Night At The Museum (Triple Play) (2011)

I thought this movie would mostly be for kids, but I think I laughed as much if not more than the younger folks around me. The CGI is good, the plot is neat, and Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Robin Williams deliver the goods. It was also a treat to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney in action again. Not to mention that Carla Gugino is a feast for the eyes. It's nice to watch a good film for the whole family once every so often. It makes you feel like a kid again, without a care in the world.

This solid family movie from director Shawn Levy (the new PINK PANTHER, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2) comes from a solid book like Jumanji, and Zathura, the 1993 kid's mystery-comedy of the same name.Like the original story, Larry (or was it Hector originally) becomes a night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History,in order to "grow up" in the eyes of his ex-wife and his son. He expects to have an easy time. But on his first night, he dozes off, then wakes up to a missing dinosaur skeleton.Soon his learns that history really comes alive at this museum and he's got his hands full keeping it in line.

Ben Stiller, as Larry, panics his way from exhibit to exhibit,as only he knows how. Briefly intiated by the original nightwatchmen, played by comedy, TV and film legends Dick Van Dyke,Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney.

The retiring watchmen are worth the price of admission (watch the closing credits as they reveal the ultimate fate of the three characters and Mr. Van Dyke shows that he can still chimney-sweep with the best of them.

Owen Wilson yet again teams-up with Stiller for a small part literally, he's a miniature from an historical diorama (see Starsky & Hutch, The Royal Tenenbaums, Meet the parents, Permanent Midnight, Zoolander for more super Stiller/Wilson team-ups). Actually the role is more than a cameo and is worthy of the story. The two play off each other superbly, like a modern-day Bing & Hope, only funny (I Kid, I Kid).

Another standout casting is Robin Williams lending Larry a hand as an animated-wax Teddy Roosevelt. Williams is able to savory his moments of insanity as a relatively static historical mentor while enfusing others with moving realism and soulfulness (seriously).

Loads of great visuals, especially at the IMAX engagements, like the animated dog-like T-Rex, Mammoths, stampedes and more. Definitely in the spirit of Jumanji, only with much more heart.

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A movie where history literally comes alive? No way! But, somehow, this kooky idea works in an endearing and surrealistic way.

Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachiever with a penchant for bouncing from job to job as he is constantly evicted from one apartment after another. Having had a divorce, Larry shares custody of his son with his ex-wife and her new husband. After finally being fed up with feeling inadequate in the eyes of his son, Larry takes a job as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History in hopes that the semblance of stability will help earn back his ex-wife's and his son's respect. However, things are not always how they appear, as Larry soon discovers that at night, the museum comes to life...

The film has a bit of a slow start as the plot lays the ground work for Larry's desperate acceptance of the night watchman's position. I was left feeling anxious for the hilarity to ensue when the museum finally awakens from it's slumber. Fortunately, once the storyline finally gets to that point, the wacky hijinks commence, one right after the other, causing the film to become far more satisfying. If you overlook the fact that this is a Ben Stiller vehicle (as in, a comedic role that has a fairly cookie-cutter resemblence to most of Ben Stiller's previous roles) the movie turns out to be a wild ride of incredible special effects, and hilarious moments in the interaction between Larry and the newly life-like museum displays.

Robin Williams does an amazing job as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, who becomes a sort of guide and mentor to Stiller's character of Larry as Larry struggles to come to terms with the unbelievable things he is witnessing. Owen Wilson also has a small supporting role as a teeny tiny cowboy from one of the displays in the diorama room, who is hell-bent on busting out of his display and doing battle against the Roman General, Octavius (equally tiny) who resides in the display next to his. Wilson's character is also fairly typical of his usual roles, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Actually (if you're looking for a little trivia) Wilson and Stiller only came face-to-face during filming once, for only a few minutes. All of Wilson's scenes were filmed in one day (in front of a green screen so that his character can be shrunk down to size and re-inserted into the film). The production crew placed a toothpick on the various sets so that Stiller had a focal point for where he was supposed to look when delivering his dialogue during the scenes that would eventually include Wilson's shrunken cowboy.

