Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Review

There is no reason to watch “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (**)” at all. Please, don’t even show this movie to kids, unless you have no aspirations for your child what so ever, do not submit your child to this type of torture.

My rating

When I watched the first Night at the Museum I was expecting the movie to be really cool. After all it is a very neat idea. Museum pieces coming to life! That’s pretty darn awesome! I was trying to imagine all the really interesting characters that might come to life. You could have a whole TV series with this idea. Plus it was Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson who have been very funny in the past. What could go wrong? Seriously, what went wrong here? The movie was just awful! It wasn’t funny at all; it wasn’t interesting; it was as if they made it up as they went through the film production. I wonder did these people even have a script to work with? If they did, it was a boring one and it made me wonder what were these writers smoking when they wrote this. Perhaps they were under pressure from the executives to come up with something, anything and fast. Most likely that is what happened. Shame on those executives!

In either case, I watched the movie. I started with an open mind, big mistake! That didn’t go very well at all. I narrowed my perception to unrealistic. That usually does the trick for me, but it still didn’t work. I went down even further to child thought process, down to toddler, down to single cell organism, nothing worked. The movie was just plain crap! I finally had to switch gears to babbling idiot, but by that time I did that it had been too late; the movie was over and I am not about to watch that movie again, ever! It’s enough that I still have nightmares of this movie coming to life at night and trying to eat me!

However bad the movie was somehow they manage to turn a profit. I smell a rat! No offence to rats of course. Yes, they turned a profit and they made yet a second part to this garbage of a movie. That’s like ordering a shit sandwich and then ordering another one with extra shit. However, I don’t like to prejudge, (did I just hear someone laugh?) I gave the movie the benefit of the doubt. Plus this time it stars Amy Adams and if you have been following my reviews, you know how I feel about her acting. I didn’t think the movie would be good, but I thought it would be at least a little better than the first. (The gods of movie sequels die of laughter!) After all it was based in the Smithsonian! How cool? What could go wrong? Well, wrong happened and it happened often. I started watching this movie on babbling idiot just in case, it is my lowest setting and it still found a way to insult my intelligence. This movie isn’t worth a damn. The only redeeming quality of this movie is Amy Adams as Emilia Earhart. She did a great job with the role as she always does. She was very funny, very entertaining and very sweet. However, as good as Amy is, I don’t think she’s talented enough to carry a movie like that all by herself. It was like ordering a nice, juicy, delicious steak with a heaping dollop of manure while the meat industry is keeping you company telling you all about their business practices.

I suppose there were a few effects that were mildly amusing; however, none of them were that impressive that would excuse such bad story telling. There was one scene where they entered the very famous, black and white, World War II “The Kiss” photo. They filmed the entire scene in black and white and with the feel of the late 1940’s, but it was very short and it did nothing for the story. Just like every other scene in the movie.

There is no reason to watch this at all. Please, don’t even show this movie to kids, unless you have no aspirations for your child what so ever, do not submit your child to this type of torture. Do yourself a favor and never watch this movie, EVER!

Adams Proposes to Regis

Top 10 People I Respect or Admire

The following people are artist that have shaped my life in some way or another. They are people I respect and admire. Not only are they great entertainers who excel in their chosen profession, but they are also great humanitarians and have made a difference not only in my life, but in the lives of others.

