Ice Age 3

Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha (”Ice Age: The Meltdown”) and Mike Thurmeier (debut)
Written by: Michael Berg (”Ice Age”), Peter Ackeman (”Ice Age”), Mike Reiss (”The Simpsons Movie”), and Yoni Brenner (”Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”)

Even in a technologically-advanced age in cinema, watching an animated movie in 3-D is never enough if there isn’t an interesting story to match its computer-generated imagery. For every “Coraline” there’s always a “Chicken Little” or “Fly Me to the Moon” that will have you wondering if studios are depending on audiences to simply visit the theater for the free plastic glasses or if there’s an actual narrative moviegoers over the age of nine can also enjoy.

With “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” the third installment of the prehistoric series, you don’t have to speculate on the intentions of 20th Century Fox. While 2002’s original movie seemed insignificant in the midst of Pixar’s “Monster’s Inc.” and “Finding Nemo,” and 2006’s “Ice Age: The Meltdown” tied in too bizarrely with Al Gore’s global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and the Hurricane Katrina tragedy the year before, “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” comes with no strings attached and a whole lot of solid humor.

Unlike the first two films, you won’t have to wait around for Scrat, the half-squirrel, half-rat hybrid who is always in pursuit of an ever-elusive nut, to be entertained. In “Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” Scrat is back, of course, this time with an eyelash-fluttering female rival who also craves an icy acorn snack. However, Scrat’s antics, again presented in short interludes throughout the film, are only part of the delightful animation.

Returning to form the awkward-looking herd of mammals are Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah), a wooly mammoth couple now expecting their first furry baby, Diego (Dennis Leary), a saber-toothed tiger who is going through a mid-life crisis, and Sid (John Leguizamo, who should be given some kind of award for his voice work in all three films), a lovable sloth hoping to start his own family like his tusked friends.

Sid gets his chance to prove he would make a good father when he stumbles upon three dinosaur eggs. Not knowing there are dinosaurs inside, he takes responsibility for the brood by drawing faces on their shells and appropriately names them Eggbert, Shelley, and Yoko. When they hatch, however, they’re Tyrannosaurus-like appearance isn’t the only thing that gives them away. Mama T-Rex shows up looking for her newborns much to the chagrin of Sid.

With more baby species in “Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” you’d think that the sequel might rely on the cuteness of its new characters to carry the load. But others including Sean William Scott and Josh Peck, who return as the comedy relief possum duo Crash and Eddie (far less annoying than they were in “Meltdown”), and newcomer Simon Pegg (”Shaun of the Dead”) as an adventurous, eye-patch wearing weasel, contribute to the comedy. Even SNLer Bill Hader makes a memorable voice cameo as a gazelle that mocks a predator after he outruns him in an open field. (Definitely a part of the natural world National Geographic doesn’t show you).

Overall, “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is the best of the trilogy and should entertain both children and adults alike. But let’s be honest; 20th Century Fox needs to quit while they’re ahead with this specific adventure.

Nothing Like the Holidays

Starring: Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Alfred Molina
Directed by: Alfred De Villa (“ Washington Heights ”)
Written by: Alison Swan (debut) and Rick Najera (debut)

While the number of slapstick Christmas comedies usually go off the charts this time of year as much as Santa’s cholesterol, the Christmas family dramedy is the other holiday sub-genre that usually demands screen time in December.

Last year, “This Christmas” featured an African American family reuniting for the holidays after four years. In 2005, Sarah Jessica Parker met “The Family Stone” and experienced all their dysfunctional love. This year, Christmas gets a little Latin flare Puerto Rican-style with “Nothing Like the Holidays.” The film follows the Rodriguez family from the Humboldt Park area in Chicago as they come together in what might be the final Christmas they spend together as a family.

The reason: Anna Rodriguez (Elizabeth Pena) has announced over dinner that she has decided to divorce her children’s father Edy (Alfred Molina) after 36 years of marriage. She has reason to believe he has been having an affair. No one takes the news lightly including Mauricio (John Leguizamo), one of the Rodriguez boys, who has become a successful lawyer in New York, and his sister Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito), a struggling actress living in Los Angeles.