This whole movie is one giant leap into the magical realm of suspended reality that Hollywood is so good at creating. Can museums really come to life? No --but man, it be cool if they did. Keep your eye out for my favorite (and in my opinion, the funniest) scene from the film in which Larry finally confronts Attila the Hun, who makes a habit of chasing him down and attempting to dismember him each night. Larry squares off against Attila and his barbaric horde, and proves he's in control by bringing Attila to tears. You have to see it to truly appreciate the humor. I also enjoyed the keys stealing monkey, Dexter, and his crazy penchant for causing Larry a lot of trouble. As far as special features go, this particular disc only has 2 audio commentaries available. If you're wanting more than that in the special features department, you're probably better off purchasing the 2-disc special edition.

Bottom line -it gets off to a slow start, but eventually picks up and dazzles the audience with it's style, humor, and the general laugh-worthy age old question of "Can't we all just get along"?

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When I saw the trailer for Night At The Museum, I pretty much knew instantly that I wanted to see it. What I didn't know was how much I would end up enjoying it. Its a rare Hollywood treat these days to see a film that not only you can take the whole family to, but can almost guarantee that everyone will also fully enjoy.

While Ben Stiller will probably never be considered a great actor, he certainly has pretty good judgement of which films to pick from that will make a great impression on the majority of film-goers these days. Will Smith is another who has an uncanny ability to pick (for the most part) great rolls that tend to further his career and keep us fans wanting to see what he'll do next. While I wouldn't put Ben in the category of Action Hero like Will, Ben certainly has a certain something about him that just makes him fun to watch.

Museum is an example of a good script actually turning into a great film. Who can't love seeing a film that features Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke AND Mickey Rooney? I consider that to be near genius casting, and it paid off Big Time. Ben's character is a nice enough fellow who just can't seem to catch a break. He moves from job to job and place to place and his stability is forcing some desperate possibilities in his relationship with his son. He takes a moment to apply for the Night Watchman at the Museum, and is hastily trained by Dick Van Dyke and left for the night much too quickly--especially for what ends up happening after the sun goes down. Part of the microscopic instructions he is left with is a collection of papers stapled together which gives him step-by-step instructions of what will happen, and what to do when it does.

One phrase by his trainer comes back to haunt him that first night: Don't let anybody in...OR out. He can't understand what letting someone out means--but he catches on rather quickly. The T-Rex skeleton is one of the first exercises he runs into. Followed by a group of monkey's bent on playing tricks on him and of course the small dioramas come to life as well creating a miniature war between those in the Wild West and the Armies of ancient Rome. There is SO much to enjoy here that you can't help but hope for a sequel--if done right of course. The addition of Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt was a nice touch as well. Along the way we discover a re-ignited relationship with Ben and his son...a possible new love interest and of course what good action/adventure isn't complete without a conspiracy? All out fun is the best way to describe this latest outing for Ben Stiller. The effects are fantastic and helped to make the movie even more enjoyable...so if you are looking for something the whole family can watch -and the whole family will also ENJOY...this is a no-brainer.

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I'm a Stiller fan his facial expressions alone make me giggle. I believe he outdid himself with Night at the Museum, not because it's a massive blockbuster of a movie, but because my five-year-old, usually such a serious boy when at the theater, could barely keep himself from falling off his chair in laughter.

Larry, an out-of-work divorced father of one, finds himself employed as night guard at The Museum of Natural History in New York City. On his first night on the job, he discovers every exhibit comes to life at sundown. Ben Stiller goes on to play fetch with a T-Rex, gets chased by Atilla the Hun, and eventually finds himself on a wild ride to retrieve the Tablet of Akmenrah. Owen Wilson, as Jed, and Robin Williams, as President Roosevelt, are irreplaceable co-stars in this highly entertaining film.

Such great family fare this makes! It does encourage curiosity, and I'm now itching to visit this very museum the next time I'm in New York. I'm definitely anticipating the release of this DVD!

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