Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

The third instalment of Shawn Levy's franchise begins with the discovery of Akhmenrah's tomb and the tablet - that brings life to the exhibitions within the museums in the first two films - by an archeologist and his son. We soon learn that Ben Stiller, as character Larry Daley, is still working with the museum on a night time event showcasing the oddly life like exhibitions. But with the tablet's corrosion resulting in obscure and unusual activity amongst the exhibitions, Larry tracks down the young boy from the beginning of the film - who turns out to be Cecil, the original night guard - and learns of a prophecy predicting doom. A group consisting of Larry, Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Attila, Dexter and others travel to London to meet with Akhmenrah's parents in the hopes of better understanding the prophecy. As with the second film, the tablet allows the characters in London's museum to come to life. Many strange moments ensue as the film follows the teams exploits in the UK and the discovery that the tablet and its owners must stay together. 

The film is certainly the concluding chapter to the franchise and leaves few windows open for later revival. With the replacement of Stiller by Rebel Wilson by the end of the film, I would be surprised, and disappointed, if Levy chose to continue producing more. Also, by this stage, the films have already explored the limited story lines that were available. There are only so many possibilities left for these characters, and it is better not to exhaust the original idea and lose fans along the way. And once we factor in the unfortunate passing of one of the films leading characters, Robin Williams, it would be disappointing to see the franchise continue without him.

As a British viewer, I find it problematic whenever the UK is stereotyped in American cinema. From the immediate arrival in England, Stiller encounters Rebel Wilsons character Tilly. The character is stereotypical and Wilson's accent is painful. Thankfully Dan Stevens, who plays Lancelot, is actually British. It frustrates me that with the abundance of brilliant British actors, vital roles are given to other nationalities. Wilson was no doubt hired off of the success of Pitch Perfect and her quick rise to fame following Bridesmaids. In an attempt to attract a larger audience and to include yet another famous name to the line up, Night at the Museum 3 fails to hit the mark for me.

This review is short because the film doesn't provide much food for thought. It is fine for a Sunday afternoon nursing a hangover but this film is a poor sequel to a sequel when the original was rather brilliant.

50 Shades of Grey

I begrudgingly accepted, late one night after a few glasses of wine, that 50 Shades of Grey would be a film that I'd eventually see. So accompanied by my understanding and equally as intoxicated boyfriend, we picked up some tickets and headed into the cinema. Thankfully, the film has been out for a while now and the room was close to empty. However, it still had the 50 Shades target audience - one man sitting sheepishly by himself, two middle aged women giggling and a couple of scattered couples, each trying not to give off the vibe that they were the one who suggested the film.

The film was as creepy and as uncomfortable as the media storm surrounding it had suggested. I tried hard to take the film at face value and to ignore the hoards of people opposing the abusive nature of the relationship - but I couldn't. It is undeniable that the films leads (Christian and Anastasia played by Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson) are uncomfortable with each other. Their chemistry is non-existent and their attraction to each other seems forced. I understand that they are acting - but aren't we not supposed to notice that? On top of this, the supporting actors and actresses were equally as awkward on screen. I was surprised at how small Rita Ora's role was and how little we got to see her considering she garnered a lot of attention for grabbing the role. 

Whilst watching the film, I felt constantly reminded of the story's roots. Twilight. For those who don't know by now, 50 Shades of Grey started out as dirty Twilight fan fiction. This translated well on screen. The films are undoubtedly linked through poor acting, direction and over all atmosphere. 50 Shades tried desperately to be dark and brooding but ended up feeling uncomfortable. There is simply no other word for how this movie makes you feel - uncomfortable. Perhaps if I hadn't read articles discussing the problematic nature of this film or if I hadn't loathed the book, I could have enjoyed myself. But as the film progressed, I found myself laughing and recoiling. In particular the scene just before the films end, where Christian whips Anastasia was difficult to watch. 

This brings me to another of the films bad decisions. The ending was a cliffhanger. A concept I understand and can appreciate when executed correctly. However, 50 Shades ending was a clear set up for the following films and has resulted in the first film being unable to stand on its own. Even with films such as Twilight, that from the very beginning had sequels lined up, each film (minus perhaps the two part Breaking Dawn disaster) can stand on it's own if need be. Each story is roughly summed up so audiences aren't left completely frustrated (I'm looking at you Pretty Little Liars!). This particular film is left open with several unanswered, important questions. 

The film gives off the impression that it was made in a rush and was not thoroughly thought through. This is yet another example of producers cashing in on a best seller without realising that the story is sub-par. I will not make the same mistake again and will not be seeing the second film.