I'm Kind of a Big Deal - Retro T-Shirt by Lamborati

http://www.zazzle.com.au/im_kind_of_a_big_deal_retro_t_shirt-235641712786891122

Ron Burgundy: I don’t know how to put this but I’m kind of a big deal.
Veronica Corningstone: Really.
Ron Burgundy: People know me.
Veronica Corningstone: Well, I’m very happy for you.
Ron Burgundy: I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

From the hilarious comedy film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Pants Party - You're Invited T-Shirt by Lamborati

 Brick Tamland: I would like to extend to you an invitation to the pants party.
Veronica Corningstone: Excuse me?
Brick Tamland: [struggling] The… party. With the… with the pants. Party with pants?
Veronica Corningstone: Brick, are you saying that there’s a party in your pants and that I’m invited?
Brick Tamland: That’s it.
Veronica Corningstone: Did Brian tell you to say this, Brick?
Brick Tamland: No. Yes. He did.
Veronica Corningstone: Okay. No. I don’t want to go to a party in your pants.
Brick Tamland: Very well. Ian, would you like to go to a party in my pants?
Ian: No, Brick.

From the very funny movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

“El hombre se civilizó por algo. Decidió que quería estar abrigadito, y tener ropa, y televisión, y hamburguesas, y caminar erguido, y encontrarse un futón mullido al terminar el día. Y no quería luchar para sobrevivir. No necesito los bosques, tengo una preciosa mesa de madera. No necesito aire fresco, porque tengo el más fresco que existe… el acondicionado. Y no necesito espacios abiertos, porque tengo un protector de pantalla del Gran Cañón… fijaos… también tengo una del cielo”

Michael Scott

PD. Este extracto pertenece a un pequeño monólogo de Michael Scott (Steve Carell) en la serie norteamericana de humor “The Office”. Concretamente al capítulo 7 de la 4ª temporada.

PD2. Si por alguna razon quereis ver esta serie no empeceis por la temporada 1, ya que tiene muchas y cuanto más avanzada es la temporada mejor es la serie. Además la serie no tiene una linea argumental asique si empezais más adelante no causará ningún problema.

Klappentext

Ein rätselhaftes Geschenk, eine tote Literaturprofessorin und ein Mörder, der auf ebenso grausame wie symbolhafte Weise tötet: Als die junge Theaterregisseurin Kate Shelton auf Hinweise zu einem verschollenen Shakespeare-Drama stößt, beginnt ein Wettlauf mit dem Tod.

Was ich dazu denke

Die Grundfrage “Wer war Shakespeare?” und die Jagd nach dem verschollenen Manuskript ist äußerst interessant. Es macht den Eindruck, die Autorin kenne sich mit den Shakespeare-Verschwörungstheorien wirklich gut aus. Das Buch ist also schon allein dadurch berreichernd, dass es auf einige Shakespeare-Verschwörungs-Theorien aufmerksam macht.

Umso mehr bin ich von der Umsetzung etwas entäuscht.

Der Rahmen in den diese Informationen gepackt werden – die Schnitzeljagd nach dem verlorenen Manuskript, das angeblich von Shakespeare sein soll und die Jagd eines Mörders nach denen, die nach dem Manuskript suchen – wirkt auf mich konstruiert, teilweise unglaubwürdig und unlogisch.

Die Charaktere haben kaum Tiefgang. Es gelingt Carrell nicht, mich in die Geschichte zu ziehen und mich wirklich zu berühren.

Eigentlich eine drei. Da die Grundfrage so interessant ist, eine zwei minus.

464 Seite – List, Paul – ISBN 9783471350010 – Erschienen am 01.09.2008
am 29.09.08 nach 6 Tagen beendet (77 Seiten/Tag)

My wife watched the entire Emmy’s last night.  I was pleased Don Draper and Tina Fey won but apparently the nominations for best Comedy writing wasn’t as good as usual.  So if you missed it this was the only thing worth watching.

Oh no! Un altre article sobre cinema que acabara parlant de qualsevol cosa estranya… no? En efecte, no, aquesta serà una excepció. Simplement perquè aquesta pel·lícula es mereix l’article sencer per a ella.

