Based on the iconic 1960s television series, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the new 2008 big-screen incarnation of the show smartly goes its own way, faithful in spirit, but charting a new course for Maxwell Smart and company. With Steve Carell in the lead, this Max is a likeable, reliable paper-pushing analyst for spy agency CONTROL, who dreams of one day of becoming a top agent out in the field himself. When CONTROL headquarters is attacked and nearly all the other agents identities are compromised, he gets his chance. The Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to bench his number one, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson), in favor of Max, now Agent 86. Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway)--a far more competent and experienced agent--in order to thwart the terrorist plans of KAOS, lead by Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his right-hand man Shtarker (Ken Davitian). This Get Smart is a full-out action-comedy with the emphasis on action. The actors make all the derring-do and wild on-screen antics totally believable.
There is no question that Don Adams and Maxwell Smart are interchangeable. It�s almost impossible to imagine another actor in the role, which is why Steve Carell has made all the right choices, choosing to take his Max in a different direction. This is no imitation at all, but a fully fleshed out bumbling guy with dreams of his own. Carell is very funny trying to deal with gadgets out of his, er, control--using code language, getting his signals mixed up and trying to be a decent partner for the much smarter 99. Hathaway gets to act tough for the first time in her career and makes this 99 a bright woman who is obviously light years ahead of all her male colleagues. Both stars skillfully handle the considerable physical humor required here. After scoring in his surprise family hit The Game Plan, Dwayne Johnson continues to show his comic timing as the superstar agent who is grounded against his will. Stamp and Borat�s sidekick Davitian are amusing caricatures but stuck with rather one-dimensional, over-the-top villain roles. Arkin is perfectly cast as the beleaguered Chief, while James Caan as the U.S. President has little to do but does it well. Bill Murray�s cameo in a tree trunk just lays there.Director Peter Segal�s experience working with comedians like Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy clearly pays off here, as he guides Steve Carell to one of his best screen performances against daunting odds. People always have built-in expectations for pre-sold properties like a Get Smart, but Segal wisely uses the source material to make it work for two kinds of audiences: those who loved the TV series and those who have never heard of it. Key to the success of this adaptation is taking the characters and placing them in big action set pieces. What was an amusing weekly sitcom is now suddenly competing favorably with summer blockbusters, delivering stunt-filled sequence after stunt-filled sequence. In fact, there is almost too much action, but fortunately Carell and company know how to bring it down to earth at just the right moments. The screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember catches the flavor of the old TV series, retaining much of what we loved--including Smart�s famous catch-phrases (�Missed it by THAT much!)--but craftily updating it for today�s more sophisticated movie-goers. They got the blessing of the show�s famous creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who served as consultants. That can only be a good thing.
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Friday, 27 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Pammie and Tommy a couple again
Pamela Anderson and ex-husband Tommy Lee have rekindled their relationship once more.
The former Baywatch babe and the Motley Crue drummer - who have two children together, Brandon, 12, and 10-year-old Dylan - have decided to give their romance another go and Pammie and the boys have now moved into Tommy's house.
The rocker said: "We've only given it a try 800 times - 801, here we go!
"It's awesome, man. It's definitely working. You can tell on the kids' faces - they're happy when we're together."
The couple married in February 1995 in a beachside ceremony, after only knowing each other for 96 hours.
They famously starred in their own X-rated sex tape, which was later stolen from their home and leaked on to the internet.
The pair divorced in 1998, after Tommy was arrested and charged with spousal abuse and was later sentenced to six months in jail.
Since the divorce they have rekindled their relationship several times.
In that time, Pammie, 40, has married Kid Rock but they split after four months of marriage.
Last year, she wed Rick Salomon - who famously starred in and released the Paris Hilton sex tape 'One Night in Paris' - in a Las Vegas ceremony.
However, the marriage was annulled this March.
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008
MY MORNING JACKET
“Evil Urges” (ATO): A-
Aside from its geographical origins in Kentucky, there’s no sense at all in categorizing My Morning Jacket as Southern rock anymore. On “Evil Urges,” leader Jim James and his band are far too ambitious, sonically and stylistically, to neatly fit into any genre box. Yet the strength of their new songs has less to do with the shots of prog -rock complexity and crazy falsetto funk than in MMJ’s embrace of classic pop/rock. Heck, “Aluminum Park” could have been a rock radio hit in the ’70s, and the ballad “Librarian” might have stormed the Top 40 in the same decade. But “Evil Urges” is in no way a retro exercise. Timeless good listening is more like it. Download: “Evil Urges.”
