I missed seeing this movie when it first came out, but ended up catching it at the dollar theater one night when I was bored.

The movie is a political thriller starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel  McAdams.  The plot centers around a mysterious shooting the potential links to a “private security” firm being audited by Congress for suspicious activities (think Blackwater).  What follows is a decently-paced thriller that, while somewhat predictable, is enjoyable to watch.

What was of personal interest to me was one major scene taking place at an apartment building in DC.  I know, lots of buildings in DC people are familiar with – why this one?  Well, it was where I visited some old friends while on business in 2002 and of the two buildings, it was the exact one I was in.  So, Oscar and Julia, your building was in a movie.

My advice:  Catch this one on DVD – worth the couple of hours…

Some sequels are inevitable; one just hopes that the sequel isn’t completely horrible.

Disclaimer #1:

I needed something to distract me from the news I had just received about the passing of my grandmother the evening that Transformers came out at midnight.

Disclaimer #2:

I enjoyed the first movie, but had issues.  It was one of the first reviews I wrote (Transformers).  I suggest reading it in conjunction with this review.

Now that the disclaimers are finished, let the review begin.

This installment is about a year after the events of the previous movie.  Sam is headed to college, the Autobots are helping the military, and Megatron is still in captivity.  Sam finds a sliver of the all-spark and all heck breaks loose.  What follows is a 2 and 1/2 hour explosion fest that would make the combined explosions of all military actions over the past 100 years seem like a wet sparkler on the 4th of July.  Just when you think Bay couldn’t stoop any lower, he actually “teabags” the viewing audience with a Decepticon (thanks, Spaldy, for the right imagery).

A lot of the issues I had with the first movie are still here, just bigger and even worse:

• StarScream – at least his whiny voice was heard this time and the robots could talk while transformed – so this was actually an improvement…
• Plot – story? we don’t need no stinkin’ story – WE HAVE EXPLOSIONS – KAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
• Robots – in the cartoon you could tell who was an Autobot and who was a Decpticon – good luck here…
• Visuals – great effects but everything is lost in the neverending fireballs of Bay’s testosterone exploding onscreen…

My advice:  dollar theater if you have to see it on the big screen – don’t waste money on it though…

Some movies have a lot of star power, but very little publicity.  This means one of two things: 1) it’s an indie flick; or more likely 2) it is a dud. That is the choice we are left with in viewing this offering from John Travolta and Denzel Washington.  Santino talked me into going seeing this one afternoon.  The theater was barely half-filled and it was opening weekend with no competition.

The movie is your basic, formulaic hostage movie.  The actors did what they could with a bad script and a predictable storyline.  I knew how it was going to end by just watching the trailer.  It is a shame that the story in the middle wasn’t strong enough to kill the predictable angle.  Even the big “twist” wasn’t all that important to the story.

My advice:  Skip it – catch it for free on TNT if you absolutely have to see it…

Sometimes I wonder why studios can’t be happy with a successful movie that ends with just the first movie.  Then I get a clue and remember that this is show business, which means squeeze every last penny you can from anything remotely successful and repackage the rest.  When Night at the Museum came out, I enjoyed it, but felt it was a one-shot deal.  Definitely a decent family movie, but that was about it.  Then I heard they were making a sequel…

So, in the midst of Star Trek mania and Terminator frenzy, the latest entry tries to make some waves before Up is released.  I found myself with some time to kill in the afternoon and chose to go check it out at Regal.  it was an average mid-afternoon – nothing too spectacular.

Museum 2 finds us a couple of years removed from the first movie.  Larry (Ben Stiller) has moved on to become a successful inventor of “made for TV” products and no longer working for the museum.  He is saddened to discover that the exhibits are being dismantled and sent to the Smithsonian…..but not all of them.  He follows the exhibits to Washington, where the tablet begins its work hijinks ensue.  Amy Adams is the love interest and does a great take on the speaking style of the 20s.  Hank Azaria leads a cast of supporting characters that have fun.  Of course, the ending is predictable, but you knew that before buying a ticket.

My advice:  dollar theater or DVD – not necessarily a big-screen feature, but better than some other choices, particularly for the family…