Although normally we do push a weekend box office report, since it is summer time and there are a fairly larger number of films being released mid-week, we cannot ignore it any longer. Sam Witwicky and his friendly Autobots have succumbed to the fallen after this past Wednesday. No, I am not referring to The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but to the cute and cuddly mammals in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
Taking in around 13.8 million on its opening day, reptiles and weasels alike reigned at the top of the box office. Optimus and his own Matrix of Leadership managed to take in 10.9 million, and all though it does not seem that impressive, it just brings them even closer to making around 300 million domestically (and in its second week too). Now you must be pissed and or wondering, what’s the deal with Michael Mann’s latest cinematic achievement of sorts, Public Enemies? It still made a smaller but still noticeable amount, bringing in 8.2 million for its first day.
The weekend has not even begun though, and then is when these three films will really duke it out. Stay on here to check out Philip’s weekly box office prediction article, The Wrong Guess along with the monday released weekend box office from myself.






Let’s address the look first which many have whined over since the first trailer has been released. Mann re-teamed with Dante Spinotti, the genius who helped him shoot Heat, for this picture and they used the new Sony F23 to film a good chunk of scenes. It looks nothing short of gorgeous and immerses the viewer in the 1933 era Mann so perfectly recreates. Had the picture been shot on film, the era would have been given a “glory days” type feel to it and that was never the intent of this story. Spinotti and Mann want to put the audience in the era, and shoot certain scenes as if one is next to Dillinger and company as they joyfully escape a prison or just had a successful score. Even better is a scene where Dillinger and Billie Frechette make love. Billie’s explanation of herself is inter-cut with the two engaged in intercourse to create cinematic beauty. The love-making is aggressively shot, in contrast to the stoic way Mann films the quieter moments of the scene. Perhaps though the best directed scene is Dillinger’s demise (which if you cry fowl over, do some research) and is nothing short of brilliant. Mann builds the scene by showing Dillinger watching Manhattan Melodrama and gives one the feeling Johnny thinks that’s him up on screen while Melvin Purvis and company wait patiently outside for him. It’s all subtle, yet pure magic as it unfolds to leave the viewer breathless.