Freddy Rodriguez (“Grindhouse”) plays Jesse, another Rodriguez brother, back home from Iraq. He thinks his parents are adult enough to make their own decisions. His mind isn’t really focused on his mom and dad’s problems, especially since he has a handful of his own. He has returned home to find his ex-girlfriend Marissa (Melonie Diaz), whom he still loves, has moved on with her life. He is also still haunted by the death of one of his friends in the military.

It’s not only Jesse, however, who has issues. Everyone has something going on in his or her trying life and debut screenwriters Alison Swan and Rick Najera tangle it all together in a cinematic version of stale fruitcake. While storylines that focus on Jesse and his hardships give the film a more serious tone than your average family head-butting session, there’s not much time to build on his character since the script seems sculpted from the blueprint of a tiresome telenovela. Instead, secondary stories like Maruicio and his wife Sarah (Debra Messing) arguing about the best time to have a baby, and issues that revolve around Ozzy (Jay Hernandez), a family friend and ex-gang member who is bothered that the guy who killed his brother years ago has been released from prison and is now hanging out in the old neighborhood.

The scene-stealer of the film is Luis Guzman (“Waiting”), who plays the family’s kooky electronics-loving uncle, but he and Freddy Rodriguez (one of the most talented young Latino actors working today) can’t raise the film above the usual stereotypical family dramedy we get every year. It might be in different packaging this time around, but a pair of socks is a pair of socks no matter how colorful the gift-wrapping.

The Happening

Starring: Mark Walhberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan (“Lady in the Water”)
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”)

Forget about hating Mel Gibson for his off-screen shenanigans. It’s now hip to ridicule director M. Night Shyamalan for his actual work in Hollywood. Since he shocked audiences with “The Sixth Sense” in 1999, which earned him two Academy Award nominations (one as director and one as screenwriter), Shyamalan has failed to reach that same level of success with his last four films (although the first two-thirds of “Signs” was suspenseful and smart before the final act).

Now, Shyamalan attempts to redeem himself for “The Village,” “Lady in the Water,” and the overrated “Unbreakable” with “The Happening,” a film being marketed as his first R-rated film ever.

A little extra blood and disturbing images don’t help the director’s cause, however. “The Happening” is still a lankly-written film at best, although the first few scenes will have you wondering if Shyamalan might really be able to break out of his deep rut.

In “The Happening,” we are quickly tossed right in the middle of an unexplainable occurrence that is taking place all over the East Coast. For some unknown reason, people are committing suicide within seconds of each other. It’s chilling in the first few minutes to watch as construction workers heave themselves off buildings. Later in the film you see a group of tree trimmers who have hanged themselves with their own equipment, which is rather jolting.

The tone of the movie quickly plunges when we are introduced to Philadelphia high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) and Elliot’s best friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and his daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). The group decides the safest thing to do would be to take a train as far away as they can from the incidences.

But with the mysterious behavior spreading quickly from town to town and no ideas why it’s happening (some think it’s a biological terrorist attack, others believe the plants are emitting a toxic chemical), Elliot, Alma and others find themselves trapped in small town America trying to survive whatever it is that is making people kill themselves.

Shyamalan had a unique idea and desperately wants it to work. But once you get passed the eerie concept, there’s not much left in his screenplay to build on the paranoia. It’s not entirely Shyamalan’s fault, however. Wahlberg and Deschanel give some mediocre performances as a husband and wife going through some minor marriage problems. Their conflict a mild second storyline that is unimaginative, unnecessary, and completely annoying. There is also a lack of chemistry between Wahlberg and Deschanel. They would be worse off if this was a love story, but even in a thriller you would like your leading man and woman not to come off like oil and water or novice actors. Here, they’re a terrible mix.

It’s another strike for Shyamalan, who should think about trying to direct someone else’s work rather than write his own. If “The Sixth Sense” was his one-hit wonder, he should accept that and move on. Trying to relive those moments when his stock was so high seems more desperate than ambitious and it’s just not going to happen if he keeps doing it the same way he has been for the last nine years.

John Leguizamo – Nothing Like the Holidays

If you want to stay warm during Chicago’s chilly winter months, snuggle up with a bunch of Latinos. At least that’s sort of what actor John Leguizamo did in his new movie “Nothing Like the Holidays.” In the film Leguizamo, 44, plays Mauricio Rodriguez, one of the members of a Puerto Rican family from the Humboldt Park area, who returns home for a lively Christmas reunion. The film also stars Freddy Rodriguez, Elizabeth Peña, Jay Hernandez, Debra Messing and Alfredo Molina.

