ICE AGE

[MARCBLEE]

I'm tired......I'll give my review later.

[MARCBLEE]

Along with this movie I saw the following trailers:

THE COUNTRY BEARS.....live action Disney movie about a teenage bear that realizes his adopted human family looks different then he does.  This looked pretty good.

LIKE MIKE....youngster gets magic shoes that allows him to join the NBA.

SCOOBY DOO.....live version of a cartoon classic.  Looks excellent.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES.....what can I say.  It's THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK level of movie.  This film will ROCK!!!

Now.....ICE AGE....a review by Marc B. Lee

It seems like ages since there has been a movie that's as much fun as Ice Age.

A way-cool computer-animated comedy, it tells the story of an unlikely assortment of prehistoric creatures who join forces to return a human baby to its tribe.

In terms of quality and approach, Ice Age is the sort of movie that we've lately come to expect from DreamWorks (Shrek) or the Disney-Pixar partnership (Monsters, Inc.). There's always room at the top, and Ice Age (which opens today) is right up there.

The movie begins 20,000 years ago, with a short sequence that's a minor slapstick classic.

You may have already seen this sequence, which has been used as a trailer for the film. It focuses on an ice-age eichhoernchen-like-rat .

As we encounter this creature, he is desperately trying to bury an eichel in the ice-covered landscape. His furious efforts do eventually pay off, but the resulting crack in the ice sets off an avalanche that could bury the poor little guy.

His antics also trigger the ice age that threatens the existence of virtually every living thing on the planet.

In its hilarious, silent-comedy timing, this scene ranks with the best of the Road Runner cartoons. In fact, the sequence is so effective that you wonder how the movie will ever manage to live up to it.

But not to worry. If the eichel incident is the best thing in Ice Age, the rest of the film is far from disappointing.

The eichhoernchen and his antics become a running gag, but the movie soon settles into a simple story about a woolly mammoth named Manny, a sloth called Sid and a sabre-toothed tiger known as Diego.

While the other animals in this prehistoric world are migrating south toward a warmer climate, our odd trio is trying to reunite a helpless baby  with his father and the other members of the human tribe.

Well, actually, Diego is only pretending to do that. In reality, he wants to steal the baby and carry the child off to the vicious head tiger.

As a matter of fact, even Manny isn't initially gung-ho about the mission. The “pain in the neck” Sid has to talk him into it.

His voice, provided by John Leguizamo, has a saliva-sloshing sound that can bring to mind a Daffy Duck who has been through anger-management training. Towering over Sid is Manny, a lumbering, huge presence with enormous tusks on either side of an enormous trunk.

Manny, who has secret problems of his own, is in no state of mind to play good Samaritan. Ray Romano's deep but whiny voice is perfect for this moody mope of a giant with a broken heart of gold.

Meanwhile, the powerful Diego, with his muscular haunches and menacing fangs, keeps his darting eyes ever-alert. Voiced by the wised-up Denis Leary, this mean cat isn't going to miss his chance to carry out his murderous mission.

Or so he thinks.

Director Chris Wedge deftly balances comedy and drama while getting us to care about these eccentric characters. The script keeps the funny bits coming without allowing them to distract from or slow down the story.

Ice Age is full of wonderful throw-away gags, both visual and verbal.

A scene in which Sid, carrying a tasty melon, crashes through a bunch of dodos like a football player charging the opposing line, contains the riotous sight of these awkward birds as they are shoved aside in slow motion.

In a related scene, a dodo meets an untimely end, prompting another of its kind to sigh, "There goes our last female!"

So that's why they vanished.

The message of Ice Age -- that friendship and good will can triumph over the natural order of the animal kingdom -- may not quite square with accepted scientific theory. Or, for that matter, with that whole "circle of life" business. But it's certainly what we'd like to believe.

Besides, if 20th Century Fox, the studio that gave us the stubbornly glacial Titian A.E., can come up with an animated feature this impressive, we really can't rule out anything.

Parent's Guide:

Rating: PG (parental guidance suggested) for mild peril.

