NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN (Rated PG)

A few years back, Ben Stiller made the museum world a whole lot more interesting to movie audiences when he discovered all the exhibits came alive during his night shift as a security guard. The wildly successful “Night at the Museum” was destined for a repeat, if only because commerce demanded it.

How do you improve on what New York’s Museum of Natural History has to offer? The answer is found in the sequel’s lengthy title: “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.” Indeed, it’s all to be found in Washington, D.C.’s megaplex of antiquities.

This time around Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley has become wealthy hawking his gadgets and inventions on TV. Still, he hasn’t forgotten his museum roots, and on a visit to an evening event he learns from the officious Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) that all the beloved exhibits are being crated and shipped for permanent storage in the bowls of the Smithsonian. This reminds me of the “Indiana Jones” movie where the artifacts are carted off to a subterranean federal archives warehouse, only to be forgotten for all time. Apparently, the exhibits at the Natural History Museum are familiar with this movie and wish to avoid the same fate.

Frankly, it’s hard to see how the museum’s Board of Directors would find interactive exhibits more appealing, since their own exhibits come to life at night. But then, museums usually keep daytime hours. Besides, you can’t stop progress, and so everyone, from the miniature figurines of cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Roman general Octavius (Steve Coogan) to the wax figures of the Neanderthals and Indian guide Sacajawea (Mizou Peck), get stuffed in wooden crates and shipped to Washington. Unfortunately, the new arrivals at the Smithsonian awaken the denizens of the Smithsonian, including Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), who’s in a foul mood after centuries of slumber.

The diminutive Jedediah manages to put out a distress call to Larry, who just might figure out a game plan with the help of his computer savvy adolescent son. Rushing off to the Nation’s Capital, Larry breeches the security system of the Smithsonian, only to find that the Egyptian ruler is busy making alliances with some of history’s most heinous villains.

The bad guys include Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), who insists that he has a less fearsome name; a height-sensitive Napoleon (Alain Chabat); and a snarling Al Capone (Jon Bernthal). Fortunately, the museum seems to lack wax figures of Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin and Mao Tse-tung, lest there be absolute carnage on a grand scale.

As it is, Kahmunrah, fueled by an overweening ego, is obsessed with unleashing the dark underworld forces locked behind a portal secured by the golden tablet. “Night of the Museum 2” isn’t real heavy on story, relying instead on creating enough mayhem that people, such as this reviewer, are easily distracted by the likes of a feisty Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) and an Albert Einstein bobblehead.

The irrepressible Amelia is the most amusing character, sparking Larry to rediscover some fun and adventure, and all the while jabbering away in vintage slang. Why does Amelia speak like Katherine Hepburn in a Howard Hawks movie, while the Egyptian ruler and Abe Lincoln utter the common jargon of today?

Not quite as pretty as Amelia Earhart, a vain General Custer (Bill Hader), often strokes his long, golden locks, while wallowing in low self-esteem for his military failure at Little Bighorn. The most amusing character is the pompous Egyptian pharaoh, who doesn’t really appear that menacing, regardless of his futile efforts to insist that he’s wearing a tunic, not a dress.

“Night of the Museum 2” has great fun bringing to life some very iconic items, such as the classic V-J Day in Times Square photo of the American sailor kissing a young woman or Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” painting (which, to my knowledge, still resides at the Art Institute of Chicago).

The slapstick comedy and the vibrancy of inanimate objects contribute to a youngster’s enjoyment of this delightful comedy. Meanwhile, adults may find delight in the lively realization of historical figures and cultural artifacts. But most of all, great fun is had for all in the fact that “Night of the Museum 2,” though far from brilliant, is nevertheless often very funny and enjoyable for the simple pleasures derived from an abundance of clever special effects.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

In “Night of the Museum 2” there is a giant squid that gets a little frisky, but otherwise is not scary. It’s a different story for the DVD release of “Silent Venom,” a sci-fi action thriller about an unstoppable mutant snake species that breaks loose aboard a decommissioned submarine.

On a remote jungle island in the Pacific, Krista Allen has been studying a new breed of mutant snakes. When Tom Berenger comes along to evacuate the researchers from the island, the only way home is on an old sub making its final voyage to Taiwan.

Assisted by Luke Perry, Berenger, his crew and passengers soon find out they are not alone on the sub, and must fight off the hungry, vicious creatures stalking the crewmembers. To make matters more troublesome, they also have to evade attacking Chinese vessels.

Apparently, Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t available for duty, so “Silent Venom” just isn’t as funny as “Snakes on a Plane.”

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE – as every American knows, we're “the richest, most powerful nation on the planet.”

Why, then, do we rank dead last among developed nations in preventable deaths? Why is the US “the most obese nation in history”? Why is our health care system actually “a phenomenally expensive disease-care system”? Why are most US bankruptcies due to excruciatingly high medical bills – and why are 47 million Americans uninsured?

Second Sunday Cinema's two free films for June 14 do answer those questions, but place far more emphasis on providing solid information on how we can stay healthy and change our health system to provide affordable, equitable, high-quality health care for all our citizens, no matter what our income is.

Amiable Frontline reporter TR Reid visited five capitalist democracies to get information on how they provide health care in Britain, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland. The result is his entertaining, fast-moving and informative film, “Sick Around the World.”

Although their approaches differ in some ways, all five nations can boast of the following: their citizens are happy to pay nothing or next to nothing for excellent preventive and sick care. Waiting lists are either short or nonexistent. Doctors pay little to nothing for malpractice insurance; they're not filthy rich, but are comfortable and relaxed, and enjoy their work.

Legislators here at home are now beginning to consider health-care reform. But we don't have to reinvent the wheel here, folks! Successful systems are already up and running. None of those five nations have that much-feared “socialized medicine.”

