Friday, June 5, 2009

Night at the Museum 2


I have been so bad about posting! Every day I come up with half a dozen great ideas to write about, but the problem is that once I get on my computer…I get REALLY distracted. Really, really distracted. The Internet is such a big world out there, and so enticing…can you really blame me? Well, for once I’m on here and I’m gonna do better because I have some awesome ideas. (Okay, well I think they’re awesome.) So stay tuned! As for today, I’ll just try to give a recap on some stuff that’s on my mind and see where I go.
Enough about what I’m going to do; here goes.
I went opening weekend (that was like 3 weeks ago now!) to see Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian with my family. It turned out to be a very satisfying movie: fun, family-friendly, good special effects, and even a teensy bit educational! (Call me stupid, but I didn’t know Napoleon was short.) In brief, it was really good. Not that I expected anything less. I admit to immensely enjoying the first one, so I had big hopes for its sequel. Never mind that it’s a kids’ movie! Do you think I care about that? It was entertaining, decent, and history-filled (which I love); plus it was laugh-out-loud funny moments and paid great attention to detail (e.g., making Al Capone black and white). It is SO nice to be able to go to the theater and see a movie that is actually entertaining and fun without all the garbage that frequently lands in—even family and kids’—films. That said, there were a few tiny flaws. I am tempted to say none, because they are so slight. But to be fair, I’ll give a heads-up on what those might be:

1) Amy Adams’—she’s a great actress, by the way, and so cute in this movie—character, Amelia Earhart, had some seriously tight pants. But Amelia Earhart was a pilot and that was what pilots wore, so that wasn’t really a big deal to me. Despite the fact that one of my younger brothers said “I wish they would’ve left Amelia Earhart out,” I think her darling spunk contributed greatly to the plot and atmosphere of the movie. Plus, it’s nice to see a heroine with some moxie (as Amelia herself would say), and I’ve kind of concluded that said brother is just at that all-girls-have-cooties-except-for-mom stage.

2) I kind of winced when Amelia (yep, I’m really picking on her) said the only reason to do anything is “for the fun of it.” This advice may just be a manifestation of Amelia’s spritely personality, though; I think she means well. On the positive side, one of the underlying messages of the film is that one should do what he/she loves rather than what makes the most money. Maybe that’s all she was trying to say.

3) Language: a couple instances of misusing God’s name, one use of “sucks” (I thought it was almost unnoticeable, though).

4) “Roosevelt tells Larry, ‘Sometimes it's more noble to tell a small lie than deliver a painful truth’—a questionable conviction portrayed in a positive light. Later, Larry puts that idea to work when he chooses not to be entirely forthright with Amelia.” (qtd. from PIO review). Tsk, tsk, tsk! Lying is bad. May have to clarify this with young viewers.

5) That’s about it on my list (pretty tame, right) but if you want a thorough dissection of the movie check out Plugged In Online’s movie review. As much as I love Plugged In Online, I have to admit that sometimes they tend to over-analyze things (like the “little midnight cowboy” reference you’ll see in this review. I would’ve never made that connection, and I don’t even remember it in the movie). But I would rather they over-analyze than trivialize things. Even if I don’t always agree with every little criticism, I certainly appreciate their attention in pointing them out. When it comes to entertainment choices, it is decidedly better to be over-informed than under-informed. Bottom line: I find their reviews to be really thorough and helpful (probably the best out there that I know of). Yet every so often it is necessary to take it with a grain of salt.

Overall, this is a fabulously fun flick. I most certainly recommend it! (Plus, you'll come away with a trove of cheeky one-liners and enough notable-quotables to annoy your family until Night at the Museum 3 comes out).
Photo credit here

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