What it's about: Ice-age creatures join forces to return a human baby to its father.

The Kid Attractor Factor: It's an animated feature.

Good lessons/bad lessons: Friendship and good will can triumph over the natural order of the animal kingdom.

Violence: Only the cartoonish and implied kinds.

Language: No.

Sex: A male sloth takes a sort of mud bath with some females, but nothing raunchy happens.

Drugs: No.

Parents' advisory: This one should be fine for all but the most sensitive souls.

On a scale of 1-10...I gave it an 8+

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[Daniel Räbiger]

gonna watch it next week - seen the royal tenebaums ?

[domagotchi]

man....marc....I´ve been looking for u all over this #### board....

big reviews this was....ice age....

is spiderman comin out before fedconX ????

ciao

dj

PS: hey hey....why are these signs there...I didn´t put them there.... I just wanted to say D A M N.....that´s all!!!!

[domagotchi]

good....now it worked!!!!

kisses to all of you....

ciao

dj

[MARCBLEE]

Hey Doma-buddy!!!

I see you found out how to beat the system.  let me try: D A M N!

Anyway, SPIDEY will be out before I get there, but I'll have to see EPISODE II over there.  Hope you guys have awesome theaters like we do here in Orlando?!

     

[Tolayon]

SPIDERMAN's coming? I thought they didn't want to show that movie since the plot takes place in New York before Sept. 11th. I once saw a short trailer sequence with a huge spider web between the two towers of the WTC and a helicopter flying into it like a giant insect.

Seeing scenes like this will hurt, did they remove it or not?

[MARCBLEE]

Hi Tolayon:  Of course they removed that scene and that was a VERY OLD trailer you saw.  If you haven't seen the latest and greatest trailer, log onto the web site.

In my honest opinion, seeing the WTC in pictures or on film reminds us but doesn't make it unbearable to see.  We're pretty tough.  Thanks for the concern tho.

In other news:

Ice Cool Millions: Animated Comedy Smashes Records

It didn't take long for audiences to warm to another computer-animated comedy: Fox's Ice Age opened to $47.9 million this weekend, making extinct the March-opening record held by Liar, Liar. With a mammoth $14,430 per-screen average, the family flick even topped Shrek's beastly debut of $42.3 million to achieve the third biggest opening for an animated movie.

The Top 10:

 1.   Ice Age - $47.9 million

 2.   Resident Evil - $18.2 million

 3.   Showtime - $15.4 million

 4.   The Time Machine - $10.9 million

 5.   We Were Soldiers - $8.8 million

 6.   All About the Benjamins - $4.9 million

 7.   40 Days and 40 Nights - $4.6 million

 8.   John Q - $3.7 million

 9.   A Beautiful Mind - $3.4 million

10.   Return to Never Land - $2.3 million

[Locutus]

Wow! Unbelievable! This computer animated movie topped all the others? 2nd wow!

What about Resident evil? Have you seen it? It will start on thursday in germany. The trailer looks very good, but who trusts trailers?

Could you write a review, please.

Thanks for the ice age review - sounds great.

CU

[Daniel Räbiger]

Resident Evil is a nice entertainment movie!

AND ITS A GERMAN PRODUCTION!!!!!!!

[MARCBLEE]

AND NOT DOING WELL AT THE BOX OFFICE!!!!!  

[domagotchi]

has anybody seen the oscar show tonight?????

marc...I missed u there.....oscar for best MC on conventions worldwide!!!!!!

I think sidney poitier took that one for ya....

ciao

dj

[Daniel Räbiger]

I've now seen Resident evil - its a fucking cool movie!!! GO AND WATCH IT!

(but be sure you played the games *g*)

[Nina]

ICE AGE RULT!!!!!  

[Apogee]

Jep that's right!

[uss_bellerophon]

Das Eichhörnchen ist der beste Charakter von allen!!

[Apogee]

die szene im eis mit den eingeschlossenen ufo... das baby mach vulkaniergruss cool!

[commander danico]

Otto's Stimme ist einfach nur geil,

ich sag nur

Manniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Gruß

commander danico