Movie Review: Get Smart

Recently we’ve seen a lot of old TV show’s remade for the big screen. Unfortunately not all of them have been a success. For every Star Trek there is a S.W.A.T. This summer we’ve already seen Speed Racer crash after one lap around the track. X-Files is slated to take a second crack at the big screen later this summer. Get Smart is a good movie, but not so true to the TV show.

Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is Agent 86, one of CONTROLS best analyst. After CONTROL is attacked by KAOS most of the field agents have been compromised. With little man power to fight Agent 86 is forced out into the field and teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to take down KAOS.

Get Smart was surprisingly funny and full of action. I found myself laughing out loud a few times. Steve Carell was great as Agent 86. Clueless yet smart. His character just seems to be a tad bit socially awkward. Luckily 86 wasn’t a complete dork. He actually does some good fighting in the movie.

Anne Hathaway does a wonderful job as Agent 99. She’s definitely a lot younger looking than Barbra Feldon who was 99 on the TV show. Hathaway added a little more sex appeal to the role and still managed to pull off the fight scenes.

What I enjoyed most about the film was the supporting cast. Dwayne Johnson (looks like he officially dropped “The Rock” from his name) plays Agent 23. He is his usual charismatic self in the film. I’m surprised that he’s turned into a fairly decent actor. I’m going to start a campaign to have him play Bizzaro in the new Superman movie.

Terry Crews and David Koechner play the bullies of CONTROL. They two of them only have a few scenes in the movie, but those scenes have some laugh out loud moments. Crews is great at supporting roles in a comedy.

Masi Oka and Nate Torrence star as the geeks of CONTROL. Both of them seem excited to see Agent 86 out in the field.

My suggestion: Get Smart is a funny movie. Not the funniest movie I’ve seen all year, but worth going to see. The movie is a nice mix of both action and comedy. What I would like to call a nice, clean, family comedy. It’s hard to find comedies that my mom will sit through. This is definitely one of them. If you are going to see Get Smart the TV show, stay home because you aren’t going to get it.

Horton Hears A Who!

As a kid I don’t remember too much about my early childhood. Maybe all the TV I’ve watched has started to replace my memories with TV theme songs. Somehow I never seem to forget those. If they could turn the periodic table of elements into one of those catchy 80’s theme song, I would be the greatest scientist in the world.

One thing I do remember was having Dr. Suess' books. A ton of Dr. Suess’ books. Did I really I have ever single one? I should check with my mom to verify if any of this is true. Either way I had remember having these books and Cat In The Hat bookends that kept them on top of my dresser. Needless to say I was excited to see Cat In The Hat and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch I enjoyed but Cat In That Hat…………..not so much.

Why do I see kids movies at my age? I’m still not sure yet. I think it’s because they can do so much more with animation. They are able to make the characters more entertaining and the movie more visually stunning. Look at the way animation was used for huge hits like Sin City and 300. It doesn’t work for every movie because I’d rather drink bleach than watch Renaissance again.

Dr. Suess’ newest book turned kids movie is Horton Hears A Who. The movie starts Jim Carey as the voice of Horton the loveable Elephant who finds a world of people living on a speck of dust. He comes in contact with the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carrell) and realizes he has to find a safe place for the tiny speck to live. Horton sets off to find a stable home and saving Whoville.

Horton’s neighbors refuse to believe anything can live on a speck. The most notorious of them is Kangaroo (Carol Burnett).

I was very surprised how much I enjoyed the movie. It was funny, heart-warming, and even had a “after school special” point to it at the end. The voices for the movie are casted very well. For some reasons the Who’s always remind me of Planet of The Apes.

One of the movies comedic highlights comes from Vlad (Will Artnet) an evil vulture. Vlad steals a few funny scenes with his ridiculous antics and even more ridiculous accent. Morton (Seth Rogen) is funny as Horton’s paranoid friend.

My suggestion: See Horton! It is a great family movie that continues the tradition of animated movies that both kids and adults can enjoy. I know kids can’t wait for the DVD release. Like any kids movie it will be annoying to the parents who are tortured into watching it every day for two months.