During an interview with me, Leguizamo, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, talked about what it was like to make his first film in Chicago, his own family’s Christmas traditions, and how the cozy cast of “Nothing Like the Holidays” spent their time when the workday was complete.

“Nothing Like the Holidays” is the first film you’ve ever made in Chicago. What was the experience like shooting in the Windy City?

It was great. Chicago is my second favorite city in America only after New York. It was a lot of fun to be there with the cast. I’ve known the cast my whole life. Chicago is always one of the first places where I would go to try out all my new [stand-up] shows because the crowds are amazing. I did the shows “Freak” and “Sexaholics” there. It’s such a great theater town. There’s a great mix of Latino people. There’s lots of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians.

Since Freddy [Rodriguez] is from Chicago I’m sure he showed you around the city, right?

Well, the whole cast is like family. We spent almost every hour together. We never went back to our trailers. In a lot of movies, you just go back to your trailer when you’re done. But we went to lunch together, to dinner. (Laughs).

Is that how it usually is when you shoot a film where the majority of the cast is Latino? Was it the same when you shot “Love in the Time of Cholera” and “Paraiso Travel?”

You know, Latin people are much cozier. We like to hang out. We like to talk. We like life. “Love in the Time of Cholera” with Benjamin Bratt and Catalina [Sandino Moreno] was the same thing. We would work out together. We would go to breakfast together. (Laughs).

So, on the set of “Holidays,” there was always someone to cuddle up with in the 25 below zero degree weather?

Yeah, there was always someone to go get a coquito (eggnog-like alcoholic beverage traditionally served in Puerto Rico) with and someone to go get White Castle burgers with at 3 a.m. (Laughs).

In “Holidays,” Humboldt Park is such an important part of this Puerto Rican family’s story. As an actor, does it feel more genuine for you when you actually shoot on location and not at some Hollywood studio?

Yes, because it forms the movie completely. You get to talk to so many people that are actually like the characters in your movie. You get the flavor and the life. It might be more comfortable to shoot on a set, but it’s not conducive to naturalistic work.

We learn a lot about Puerto Rican Christmas traditions in the film like the paranda (a 3-day house-to-house celebration filled with music, dancing and food). Are there any Colombian holiday traditions you’ve kept over the years?

My mom makes her famous arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) like nobody else’s business. My aunt makes arroz con gandules. (rice with pigeon peas). When we’re done eating, we’ll roll up the carpet and have our own “Soul Train” line.

Speaking of food, I saw Debra Messing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” talking about how everyone gained weight because of all the Puerto Rican food you all had to eat during production.

Especially Jay Hernandez. (Laughs). He gained a ton of weight, man. We went to [the Borinquen Restaurant] that makes the jibarito sandwich, which was invented in Chicago. It’s a sandwich made with plantains instead of bread. It was amazing!

Did you have to loosen up a few notches on your belt, too?

I was eating like a pig, but I was also working out so I didn’t gain weight. (Laughs).

I read the scene where the entire family is eating dinner took 18 hours to film. How do you keep the same energy from the first hour to the last?

It was a tough shoot. Luckily, I do a lot of theater so I knowhow to motivate myself. You have to be caffeinated. You have to jump around every now and then. I did some push-ups to wake up my body again because it’s grueling. In filmmaking you have to [shoot scenes] over and over again until they’re perfect. It’s the most incredible medium for someone who has OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

Are there any Christmas classics you like watching as the holiday season rolls around?

I love that “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” claymation. That’s always a classic. I liked Burl Ives as Frosty the Snowman. I like [“How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”] with Boris Karloff. I can sit with my kids and watch those over and over again.

How has Christmas changed for you over the years – from when you were a kid to having children of your own?

Christmas used to be much more materialistic for me. When you have kids, it’s all about creating an event with a sense of family. It’s about uniting your family to the world. It’s more about spirituality than anything else. I try to reintroduce myself to my Indian ancestry. I try to give my kids a little bit of all the things that have been whitewashed over the centuries.

What’s the best gift you got when you were a kid?

It was this bike that I wanted when I was seven, but my parents made me read all these books in Spanish to get it. My parents would always get me books when I was a kid, they never gave me toys. So, this bike meant everything to me.