This film is way better than Michael Moore's “Sicko” because it provides solid, detailed, hopeful and interesting information on how we, too, can enjoy an excellent health-care system – if only we can get our legislators to support public health care.

Of course the best way to go is to avoid doctors and hospitals as much as possible. One of the reasons US citizens are notably less healthy than the people of other developed nations can be summed up thusly: Due to the current system and our lack of information, we wait until symptoms emerge, and then pay huge sums of money to get our symptoms treated instead of being healed.

How about this alternative: we eat healthy foods, we get a lot of exercise doing things we love and which we can afford since we're not spending our money on sky-high health insurance.

As of now, the US government subsidizes high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar processed “foods” but gives no subsidies at all to healthy fruit, nut, vegetable and leguminous crops. Until the government changes its ways, we can take charge of our own lives by eating real, unprocessed and healthy foods healthily prepared. Then we won't have to take time off to go see the doctor (which is always such fun).

These two films are one hour and 40 minutes, respectively. Stay for one or both.

The venue is the Clearlake United Methodist Church at 14521 Pearl Ave. in Clearlake. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the film starts at 6 p.m.

For more information call 707-279-2957.

Novelist Molly Dwyer, author of Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein, will teach a historical fiction writing workshop in Ukiah on June 20. Courtesy photo.

UKIAH – Registration is now open for “Story Stalking: Historical Fiction Writing Workshop” with novelist Molly Dwyer in Ukiah.

This historical fiction writing workshop, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 20 takes place at Mariposa Center, a rural retreat in an oak-filled canyon 10 minutes from Ukiah/Highway 101 in Mendocino County.

The $75 workshop fee includes a copy of Dwyer’s award-winning novel, “Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein” and a box lunch. Early registration is advised, as space is limited. For registration forms and workshop details, go to www.mollydwyer.com or call Dot at 707-463-2736 or 707-272-8305.

Molly Dwyer’s debut novel, published last year, won a national award for historical fiction and was recently nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Fiction as one of the best works by a Northern California author published in 2008.

During the daylong workshop, Dwyer will use guided and free writing experiences, conversation and presentation to explore four aspects of writing historical fiction: research, framing, structure and ethics. She goes beyond standard linear approaches to research, such as Internet and primary sources, to include intuitive methods, such as dreaming and synchronicity.

In framing a story, Dwyer addresses how to shape fact into fiction and develop a strong sense of time and place with special attention to the sensibilities of characters living in another period or culture. She’ll suggest ways to structure a complex story that facilitate movement between research and writing, exploring background, foreground and back-story elements.

Finally, she will examine ethical questions in writing historical fiction, including how to stretch the facts to fit the fiction and how to transform fiction to fit the facts, as well as how to strike a balance between the two.

Dwyer has received glowing reviews for her presentations and workshops throughout the western United States and internationally.

“Molly Dwyer gave one of the best, most articulate presentations about writing I have ever experienced, at any venue,” says Cindy Pavlinac, vice president of the California Writers Club Marin Branch. Molly’s perspective is grounding, informative, inspiring, and current."

Films and animation will include two animated poems read by Billy Collins: “No Time,” with animation by Jeff Scher, and “Somedays,” with animation by Julian Grey.

Also on the program is “Poetry Lives” by Mark Freeman, 2007 Oscar-winning animation, and “The Danish Poet,” by Torill Kove with Liv Ullman.

These will be followed by two short films: “The Ice Cream Man” by Dylan Rush and the animated tale “Best Book Ever” by Lev Yilmaz.

Tickets are $10 at the door and $5 for kids 16 and under. Fresh popcorn and concessions also will be available. There is plenty of parking and restrooms.

Coyote Film Festival is a fundraising arm of EcoArts of Lake County, a 501c(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to bringing visual art opportunities and ecologic stewardship to the residents and visitors of Lake County.

For more information visit: www.EcoArtsofLakeCounty.org .

What in the world is WAD? "WAD" stands for “Writers, Actors, Directors,” three of the most essential elements of theater, coming together in one 24-hour period to put on an evening full of outrageously unique theater.

The evening will consist of six completely different short plays, all built upon one theme seen from six distinctive points of view.

Ukiah Players Theater Co. (UPT) is again sponsoring this event which will take place Saturday, June 6, at 8 p.m. at the Ukiah Players Theater, 1041 Low Gap Road, Ukiah. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the door.

How does the WAD work? Six teams of talented performers converge on UPT on Friday night (the night before the performance).

At 8 p.m. they select a theme (they actually draw it out of a hat!) and the writers go home to write a script. Yikes! The script is due in at 8 a.m. the next day!

The director and actors from each team then receive the scripts, rehearse and memorize them all day and perform them that night at 8 p.m.! Crazy!

Yes, it is crazy, but is amazingly good theater. This year's participants involve groups from Mendocino College, two groups from Lake County Theatre Co., two from UPT (representing the youth and the alumni) and two ad hoc groups, one pulled together by the talented Margie Loesch and another made up of of the wildly uninhibited guys we all remember from "Shakespeare Un-abridged."

Don't miss it! You'll be sorry if you do!

Singer Sonia McAlear will perform at Harbor Village Artists in Lucerne on Saturday, June 13, 2009. Courtesy photo.

LUCERNE – Join songstress Sonia McAlear for an afternoon of lite rock at the Harbor Village Artists complex on Saturday, June 13.

McAlear will perform from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

She moved to Lake County in 1997 and discovered her passion for music.

McAlear's new career has taken her on several musical endeavors around the county, including performances at Mary Lou's in Lucerne and Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino.

Harbor Village Artists Colony is located at 6197 E. Highway 20, Lucerne.

For more information, call 707-274-2346.