Topic of the Day

This weekend, three new movies are being released for your enjoyment. One is a phenomenal Disney production, another is a small budget feature from Dreamworks, and the last is a "small" film from one of Hollywood's favorite writers.

The first movie in question is Dinosaur, Disney's reportedly $140 million production. This picture for the kiddies is going to cover similar territory that The Land Before Time, Jurassic Park and a half a dozen other Dinosaur movies covered. On top of that, we get another Asteroid movie to dazzle with special effects. Disney also uses their old formula for the young hero (this time a dinosaur) with his friends (the comic relief) trying to defeat the bad guys (two mean-looking T-Rexes?). This one will be good for the kids that haven't seen all the kiddie dinosaur movies, and anybody that is up for some cool digital effects.

The second entry this week will be coming out of Dreamworks' production house, a Tom Green movie called Road Trip. This film is eager to attract the attention of college-aged youth who love a good gross-out. Advertisements on TV are indicating it's this year's There's Something About Mary. However, it lacks a leading character as good as Cameron Diaz is, and will probably not do near the business Mary did. Guys however will love this movie, especially if they dig Tom Green. But if you fall out of that category, you will probably not enjoy this one.

The last release this week comes from Woody Allen, Small Time Crooks. Allen, known for cranking out at least one film a year, has given us another neurotic performance as a thief weaned in the old style of breaking and entering (particularly banks). He is teamed with Tracy Ullman, who plays Allen's spoiled (and classless) wife, Jon Lovitz, Hugh Grant, and Michael Rapaport. The plot centers around breaking into a bank vault by digging underground the old way, and the comedy parallels that which you expect from Woody. If adults are looking for a cute little comedy-caper, this is what they will want to watch.

With all of the new releases this week, Dinosaur stands the best chance to knock Gladiator out of the top spot, which is entering it's third week in the box office. It's going to be a good, head to head race, but compared to Gladiator, Dinosaur needs to go a long way in order to pay for itself. My money will be with Crowe and his Roman slaying.