1. Steven Spielberg: A very accomplished Hollywood film producer and director famous for movies like E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and many, many more. I admire Steven for his creative vision and his ability to make movie magic come to life along with his incredible talent to bring out the best in actors.
2. Roger Ebert: One of the most respected film critics of all time. He writes a film review column in the Chicago Sun Times and he’s the first film critic to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. I admire Roger for his ability to judge film fairly and for his eloquent writing that I have enjoyed for the past 20 years. I respect him both as a movie critic and as a humanitarian.
3. Amy Adams: A young and very talented actress whose short movie career have earned her two Academy Award nominations and has been critically acclaimed by critics for her work in many different roles. I admire Amy for her incredible talent to bring other wise 2 dimensional characters to life in a way that no one else can. She reminds me a lot of myself. She’s passionate and not afraid to work hard to excel in her line of work.
4. Misty May-Treanor: An Olympic athlete in the sport of Beach Volleyball. I admire Misty for her sportsmanship spirit which I have never seen on anybody else ever. She is a true champion. Her ability to re-collect herself when she is down then turn it around and make it work for herself is amazing.
5. Leo Laporte: The god of the geeks! Otherwise known as the Tech Guy. He is the one of the most sought out podcasters on iTunes. He has been a very prosperous radio talk show host and TV personality in the field of technology. When it comes to technology no one knows more. He has a way of explaining the most difficult computer or technical tasks to the average person in such way that not only does it makes sense to them, but it is not condescending in any way.
6. George Carlin: He is a stand-up comedian who’s won several Grammy Awards for his comedy Carlin was noted for his black humor as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. I admired him for his words, his vision and his courage to say what was on his mind in such a way that would make you laugh, but also make you think.
7. Bill Maher: He is a political commentator and Talk Show host who is known for speaking his mind. Although he can be a little extreme at times, Bill is a good humanitarian, he believes in equal rights even when his supporters disagree with his views. He is able to have conversations with people who disagree with him and keep his composure. I envy that.
8. Gene Roddenberry: Creator of the very popular Star Trek world. I admire Gene for his vision of a perfect future. Regardless of whether his vision was naïve or not, his vision represents a state that humans could potentially achieve, no matter how improbable it can be, it is nice to know that there is a glimmer of hope.
9. Dr. Dre: He is a very talented rapper, and music producer. I admire him for his contribution to hip hop and his achievement in life against incredible odds. Dr. Dre came from nothing and he accomplished the American dream, he is still working and grounded in reality.
10. Tina Fey: She’s an actress, comedian and creator of the 30 Rock show. I admire her for being one of the funniest woman on TV and movies. She is not afraid to be outrageous with her comedy, but never inappropriate.

Amy Adams is an inspiration to all!

Amy Lou Adams

There have been a number of people who have inspired me to follow my dreams. However, no one has inspired me more than Hollywood actress Amy Adams. If you are not familiar with Amy Adams, look her up on Wikipedia or IMDB. She has an impressive Hollywood resume for such a short time in her movie acting career. The reason is because she is a hard working and talented actress. It is my opinion that she is the most talented actress of my generation.

In 2009 alone she stared in three motion pictures, two of which she played leading roles. She takes her roles very seriously and it always shows when you watch her perform. For me, watching her act is like poetry. She has a way of bringing simple characters to life like no one else can. I always look forward to seeing one of her movies.

But why does she inspire me so much? Amy Adams is a down-to-earth lady. She is my age; she also believes in hard work to reach your dreams. She has no piercings, no tattoos, no plastic surgery and she keeps herself out of the tabloids. There are no frills to her; she likes her t-shirts and jeans; lives in a modest house with her fiancée; and does not go looking for trouble. There aren’t too many Hollywood actors that can say that. She is one of the rare few that understand that acting is just a job, is not your life. I respect and commend her for that.

By watching her interviews I have discovered that she is intelligent, sincere, charming, polite, but also not afraid to be silly or take herself too seriously. She just reminds me a lot of myself. Amy also has the kind of smile that is infectious. I cannot help but smile or laugh when she does. I imagine that if we were to meet, we could be good friends. I don’t say that often about Hollywood people.

She has inspired me because she reminds me a lot of myself and what I can become if I apply myself. Also, because at least so far she has kept herself grounded in the real world while working in a make believe world. She is a great role model to young women everywhere. She is beautiful inside and out and her beauty is real not plastic nor made up. I guess she inspires me because she stays herself and that takes guts in her industry. Attagirl!

Surprisingly, even some of the characters that she has played have inspired me at times. There is just something special about her that I admire so much. I would love to thank her personally for her wonderful work and I would love to wish her all the luck in the world. May she accomplish all of her goals and may she always stay true to herself.