Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an animated film by director Wes Anderson based on the book by Roald Dahl. Featuring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Fantastic Mr. Fox opens on November 13, 2009.

Popularity: 1%

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (also known as Night at the Museum 2) is the sequel to Night at the Museum. Ben Stiller leads the cast again with Owen Wilson and Robin Williams reprising their roles.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ben Stiller and Amy Adams in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is a successful man, he’s the CEO of his own company, which invents things like Glow-in-the-dark torchlights. Larry has George Foreman (as himself) as the guest star of his own invention TV Show.

The Museum of Natural History, the place where the first Night at the Museum movie was based is closed for upgrades and renovations. It was already two years since Larry leaves his night guard job. Out of curiosity, Larry steps into the museum to check out what happen. His former boss tells him that the museum will be using high-tech technology to beam the exhibits to life instead of showcasing wax figures. The existing exhibits will be moved into federal storage at the Smithsonian Institution instead.

Larry attempts all possible ways to save the exhibits but to no avail. When he receives a call from Jedediah Smith (Owen Wilson), whom tells him that the capuchin has stolen the tablet which brings things to life and therefore, everything in the world’s largest museum complex has come to life. In order to save his friends, Larry breaks into the prohibited area of the Smithsonian Museum to save the world.

Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) who flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic joins Larry in his adventure to prevent Kahmunrah, a wacky evil Pharoah (played by Hank Azaria) from activating the tablet to resurrect his armies.

While attempting to save the old exhibits which are held captive by Kahmunrah, Larry and Amelia encounter many new exhibits including Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat), The Thinker and Abraham Lincoln (both played by Hank Azaria as well).
Even Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch and Star Wars’ Darth Vader are not spared as they want to join Kahmunrah in his evil’s bid, but both are deemed unqualified by the Pharoah.

Larry and Amelia develop some feelings for each other while trying to save the exhibits. Larry has sold his own company to fund the The Museum of Natural History and once again, the exhibits are back to its original place. The museum is even opened at night and the exhibits themselves act as tour guides. The boss of the museum doesn’t have a clue that it’s not technology but the exhibits really come alive. Larry encounters a lost tourist whom assembles Amelia and the movie ends with Larry acting as tour guide for the lost tourist. Shortly after the credits appear, the sailor who finds Larry’s cellphone in the exhibits picture frame is seen called by his mom as "Motorola".

Overall, the movie is hilarious and fun to watch as the visual is stimulating. Somehow, the excitements end there. Kahmunrah, as an evil Pharoah, is wacky and at times, funny and not at all terrifying while Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible and Napolean Bonaparte are not ruthless enough. A good film for the family.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

Marley & Me is a movie based on the book of the same name by John Grogan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on Christmas 2008 and the rest of the world in year 2009.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in "Marley & Me"

John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and Jenny Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) are a happily married couple whom escape the cold Michigan to southern Florida where both of them are hired as reporters for two different newspapers. While John works as a news reporter covering mundane stories in South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jenny works as a columnist at The Palm Beach Post.

When Jenny is hinting John that she wants to have a baby, John’s friend and colleague, Sebastien Tunney (Eric Dane) suggests to John to adopt a dog in order to take Jenny’s focus away from thinking to have a baby. John then surprises Jenny by bringing her to buy a yellow Labrador retriever and John names him Marley.

Marley is the world’s worse ever dog as he grows up — he eats furniture, answering machine, floor. When John and Jenny realizes they are able to cope with Marley, they attempt to get a baby. When Jenny becomes pregnant, she loses her baby in her first trimester and John suggests that they both go for a belated honeymoon in Ireland leaving Marley to a caretaker. When they return, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again and this time around, she delivers a healthy baby boy named Patrick. Before long, Jenny has a second child, Connor and she chooses to become a full-time mother while John gets a promotion at work earning double of what he earned previously as a full-time columnist. They also move to a larger house in a safer neighborhood called Boca Raton.

The couple welcomes a daughter, Colleen to their family when Jenny suddenly shows signs of postpartum depression even though she denies it. She even wants Marley and John out of the house. When she realizes how important Marley and John is to the family, she agrees they can stay.

When John turns 40, he realizes how mundane his job has become and accepts a job offer from The Philadephia Inquirer instead and they move into a rural farm house. Marley grows old and starts to slow down until the day John and his family has to live without Marley.

Overall, Marley & Me is a movie about the life of John Grogan and his beloved dog, Marley. Nothing’s too special about the movie except that it shows life can be mundane, dogs can be irritating, and it’s not easy raising a family. However, if we can embrace ourselves and learn to live better without giving ourselves too much expectations, life can be a lot easier.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

Marley & Me is a romantic comedy about how a family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog, Marley. Starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

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Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully.

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Good evening!

• No mour Mourinho for Chelsea! Apparently, the entire world gets a shock when Chelsea’s manager quits so abruptly.
• 50 Cent is stronger than Kanye West in New Zealand.
• Matthew McConaughey will replace Owen Wilson in Ben Stiller’s latest comedy, “Tropic Thunder.” But, the question everyone’s asking now is – who will replace Jose Mourinho?

Popularity: 1%

Night At The Museum is a movie about Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), a newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History that discovers that an ancient curse has caused the animals and exhibits on display to come to life at night and wreak havoc. Like most characters acted by Ben Stiller, Larry Daley is a loser in life who has got no job, is divorced and is fighting for the right for his son. He was the CEO of “Snapper”, an invention in which you just need to snap your fingers to get electrical items to turn on – somehow a new invention called “Clapper” seems to sell better as it’s easier to clap then to snap. So, one day, Larry has got himself a job at the museum as a night guard. The director of the museum decides to hire one younger man to replace the three old existing guards to save cost since the museum has not been losing money as not many visitors frequent the museum.

So, Larry is introduced to the three old guards. As the night comes, the three old guards give Larry a torchlight and a set of keys and an instruction manual. As Larry does not know about the mystery of the museum, he doesn’t bother reading the instruction manual. That’s when he knows he need to read the manual – it’s too late and the manual is torn to pieces by one of the monkeys in the museum.

The movie is basically about Larry and getting things right at the museum, and at the same time, to prove to his ex-wife and son that he’s not a loser. The plots and storyline are light-weighted but it’s a humorous movie and it’s good for the whole family to watch!

If you haven’t watched the movie yet, watch the Night At The Museum trailer here

Popularity: 1%