Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (PG-2009)

The problem with "high concept" sequels is that they lose the ability to surprise. When you are "wowed" by a movie, the "wow" is what you expect and that is very hard to deliver. In this case, it doesn't help that they show what would have been some neat surprises in the commercials! With all that in mind, the question is: Did this sequel overcome those problems? The answer is yes and no. This was definitely an entertaining adventure in the halls of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, but it did not have quite the impact of the original. As the story opens, the Museum of Natural History in New York is being closed for a major overhaul and the exhibits we all know and love are being packed up and shipped to permanent storage in the National Archives (under the Smithsonian). Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) no longer works at the museum as he has managed to succeed in the "As Seen on TV" inventing business. On the last night before shipment, the exhibits sort of let him know he let them down by leaving them and off they go. Of course, problems ensue when the magical tablet brings Egyptian King Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) back to life and Larry knows he must rescue his old friends. What follows is plenty of action and major set pieces which do a nice job showing off the Smithsonian. Hank Azaria is very funny in his role as the leader of his own "axis of evil" who is actually not all that frightening. Amy Adams joins the cast as Amelia Earhart, an excitable woman with a thirst for adventure. One of the main shortcomings of the film is that SO much is going on, it becomes difficult to follow (not the story, which is straightforward, but the action). They seem to be trying just a little too hard to get all of the various parts of the Smithsonian involved. Did I like this movie? Absolutely. It is a lot of fun and the kids certainly enjoyed. I just found the massive advertising gave away too many of the bits that should have been surprising. The cast all delivered and Ben Stiller actually was reduced to being a foil for Hank Azaria and Amy Adams. Go see it, just don't expect to be blown away.

Grade: B-

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Gridiron Gang (PG-13-2006)

This one has been sitting on the shelf awhile, so I popped it in the ol' DVD player last night. Being a fan of Dwayne Johnson and football, I knew I would get around to it eventually. Johnson plays Sean Porter, a man working at a juvenile detention facility that has an idea: What if they can get these kids to channel their anger and aggression and learn to play football? To give them a sense of "team" would help to take away their gang affiliations and give them a chance to think outside themselves and the horrible neighborhoods they come from. At first, he is met with opposition at every level: his bosses, the kids themselves and the communities that have no interest in putting a team of criminals on their schedules. Eventually, he works it all out and starts to build "The Mustangs". While I definitely enjoyed this movie, I can't go too high on the rating as you have seen much of the elements of this film before. The concept of misfits coming together to become winners is an age-old concept. It is a good entry in the "inspirational sports" movie genre, however, and I did enjoy it. Dwayne Johnson shows some acting ability here, even if the role is not exactly a stretch, and some of the backstories of these kids is very interesting. While this is not a must-see, I definitely recommend it. It is just a little disconcerting during the end credits when they show the real people the movie is based on and "The Rock" is actually some pasty white dude with a bad moustache!!

Grade: C+

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Laid to Rest (UR-2009)

"Oh, yes, there will be blood" is one of my favorite tag lines for a movie. It was used for "Saw II", but could have easily been used for this movie. "Laid to Rest" is a low-budget slasher film that wants to be "Halloween" but falls well short. The movie follows the trials of "The Girl" (Bobbi Sue Luther) who wakes up as the movie begins in a casket. After freaking out (who wouldn't??), she manages to rock the casket, which falls over and she spills out. She finds herself in a mortuary, not knowing who she is or how she got there. Of course, that turns out to be a minor issue as she quickly learns she is being pursued by a psychotic killer who wears a chrome skull mask and videotapes his crimes. As the movie unfolds, she enlists the help of some others as "Chrome Skull" (Nick Principe) cuts a path of blood and destruction as he relentlessly pursues her. "Chrome Skull" doesn't waste time or take names as he wield his military-issue K-bar knife, killing people quickly and brutally along the way. The question that is never answered is: Having many opportunities to quickly dispatch our heroine, why does he never do so, seeming to want to "save her for later". We get to see a videotape late in the movie that explains how he met and captured her, but it doesn't even begin to explain why she is not "just another victim" (Of course, maybe it's simply that ol' Chrome Skull is a boob man). The film follows the "Halloween" framework of faceless boogeyman pursues determinedly pursues female victim, but this movie does not hold a candle to that classic. It did not bother me that Chrome Skull did not have a backstory as the mysteriousness of that faceless boogeyman could work, but they did try to hint at some kind of past and then never went anywhere with it, which did bother me some. The one scene I thought hit the mark was when Tucker (Kevin Gage), the kind-hearted stranger, separates himself from the group simply because he needs to "lose it" completely for a few minutes, breaking down crying over the horror he was witnessed to that point. That was a nice element of realism that almost elevated this movie above the genre. This movie was simply a non-stop bloodbath, but did not deviate from that enough to fulfill its promise.

