ON DVD > WATCHING AT HOME.

Byline: Rob Lowman

'Surf's Up'>

Here's a penguin joke.

Two penguins are standing on an ice floe. The first penguin says, "You look like you're wearing a tuxedo." The second penguin says, "What makes you think I'm not?"

Garrison Keillor told that in "A Prairie Home Companion."

Let's face it, penguins are funny -- OK, cute and funny -- which is why we've been inundated with them recently. So after after having animated penguins escape from the zoo in "Madagascar" and sing and dance in "Happy Feet," and real ones show off parenting skills in "March of the Penguins," along come more of the black-and-white birds in "Surf's Up."

The lively CG animated film is told in mockumentary style. It's about a young penguin, Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf), who dreams of riding giant waves just like his hero, surfing guru Big Z (Jeff Bridges, the Dude himself). On his way to make his mark at a surfing contest, Cody encounters a spaced-out chicken (Jon Heder), James Woods as the trash-talking otter who runs the tournament and a love interest cooed by Zooey Deschanel.

"Surf's Up" may not knock your socks or tuxedo off, but it's fun enough for kids and adults. The disc includes the standard commentary, behind-the-scenes stuff and deleted scenes. A nice bonus, though, are two short animated films -- "The ChubbChubbs!," the 2002 Academy Award winner about goofy space creatures that gremlins eat, and the new "The ChubbChubbs Save Christmas."

'Evan Almighty'>

In "Evan Almighty," Steve Carell, a newly elected congressman from Buffalo, N.Y. (where the previous "Bruce Almighty" was set), is commanded by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark. The action shifts from Buffalo to Washington, D.C., and gets less interesting. (Probably not enough penguins -- you know it's two of each).

There's a lot of animal humor. Well, there's going to be doo-doo, you know. Actually, the beasts have more to do in the film than the humans, particularly Lauren Graham, who plays Evan's wife, Joan (of ark). That tells you something about the humor.

"Evan Almighty" isn't terrible, just mostly uninspired, which is too bad because I like Carell (check out the extra on him), who, like his character in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," has hair issues as God's anointed.

'Reign Over Me'>

"Reign Over Me," from Mike Binder ("The Upside of Anger"), tries for a delicate balance in a story about loss and pain, comedy and tragedy.

Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler are pals, and both are well-off dentists. Cheadle's Alan is slightly dissatisfied with his life, although he seemingly has it all -- wife, kids, money. Sandler's Charlie has been unglued for a while. His wife and three daughters died on board one of the 9/11 planes. The best parts of "Reign Over Me" are the scenes between Cheadle, a dynamic actor, and Sandler, who is better in dramas than you'd expect. Too bad the film goes off course at times with some plot lines that add little. And Binder needlessly punches up the pathos, sending the film into tear-jerker territory.

'28 Weeks Later'>

With jack-o'-lantern time approaching, horror abounds. The best this week is the sequel to Danny Boyle's zombie shocker "28 Days Later," now an appropriate "28 Weeks Later." The story begins with American soldiers allowing British survivors of the undead epidemic back into a decimated London. Don (Robert Carlyle), who had abandoned his wife (Catherine McCormack) in zombie mayhem, and his two children have been reunited in the safe zone. So when she turns up unexpectedly looking a little weird, it doesn't take much to figure out she is infected with a dormant form of the deadly "Rage" virus. New director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo keeps this gritty, grimy, gory and occasionally gross (have I forgotten any G's?). "28 Weeks Later" isn't up to the original, but as a shocker, it succeeds.

'You Kill Me'>

John Dahl's noir comedy "You Kill Me" features a spirited performance by Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley as an alcoholic hit man in Buffalo. The wild plot, which we won't recap, of "You Kill Me" is ridiculous. But as action careens from one implausibility to the next, Dahl -- who's had experience with this before ("The Last Seduction," "Red Rock West") keeps the roller coaster on track. Kingsley, who can play really scary ("Sexy Beast") is scary and funny in this one. The film's added bonus is Tea Leoni, who is luminescent in a ludicrous role.

Like Peter Jackson, another New Zealander, Jonathan King begins his career with a bizarre horror flick. King's "Black Sheep" is a good-fun woolly terror-comedy about mutton gone wild. You may never look at lamb the same way. Baa, I mean boo.

Rob Lowman [phone]

[e-mail]

>out tuesday

NEW MOVIES

"Surf's Up" ($28.95 and $38.98 for Blu-ray)

"28 Weeks Later" ($29.99 and $39.98 for Blu-ray)

"Evan Almighty" ($29.98 and $39.98 for HD)

"Wrong Turn 2 -- Dead End" ($26.98)

"Reign Over Me" ($28.95 and $38.98 for Blu-ray)

"You Kill Me" ($19.95)

"Black Sheep" ($24.95)

"12:08 East of Bucharest" ($22.95)

"Man Push Cart" ($26.98)

TELEVISION

"Meerkat Manor -- Season 1" ($24.95)

"Murder, She Wrote -- The Complete Seventh Season" ($49.98)

"The Vicar of Dibley -- A Holy Wholly Happy Ending" ($19.98)

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- Season Three" ($39.98)

"C.S.I. New York -- The Third Season" ($64.99)

"Hannah Montana -- Life's What You Make It" ($19.99)

"Stargate SG-1 -- The Complete Series Collection" ($329.98)

"Family Ties -- The Second Season" ($38.99)

"Whose Line Is It Anyway: Season 1, Vol. 2" ($26.98)

"Robin of Sherwood Set 2" ($59.99)

"Creature Comforts America -- The Complete Season One" ($29.95)

"Michael Palin -- Pole to Pole" ($49.98)

"Everybody Hates Chris -- The Second Season" ($38.99)

OLDER MOVIES

"Twilight Zone -- The Movie" ($19.97)

"Fox Horror Classics Collection" ("The Lodger"/ "Hangover Square"/ "The Undying Monster")($26.98)

"Robocop" ($39.98 for Blu-ray)

"Poltergeist -- 25th Anniversary Edition" ($19.98)

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- Ultimate Edition" ($24.99)

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

"Surf's Up" is the latest cinematic adventure centered on those adorable South Pole birds.