Amy Adams Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: 20th Century Fox Salesrank: 94 Released: December 1, 2009
		Our Price: $15.14
		Used Price: $13.97
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
History is larger than life—and twice as funny—in this monumental comedy sequel that’s “better than the original” (At the Movies)! Ben Stiller leads an all-star cast (including Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams) as Larry Daley, a former night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, where the exhibits come to life after dark. But now Larry’s nocturnal friends are being retired to the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, luring him back for a hilarious, all-out battle against museum misfits who plan to take over the Smithsonian...and the world!

Description of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Three-Disc Edition + Digital Copy + DVD) [Blu-ray]:
Ben Stiller wrestles with extinct beasts, historical figures, and meddling monkeys in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the sequel to the popular 2006 special-effects extravaganza. This time, the ancient Egyptian tablet (the one that brings all the exhibits at New York's Museum of Natural History to life at night) is being shipped off to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.--which, as the movie diligently tells us, is the largest museum in the world. Naturally, former museum guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) heads down to rescue it (and, by extension, keep his magical museum friends alive). He ends up fighting with a nasty pharaoh who talks like Boris Karloff (Hank Azaria, The Simpsons) and falling in love with Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams, Enchanted). All the old gang are along for the ride, including Dexter the monkey; much face-slapping and special effects ensue. There aren't many surprises, but Battle of the Smithsonian is cheerful enough to entertain everyone who enjoyed the first movie. Extras include commentaries by the director and the writers, the usual self-congratulatory making-of featurette, deleted scenes that are actually as good as the rest of the movie, an alternate ending, and an entirely pointless second disc about Crystal, the capuchin monkey who plays Dexter (the monkey disc has less than a half-hour of material, including two mediocre games). The great supporting cast from the first movie returns, including Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, and Robin Williams. --Bret Fetzer

Stills from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Click for larger image)

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Three-Disc Edition + Digital Copy + DVD) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
"You hear that humming sound"
2009-12-13 - "You know what that sound is?" ... "It's rhetorical!"

This is the ongoing saga of Larry the night guard and his little friends. In the sequel to "Night at the Museum," Larry Daley is now a successful entrepreneur. He is all but forgotten his museum buddies. They have been packed up for shipment to the Smithsonian. However, something has gone awry or a Rah, Kahmunrah that is. Will Larry be able to save his friends in the world from a certain evil being (Hank Azaria)? On the other hand, will he assist this being in using the Golden tablet to unleash the underworld?

To add to the complication it looks like Larry has found himself a new girl Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams.) However, she is not real and he does not know how to tell her this. Can anything good come from this relationship?

Sequels are hard to make sometimes they surpass the original at other times they are a pail reflection's. I am afraid the sequel is more of the same and adds nothing new to the saga of Larry the night guard. However, it is still fun to watch.

For those people interested in the technical I have only seen the Blu-Ray version and of course, this type of movie lends itself well to Blu-Ray for sights and sounds. One of the drawbacks is that you spend good money to avoid commercials yet this presentation had so many coming attractions that you forget what you are about tom watch.


You gotta love the Monkey!
2009-12-12 - 5 of 5 stars for comedy movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian (aka Night at the Museum 2). If you have not yet seen Night at the Museum (#1), stop reading this review and go watch it--a funny movie! This movie continues the story from #1 with the same basic characters and adds a few new characters including a mondo-bad-guy. I am very happy to have Ben Stiller continue in the lead role of Larry and Robin Williams plus Owen Wilson in the roles made famous in #1. To this mix, we add a new "girl friend" for Larry and Hank Azaria as the big bad guy.

The story starts out with all of our friends from the National History Museum being moved into storage at the Smithsonian complex. Not good. They happened to also store the magic tablet along with the other exhibits. Fun in the store room begins and various things/people come alive at night. Lots of fun on a much larger scale than #1. I won't spoil any of the fun, but, let me tell you my favorite scene is the entire Air & Space Museum at Smithsonian comes alive and they try to launch/fly everything within; wild!