Podria dir-ho de moltes maneres diferents, però només ho diré d’una sola: Feia temps que no reia tant amb una pel·lícula. Realment bona, un gran humor, i mai he vist més que comptades escenes de la sèrie original, de pillar-la de casualitat en re-emissions. L’actor que encarna a l’agent Maxwell Smart, Steve Carell, és un actor que recentment esta guanyant força poder en el cinema còmic, i he de dir que la seva interpretació (i producció executiva) em va agradar. Tot i que no és precisament primerenc (compta amb 35 papers diferents a les seves esquenes, segons la pàgina IMDb), no va ser fins al seu paper en Sigo Como Dios, i potser també gràcies a la sèrie The Office (les quals no he vist), que no va començar a tenir popularitat de debò. Tot i ser l’agent Smart un tipus força intel·ligent i home de recursos, la seva bogeria inherent resulta la clau del film, i Carell li dóna, a més, una encertada cara de bon jan (i crec que recorda bastant a l’actor original de la sèrie).

Gran treball dels altres actors, no pretenc pas desmerèixer-los. Esmentar també que, tot i plena d’humor, la pel·lícula no oblida les escenes d’acció a l’estil “James Bond” (la referència no és arbitrària, hi ha un “guinyo” a les seves pel·lícules en alguna escena) i la dosi de nervis i d’incertesa no faltarà.

Per últim, com a fidel seguidor de la sèrie Herois no puc passar d’esmentar el divertit paper secundari que ocupa Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura a la coneguda sèrie) com a “tècnic de companyia” a la centraleta de l’agència de C.O.N.T.R.O.L.

Res més, li atorgo el premi de pel·lícula del mes, i us recomano veure-la.

GET SMART
Reviewed: 5th July, 2008
Director: Peter Segal
Writers: Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember (characters created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry)
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp

My Rating: 7 out of 10

I was surprised at how much I liked Get Smart. I had been expecting a slapstick comedy with guns involved, but the film proved to be something more akin to the Bond films of Pierce Brosnan’s era, only they’d been played for laughs as much as for excitement.

The film follows Maxwell Smart (Carrell), the top analyst for spy agency CONTROL, who wants to be a field agent. He gets his chance when the evil KAOS organisation kills most of CONTROL’s agents, forcing the Chief (Arkin) to promote Max and partner him with the mysterious Agent 99 (Hathaway). What follows is a spy romp across Russia and the US as Max and 99 take on the forces of KAOS and its nefarious leader Siegfried (Stamp).

There was never any better choice for the role of Max than Steve Carrell, who I think is one of the best comedic actors of our time. He doesn’t play the exact same character that Don Adams did in the 60s, but it would’ve been a mistake to. Carrell’s Maxwell Smart… well, he actually has character. He’s still clumsy, sure, but he’s also pretty smart, and not to shabby at all the action-spy stuff, and over the course of the movie he develops confidence in himself. Max may not be an Oscar-worthy character, but I appreciate having a bit of character between the jokes and the action.

The rest of the cast do well. I was never fond of the casting of Anne Hathaway as 99 – for one thing, she seems much too young – but the actress does manage to capture the class that Barbara Feldon gave the original character back in the 60s, and she has great chemistry with Carrell. Alan Arkin is great as the cantankerous Chief, playing the old warhorse that would prefer to be back in the game, and I almost cheered when Arkin gets in on the action with some fisticuffs. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a natural movie star, with charisma and a good sense of humour on top of his action credentials, and I wish he’d been given a bigger role than that of Agent 23, CONTROL’s star field agent. Terrance Stamp is wasted in the role of Siegfried: he’s a fantastic actor, but Siegfried is such a simple character that he doesn’t warrant the talent.

There’s action a-plenty in the movie, more than I was expecting. There’s a chase at the end involving all the main characters, a car, a plane, a train and a fair few explosions, and its one of the cooler action sequences I’ve seen lately. Spielberg should take some notes, ‘cause this car chase kicked the ass of the one from Indy 4.

There was also some great humour in the film, and not all of it was the simple slapstick. The back-and-forth between the characters was very funny, especially between the uber-professional 99 and the bumbling Max. They also manage to work the classic jokes into the film without making it cringe-worthy – heck, they were pretty funny, and didn’t even feel that forced. Again, I’ve gotta give props to Steve Carrell: He is one of the funniest actors around at the moment.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about the movie. It’s not very deep, it’s not very nuanced. But it is fun, which is the most important thing with one of these movies, and I’ll recommend it to anyone reading.

My Rating: 7 out of 10

Although this movie was getting mixed reviews i decided to take my dad to see it anyways..

