Which movies are worth your money this weekend?

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Public Enemies
2 out of 5 bags of popcorn

John Dillinger is public enemy number one according to the head of the new Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover.

Hoover intends to use his capture to propel his bureau into a national police force. He assigns his best agent, Melvin Purvis, to bring him in using the scientific techniques that the bureau specializes in.

Purvis decides they need gunslingers from the Texas office and hands out machine guns to everyone only to have his special force disappear for most of the film only to return at the end.

Dillinger is suave and a hero of the people even though he robs banks throughout the Midwest often shooting them up killing police officers in the process.

This film focuses on the relationship between Dillinger and his girlfriend Billie Frechette but it never establishes the characters you never care about them.

The hand-held cinematography technique makes it difficult to tell who is who during the shoot-outs, particularly at night.

We never learn why Dillinger is a hero to the people and we learn nothing about Purvis or his motivation.

Baby Face Nelson might as well be a cartoon character and Alvin Karpis is an afterthought.

There are lots of chases and shootouts but they are more confusing than exciting. It is very long and it feels even longer.
 
I wish I had been given a reason or two to root for Dillinger or Purvis instead of checking my watch hoping it will end soon. This is the most disappointing film of the year.


Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
2 out of 5 bags of popcorn

Ellie is close to delivering and Manny is a typical harried dad but his preoccupation leaves Sid feeling left out.
 
Meanwhile, Diego is losing his edge and decides to leave their non-traditional herd.

While out wandering Sid ends up in cavern where he finds three very large eggs and decides to adopt them.

They soon hatch into baby dinosaurs and after raising havoc with the rest of the herd their ‘real’ mother comes looking for them – a gigantic T-Rex.

She grabs Sid along with her kids and heads back home into a scary cavern. Manny and the rest of the gang go after them to rescue Sid.

Once they enter the cavern they find a forgotten world filled with dinosaurs.

Once there they run into Buck, a slightly crazy weasel who offers to help them find Sid and avoid getting killed.

Scrat continues to chase after that acorn but this time there is also romance with Scratte to confuse him.

Will they rescue Sid before Ellie has her baby or will they all end up dino food?
 
Buck is a very good character but the story is very short and the producers use the Scrat/Scratte side story to fill in time but it is stretched thin interrupting the main story too often.

There are funny and entertaining moments but there aren’t enough to off-set the boring, predictable and often stupid parts.

The 3D is fun but not worth the extra cost. If you are a fan of the second movie in this series you might like this one.

Whatever Works
3 out of 5 bags of popcorn

Boris is a world class grouch who has failed at his career, his marriage and even his suicide attempt.

He almost won a Nobel prize in Quantum Mechanics and thinks he is the smartest man in the world.
 
His friends find his tirades amusing but they worry about him.

One night as he is about to enter his apartment he is approached by a young runaway who pleads for something to eat.

He takes uncharacteristic pity on her and invites her into his apartment for a meal.

Before he knows it he agrees to let her stay until she gets on her feet.

When the girl’s parents arrive looking for her they are shocked by the marriage but end up looking for someone to fulfill their emotional needs.

Their searching and eventual partners show there are no rules in love.

One of the early scenes with Boris and his ex-wife is so badly done it could put you off the rest of the film but just pretend it never happened because it gets a lot better.

This typical Woody Allen film has Larry David playing the Woody part with the expected witty script and stellar supporting cast.


Moon
3 out of 5 bags of popcorn

In the near future Earth’s energy problem has been solved by mining H3 from the dark side of the moon.

It is done by automated machines but it is necessary to have one person man the Moon base to make sure everything goes smoothly and complete the process of sending the H3 to Earth.

Sam Bell is coming close to the end of this three-year stint at the Moon base where his only company has been a computer name GERTY.

While fixing one of the harvesters he has an accident and when he wakes up in the infirmary things don’t seem right.

Once he is up and moving around he discovers that nothing is at it seems and he only has a few days to figure it out and get home.

Sam Rockwell’s tour-de-force performance is riveting and the story is compelling but very slow.

I was reminded of “2001: A Space Odyssey” with touches of “Silent Running” both brilliant movies but not the exciting sci-fi that today’s audiences expect.

Once it gets going the story is predictable but has enough surprises to keep you wondering.

For more information on David Ramsey, or for more movie reviews, visit David’s website or email him.