Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Sequel to the 2006 film is as entertaining as the original though the two pictures are surpassingly distinct, they don’t parrot each other, which is good. The original Night at the Museum had more of a sense wonder, it reminded me, and others, strongly of the family fantasy films we grew up on in the 80's (from The Never Ending Story to Explorers, even Back to the Future), where as this Night at the Museum is more like a series of witty comics riff’s strung together in a family friendly format. Ben Stiller anchors the proceedings, and Amy Adams is fetching, but it is Hank Azaira’s performance as Kahmunrah(the chief villain) that steels the show (that voice, what combination of things was he channeling). A fair number of comic cameo appearances, notably Jonah Hill (who should have had more screen time) and Bill Hader (likewise). Grade: B