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DVD cover for Kung Fu Panda 3
DVD cover for Kung Fu Panda 3

Kung Fu Panda 3,

directed by Jennifer Yuh and Alessandro Carloni

(PG, 95 minutes)

Kung Fu Panda 3 is delightful, a visually impressive film that represents a huge advance in 3-D imagery in that, instead of being experienced as a series of distinct, flat planes located at fixed intervals, the frame appears to have real depth.

Care went into making the movie look and feel special, a quality diversion that might be enjoyed by all members of the family.

If you missed the first two (released in 2008 and 2011, respectively), no worries: There are plenty of contextual clues here, as well as a refreshing lack of direct exposition.

All you need to know is that the main character, portly panda Po (voiced by Jack Black), was separated from his tribe and raised by Mr. Ping (James Hong), a kindly goose who cooks noodles. Po seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of his adoptive father but fate intervened, and despite his klutziness and questionable fitness he became the Dragon Warrior, a martial arts champion who leads an animal team called the Furious Five (voiced by Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan and David Cross). They are mentored by Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), a tiny red panda kung fu master.

This installment opens with a battle in the spirit realm between old tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), who identified Po as the Dragon Warrior in the first Kung Fu Panda before vanishing at the film's end, and his ancient nemesis Kai (J.K. Simmons), a yaklike creature who fought alongside Oogway before heading over to the dark side.

Back in the Valley of Peace, Po learns that part of his Dragon Warrior gig involves taking over Shifu's role in the Furious Five, for which he feels ill-suited. Then Po's biological father Li (Bryan Cranston) shows up. Po ends up in a hidden panda village, supposedly to be trained by his father in a lost martial art that will enable him to send Kai back to the spirit realm.

Black, Cranston, Simmons and Hong are all outstanding, and Kate Hudson scores in an underwritten but lively animated part as Mei Mei, a panda ballerina who functions like a Miss Piggy to Po's reluctant Kermit.

Directors Jennifer Yuh and Alessandro Carloni manage to balance character-driven humor with action sequences so the movie never drags. And, as in most animated adventures, things end happily, so it's likely that Po and his posse will ride again in a few years.

Francofonia (unrated, 88 minutes) An elegant meditation on art that centers on a tour of the Louvre, where history holds a prime position and the ghost of Napoleon is thought to wander the exhibits. Directed by Alexsandr Sokurov.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (R, 112 minutes) When people are thrust into insane situations, they adapt by making the insane seem normal in their day-to-day lives.

Kim Barker's memoir of wartime, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been adapted in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by the directing team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

Kim (played by Tina Fey, employing a mix of sardonic wit and steely resolve) starts out as a TV news desk editor in New York with a serious boyfriend (Josh Charles). When the station she works for needs on-the-ground reporters as the Afghanistan war heats up, she's drafted to head to Kabul. At first the place is so alien and bewitching, Kim has a hard time finding her footing, but soon enough she's united with a team -- cameraman Tall Brian (Nicholas Braun), interpreter Fahim (Christopher Abbott) and security man Nic (Stephen Peacocke). Weird and wild occurrences ensue.

It plays like a comedy for the first half, but as Kim becomes more and more entranced with the war around her, the film falls victim to problematic tonal shifting as it moves from straightforward comedy to wartime drama and back again. As is made all too clear by the end, we are to understand the character has learned an important life lesson, but it's presented so clumsily it doesn't hit right, a problem the film suffers over and over again.

The Lobster (R, 118 minutes) The Lobster is an unsettling, cynical, original and sometimes crazy black comedy -- played in a stunningly stilted style by Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly and Lea Seydoux -- of a society where single people have 45 days to find a partner or become transformed into an animal of their choice. Not for everybody. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Fastball (unrated, 85 minutes) This fascinating Major League Baseball-produced documentary explores what it takes to get a fastball to home plate. Narrated by Kevin Costner, with input from Hank Aaron, Derek Jeter, Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage, Nolan Ryan; directed by Jonathan Hock.

MovieStyle on 07/01/2016

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