I remember as a child in the second grade having to build dioramas just like the ones I saw during class trips to the museums in New York City. How fun would it be if they were to come to life. The writer of the book "The Night at the Museum" on which the first film is based and writers of its sequel that opened last Friday had the same idea - twice. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" was the number one film in its opening weekend besting "Terminator Salvation," another highly anticipated franchise film. With the huge success of the first film ($574 million global box-office), we can only surmise it was a nobrainer for the Smithsonian Museum ("America's attic") to allow unprecedented access to the Museum as a location.

When we last left Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the night watchman portrayed by Ben Stiller, he had finally learned to reconnect with his son Nick (Jake Cherry) and follow his dreams of becoming an inventor. With the role of late-night infomerical star added to his credits, Larry must learn to reconnect with his son again and put his dreams aside, at least for the moment. Larry revisits NY's Museum of Natural History and finds out that many of his old museum pals who sprung to life will be shipped to Washington; but he doesn't seem to mind. However, when he receives a distress call from that an on-display Egyptian ruler (a scene-stealing Hank Azaria) seeks global domination, its's Larry to the rescue to combat, connive and commiserate with the likes of Amelia Earhart, Ivan the Terrible, General Custer and even Abe Lincoln (sitting down the street at his own monument).

The film is fully loaded with gags and great special effects - even masterpiece paintings come to life, a new element to the mix. The entertainment factor may be uneven, but the best part is that museum attendance increased 20% in NY, so we can only hope for more "days" at the museum across the country.

Now that's entertainmen