Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ review: Caper sequel proves second verse can be as good as the first f it’s the fate of rebooted franchises to follow in the foot- the fact that he can’t even say “Kyer-mitt” without an steps of their predecessors, then let’s just say that accent), Kermit gets thrown into Constantine’s old cell at a I“Muppets Most Wanted” puts a fresher spin on “The Russian gulag, overseen by no-nonsense Nadya (Tina Fey). Great Muppet Caper” than “Star Trek Into Darkness” did to The script, by Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Even if the 21st century (both veterans of the previous movie), is classic Muppets Muppet features don’t quite reach the pinnacle estab- in that it knows when to barrage the audience with gags lished while Jim Henson was alive, “Muppets Most and when to provide enough plot to keep things moving Wanted” is often as good as or even better than 2011’s right along. Kermit tries to escape the gulag under cover “The Muppets,” which wonderfully relaunched the cine- of the prison talent show he’s been dragooned into direct- matic shenanigans of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and all the ing - and if you ever wanted to see Ray Liotta and Danny felt-covered rest. Trejo perform “I Hope I Get It” from “A Chorus Line,” this This latest chapter picks up precisely where the last one may be your one and only chance. Meanwhile, Sam the left off, down to featuring stand-ins for the backs of Amy eagle (voiced by Eric Jacobson), now all too fittingly a CIA Adams and Jason Segel, who have not returned. agent, tries to solve the rash of continental crimes with Newcomer Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) wonders what’s Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell); the latter next, and the rest of the Muppets start singing a hilarious being European, he often interrupts the investigation with ditty about sequels and doing everything all over again. lengthy lunch hours and extended vacations. (Bret McKenzie, the “Flight of the Conchords” vet who scored a Best Song Oscar last time around, provides a new Sensational and Celebrational batch of clever and catchy tunes for the Muppets to sing.) Try to avoid peeking at the IMDB page, since one of the delights of “Muppets Most Wanted” is the cavalcade of Constantine: The world’s most dangerous frog celebrity cameos that come fast and furious throughout Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) wants his newly- the film. Wisely, these famous faces never distract too reunited crew to hone their act, but everyone else falls for much from the movie’s real stars, and longtime Muppet the sales pitch of one Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) - he fans will enjoy appearances by invaluable second bananas insists it’s pronounced “bad-jee” - to tackle a world tour. like the Swedish Chef (who gets to be at the center of a Actor Ricky Gervais, with Constantine, Miss Piggy and Badguy’s plan is to replace Kermit with his look-alike hilarious Ingmar Bergman reference), Dr Bunsen Honeydew Kermit the Frog pose at the premiere of Disney’s Constantine (voiced by Matt Vogel), “the world’s most and Beaker, and boomerang fish-tosser Lew Zealand. ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ at the El Capitan Theatre on dangerous frog,” and to use the Muppet tour to cover up a Purists who nit-picked “The Muppets” for moments of March 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. — AFP series of crimes across the European continent. hipness or smuttiness or something else that they claimed The presence or absence of a facial mole is all it takes to somehow besmirched the Henson legend will no doubt celebrational, proving beyond a doubt that these beloved dupe people that Constantine is Kermit, and vice versa, so find some tiny throwaway moment objectionable, but characters will continue to lead a plush life on the big while Constantine tries to fill Kermit’s emcee shoes (despite overall “Muppets Most Wanted” remains sensational and screen for years to come. — Reuters Rick Ross’s ‘Mastermind’ outfoxes Pharrell’s ‘GIRL’ on Billboard 200 apper Rick Ross beat fellow hip-hop star Pharrell Williams to the top of the RBillboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, despite Pharrell’s high-profile performance with leading film ladies at the Oscars. Ross’s “Mastermind” became his fifth No. 1 album after selling 179,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. Pharrell’s “G I R L” sold 112,000 copies in its first week and entered the chart at No. 2. The release came after a month of high- profile performances from the singer at inti- ‘Fast & Furious 7’ resumes mate parties and awards events, culminat- ing in his singing his Oscar-nominated song “Happy” and spontaneously dancing with production this month the actress nominees on the live Oscars telecast. “Happy,” the lead song from Oscar- ast & Furious 7 is shifting back into been delayed since Walker’s death in a fiery nominated animated feature “Despicable production later this month, car crash. Production was more than half- Me 2,” did retain its hold at No. 1 on ‘FUniversal told TheWrap. The studio completed at the time of the accident, and Billboard’s Digital Songs chart this week, said production, delayed since star Paul was slated to go to Abu Dhabi to continue selling 490,000 downloads and bringing its Walker’s death in a car crash last November, filming. cumulative digital sales to more than 2.6 Rick Ross will resume March 31. The franchise’s star, Vin Universal canceled what were supposed to million units. Diesel, telegraphed that it was near Tuesday be the final days of production to allow the Both “Mastermind” and “G I R L” came in Michele’s debut record “Louder” at No. 4, in a Facebook post. “The transition into that cast and crew to grieve, as well as to figure ahead of Disney’s soundtrack to the ani- country music group Eli Young Band at No. Dom state of mind has always beenan inter- out how to proceed and adjust the story in mated princess tale “Frozen,” which placed 5 with “10,000 Towns,” and R&B star esting one,” he wrote. “Only this time there is the wake of his loss. The studio, director third on the chart, with sales of 100,000 this Ashanti’s “Braveheart” at No. 10. added purpose, a collective goal to make this James Wan, producer Neal Moritz and writer week. The album has sold 1.3 million copies Cumulative album sales for the week end- the best one in the series... Ps. The long await- Chris Morgan have considered starting from since its release in November. ing March 9 totaled 5 million units, down 9 ed completion of Seven, begins” scratch, as The Wrap previously reported. The Other new entries on the top 10 of this percent from the comparable week in 2013, Production on the seventh installment of film, initially slated to be released this year, week’s Billboard 200 include “Glee” star Lea Billboard said. — Reuters the long-running vehicular action series has was pushed back to April 10, 2015. — Reuters.