Steve Carell plays an excellent Maxwell Smart. He almost sounds just like Don Adams. (especially when he says.. “Missed it by that much”)

I thought they did a good job at making Max seem stupid without making it seem unbelievable that he actually pulled this off. and he seemed so cute

[Spoiler Alert]

Maxwell Smart works as an analyst at Control, he has taken the test to be a field agent 7 times already. This would be his 8th. He ends up passing but Chief doesnt want to promote him cuz he is too good at his job. KAOS penetrates Control and steals the names of all their field agents, and they then begin to kill Control agents around the world. The Chief (Alan Arkin) promotes Max, designates him Agent 87, and partners him with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). long story short..There are some close calls.. but agent 99 and Max end up saving the day (the end.. where he tackles the old guy. VERY funny.. but i really dont want to ruin the movie for ppl that dont listen to spoiler alerts)

[End Spoiler]

All in all.. the movie was a breath of fresh air from the movies that have been coming out.. its good clean fun.. you can watch it as a family and trust me.. you will laugh at it. i think it stays pretty true to the tv series.

i give it 4/5 stars. worth seeing in movie theaters … and im going to be buying it when it comes out on dvd. Love steve carell.. loved the movie.

ps. bye (-_-)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been anxious to see this for a while now. The original show is a favorite of my parents, and I’ve grown to like its little quirks and comedic elements. As with many TV shows to movie adaptations, however, I was a bit skeptical about the movie remake of this classic TV series, and hoped it wouldn’t get butchered too terribly. Well, thankfully that’s nowhere near the case. It’s not going to be a classic, and it probably won’t get a ton of awards, but the 2008 release of Get Smart is a good movie to kick back, relax, and have a good laugh at.

(note: I don’t have any pictures from the movie, so I googled some. If you want more screenshots, I’m sure you know how to google for them)

A Bit of History about Get Smart
The original television series is the brainchild of Mel Brooks, the man who brought us such comedic classics(?) such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights, A History of the World: Part 1, and Blazing Saddles. He’s rather well known for his comedies, which have historically done while in spite of their silly nature. Somehow, Mel Brooks manages to hit a certain niche crowd, and hit them very effectively. His jokes, mostly slapstick, come from every angle and the viewer is guaranteed a laugh in at least one Mel Brooks film. Today, Mel has the distinction of being one of few men to earn a Grammay, an Academy Award, a Tony, and an Emmy for his works (the “GATE” achievement, as it’s called).

Get Smart began its run in 1965, following the escapades of Maxwell Smart, aka Agent 86. Not quite as suave as 007, Max uses his wits every so often to get out of situations, but more often than not stumbles around as he tries to do his mission correctly. Along the way, he’s helped by Agent 99, who is a far more experienced agent than he is (and there is that little romantic connection, I suppose). Together, they try to overthrow KAOS, the prescribed “evil organization” of the world. The gadgets are weird and quirky, and the people are often quirkier. However, the main pull of the show was the great combination of comedy and action elements, and there are many today who still remember the original series very well.

The 2008 Version
So what did we get here? In 2008, Get Smart gets a new look, and starts off on the right foot with its casting. Steve Carell, incredibly popular as of late, is cast as Maxwell Smart, the confident but sometimes clueless agent. Anne Hathaway is given the role of Agent 99, and we see appearances by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and even Hiro, I mean, Masi Oka (that was amusing in itself…). A strong cast makes a solid foundation for a movie, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint.

We see the very beginnings of Get Smart in this movie, with Maxwell an analyst turned agent after a horrific attack on CONTROL by KAOS (catchy, no?). Since he is a relative newbie, Max is teamed with Agent 99, who isn’t too thrilled by her new partner but eventually takes a liking to him. A very…strong…liking. Agent 23 (Johnson) also makes appearances throughout the movie, but in a much different light. Without spoiling too much of it, I will say that this is an espionage movie, with double agents and the inability to trust even the closest of friends.

But that makes this movie too serious that it really is. To me, Get Smart is the clean and comedic version of 007. We’re not talking James “I can get any girl I want in bed with me” Bond, or Austin “GROOVY BABY YEAH” Powers; no, James Bond has a level of sophistication and an air of the erotic at times, and Austin Powers is just…base comedy to me. Get Smart is like the bastard child of these two movies, with enough techno-flair and action to make it a good action flick, combined with an appropriate amount of clean comedy. There’s no ending scene with Max getting it on, or are there many sexual jokes. The movie combines action and comedy so cleanly that they’re almost integrated to one another. Nothing seems forced, and that’s a rarity in many of today’s movies.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about the movie. It relies heavily on Carell’s ability to make light of a situation, and to portray the “innocent guy” effectively; when he does well, the movie does well. It’s certainly lighthearted, even in spite of its espionage theme. Hathaway makes a very good foil for Carell, carrying an air of elegance, but still able to get down and dirty when the times require for it.  The only time I really cringed was when Carell yelled out “I think I broke my coccyx!”  That sounded incredibly out of place…and kind of stunned me for a while.  Overall, however, I was happy with what the movie delivered.