Very well made movie with great effects that are subtle. Fun plot, well acted and a good time for the whole family. I highly recommend this movie--however, you gotta watch the first Night at the Museum movie before watching this installment!
5 of 5 stars for comedy movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian (aka Night at the Museum 2). If you have not yet seen Night at the Museum (#1), stop reading this review and go watch it--a funny movie! This movie continues the story from #1 with the same basic characters and adds a few new characters including a mondo-bad-guy. I am very happy to have Ben Stiller continue in the lead role of Larry and Robin Williams plus Owen Wilson in the roles made famous in #1. To this mix, we add a new "girl friend" for Larry and Hank Azaria as the big bad guy.

The story starts out with all of our friends from the National History Museum being moved into storage at the Smithsonian complex. Not good. They happened to also store the magic tablet along with the other exhibits. Fun in the store room begins and various things/people come alive at night. Lots of fun on a much larger scale than #1. I won't spoil any of the fun, but, let me tell you my favorite scene is the entire Air & Space Museum at Smithsonian comes alive and they try to launch/fly everything within; wild!

Very well made movie with great effects that are subtle. Fun plot, well acted and a good time for the whole family. I highly recommend this movie--however, you gotta watch the first Night at the Museum movie before watching this installment!

The sequel to "Night at the Museum" features more gags, higher production and action...but is it any good?
2009-12-09 - With the box office success of "Night at the Museum" in 2006 (the film made over $525 million worldwide), both director Shawn Levy ("Cheaper by the Dozen", "Pink Panther") and actor Ben Stiller ("Madagascar", "Tropic Thunder", "There's Something About Mary") waited for the perfect script before getting involved in a sequel. And if they were going to do a film, it would be in a much bigger scale and trying to make the film better than the original and sure enough, this time around, the film worked with the Smithsonian.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" went on to make over $412 million worldwide and now the film is available on Blu-ray via a 3-disc set which includes the Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is featured in 1080p, Widescreen (2:35:1) and once again, Twentieth Century Fox delivers with vibrant and detailed picture quality. You see the textures within the costumes, the metal lining of the pharaohs headdress, the detail of various settings and overall, a colorful film. Even the prop/characters such as the Abraham Lincoln, the fossilized T-Rex, Teddy Roosevelt look very good. There are scenes where the green screen effect wasn't too convincing (ie. Amelia and Larry on a plane outside of the museum) and almost looked a bit campy. But you can't help but be hooked in by the awesome production of the film and watching this film in HD really brings out the beauty of the film. So overall, picture quality for "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is solid.

As for the lossless audio of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", the film tends to be front channel heavy. I actually was expecting the film to be quite immersive and there are some scenes (one with Amelia crashing into the museum with the plane or Abe Lincoln taking on the underworld soldiers) that sound quite awesome, but it was not filling up the soundscape that I was quite hoping for. But for the most part, dialogue is clear and understandable, Silvestri's music also comes out quite nicely through the front channels as well.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Portuguese.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" comes with the following special features:

