Opening This Week: Public Enemies, Ice Age 3, Valentine’s Day, Lion’s Den, Monaco, Local Color

This week’s new movies include two major Hollywod releases, Michael Mann’s Depression-era shoot’em up “Public Enemies” and the third installment in the CG franchise “Ice Age”, which your kids will surely love because, well, it’s got cute furry CG animals and it’s in 3D. On the limited front, there are two foreign films, an American indie drama from 2006, and yet another Nia Vardalos romantic comedy. Our full preview of the week’s offerings below.

“Public Enemies”: Johnny Depp stars as notorious depression-era gangster John Dillinger, whose charismatic crime spree made him a folk hero to the masses, but a public enemy chased by a fledgling FBI led by an obsessive J. Edger Hoover (Billy Crudup) and G-man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). Directed by Michael Mann. Rated R for gangster violence and some language.

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”: The continued adventures of Manny, Sid, Diego and the rest of the CG critter crew are back for their third prehistoric adventure. And hey, kids, this time it’s in 3D! Yay! Joy! Ahem. Featuring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott. Directed by Carlos Saldanha and Michael Thurmeier. Rated PG for mild humor and peril.

“The Girl From Monaco”: French romantic comedy about a brilliant but neurotic attorney (Fabrice Luchini) who goes to Monaco to defend a famous criminal. But, instead of focusing on the case, he falls for a beautiful she-devil (Louise Bourgoin) who turns him into a complete wreck. Hopefully, his zealous bodyguard (Roschdy Zem) will step in and put everything back in order… Or will he? Directed by Anne Fontaine. Rated R for some sexual content and language.

“I Hate Valentine’s Day”: Nia Vardalos and that guy from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” reunite for a romantic comedy that you can see coming a mile away. But hey, it’s a romcom, what did you expect, originality? Of course not, don’t be silly. The chicks will love it, though honestly, there’s no chance it’s better than pizza and morning sex. Co-starring Stephen Guarino, Zoe Kazan, Gary Wilmes, and that girl from Saturday Night Live. You know, the funny one? Directed by Nia Varadalos. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

“Lion’s Den”: The week’s heavy hitter comes from Spain, and is about a beautiful woman who kills her two lovers and later gives birth to a son in prison. She then tries to raise her son behind bars, which is no easy feat, considering, you know, the bars and such. Co-starring Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, and Rodrigo Santoro of “300″ fame. Directed by Pablo Trapero. Not Rated.

“Local Color”: IMDB.com has it listed as a 2006 movie, but it’s being promoted as a 2009 film. Either it’s really, really good and took a long time to find a distributor, or it’s really, really bad and took a long time to find a distributor. Then again it’s got Samantha Mathis in it, so how bad could it be? Premise: A talented, troubled young art student befriends an elderly alcoholic genius painter who has turned his back on both art and life. Co-starring Ray Liotta, Trevor Morgan, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Samantha Mathis, Ron Perlman. Directed by George Gallo. Rated R for language.