Movie Ratings

For several weeks I've been listening to groups of children chant "I like to move it, move it." On the "Who let the dogs out?" scale of annoyance, this is only a 6.5. Still, I was mildly curious if the movie "Madagascar" had any redeeming qualities. Thank heaven I'm not trying to find a summer movie for little kiddies these days! "Madagascar" is either creative, delightful, and so harmless that parents can park the kids and go see an adult movie in a different theater at the megaplex, or a totally offensive brain-rotter that will poison even the minds of adults, depending which site you read.

Just thinking about that island the size of Texas off the east coast of Africa reminds me of Flashman's Lady. And what has become of Sir Harry Flashman and his creator, George MacDonald Fraser? Thank heavens there's a twelfth installment in the Flashman Papers! The U.S. publication date is November, and I would stay up until midnight and put a temporary tattoo on my forehead for this British invasion release. Fraser is in his eighties now, and some U.K. reviews suggest Flashman on the March is not the best in the series. Any Flashie is better than no Flashie at all! I need some Fraser footnotes!