome Robbins’ choreography from “West Side Story” in a fight scene with a ferocious lion.
• The hot-tub love scene between beautifully plump hippos Gloria and Moto Moto.
• A funny storyline involving a group of tourists, including one feisty grandma-type who has no qualms about taking down anyone who gets in her way.
• The manic and musically inventive Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), singing Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” as a ballad.
• Skipper the penguin, putting a hula doll on the dashboard of his airplane control panel, then falling in love with the figurine.

Even though these bits will probably go over the heads of most kids, they’re still very funny, even if you don’t get the references. “Madagascar 2″ is one of those movies to be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

DVD Special Features:

• DWA Jukebox
• Filmmaker Commentary
• It’s A Family Affair: The Cast of Escape 2 Africa
• The Making of Escape 2 Africa
• Crash Landing
• African Adventure
• Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak
• Test Flight of Air Penguin Game
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Activision Game Trailer
• Four MAD Music Videos: "Move It, Move It," “Big and Chunky," “She Loves Me," "The Traveling Song” Sing Along 

Images: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, DreamWorks Distribution, 2008

Post from: Film Gecko

In the oh-no-not-another-remake department, “The Karate Kid” remake is a go at Columbia, with Jaden Smith in the title role. That’s Jaden, pictured, along with his dad, Will Smith, at the Los Angeles premiere of “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” on Oct. 26, 2008. Look at that face!

Rumors have been circulating for a while, but a note landed in my inbox today confirming the casting of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s offspring. Jaden co-starred along with his dad in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (which I loved).

More after the jump…

Jerry Weintraub will produce, along with James Lassiter, Will Smith and Ken Stovitz from a script by Chris Murphy.

Shooting will begin next year in Beijing and other cities. While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

Good news? Jaden Smith is a gifted actor who brings a lot to any role he plays. I’ll look forward to seeing what he does with “The Karate Kid.”

Image: Newscom

Post from: Film Gecko

“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” is Too.Much.Fun! I love that they didn’t make us wait for the “Move it, Move It” song, and jumped right into it at the beginning. My kids and I loved everything about it from beginning to end. We all agreed that it’s even better than the first movie. And a third movie is on the way for 2011, so we’ve got that to look forward to.

All the originals are back — Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). It begins on the distant shores of Madagascar, where we last left our fun-loving group. They’ve finally figured out a way to get back to New York City and their beloved Central Park Zoo. The resourceful penguins have repaired a dilapidated WWII plane and turned it into Air Penguin.

But they’re barely in the air when the plane crash-lands in the African savannah. The kicker is that it turns out to be Alex’s former stomping grounds. We learn that he began life as a cub here, until poachers grabbed him while his father, Zuba (Bernie Mac) was fending off an attack by a foe, Makunga (Alec Baldwin).

Alex’s parents are thrilled to see him, even putting him up in the room they’ve kept with his things all these years. But Makunga quickly manages to get him banished to the wilderness, thanks to Alex’s bumbling of a rite of passage. He thinks it involves dancing, not fighting!

Meanwhile, Gloria finds interest in a group of hippos there, including a certain male hippo, Moto Moto (will.i.am, whose deep voice is like the Barry White of Hippo-World). Melman wrestles with his jealousy over Gloria’s situation, and Marty is dismayed to learn that every other zebra is his exact replica, right down to the voice!

There are so many pop culture references and funny sequences, it’s impossible to name them all. But here are a few highlights:

• An Air Penguin crewman tries to handle a screwdriver, saying “Darn you Darwin!” when the tool slips from his flipper.
• Alex the dancing lion, expertly doing Jerome Robbins’ choreography from “West Side Story” in a fight scene with a ferocious lion.
• The hot-tub love scene between beautifully plump hippos Gloria and Moto Moto.
• A funny storyline involving a group of tourists, including one feisty grandma-type who has no qualms about taking down anyone who gets in her way.
• The manic and musically inventive Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen), singing Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” as a ballad.
• Skipper the penguin, putting a hula doll on the dashboard of his airplane control panel, then falling in love with the figurine.

Even though these bits will probably go over the heads of most kids, they’re still very funny, even if you don’t get the references. “Madagascar 2″ is one of those movies to be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Images: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, DreamWorks Distribution, 2008

Post from: Film Gecko