Mr. Popper's Penguins (4½ Stars)

Jim Carrey plays the part of Tom Popper, a successful real estate broker in New York. His father dies and leaves him six penguins in his will. Popper feels burdened at first, but then grows attached to the penguins and wants to keep them. Unfortunately the New York Zoo, which must be a cover for SHIELD, sends Agent Coulson to take the penguins from him.

I wouldn't say that Jim Carrey is my favourite actor. And yet whenever he makes a new film I buy it unconditionally. I don't even bother to watch the trailer. I know it'll be good. There's no other actor that I do that with.

Although I already knew him as a comedian, the first time I sat up and took notice was when he made "The Truman Show". That film touched me more than any film ever had. For a few months I watched it two to three times a week, which is more often than I've ever watched any other film.Then I saw "Man on the Moon", and I said Wow! Jim Carrey was more Kaufman than Kaufman. After that I started rewatching the comedies of his that I knew and looked for the ones I hadn't seen before. At that time I rented videos; nowadays I prefer to buy, because DVDs today cost less than videos did 15 years ago. It's nice to see that some things are getting cheaper with the passage of time.

I love every film that Carrey stars in. I wouldn't say it's his acting that attracts me primarily. It's his good taste in carefully choosing the films he wants to star in. If Carrey signs his name on a film contract it's because he's certain it's a great film, and we can trust his decision. He may have started his career as a comedian, but his serious films are the ones that impress me most. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is one of my favourite films, definitely in my top three. I'll have to watch it again soon. I didn't like "The Majestic" much when I first watched it, mainly because the pro-American jargon disturbed me as a European, but it's now grown on me and I treasure it highly. "Number 23" is a difficult film to watch, but with repeated viewing it improves.

Getting back to the film itself, it's not just a comedy, it's also a love story, a family drama and a moral tale. It's a film I highly recommend to all my readers. Clark Gregg is a fantastic actor, as always. He really deserves to play bigger roles.

Click here to watch the trailer, if you really need any convincing.

Incidentally, the extras for this DVD contain a rather unusual extra. It's a short film, 6 minutes long, which is a sequel to the main feature. It shows how Agent Coulson travels to Antarctica to make a new attempt to capture the penguins.

No penguins were harmed during the making of this film.

Jim Carrey, on the other hand, was bitten mercilessly.

But he had it coming.