It’s been quite some time since I’ve been to a movie theatre packed with kids and I must say that I did enjoy hearing them laugh. I think I enjoyed the sound of laughter more than I did the movie. That doesn’t mean though that Night at the Museum 2 wasn’t funny because it did have some good moments even if I did have to fight boredom towards the middle of the film. Thankfully Kahmunrah was there to destroy the world and save the movie because for me he provided the biggest laughs. Hank Azaria really did a great job with all the three characters he played, i.e. Kahmunrah, The Thinker, Abe Lincoln. The rest of the cast did their jobs pretty well too though I was a bit disappointed with how little they made use of Robin William’s talent.
As for the plot of the story there isn’t much you can say about it because there’s really not much of a story beyond Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) running around, in, and under the Smithsonian trying to save his wax friends and the world from Kahmunrah. The attempt to add depth to the story by giving us a lesson on doing what we love was more like an afterthought just so we can say that the movie had a story beyond trying to get some good laughs out of the audience. The ending was fun but ruined by the oh so corny appearance of the reincarnation/complete opposite of Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams).
All in all the movie was funny enough but I could have lived without seeing it on the big screen.
Hannah Monta Rocking the Box Office
Hannah Montana: The Movie has proven that Miley Cyrus is indeed the most popular teenage girl today as it landed the number one spot in the North American box-office last weekend with a total of $32,324,487 worth of tickets sold during the three day weekend.
Not surprisingly the movie was mobbed by young girls ranging from toddlers (2yrs old) to teenagers (17yrs old). I guess the fact that many fans had to be accompanied by their moms of course helped boost the ticket sales.
Disney is of course very please with the results and as Chuck Viane, Disney’s president of domestic theatrical distribution said, “Outside of Wow! what can you say?” They also expressed surprise at the movie’s success but considering the success of the previous Hannah Montana movie I can’t help but think that the surprise is a bit contrived.The movie is the first Hannah Montana non-concert movie. The last movie, “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” was opened just a mill shy of thisone last year and ended up with a total of $65 million in total. It is now hailed as the top grossing movie concert of all time. With this record we can be sure that this new movie will be doing equally well if not better.
As for the plot of the movie anyone who’s seen the tv show knows what to expect.
Third Narnia Movie By 20th Century Fox
Being an avid C.S. Lewis fan, I am unsure as to how to react to the news that Twentieth Century Fox is going to take the helm in the making of the third Narnia film. According to news reports, the movie giant has partnered up with Walden Media and will create the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia series.
The development was announced after the Walt Disney Co stepped out of the picture sometime this week. If you recall, Walt Disney and Walden Media were the entities behind the first two Narnia films, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. And the reason behind Disney’s letting go of the franchise? “Budgetary considerations and other logistics.” Could this be a sign that Disney is being affected by the economic times?
Perhaps. The numbers that were involved in producing the first two Narnia films are around $180 million to $200 million. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe grossed about $745 million worldwide while Prince Caspian earned nearly half of that amount at $420 million. Perhaps Disney is merely playing it safe and not wanting to risk much lower turnouts.
In any case, the third movie is going to be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The story (based on the book, at least, as the movie is not out yet) picks up Caspian’s story but many many years later. The once prince is now the King and is on a quest to find the seven lost lords of Narnia – a promise which he made to Aslan. The younger Pevensies and their cousin Eustace are drawn into Narnia again. The Dawn Treader is Caspian’s ship, where much of the story will take place.
Needless to say, I want to see this film.
Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants for August ’08 release
The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants was one of the more popular chick flick movies of 2006. Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn were perfect for their roles and gave the movie a really fresh and lively spirit.
Now the four are back for another go at the sisterhood as they are set to appear in the Sisterhood sequel due in August 2008. The movie is actually based on a series of books from Ann Brashares. The sequel will attempt to squeeze in three books’ worth of material into one movie. The four are now in college and thus, will have a more mature theme. Do we expect a bit of nudity here since they’re “adults” now? no one knows yet but do expect to see the four actresses jump off a cliff and into the ocean as part of their “improv” suggestions for the movie.
Deathly Hallows turns into two movies
I don’t know how Harry Potter fans will take this news. According to producer David Heyman, the last potter movie, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows will be divided into two movies.
Heyman explained that the two-movie approach was the best one among a number of options that they were toying with. One option had the movie running for almost four hours but Heyman said that even though Potter fans would have tolerated the length it is still too much for little children to sit through such a long movie. Another option was to remove key elements of the last book but Heyman also said that this was not a good idea. He shared that unlike in other books where certain subplots were dispensable, Deathly Hallows provided a lot of answers and resolutions that the only way to do it justice is to leave it as is. The desire to be true to the book is mainly the biggest reason for the decision to divide the movie into two. JK Rowling was consulted about this decision and she supposedly gave her support for the two-movie concept.
Development of the script is only now being undertaken because of the recently concluded writer’s strike — and this is where the next glitch happens. Expect a year and a half of waiting in between Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows movies. This delay, I guess, is the one thing that Potter fans will complain about the most.