* Audio Commentary by Director Shawn Levy - Very informative, upbeat and detailed audio commentary by Shawn Levy. Complimentary to the cast and crew, Levy's commentary is pretty thorough on discussing many scenes, setting it up and what he wanted to accomplish.
* Audio Commentary by Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon - An upbeat commentary. Informative and fun, both writers tend to joke around but also give information on what is seen at certain museums and explain certain experiences and more.
* Gag Reel - (8:09) "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" bloopers.
* 12 Deleted Scenes Including Alternate Ending -(11:28) Twelve deleted scenes (which include Out of Town Emergency, Brunden: The Director's Cut, Meet Ivan, Napoleon and Al Capone (Extended), Ivan Interrogates Larry, World Twister, Capone Gets Invited, How Many Bad Guys Can You Fit In an Elevator?, Custer's Plan (Extended), Moon Rover, Takin' Em Down, Gangster Style, Larry's Pep Talk to Custer (Extended), Alternate Ending with Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs) featuring optional audio commentary by director Shawn Levy. From improvisation with Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill, Amelia Earhart's moonrover scene and more.
* Curators of Comedy: Behind The Scenes With Ben Stiller - (19:55) Behind-the-scenes of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". Interviews with the talent and how they wanted to make this series much better than the first and making history come to life. And the cast discussing their favorite scenes in the film.
* Museum Scavenger Hunt Game - While watching the film, you can activate a scavenger hunt where you find items during the film.
* The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp -(3:53) Director Shawn Levy talks about needing to hire people to play the cherubs and so he found out that the Jonas Brothers would be perfect. A hilarious featurette featuring Shawn Levy putting the Jonas Brothers through cherub bootcamp.
* Phinding Pharaoh With Hank Azaria - (4:48) Director Shawn Levy talks about having Hank Azaria experiment with various vocals.
* Show me the Monkey Featurettes - (17:56) "Monkey Business" - Interviews with director Shawn Levy and cast about the Crystal the monkey who is in the film and how the trainer utilizes the skills of the talented monkeys in the film. Behind-the-scenes footage of the trainers working with the monkey and more. (12:52) "Primate Prima Donnas" - Showcasing the monkeys Crystal and Squirt and using a second monkey for the film. (6:24) "The Secret of Life of a Monkey Movie Star: Life Off Camera". A look at how a typical day is for the monkeys.
* Historical Confessions: Famous Last Words - (6:27) Featuring interviews with the characters of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and what they contributed in their career.
* Secret Doors and Scientists: Behind-the-Scenes of The American Museum of Natural History - (15:57) Ellen Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History and other staff talk about what is seen in the film can be seen at the American Museum of National History and more. A walkthrough through various parts of the museum and more.
* Cavemen Conversations: Survival of the Wittiest - (4:17) Interviews with the three cavemen of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (and of course, all the cavemen do is grunt and make noises).
* Museum Magic: Entering The World Of The Photograph - (5:39) The filming of the post-World War II (VJ Day in Times Square) scene recreating the scene of the Eisenstaedt photo.
* Director 201: A Day in the Life of Director/Producer Shawn Levy - (19:17) The camera follows Director Shawn Levy on the set of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" for a day. Also, meeting the various crew members working closely with Shawn Levy.
* Gangster Levy - (1:55) A B&W noir short featuring director Shawn Levy and his assistant director. Recreating a gangster noir clip which would be used in the film.
* FOX Movie Channel Presents Making a Scene - (9:35) Interview with the cast and crew and discussing the "No Go for Launch" scene.
* FOX Movie Channel Presents: World Premiere - (5:28) Host Tava Smiley in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian for the world premiere of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian".
* TRAILERS - Trailers for upcoming Twentieth Century Fox films.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" was a film that was entertaining but similar to the first film, both films are not strong on plot but a film that features good use of CG, special effects and action.

If anything, the hijinks and craziness of the film is still intact and I really did enjoy the scenes featuring both Larry and Amelia. But the film seems like a clutter of comedians and characters trying to get their time on the screen and director Shawn Levy tried to focus too much on these crazy antics of those characters than focus on the overlying storyline.

If anything, the film is your classic cat and mouse game with the evil pharaoh trying to catch Larry and Amelia for the tablet. It's a simple storyline that tries to include jokes and things that just come out of left field and just sputters downward. Darth Vader and Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch in a scene together? Or an octopus trying to hug and kiss Larry? The humor of some of the jokes just didn't fly well with me and felt some of the comedy was not funny at all.

Granted, it was nice to see some of "The Office" (USA and UK) cast in the film, Hank Azaria showcasing his voice talent for the character of the Pharaoh and giving the character a comical spin and although short, the improv scene with Stiller and Jonah Hill was fun. I do admit that I felt my attention of the film was more for Amy Adam's Amelia Earhart character. Adam's is a talented actress and seeing her act on screen was definitely one of the highlights of the film.

And as for Ben Stiller, although he was in the film, I felt that his character was downgraded and most of the focus was on the surroundings rather than his character. And I suppose it depends what one expects from this film. Those wanting more props, special effects, gags and action...then this film is for you.

Of course, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", like its predecessor, is looked at as a family film. A film where kids can be entranced by the surroundings of the museum and almost be taken to a fantasy world. Seeing how my son enjoyed both films tremendously, I suppose the formula works especially since the film has achieved tremendous box office success worldwide.