Grade: D+

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College (R-2008)

"College" is basically a movie that attempts to combine elements from "Animal House", "Old School", "Superbad" and other movies of similar ilk to varying degrees of success. Drake Bell, best known as Drake from "Drake and Josh", is clearly in this to get some distance from his Nickelodeon-star past. This is a comedy that is packed with debauchery from beginning to end. Bell plays Kevin Brewer, a high-school senior, who is starting to think about college. When his girlfriend dumps hims for being too "boring", he hears about a local college where you can go to get a weekend tour, and also have an amazing time along the way. He enlists his two buddies, Carter (Andrew Caldwell) and Morris (Kevin Covais AKA "Chicken Little" from American Idol), to join him. When they find their assigned dorm to be dull, they wander around campus and find themselves invited to spend the weekend at a frat house. They do and, of course, all sorts of lewdness ensues. Most of the comedy in the movie has been done before, as mentioned earlier. Did the movie work? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I will admit that I laughed a bunch of times, but I can not go so far as to say it is a comedic classic. It was funny at times and had lots of requisite nudity. If that's a combination you can get on board with, give it a try. Otherwise, it has an overall feeling of "been there, done that".

Grade: C-

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Quarantine (R-2008)

"Quarantine" is one of the "hand-held single camera" movies in the tradition of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield". The premise is sort of the same: A building in Los Angeles was sealed off by the government and none of the residents have ever resurfaced. What you are watching is essentially footage discovered from a news camera which details "what happened" in that building that day. Then, what you have is pretty much a zombie movie. Angela Hernandez (Jennifer Carpenter, best known as "Dexter"'s sister) is a news feature reporter who does stories about the night in the city. Her current assignment is to spend a night with a Los Angeles Fire Department crew and record a night in the life with them. When they get a call, she and her cameraman climb aboard and get to see the men in action. They find themselves in a building helping police open a door that a tenant they want to talk to will not open. What they find inside leads to the building being completely sealed off with them inside while the federal government and the Center for Disease Control tries to determine what to do next. The movie is shot entirely from the point of view of the reporter and her cameraman through footage recovered from the camera. If you don't like these POV "shaky cam" films, this one won't change your mind, but I liked both movies mentioned earlier, so that was not a problem for me. There is really nothing new here story-wise as you have the "infected" (aka zombies) running loose in an apartment building. It does a nice job early on building the tension and then keeps it going with some scary attack scenes and a sense of helplessness as the tenants are completely cut off from the outside world. I liked it and found it to be fun and scary. My wife, however, was not a fan, so this kind of movie is not for everybody.

Grade: C+

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17 Again (PG-13-2009)

For anyone who has ever thought: "If I could go back to high school knowing what I know now!!!", there is "17 Again". Zac Efron stars as Mike O'Donnell, a hot-shot basketball star at his high school who finds through the years that the further you get from high school, the more that glory eludes you. As a 37-year old (in the form of Matthew Perry), he finds himself disappointed with his life and about to lose his family when his wife (Leslie Mann) files for divorce. Feeling like his young potential has gotten away from him, a mysterious stranger (Brian Doyle-Murray) asks him if he wishes he could get another chance. When that wish is granted, Mike finds himself 17 again and returns to the school he ruled 20 years earlier. Of course, he now has to deal with the fact that he is in school with his son (Sterling Knight) and daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg). He finds his son has trouble fitting in and is often the target of bullies and his daughter is dating the biggest bully of them all. What looked like a second chance to fix his own life has turned into an opportunity to get his kids on the right path. The movie is a good story of how "making things right" isn't always what you think it is. Zac Efron does a surprisingly great job as he really has to carry this film to make it work and carry it, he does. He is funny, sweet and out of place all at the same time and he really gets to show he is more than High School Musical's teen idol here. He shows he can actually act and carry a movie. The supporting cast is all very good and Efron's performance is matched by a very funny turn by Thomas Lennon, who plays O'Donnell's nerdy best friend who is forced to pose as his father. Sure, I was "dragged" to this movie by my Zac-loving daughter, but found that I really enjoyed it.

Grade: B

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Hotel for Dogs (PG-2008)

One word keeps coming to mind when trying to describe this movie: "cute". "Hotel for Dogs" is a nice story of a couple of kids (Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin), who are orphans themselves, dedicating their free time to rescuing stray dogs and giving them a home. Early in the film, we find the kids in their latest foster home with two parents who really want no part of them as they work on their rock band (Kevin Dillon and Lisa Kudrow, who provide the comic relief). Their social worker (Don Cheadle) is very frustrated as he is running out of homes for them to try. In the meantime, their dog gets out and they stumble upon an abandoned hotel where some stray dogs have been living. This gives them the inspiration to make it a "hotel for dogs". The movie overall is a very pleasant time to spend with the family and is a very warm film. There is nothing that particularly stands out, either good or bad. It is just a good, wholesome family movie.

Grade: C+

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