Aside from its geographical origins in Kentucky, there’s no sense at all in categorizing My Morning Jacket as Southern rock anymore. On “Evil Urges,” leader Jim James and his band are far too ambitious, sonically and stylistically, to neatly fit into any genre box. Yet the strength of their new songs has less to do with the shots of prog -rock complexity and crazy falsetto funk than in MMJ’s embrace of classic pop/rock. Heck, “Aluminum Park” could have been a rock radio hit in the ’70s, and the ballad “Librarian” might have stormed the Top 40 in the same decade. But “Evil Urges” is in no way a retro exercise. Timeless good listening is more like it. Download: “Evil Urges.”
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sign lease on $70M estate
The pair decided on the palatial 35-bedroom ch�teau after viewing around 100 properties.
The picturesque residence comes complete with its own vineyard, moat, lake and forest. They fell in love with the property after spotting it from the air by helicopter.
“It’s called Chateau Miraval in a village called Brignol, which is near from Aix-en-Provence,” a source tells E! News. “And it’s absolutely unbelievable.
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Monday, 26 May 2008
Lost actress released from jail early
'Lost' actress Michelle Rodriguez has been released from jail after serving 17 days of a six-month sentence for probation violation.
The 29-year-old actress was freed from prison on Wednesday night, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department yseterday.
Last October a judge sentenced Rodriguez for violating her probation on previous drunken-driving and hit-and-run offences, saying that she should not be granted work furlough, early release or home confinement.
However, a Sheriff's official claimed that her early release was not unusual, saying that factors such as overcrowding and the severity of the crime are taken into consideration.
Rodriguez was previously sentenced to 60 days in jail for a probation violation in May 2006, but was released from prison after just four hours and 20 minutes.
The 29-year-old actress was freed from prison on Wednesday night, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department yseterday.
Last October a judge sentenced Rodriguez for violating her probation on previous drunken-driving and hit-and-run offences, saying that she should not be granted work furlough, early release or home confinement.
However, a Sheriff's official claimed that her early release was not unusual, saying that factors such as overcrowding and the severity of the crime are taken into consideration.
Rodriguez was previously sentenced to 60 days in jail for a probation violation in May 2006, but was released from prison after just four hours and 20 minutes.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Hollywood actors and studios to renew labor talks
Hollywood actors and studios to renew labor talks
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Screen door Actors Lodge and major Hollywood studios agreed to repay to the bargaining table by May 28 to resume foreshorten dialogue that broke away more than a week ago, sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television system Producers, cut off trine weeks of negotiations on Whitethorn 6, saying talks had been "lunge into verso" by "unreasonable demands" from the union.
The studios turned then to separate take talks with SAG's smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radiocommunication Artists, widely seen as more in all probability to get a labor deal quickly.
The exact timing for renewed Sag down negotiations hinges on how shortly it takes AFTRA and the studios to reach a resolution, but Droop and the studios experience agreed to resume their bargaining by English hawthorn 28 at the latest, the sources said.
The abrupt break in their talks last week stoked Hollywood labour jitters after a 100-day screenwriters assume that ended in February.
(Reportage by Steve Gorman; Redaction by Bob Tourtellotte)
Garraway wins damages over afffair claim
Garraway wins damages over afffair claim
GMTV presenter Kate Garraway has north Korean won extensive libel amends from deuce newspapers that claimed she was having an matter with her dancing instructor on the BBC show 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The Daily Mirror and The William Ashley Sunday Mirror apologised to the 39-year-old and have handed o'er an undisclosed sum, believed to be sextet figures, in indemnity.
Garraway's lawyer Rachel Atkins said that the newspapers had falsely claimed she had cheated on her husband, former New Working class political lobbyist Derek Draper, with the terpsichorean Anton Du Beke.
Speech production in court, she said: "Contrary to the allegations, the claimant and her hubby are and were as congregation, happy and in love at the time of the publication as they had ever been."
"The field true statement was that the claimant and Anton Du Beke became friends during 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Since then they often worked and spent time together."
Garraway released a command after the hearing.
"I am gladiola that this matter is now over. The way my friendship with Anton was twisted into something sordid was awfully upsetting," she said.
Draper, world Health Organization retrained as a psychotherapist after going away political sympathies and now writes a column for the Mail On William Ashley Sunday, added: "I get always been gladiolus that Kate and Anton became such good friends and felt sick when that was distorted into something else exclusively."
Fan favourite Garraway was the seventh contestant voted forth 'Strictly Come up Dancing' simply earlier Yule having non managed to impress the book of Judges during her time on the render.
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