Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite Mack Wolford believed faith compelled him to face the risk »

Ice Age Sequel Not So Hot

But animated sequel has a few redeeming moments

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 1, 2009 11:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – If you need an air-conditioned snooze on the busy holiday weekend, the third Ice Age film may be the answer. Still, it has its moments:

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs frequently feels “so glacial that it's a wonder Ray Romano's Manny the mammoth

... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

5 comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Miami Face-Eater Identified

Rotten Tomatoes (Source Grid »)
Los Angeles Times (Source Grid »)
New York Times (Source Grid »)
New York Daily News (Source Grid »)

Entertainment

film • movie review • animated movie • ice age • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs • Ray Romano

More Newser Stories

Despicable Me Good, But It's No Toy Story 3

Animated feature is strong, if generic, hyper: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that French studio Illumination Entertainment has made a strong first entry into feature animation with Despicable Me, featuring Steve Carrell voicing a cartoon baddy who adopts three little girls. But it has the misfortune to premiere within weeks of Pixar's beloved Toy Story 3.

Despicable Me "cannot be faulted for lack of trying," AO Scott writes in the New York Times . "If anything, it tries much too hard, stuffing great gobs of second-rate action, secondhand humor and warmed-over sentiment into every nook and cranny of its relentlessly busy 3-D frames. It tries so hard to be likable that you may hate yourself for hating it."

9 's Visuals a Perfect 10

Film tells of burlap robot battling through frightening world

(NEWSER) - The creepy tale of 9, which depicts a burlap-bodied robot’s (Elijah Wood) quest for his origins while battling bad guys in a post-apocalyptic world, looks incredible—but its script leaves something to be desired.

“Long on imaginative design but less substantial in narrative, this dreary story of fighting the power is more numbing than thought-provoking,” writes Claudia Puig in USA Today.

Men in Black 3 : Better Than the First?

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Dark Shadows Has Charm, No Substance

Johnny Depp stars in Tim Burton film

(NEWSER) - Critics aren't thrilled with Tim Burton's latest offering, inspired by the late-1960s cult TV show of the same name and starring Johnny Depp as an 18th-century vampire who is buried alive, only to be accidentally dug up in 1972. The film isn't sure what it wants to be:

Dark Shadows "tries to serve too many masters," writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News . "Initially it’s an epic valentine to the show. Then it’s a vamp-out-of-water story. Soon it’s a gung-ho comedy. Finally it's a monster flick." Still, it "unearths enough fun."

Critics Agree: Avengers a Blast

Joss Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr. in superhero blowout

(NEWSER) - Sure, it's an effective moneymaking scheme: release movies about individual superheroes, then one about all of them. But with Joss Whedon at the helm, The Avengers really works. What critics are saying:

"Even if you don't particularly like comic-book adaptations, this film just might make a believer of you," writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times . "Whedon is the key reason why this $220 million behemoth of a movie is smartly thought out and executed with verve and precision."

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Ice Age Sequel Not So Hot

But animated sequel has a few redeeming moments

film • movie review • animated movie • ice age • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs • Ray Romano

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Despicable Me Good, But It's No Toy Story 3

Animated feature is strong, if generic, hyper: critics

9 's Visuals a Perfect 10

Film tells of burlap robot battling through frightening world

Men in Black 3 : Better Than the First?

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

Dark Shadows Has Charm, No Substance

Johnny Depp stars in Tim Burton film

Critics Agree: Avengers a Blast

Joss Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr. in superhero blowout

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?