'Ice Age' is 'yawn of the dinosaurs' tale

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

There's more action and cuddly creatures for kids to love in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" than in the animated franchise's first two installments. For their parents, it's more of the same, a "Yawn of the Dinosaurs" adventure with some new faces and... Full story

'Public Enemies' dazzles the eye but drags

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

With "Public Enemies," all the pieces would seem to be in place for an epic gangster drama: director Michael Mann, who has an affinity for complicated criminals; stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, who are famous for immersing themselves in their roles;... Full story

'Bruno' quickly goes out of style

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

The problem with "Bruno" is Bruno himself. Compared to Borat - and it's impossible to avoid the comparison - there simply isn't enough to the character to build an entire feature-length film around him. Both spring from the brash and creative mind of... Full story

Pfeiffer radiant, but 'Cheri' never shines

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

Back in 1988, director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Christopher Hampton teamed up for "Dangerous Liaisons," one of the juiciest guilty pleasures ever. Reveling in high-class deception and manipulation, the film earned seven Academy Award nominations... Full story

'Transformers' shape-shifts into noise, nonsense

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

A joyless cacophony, an insistent and seemingly endless onslaught, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," director Michael Bay's follow-up to the 2007 smash "Transformers" plays more like a parody of a Bay movie. You name it, it gets shot up, blown up... Full story

'Sister's Keeper' raises tough questions

"My Sister's Keeper" is a shameless weepy, one of the most manipulative and fundamental of genres, but it also raises some surprisingly difficult and thought-provoking ethical questions. Based on the Jodi Picoult best-seller, the drama focuses on the... Full story

'Proposal' says yes to rom-com cliches

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

All the romantic comedy conventions are shamelessly on parade in "The Proposal," trampling on our brains and turning them into mush. They include an uptight character who literally lets her hair down to show she's loosening up, a spontaneous sing-along,... Full story

Allen's 'Whatever Works' not quite working

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

The title of Woody Allen's new comedy, "Whatever Works," might define what the filmmaker has been up to the last few years. Allen churns out a movie a year like clockwork, some OK, some mediocre, none very memorable. Sure, last year's "Vicky Cristina... Full story

Coppola's 'Tetro' sumptuous, self-serious

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

Two years ago, Francis Ford Coppola returned to filmmaking with the small, self-financed "Youth Without Youth," about an elderly professor who gets younger after being hit by lightning. While it was exciting to see such a master director striking out... Full story

'Moon' a haunting sci-fi tale

By CHRISTY LEMIRE – AP Movie Critic

"Moon" does something extraordinary: It seems familiar and derivative, yet upends your expectations about science fiction and surprises you over and over. Melancholy and mesmerizing, equal parts mystery and character drama, it keeps you guessing until... Full story

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