I’ll say right off the bat that my kids liked "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" better than I did. I LOVED the first "Night at the Museum," and this sequel seems like a throw-away to capitalize on the first movie and showcase all the stuff in the Smithsonian. That said, there are a few things I like about it; namely, Amy Adams as the plucky Amelia Earhart.

Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, only instead of working as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, he’s running a big corporation now and doing infomercials for all his products, like a glow-in-the-dark flashlight.

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"Land of the Lost" didn’t look that funny to me when I first heard about it. But after seeing a few clips and reading more, it’s growing on me, and now I’m looking forward to it. 

It stars Will Ferrell as a washed-up scientist who goes back to the stone age via time machine, along with his research assistant (Anna Friel) and a survivalist (Danny McBride). Of course they get chased by T-Rex’s and other fantastic creatures. 

It’s directed by Brad Silberling and rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference. Arrives in theaters June 5, 2009. Read my interview with Michael Papajohn, who plays an astronaut in the movie.

Thanks to MTV for the clips below. Are you looking forward to this movie?

The stars get a biology lesson:   

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Three new images of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" have been released exclusively to EW.com. The pics show:

• Newly 18-year-old Bella after being thrown against a table by her love, Edward.
• The mysterious vampire Laurent (Edi Gathegi) telling Bella not to be fearful of death. "’He was bad in ‘Twilight,’ but still had some compassion," he says. "Let’s just say he’s not conflicted anymore.”
• Bella and Edward about to kiss. "Rob was the first guy to say to me, ‘You know, you don’t really need to have too much of me in this film,’" notes director Chris Weitz. "I don’t want him too present, so his apparition will be a subtle, flitting effect — clearly a reflection of Bella’s will and desire to see him.”

Check out the new images here (I’ll post them as soon as they’re available). What do you think?

Image: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I imagine I’ll be seeing some of the Cannes films at the Traverse City Film Festival in August. Until then, I’m reveling in hearing about the films and people involved in Cannes’ 12-day run, which ended tonight. 

“The White Ribbon” scored the coveted Palme d’Or, the festival’s top honor.  Jury president Isabelle Huppert presented Michael Haneke with the prize at the closing-night ceremony held in the Palais des Festivals.

It’s the first time a jury president has presented the award since Clint Eastwood gave the award to Quentin Tarantino for "Pulp Fiction."

Grabbing the Grand Prix award was Jacques Audiard’s "A Prophet," after being announced by Willem Dafoe. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who played "the Jew Hunter" in Quentin Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds," took home the best actor prize.

For a full list of 2009 Cannes winners, click here.

Image: INF; Source: Hollywood Reporter

We’re used to seeing Mariah Carey all glammed up, like she was on the red carpet premiere of “Precious” at Cannes last week. But in the movie itself, she is anything but glam. No makeup, dowdy hair, the whole works.

“Precious” tells the story of an overweight teen (Gabourey Sidibe) in Harlem who’s pregnant with her second child. But when she’s invited to enroll in an alternative school, it just might turn things around for her.

“Precious” has already scored three wins at Sundance, and looks to be a darling of the film festival circuit. It opens in theaters (limited) on Nov. 6, 2009. Hopefully, the movie will inspire others in that situation to try and better their circumstances – and people who can make a difference to step up and MAKE a difference.