Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009
Capsule reviews of films opening this week
public enemies
Michael Mann's latest cops-and-robbers tale transports moviegoers back in time to the early '30s, when colorful outlaws like Babyface Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) grabbed headlines with their outlandish exploits, including bank robberies and daring prison breaks. But time is marching on and the feds are growing less tolerant of the crooks' antics; eager to make an example of Dillinger, FBI head honcho J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) tasks star G-Man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) with capturing and/or killing "Public Enemy No. 1." As with most of Mann's films, "Public Enemies" is visually stunning and the action sequences are top-notch. Unfortunately, a clunky script and some flat performances (most notably Bale, who is batting 0-for-2 this summer) keeps the film from achieving crime classic status. 2 hrs. 20 mins.
ice age: dawn of the dinosaurs
Who would have guessed a studio other than Disney or DreamWorks would be able to launch a successful animated franchise? Fox released the first "Ice Age" adventure back in 2002 and watched it become a huge hit that led to an even more successful sequel and now a third installment that will probably give Pixar's "Up" a run for its money at the box office. John Leguizamo, Ray Romano and Denis Leary are back again as the voices of the odd-couple trio of animal buddies at the center of the franchise. Seann William Scott, Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader provide additional voices. 1 hr. 33 mins.
–Ethan Alter is a New York-based film critic and journalist. He can be reached at nycfilmcritic@gmail.com.