MTV Movies Blog › Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Fifteen years ago I was planning my nights around episodes of "Mystery Science Theater," programming math cheats into my graphing calculator and filming "60 Minutes"-style interviews with Cobra Commander. I was also madly in love with director Roland Emmerich's "Stargate," the German filmmaker's bold sci-fi experiment in 1994 that foreshadowed his big-budget juggernaut "Independence Day" only two years later. "Stargate" is now bowing on Blu-ray as a "15th Anniversary Edition," and it's one of a handful of notable releases during an otherwise forgettable DVD week.

"Stargate" finds Kurt Russell as a suicidal, no-nonsense military officer tasked to lead a group of battle-hardened veterans -- and soft-skinned ninny scientist James Spader -- through a newly discovered wormhole to an unknown destination. The other side winds up being a sandy desert planet whose native inhabitants have kept their human slaves in bondage under the guise of ancient Egypt. It was a wholly original concept, driven forward by personality-heavy stars, amazing location photography and Emmerich's strong sense for the fantastical. The film would eventually launch a number of successful television spin-offs, although sadly no follow-up film (although one was originally planned). Read more...

Tags Battlestar Galactica, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Orphan, Stan Helsing, stargate, whatever works

The Venice Film Festival may have lost all of its credibility now that the words “'My Bloody Valentine 3-D' is competing at Venice” can be uttered truthfully. When it was first announced a few weeks ago that the fest would feature a new 3-D award starting this year, I thought that perhaps world cinema was getting on board with the format. Apparently it’s not quite so -- at least not yet -- as today we learn that all nine films competing for the prize are from the U.S.

And yes, my joke about Venice trying to woo the Jonas Brothers to the fest may indeed be true. “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Experience” is among the crop competing for the Persol 3-D Award, which also includes “Up,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Battle for Terra,” “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” “Coraline,” the seemingly too-old “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D,” and yes, “My Bloody Valentine 3-D.” Rounding out the nine is Joe Dante’s “The Hole,” which also makes its world premiere at the film festival. Read more...

Tags Battle for Terra, coraline, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, joe dante, Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Experience, journey to the center of the earth, monsters vs aliens, My Blood Valentine, The Hole, up

1. "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." ($79.5 million)
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" ($17.7 million)
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($13.8 million)
4. "Bruno" ($8.4 million)
5. "The Hangover" ($8.3 million)

Box office successes! If there is such a cheesy spell, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" doesn't need it because fan devotion and critical enthusiasm has been enough this summer. The film has cast a spell over audiences, with $79.5 million earned so far this weekend, bringing the five day total to $159.7 million. For those not keeping score at home, this is the best debut yet for any Harry Potter installment yet. Read more...

Tags 500 days of summer, bruno, harry potter and the half-blood prince, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the hangover, transformers: revenge of the fallen

1. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($26.8 million)
2. "Ice Age:Dawn of the Dinosaurs" ($5.4 million)
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($4.2 million)
4. "Bruno" ($2.9 million)
5. "The Proposal" ($2.7 million)

To the surprise of no one, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has the top spot so far this weekend. Friday showings nabbed another $26.8 million, giving the boy wizard a cumulative of $107 million in just three days. The sixth Potter installment, "Half-Blood Prince" is set to be the record breaker, and will probably beat the five-day box office take of the previous film, "Order of the Phoenix," which netted an impressive $139.7 million back in 2007. Read more...

Tags bruno, harry potter and the half-blood prince, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Proposal, transformers: revenge of the fallen

1. "Bruno" ($30.4 million)
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" ($28.5 million)
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($24.2 million)
4. "Public Enemies" ($14.1 million)
5. "The Proposal" ($10.5 million)

"Bruno" has beaten "Borat" at the box office. The fabulous fashionista scored a $30.4 million debut as of Saturday, a more impressive take than Sacha Baron Cohen's other social satire, which opened to $26.5 million in November 2006. Of course, "Borat" also went on to take an estimated $128.5 million. Moving from Friday night sales to Saturday night, "Bruno" saw box office receipts decline by 39%. Read more...

Tags bruno, harry potter and the half-blood prince, i love you beth cooper, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, public enemies, The Proposal, transformers: revenge of the fallen

1. "Brüno" ($14.2 million)
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" ($8.7 million)
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($7.6 million)
4. "Public Enemies" ($4.3 million)
5. "The Proposal" ($3.5 million)

"Bruno" has finally made a name for himself in Hollywood! Sacha Baron Cohen's latest R-rated cultural satire nabbed the top spot this weekend, making a fashionable debut of $14.2 million. Though his reviews (71% at Rotten Tomatoes) and ticket sales are solid, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that the gay Austrian fashionista might just be a little too shocking for audiences. "It only earned a "C" Cinemascore indicating domestic moviegoers didn't like what they saw -- perhaps because of the unexpectedly in-your-face male genitalia." Read more...

Tags bruno, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, public enemies, The Proposal, transformers: revenge of the fallen

Your votes spoke pretty loudly last week, with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" rolling out to the record-breaking tune $201 million over the five-day span since its Wednesday opening last week. While this didn't quite topple "The Dark Knight"'s $203 million best ever five-day earnings, second place is nothing to cry about. Especially not when it means your movie has picked up more than $200 million in a single week.

I was lucky to catch an early "Transformers" screening last week, which left the weekend clear for other pursuits. "The Hurt Locker" is on my list, but I unfortunately missed out; if I can get it together for a weekend double-feature, "Locker" will definitely be my number two. I did catch "Dead Snow," which was good, particularly in the latter half when it fully embraces the Sam Raimi/"Evil Dead" riffing. Read more...

Tags i love valentine's day, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, public enemies, the girl from monaco

After his turn as a socially awkward dope dealer in “The Wackness,” Jock Peck is showing his versatility these days by returning to his kid-friendly roots in the summer’s eagerly-anticipated animated flick, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”

“Dinosaurs, 3D, everything,” hyped the 22-year-old funnyman, never the sort for understatement. “It’s probably the best movie ever made.”

Peck will bring new life to energetic opossum Eddie, as he rejoins Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott and Ray Romano for the third installment of the ridiculously popular “Ice Age” series. Read more...

Tags Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Josh Peck, The Wackness