By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor

We have all been there.
Whether you were the most popular kid in school, or the one always in search of a place to sit in the school cafeteria, everybody has their junior high school memories.
In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, poor Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) must endure the tortures of middle school, and at home as well, being the middle child.

Greg writes everything down in his diary (it’s a journal, he insists).
Based on the very popular children’s series of books by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is reminiscent of TV’s Malcolm in the Middle, at least during that series early years. It’s about kids, but adults can most definitely relate.

Greg has one of the top ten worst first days of school ever, and of course, it doesn’t end there. He has to go back again tomorrow.

Told by both Greg’s narrative, and cartoon drawings from his diary (something the film could have used a little more of), there are tales of the moldy piece of cheese that sits day after the day on the school blacktop. The cheese comes with a legend of anyone who touches it will be doomed forever with something worse than nuclear cooties, if that is possible.
The fermenting, rotting cheese slice figures prominently in the story later on.

Almost as important as Greg in the film is his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron), his overweight best friend who doesn’t care that he is overweight or doesn’t fit in with all the cool kids. He just follows Greg’s lead all the time, even though Greg is usually looking out for his own self interests.
Back home, Greg has to deal with a tormenting older brother,  excellently played in best tormenting older brother fashion by Devon Bostick, and a little brother who is perpetually on the potty chair, even at the breakfast table.

Starring in his first “adult role,” i.e. a dad with three sons, is  Steve Zahn. Zahn is a much better fit playing the zany guy, so he is less playful here, but still manages to make the most of his screen time.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is full of mild laughs, the kind of comedy younger children really appreciate, but parents will smile as well. While not the perfect family comedy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is certainly better than most films geared toward children. Mom and dad will have a good time too.

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Now that you have seen (or avoided) Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland, you can go back to where it all began in a new two-disc collectors set from Infinity Entertainment Alice in Wonderland: Classic Film Collection.
This 3 1/2 hour  set goes way back to Alice in Wonderland (1915), the earliest surviving film based on the Lewis Carroll stories. This is thought to be lost film, but all 52 minutes are included. It stars silent film actress Viola Savoy and the original Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln.
Also from the silent archive is Alice’s Adventures in Cartoonland (1925). You may have seen this one because it was directed and produced by Walt Disney and features Disney’s “first cinematic star,” four-year-old Virginia Davis. The film includes drawings and animation that some historians think may have influenced the drawing of Mickey Mouse.
Alice of Wonderland in Paris (1966) is another animated film featuring French animation and the voice of Carl Reiner.
Alice has returned from her original adventure and dreams about visiting Paris when a talking mouse named Francois rides into her bedroom on a bicycle. They ride off together for a series of unrelated stores to Alice’s original adventures.
Finally, there is the  British musical, based on the original novel, Alice’s Adventures  in Wonderland (1972). This is a star-studded affair with Ralph Richardson (The Caterpillar), Peter Sellers (The March Hare). Dudley Moore (Dormouse)  and Michael Crawford (The White Rabbit).
The set lists for only $9.99 and can be found online (release date is March 30) at Amazon.com and other locations if you can’t find it at your local retailer.
  Critic's rating B-

 Rated PG