The final thing that made me so happy about this movie, however, was the great mix in the audience.  To my left was a group of senior citizens who fondly remembered the TV series and came out to see this version, and left quite happy.  In front, a group of high schoolers, and I myself am a college graduate.  This isn’t a movie that is targeted to a specific audience.  No, it manages to take in anybody and everybody, and immerse them in an entertaining experience.  There are always going to be critics who say the humor was basic, the action scenes iffy, and other things here and there.  However, from my standpoint, this movie is a success, and I’d recommend it to anybody looking for a good movie to watch right now.

This must be one of the best summers I remember in a while.  This, Kung Fu Panda (surprisingly good), Wall-E, Iron Man, The Dark Knight…it’s a good time to be Hollywood.

Totally Subjective Score: 4.5 / 5 stars
People who should watch this movie:

• Overconfident espionage nuts
• People who LOVE their swiss army knives
• Fans who realize spies and assassins are humans too!

People who should NOT watch this movie:

• Those looking for that ‘mature’ touch to a movie (not gonna find it here, buddy)
• Those who can’t appreciate kiddy-esque, lighthearted jokes and puns
• Little middle school punks who throw popcorn across the aisle at their friends in the theater

Image sources: here, and here

Okay, this is one flexible kid! So funny!

from coreymann.blogspot.c posted with vodpod

When movies are based on a well-known TV series, the two criteria they have to fill out are whether they satisfy fans of the series and satisfy those who’ve never seen the TV series and accept it on its own terms.

In the case of ‘Get Smart’, as a major fan of the original TV series (which has had enduring appeal over the years in Australia) I was able to judge it on both counts. The TV series was a satirical spoof of the plethora of the spy movies of its era; it’s underlying premise concerned the ‘good guys’ at CONTROL led by bumbling agent Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams in the TV series, Steve Carell in the movie) and his faithful female sidekick Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon on TV, Anne Hathaway in the movie) attempting to stop the dastardly evil doings of KAOS. The film more or less recreates this basic plot structure, although in the detail there are significant differences.

On the positive side, GS is reasonably successful as a comedy. That’s in part to the script which while being no classic by any stretch, does have its moments of wit and at times generally carries the right light-hearted tone.

But its comic success is largely attributable to the central performance of Steve Carell; if he hadn’t worked the film would’ve been a disaster but he manages to salvage it with a dead-on performance. The descriptions I’ve read that he’s half-impersonating Adams and half-doing his own thing are pretty apt; he shows due reverence to the original character but does enough to make it his own and most importantly (like Adams) is able to create humour from very little by underplaying situations where most would overact. He’s a fine talent.

Also, one criticism of the film that I can’t really fathom is that Carell’s version of Maxwell Smart is more intelligent then Adams’ version. In an era where movie ‘heroes’ are so often obnoxious morons, I think it’s refreshing that the filmmakers didn’t go down the path of turning Max into a semi-Neanderthal.

The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson are solid in their key supporting roles but Alan Arkin as the Chief doesn’t really hit the mark. David Koechner is as one-note as he’s been in every film I’ve seen him in and Terry Crews is prominently billed, but does absolutely nothing of note.

Whatever strengths the film has, I don’t think much credit can be taken by director Peter Segal. I’ve never been a fan of his work and only a few comic set pieces (a ‘dance off’ between Max and 99, Smart trying to eavesdrop on a conversation in a toilet, Smart trying to avoid laser beams) really hit the spot. But his great weaknesses are his uninteresting and incoherent handling of the action scenes and the misguided way he handles the plot. As fans of the TV series would know, the plots on the original would be full of absurd comedy and satirical elements but none of that is present here. Instead its treated in a far too serious and heavy-handed fashion (and isn’t that interesting to begin with); when the plot and action took over I lost interest.

And that misguided style filters down to the central villain, Siegfried. In the TV series he was played to the hilt by Bernie Kopell (who has a brief cameo here) as a comic buffoon. In this film, he’s played with boring earnestness by Terence Stamp (echoes of Malcolm McDowell’s endless array of ‘bad guy’ performances in recent years) and it falls completely flat.

Its this tone that prevents me from fully liking the film. I would’ve been able to forgive its patchy comedy if it had a likable, light and jaunty style like the series; instead it’s too often bombastic and excessive (as if it was justifying its budget) as is the case with so many modern-day mainstream Hollywood films. If they make a sequel (which it’s clearly set itself up for) then hopefully they use a better director.

Despite many opportunities being missed, this is marginally above average and better than I expected. And at least it’s better than ‘The Nude Bomb’.