But in the end, I felt the film was mediocre at best but as a Blu-ray release was quite solid when it came to picture quality and definitely for the inclusion of so many special features. And for children who loved the film, the fact that the Blu-ray release comes with the Blu-ray disc, a DVD and a digital copy of the film is pretty awesome.

Overall, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" may not be a great film but it does make for a good popcorn flick with awesome production and also has plenty of fun moments. But as long as you are not looking for a serious plot or anything deep, then you'll definitely be entertained. As for the Blu-ray release, it's a pretty solid release with 3-discs, awesome picture quality and a lot of special features. So, I have no doubt in my mind that fans of the film will definitely enjoy this release.

NOT A ONE NIGHT STAND
2009-12-09 - Sequels are a tough sell in the end. Sure, people will rush to see them based on their love of the first film. But for the most part, sequels tend to fall short. Fortunately such is not the case with NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE FOR THE SMITHSONIAN.

Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, the newly hired night watchman from the initial film. The movie starts with Larry no longer working there but now a successful businessman and pitch artist selling gadgets he creates on TV like a glow in the dark flashlight.

A stop by the old museum on his way home one night leads Larry to discover that most of the pieces are about to be shipped out to the Smithsonian to make way for more up to date items. Having developed a little pull with the board, Larry tries to put a stop to it.

Before this can happen he gets a call from Jebediah (Owen Wilson) the pint sized cowboy from the first film. It seems the Dexter, the troublesome monkey we met in part one, has stolen the Egyptian tablet that enables them all to come to life. Not only that but Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), the diabolical brother of Ahkmenrah, plans on using the tablet to open the door to the Underworld and return with his warriors from the dead to take over the world.

Larry hop, skips and jumps to D.C and the Smithsonian where he has a funny encounter with a guard there. This results in his heisting a security badge from the guard and walking through the buildings in an attempt to save his friends. But, as is expected, things don't quite go as planned.

Before he can rescue them, Kahmunrah catches Larry who escapes with a little bit of help from Gen. George Armstrong Custer (Bill Hader) and Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams). Kahmunrah then teams up with a young Al Capone (John Bernthal), Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest) and Napoleon (Alain Chabat). It seems to work as Kahmunrah captures Larry and then places Jebediah into an hourglass, sand pouring over him, giving Larry just that amount of time to decipher the tablet so that he can unlock the door to the Underworld.

With the help of Amelia, Larry takes off through the Smithsonian in an attempt to solve the puzzle. Along the way they encounter paintings, statues and pieces come to life as they did at the Museum of Natural History in New York. It takes a visit to the National Air and Space Museum where he remembers seeing bobble heads of Einstein that Larry discovers the answer.

A final showdown between Larry and his friends and Kahmunrah to see who will control not just the museum but the world ensues once the secret is unlocked. Figures from history around the world come to life in a battle royal, winner take all.

The thing that makes both of these films so enjoyable is the way they bring history to life. It's not just about the museum or Larry, though his life is the centerpiece of each film, but about a past we rarely think about or expect our children to know about any longer. Perhaps these films will be a way to get them interested and delve into that knowledge on their own.

Stiller turns in a great performance, never overbearing or demanding attention be paid only to him. He shares the screen willingly to the point where at one time I wondered if he was the center, only to realize he'd been there all along, just never demanding attention. A good actor knows how to share the screen and here, Stiller does an admirable job of that.

The special effects are top of the line, equaling if not surpassing the first film. The art exhibit sequence where we see pictures on the wall come to life and statues we've known for years get up and walk is hilarious. And a certain picture in this area results in a funny joke you need to watch part of the credits for to see.

This movie is the sort of movie the entire family can enjoy together. It doesn't dumb down to the adults and it isn't over the top for youngsters. It's a movie that entertains from start to finish. .


Blu ray review
2009-12-07 - This review is warning about the digital copy of Night at the museum. now before i start i have took it back got another copy and both are the same. the code doesnt work for it and theres no itunes version the only version that there is wmv copy which says on the disc that its german version.