You can forget about those Ice Age woolly mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers.

The character that really gets my laughs is Scrat, the acorn-loving, sabre-tooth squirrel from the original Ice Age movie.

He is a critter who has also starred in his own cartoons, always chasing an elusive acorn, and even made an appearance in the animated television series, Family Guy.

In Ice Age: Dawn of the

Dinosaurs, rated PG and opening July 2, Scrat gets a girlfriend called Scratte.

Last Ride, M, which screened at the recent Sydney Film Festival, is a terrific new Australian feature film starring Hugo Weaving as Kev, a petty crim who heads off into the outback with his 10-year-old son, Chook, played by talented newcomer Tom Russell.

Weaving's character, armed and dangerous, is fleeing from a violent crime.

Also seen at the festival was Every Little Step, M, a documentary on Broadway auditions in which real life overtakes the fictional characters from the 1975 stage musical, A Chorus Line.

What's your favourite new release film?