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drshatterhand
Reviews
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is 'Wonderful'
Alright I will confess I was not a big fan of the first film. It was fun and I loved seeing Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney playing the bad guys, but the premise was predictable.
Now with that said, I came to the theater with my kids expecting to witness a pale imitation of a sequel. WAS I EVER WRONG! This film is a rare example when the sequel is better than the original, and the fun is in the performances of some of the best comedians and talent in Hollywood today. Ben Stiller continues his deadpan straight man when he reunites with Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, and Steve Coogan. But the real treasure in this museum is Hank Azaria who plays evil pharaoh Kahmunrah. Azaria is literally over-the-top with his zany interactions with Stiller that left me falling out of my seat. He gives Kahmunrah's voice a Boris Karloff imitation with a lisp that steals the show. He also contributed the voice of Abraham Lincoln and The Thinker.
Amy Adams is fantastic and sexy as Amelia Earhart who has a strong attraction towards Ben Stiller that makes you wish she would not return to her immalleable nature when the sun rises. I would love to see Adams reprise this role for a serious version of Earhart because she's that good.
Alain Chabat as Napoleon, Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible, and Jon Bernthal as Al Capone add to the hilarious mayhem which should have triggered Homeland Security by dawns early light.
Lastly, I have to give high marks for Bill Hader who plays General Custer. His gung-ho leadership moments is great fun especially when he stands too tall while riding a motorcycle and gets knocked off in mid sentence.
With movie ticket prices at $10 per person nowadays, taking a family of four can be very expensive, but in this case the movie was well worth it. I'm looking forward to adding this to my DVD collection.
The Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (1942)
Still Hilarious 60+ Years Later
This cartoon is underrated. The humor is subtle yet hilarious. My two kids love it so much that they will drop what they are doing whenever this comes on. The Dover Boys is a takeoff of the damsel-in-distress/Uncle Tom's Cabin scenario. The humor is in the characterizations such as Dan Backslide's unique way of kidnapping the girl or how the heroes ride their bicycles. Perhaps my family's sense of humor is different from most people. Too many contemporary cartoons rely on toilet humor and not something that is well written. But Chuck Jones and the people who gave us these classics will always have a soft spot in my heart. Their work is flawless and timeless. Whenever a show or cartoon crossovers generations without having to explain why, then the artist has done their job. They just don't make them like they use to.