QMR: Night at the Museum, Trouble the Water, Terminator: Salvation

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



Can't see the trailer? Click Here. . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyrz5V7Vuw
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Bottomline: Playful silliness that will entertain young children.

Pros: Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart.

Cons: Some of the "gags" went too long and were just not funny. Reminded me of those skits on SNL that go just a minute or two too long.

Where Can I See This? It's in theaters. Save your money and rent it. Or, better yet, pick up the first Night at the Museum (2006)

QMR Opinion: The first Night at the Museum was funnier and more inventive. This is essentially the same movie but set in D.C. The over-the-top silliness started to bore me after a while. They really worked hard for the laughs and missed most of the time. A bright spot is Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. I also liked Bill Hader at General Custer but he is wasted later in the movie. Hank Azaria is funny at first as Kahmunrah but then the joke gets way tired. A dissenting opinion: My 11-year-old loved every minute of it.

Trouble the Water (2008)

Can't see the trailer? Click here. . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E

Bottomline: Excellent, but disturbing documentary.

Pros: Gives an intimate portrait of one 9th Ward's family's experience during one of the biggest domestic disasters in our country's history -- both natural and man-made.

Cons: Once you get past Katrina and into their search for a place to live, the doc begins to drag.

Where Can I See This? It is showing on HBO and is available as a DVD rental.

QMR Opinion: In August 2005, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, a resident of New Orleans' 9th Ward, decided to pick up her video camera and record the before, during and after effects of Katrina. She had no idea how devastating Katrina would be to her family and her home. This documentary uses her personal video diary as the foundation for giving an intimate portrait of one family's struggle to survive after one of this country's worst natural disasters. Making matters worse was the ineptitude of the government at every level -- city, state and federal. The filmmakers splice in video of President Bush and others making them look foolish. It's difficult to watch but, in the end, is a portrait of the tenacity of the human spirit. WARNING: Doesn't show human corpses but, for some reason shows a dead dog. Language is rough.

Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Can't see the trailer? Click here. . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcg5t0mT8V4

Bottomline: Solid entry into the Terminator canon. Must see for Terminator fans. Not sure people unfamiliar with the Terminator mythos will get it.

Pros: Robots and cyborgs out the wazoo. Explosions. Non-stop action. Tons of references to previous Terminator movies.

Cons: Lacks a soul. One of the key reasons the other Terminator movies worked is that at their core, they had a soul. A raison d'etre. At its core, this Terminator movie is a McG-directed action flick that blows stuff up.

Where Can I See This? It's in the theaters.

QMR Opinion: I liked this movie. . .but, honestly, I am pre-disposed to liking this movie. I like all of the Terminator flicks and understand the mythos as much as anyone can. Christian Bale is perfect casting as John Connor but spends most of the movie growling and mumbling. A pleasant surprise for me was Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. He is strong and fierce. It was also good to see one of the great contemporary bad guys -- Michael Ironside (he's done tones of TV and movies but I liked him in. . .Scanners (1981), Total Recall (1990), Starship Troopers (1997)). A solid movie but could have been much better given a better director. Be on the look-out for an appearance by Birmingham-native Michael Pappajohn. This is rated PG-13 but is extremely violent from start to finish. The ending is silly.