Based on Margaret and H.A. Rey’s classic series of children’s books, Curious
George breathes life into the misadventures of its inquisitive little
primate and his keeper, heretofore known only as “The Man in the Yellow Hat.”
In an age of exactingly rendered, computer-generated animated landscapes, Curious
George is a bit of a throwback. Eschewing modern convention, the movie
instead hews closely to the same storybook style of the serial narratives,
aiming for appeal through characterization and a charm offensive rather than
technological bedazzlement. This tack captures the floppy-limbed antics of
George quite well, but makes for a movie that feels a bit quaint and, even if
they’re not able to articulate it, likely slight to many children.

Much material is gently, winningly evocative of the books (George
finger-painting the white walls of a snooty society lady, Ted coming to
George’s rescue as he floats off with a bunch of balloons), but not necessarily
integral to the main story. That said, Ferrell gives a good voice performance
as the somewhat scatterbrained but innately honorable Ted, even working in a
few sly, improv asides. Generally pleasing if not quite lastingly touching, Curious
George will sate many children’s curiosity, and certainly fans of the
books, but may not be flashy enough for those weaned on the flash (and
flatulence jokes) of the breathlessly paced Shrek films.

Supplemental extras on the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation include a whopping 15 deleted scenes that clock in at 17 minutes, as well as the music video for Jack Johnson’s “Upside Down.” There’s also a neat featurette that instructs kids on how to draw Curious George, and a five-minute featurette that includes chats with animation artists. Rounding things out are a bunch of set-top interactive games and activities, plus a “virtual coloring book” and DVD-ROM content. B
(Movie) B- (Disc)

If there were an organization called the National Association for the Advancement of Multi-Ethnic Music Video Hootchies, they would surely find great investment and reward in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, given that it would gainfully employ so much of their membership.

ass-slapping and ogling of micro-skirts ensues — as much as a PG-13 rating will allow, at any rate. If both completely conforming to audience expectation (for the randy party base) and finding new ways to tweak and/or subvert it are the two sometimes at-odds goals for genre cash-dashes of this ilk, Tokyo Drift arguably “succeeds” only in the first regard: staffed by a small army of sound mixers, sound editors, rotoscope artists and digital effects compositors, it’s a movie every bit as loud as one might imagine.

The story centers on Sean Boswell (Friday Night Lights’ Lucas Black), a headstrong Texas kid whose toothy grin always seems to get him in trouble with the jock boyfriends of every girl with which he flirts. Naturally Sean’s got a jones for racing, too, but his latest escapade ranks as a third strike, which causes that aforementioned floozy of a mother of his to ship Sean off to Japan to live with his estranged father, a career military man. Now a gaijin twice over, Sean hooks up with Army brat Twinkie (Bow Wow), and discovers the world of drift racing — comprised of hairpin turns and switchbacks born both of Tokyo’s cramped urban confines and winding mountain roads.

Sean disrespects the reigning king of this scene, D.K. (Brian Tee), by, yes, chatting up his girlfriend Neela (newcomer Nathalie Kelley, above with Black). D.K. is the nephew of Kamata (Sonny Chiba), an underworld crime boss, but Sean doesn’t back down, accepting a race in which he borrows a car from Han (Sung Kang), D.K.’s friend and associate. Unfamiliar with drifting, Sean loses, wrecking the car in the process. Indebted to Han, he begins accompanying him on errands, winning over his trust and establishing a rapport with him. After Sean defends Twinkie from one of D.K.’s thugs and bests the same goon in a race, D.K. becomes even more furious (though not necessarily faster), setting up a final stakes race confrontation on a steep mountain descent.

While Black has some twangy charisma, he’s given precious little with which to work. Cellular scribe Chris Morgan’s screenplay is an exercise in pure functionality; two elementary school kids sitting next to me at a screening kept themselves busy between mouthfuls of popcorn and soda by predicting the call-and-response of dialogue. Combining CGI with practical stunt work, director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Annapolis) brings a small measure of flash to some of the movie’s race sequences, but the spatial relationships so crucial to their understanding and emotional investment are lacking, and the gauzy nighttime setting of the penultimate showdown blunts its impact.

The film’s locale is somewhat novel, and Black — who’s all growed up and filled out from his Sling Blade days — is certainly a serviceable guide. Still, I can’t think of a particularly compelling reason to see The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, though if an eager moviegoer does they’ll surely be rewarded with ample portions of the colorfully expected. Supplemental bonus features for this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation kick off with a genial audio commentary track from Lin in which he points up the differences and compromises involved in making the leap from indie filmmaking to studio fare. From there, it’s on to a collection of deleted scenes, and then a half dozen featurettes that give ample track time to both the effects work and staging involved in the race sequences (more than 19 dozen customized stunt cars) as well as the phenomenon of drift racing in more general strokes. There’s even a look at real-life drift king Keiichi Tsuchiya. A music video rounds things out, along with complementary preview trailers. C (Movie) B (Disc)