Aliens in The Attic (2009)

Beings from another planet visit earth, and they aren'ton vacation like the Pearson's. A clean fun, family picture that'll keep the kids entertained.

John Schultz (The Honeymooner's, Drive Me Crazy) directs this family story where Stuart Pearson (Kevin Nealon, SNL) decides to take his family on a much needed vacation to a lakehouse. His son Tom (Carter Jenkins) has been a bit rebelious lately and they just aren't seeing eye to eye. His daughter Bethany (Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical) is your stereotypical all engrossed High School teenager who's dating, and hiding the fact that he's "older", Ricky (Robert Hoffman), a Ken to her Barbie and seemingly perfect guy... to everyone but Tom. The kids in the house stumble upon a group of aliens who've just landed on Earth with the intention of taking it over. The wild bunch of kids team up to outsmart the small statured beings and defend Earth from an invasion no one else knows about.

Not only did the Human of Earth not hear about the invasion, most of us probably didn't hear about this movie. I guess if you don't watch Disney channel with your rugrat you wouldn't. And I still don't get why we continue to see SNL funny people in redicilous roles that even myself, not even an actor, would pass up on (I lie, I'd take it in a heartbeat!). Tim Meadows, I shed a tear for you. Acting was crap, over the top and stupid. "The Tiz", yeah, her cuteness can't carry a movie, so why they didn't invest in some people with a little talent is beyond me. The special effects and aniamtion of the aliens was all pretty good, no complaints with that. For those of us in the "not a kid anymore" category, pass this one up... unless of course you have kids, then by all means sit down with them and show some interest in their little world.

5.2/10

Rated: PG
86 mins

Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

The fun, thrilling, family adventure scf-fi flick that you never saw!

Andy Fickman (She's The Man, The Game Plan) directs this soon to be family, live action classic from Disney in which an ex wheel-man, now gone straight as a Las Vegas taxi driver named Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson, Get Smart, The Game Plan), inadvertently picks up a couple bizarre kids who are in a big hurry to get somewhere. Along the way, Seth (Alexander Ludwig) and Sara (AnnaSophia Robb, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) reveal themselves as children from a distant planet who have come to retrieve a device that is capable of saving their world from dieing. Being tracked by not only a secret US government agency similar to the "Men In Black", the kids must fight for their lives as they try and outrun an alien assassin sent from their home planet with orders to take them out. Enlisting the help of the denounced scientist Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino, Watchmen, Sin City), they race to Witch Mountain to reclaim their ship and make it back home before it's too late.

So if you didn't know, this film is a remake... well not re"make", but re-imagining of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. So apparently it's been done. But for what's it's worth, this movie is a lot of fun, filled with plenty of action for Dad, an adult romance for Mom, and two kids who can do all sorts of cool stuff! Though the film opened at #1 in the box office when it came out, it fizzled quickly. I don't think I know a single person other than me who has seen it. But if you fall into that category, you're missing out on an hour and a half of entertaining cinema. Now sure, the acting is well... come on, it's The Rock for eff's sake, but would you have rather they stuck Vin Diesel in the role? Didn't think so, but I'm pretty sure Vinny's got another Disney movie or two on his contract, so I'm sure he was considered. Good special effects and nice work behind the lens was more than enough to keep the acting and redone script from drowning. Grab some popcorn and a drink, and spend a few with the kids... enjoy.

A side note. In the bar scene, the waitress and the sheriff, they played the roles of Sara and Seth in the original 1975 film.

6.2/10

Rated: PG
98 mins

Up (2009)

Pixar has yet again outdone itself with this animated masterpiece worthy of the greats. To me, this was a splendid, albeit rather unexpected ride into the heart of love at its best, and the power it brings those who harness its goodness.

Up is the story of a chance reunion between two star-crossed children who are enamored with the expeditions of one Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer, The Lake House, Inside Man), a self proclaimed explorer extraordinaire. The two grow old together, promising to one day visit the spot of Muntzs’ greatest discovery and biggest failure. As fate turns, Carl (voiced by Ed Asner, Elf) becomes a widower, but vows to keep his promise… and take the house with him. From there all sorts of outrageous events happen that truly test the strength of love. Accompanying Carl for the trip is a means well, super ambitious scout who is trying to get his last badge for promotion by “assisting the elderly.” And assist he does. Together they float towards the Amazon to make sure Carl’s lifelong pledge is upheld… even if it means denouncing his boyhood idol.

I really enjoyed Up, and am not ashamed to say that after the first fifteen minutes or so I had tears in my eyes. I definitely did not foresee the sappiness. But it gets much more “up”-lifting, pardon the pun, with the introduction of the young scout. I expected a movie about an old grump, a la Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men, who just wanted to get away from it all. Who knew there would be so much colorful adventure? The characters meld beautifully, the animation is flawless, voice overs are superb, story is solid, though not airtight… all in all a fabulous, adventuresome journey to “South America. It’s like America, only South.”

8.7/10

Rated: PG
96 mins.

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

What's the old mantra about movie sequels? Oh right, they suck. There are few exceptions (Terminator 2, Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back), and this is surely not one of them. "When the lights go off, the battle is on," is right, the battle for a better movie.

Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder, Dodgeball) reprises his role as Larry Daley, a once down on his luck night watchman turned incentive millionaire mogul, is this sequel to the extremely popular family, adventure comedy of 2006 directed by Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther, Cheaper By The Dozen). After learning of the NYC museum restructuring and all his old friends being whisked away to storage neverland in DC, Larry returns to his life of overnight shenanigans as he travels to the capitol in order to return his friends to their rightful place. However, the magical, life giving tablet has also made the journey and now Larry must go up against the likes of the evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria, Run Fatboy Run, The Simpsons) and his legion of historical tyranny before he unleashes his minions on an unsuspecting nation. Helping him in the fight is female flying ace Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams, Doubt, Sunshine Cleaning), who develops quite the crush. They are joined by a familiar band of archaic icons, as well as some new ones, as they battle to return things to "normal."

Just as its predecessor, based on the novel by Milan Trenc, this film was received to mixed reviews, and I'm one of them. As visually entertaining and overall pleasing as it may be, its really not a good movie in the classical sense. The acting is marginal, music is blegh, and the characters a bit much, but the special effects are mesmerizing and the story epic. But I think I know what happened here. The first one grossed so much that they couldn't not make another and hope for the same. And that's exactly what happened. This movie out-grossed the original. Thankfully it was marketed as a family comedy, otherwise it wouldn't have stood a chance. The real downside though to me was that the original cast played such a small part this time around. The new characters just weren't enough to sway me. I did enjoy the playful interaction between Stiller and Adams, and Hank Azaria was his normal, masterful character actor self. I especially liked the uncredited cameo by Jonah Hill, it was the only thing that was genuinely laugh out loud in the adult perspective. A must see family favorite, but if you don't have kids it'll be hard finding a valid excuse to see it.

6.8/10

Rated: PG
105 mins