Night at the Museum (2006)

I just had to see this movie because I love museums, and ever since I was little, it's been my dream to be trapped in a museum, and better yet, to have everything come to life!

If you liked "Jumanji," starring Robin Williams, then you will like "Night at the Museum," starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. As an adult, I'd have to say it wasn't too funny for me. There were a few parts here and there that I chuckled at, but other than that, it was just fun to watch, but not entirely funny. It just seems as though the writers tried too hard to make it funny.

But I'm still still glad I saw it. It was a heartwarming movie about a father who just wants to make his son proud. And in scenes where Larry (Ben Stiller) is doing something or talking to someone, it was just fun to see the other characters of the museum who came to life doing their own thing in the background. It was just amusing.

I'd rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5! :)

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

An absolutely hilarious film that makes an important statement about children's beauty pagents. The father, Richard, played by Greg Kinear, is a motivational speaker who speaks about what one needs to be a winner, but his own family has issues with this. The son has taken a vow of silence until he is admitted to the air force. The uncle, Frank, played by Steve Carell, an ex-professor and the leading scholar on Proust, is a Gay man who is clinically depressed and has failed at committing suicide. Richard's father is a very blunt man who says exactly what he is thinking and is Olive's beauty pagent coach. And the daughter, little Olive, has one dream--to win a beauty pagent. So they pack up and go on a road trip to help the daughter achieve this dream. During this dysfunctional family's road trip, many things happen along the way that shows just how dysfunctional this family is, but at other times they do bond and come together.

The most important message, I think, was how seriously messed up it is to put little girls in beauty pagents that make them appear older than their ages, in which they wear makeup that makes them appear to be little hookers (pardon the language). It's quite disgusting and sad really.

Little Miss Sunshine is a dark comedy, but one that everyone should watch. It's the funniest movie I've seen in such a long, long time. Definitely rate this a 5 out of 5 stars for getting across an important message in such a dark and humorous way.

The Fountain (2006)

The synopsis can be found here: The Fountain. It was visually the most beautiful movie I've seen. As stated in the synopsis, this movie takes place in 3 time periods: 16th century Spain, present day, and in the future 26th century. The same character is trying to find the Tree of Life (the fountain) and understand the meaning of life and death, while trying to save his wife from death. The Mayans believed that "Death is the road to awe." The Mayans were also believed to have the most accurate calendar! While watching the movie, I couldn't help but think about Islam, and the belief that death is not the end of it all, but also the beginning of a new life. This movie will make one think a lot about life and death. I really enjoyed this movie! And the best part, I think, was the soundtrack, which I bought. I absolutely loved the music and it went so well with the beautiful images in the movie. The three time periods are so well intertwined together. But reading the synposis will greatly help, and I would recommend one reads it before watching the movie, otherwise you might be a tad bit confused. I rate the movie a 5 out of 5! :)