Canby Herald Online

Movie View: 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' and more

• Published: 12/8/2009 10:45:57 AM

Courtesy of Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Larry (Ben Stiller) and Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) take off in 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.'

Let’s talk movies.
 
New Release:
“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (Rated PG for mild action and brief language) is a sequel to the 2006 movie “Night at the Museum.” Ben Stiller reprises his role as Larry Daley and is joined by Amy Adams and Hank Azaria. Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais and a host of others also return as the same characters from the 2006 movie.

Former museum guard Larry has moved up in the world. He’s now founder and CEO of a company that develops schlocky devices and hawks them in infomercials.

Tense and uptight the night before the big meeting with Wal-Mart, Larry drops by his old stomping grounds only to discover that all his favorite mannequins and figurines are being replaced with high tech displays and are being shipped off to the national archives below the massive Smithsonian Institute.
Larry decides to save them.

That sounds kind of weird unless you know that there’s a magic Egyptian tablet that brings the mannequins and figurines to life from sundown to sunrise, which also sounds weird, but in a good way.
It’s the animation of these historical figures that provides all the fun.

The magic tablet animates all of the exhibits at the Smithsonian, including the evil ancient Egyptian, Kahmunrah (Azaria) who intends to use the tablet to unleash his army of darkness and, along with Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone, install a new reign of terror.

Larry and the rest of the historical figures battle to stop them.

The filmmakers utilize some eye-catching special effects in this one. The famous paintings in the Smithsonian come to life and the main characters are able to enter and exit the painting’s world.

Al Capone and his gang are in black-and-white while everybody else is in color. Einstein bobble-head dolls come to life. The statue of Abe Lincoln at the memorial comes to life. All of it is good fun.

Like the previous film and like the Shrek movies, a lot of the humor is derived from seeing these historical figures make pop culture references or playing off their well known characteristics.

In some ways, this film is a little too crowded with familiar actors camping it up.

I saw at least three actors from “The Office” make cameo appearances. Hank Azaria steals the show and Adams as Amelia Earhart provides the romantic interest.

The bottom line is, if you liked the last one, you will certainly like this one and if you didn’t see the last one, see this one. It’s good family fare.
 
Hidden Gem:
“Is Anybody There?” (Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, and some disturbing images) is drama from England starring Bill Milner, the boy from the hidden gem “Son of Rambow,” and the ever reliable Michael Caine.

Edward is an 11-year-old boy whose parents have turned their large home into an old folks home.

It’s a tough situation. They barely make enough money to scrape by.

Mom works her fingers to the bone. Dad feels he’s growing old before his time and lusts after the young college student they’ve hired to help.

Their marriage is falling apart. Edward resents having to give up his room, and the rest of his home for that matter, to the doddering olds.

Edward is morbidly fascinated by death and the paranormal.

He uses a tape recorder to try and capture some of the resident’s last breaths. He tries various ways to contact ghosts. He just wants to know what happens when you die.

Cranky retired magician Clarence (Caine) arrives when a vacancy opens up. He’s torn up over the death of his wife and not at all happy about being cooped up with all these old people.

He’s also in a steady decline due to Alzheimers.

Edward and Clarence don’t hit it off right away but eventually form a sort of grandfather-grandson relationship.

Edward tries to help Clarence reconnect with his beloved, while Clarence tries to help Edward come out of his shell and live for today by taking him under his wing and teaching him magic tricks.
Can these people find happiness?

This story touches on familiar themes such as the value of living for today and not dwelling on the past, the value of the roles the elderly can play in our lives and the importance of family.

Though the themes of the story are familiar, the execution is extraordinary.

Like all good movies, the filmmakers show us through the actions of the characters what’s going on in their heads and their motivations rather than a lot of on-the-nose dialog. That may seem like Filmmaking 101 stuff but it’s still refreshing to encounter it being done well.

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