"My Life in Night at the Museum" or "Battle of the Smithsonian Ruins"?

Greetings m'dear Jaders,

I must apologize for the gap in posts, but the blog fodder has been as scarce as ice on hot asphalt. Not to mention, yours truly has succumbed to a small bout of summer sloth. Time to get back in the Shade and cool down!

And so after a fun romp of May premieres, the box office has slowed down without a single film reaching $50 million for opening weekend this entire month. Another big-budget action flick, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen might salvage some of June's dignity with its midweek premiere last night. In the meantime...

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and My Life in Ruins were both blah— not good enough to have me raving but not horrible enough to warrant a warning. Like its predecessor, Night at the Museum 2 relied on slapstick humor and colorful characters to keep the story going. But as movie critic Dan Lybarger points out, our protagonist (Ben Stiller), is basically buried by the flamboyant personalities that run amok in this film. Lisping pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), blaring General Custer (Bill Hader), nosy Abe Lincoln (again Azaria) and too-spunky Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) caused a sensory overload— too many people acting ridiculously muddles plot and dampens the humor. Despite a troupe of comedic geniuses and acting pros, I was most impressed by the bobble-head Einsteins (voiced by the fabulous Eugene Levy) and the boy-band Cupids (yes, they're voiced by the Jonas Brothers). Still, many critics gave the movie favorable reviews; one even claimed it was better than the original (really?). Check out Rotten Tomatoes to see the full scope of opinions.

My Life in Ruins was not as bad as I'd expected. After watching this trailer, the bar was set so low that I couldn't be disappointed. In Nia Vardalos' second meditation on Greece and Greeks, the comedy falls short but the eye candy— both her love interest and the gorgeous sites— does make some amends. The Greek characters in Ruins are not endearing and hilarious as they were in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but the tourists, including Richard Dreyfuss, Rachel Dratch and Harland Williams are entertaining enough. Also, an interesting tidbit before you watch the film: Vardalos' real-life hubby Ian Gomez makes a cameo as a greasy motel owner (he also appeared in Greek Wedding as John Corbett's character's best friend). Gomez is in a scene involving an envelope and a proposition that is priceless— how did Vardalos keep a straight face?

Despite shortfalls in the past ("My Big Fat Greek Life," Connie and Carla, Ruins), Vardalos is still irresistably spunky despite her characters' straight-laced demeanors. Perhaps that's why I'll give her another go with I Hate Valentine's Day, in which she reunites with John Corbett (see the trailer). No movie ticket this time, but I'll certainly add it to my Netflix queue.

Coming into the Shade...
-Better movies to review!
-My music: the first edition!
-The blog's new mascot!
-A new twist to J&S;stay tuned for deets!