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Author Topic: Get Smart (2008) David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-20-2008 10:12 PM                        Today at Regal 15 in Eugene, #8, 35mm. No presentation issues worth mentioning. OK, so here we have potentially another entry on the long sorry list of movies made from old TV shows. Most such movies should have never been made because they're just not any good (Beverly Hillbillies anyone?). Get Smart manages to squeak by though. It's not horrible. Steve Carrell and the other actors make it work reasonably well, and it has a few funny lines and scenes in it, though not enough of either. It might be 10 minutes too long too. However it doesn't suck. I can't really recommend it, but OTOH, for this genre of movie, saying it doesn't suck is high praise. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. Could have been better, also could have been much worse. Liked the dedication to Don Adams and Edward Platt.  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 06-20-2008 10:22 PM                        CINEMA: "BigTime Cinemas" Webster, Webster City, IA AUDITORIUM: 1 PRESENTATION: 35mm/Analog PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: See notes RATING: See notes This is an old Fridley single-screener, which Fridley has apparently shunned along with the Metropolitan in Iowa Falls. BigTime now operates them along with some theaters in Bethany and Trenton, Missouri. Seriously...How 'big time' can you be when you have four theatres with a combined seven screens? There is no ticket station...you buy tickets at the concession stand. When you indicate how many tickets you want, they ask "Do you want concessions?" I say "Yes". She stares at me. She stares some more. She's not going to ask, is she. Okay. "Medium popcorn and a large Pepsi". He Who Mans The Drink Station draws a Pepsi, while a real tub of really stale, dry looking popcorn magically appears immediately. "You can get straws and butter your popcorn over there", she says as she points to the self-serve buttery popcorn machine and He Who Mans The Drink Station...hands me a straw. "Oh," she says. "He ordered a large," He Who Mans The Drink Station says sarcastically. "I SEE that," she snaps back. Apparently, if you order a large, they give you a longer straw than those you will find at the straw station. Random Teenage Blonde Girl says "I'm going to thread the film" and disappears while I attempt to overheat the motor on the buttery topping machine, which may very well play a factor in tonight's events. The auditorium is a typical Fridley shoebox, not the old palace you might imagine in this building. The place has been kept up well, I'll give them that. The audience, about 30, are largely junior high school-aged teenagers who run amock gossiping, fighting, and trying to decide where to sit and/or who to sit with. Yeah...this should be fun... There's a video advertising preshow, and a LOT rolling stock afterward. Then the trailers start out of frame. Somebody eventually gets up to complain, and the problem is fixed by Random Blonde Teenage Projectionist. The show goes on...for awhile. About 20 minutes in, the projection lamp flickers and the house lights flash bright for maybe half a second. About 40 minutes in, the lamp and the house lights go out completely. The projector keeps running...we have sound. Random Blonde Teenage Projectionist is visible in the booth on the phone. She stops the film, fiddles, and in a couple of minutes, the lamphouse has power and she starts the film again. Another flicker happens shortly thereafter. About an hour in, the lamp and the house lights go out again. RBTP returns, repeats procedure, and ALL of the power goes out. The generator lights on the back wall kick on. The booth is dark. And that's the end of the show. The manager pops in and says "Folks, we've lost power, so at this time we'd like to issue refunds." Crowd: "Woo-Hoo!" Seriously...not ONE person seemed disappointed. So I ended up seeing maybe 45 minutes of the movie, tops. Outside, I confirm...The neighbors have power. I get the feeling this place is a fire waiting to happen. THE PLOT: The Cold War is over...or IS it? Wackiness ensues. Carrell has his own unique take on Maxwell Smart, and it works. There's slapstick aplenty. But I only saw up through the dance scene, so I'll probably have to see this again. I'll say this...I didn't laugh as much as I'd hoped. To Be Continued... [ 06-21-2008, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: Sam Graham ]  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 06-21-2008 07:14 PM                        CINEMA: AMC Oak View 24, Omaha, NE AUDITORIUM: 11 PRESENTATION: 35mm/Mystery Meat Digital PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Picture out of focus (enough to annoy me but apparently nobody else...complained...didn't matter) RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four) Honestly...If I NEVER have to see Steve Carrell kiss Dwayne Johnson again, It'll be too soon.  |  IP: Logged Tom Mundell Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: Silver Spring, MD, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-22-2008 05:46 PM                        Saw this today at AMC Tysons Corner 16 in theater #11. I was really surprised this was playing in both of their 500 seat rooms, I didn't think there would be that much interest! The show I was at was nearly full, not sold out but close. Overall I thought this was hilarious and well done! I'm not familiar with the tv series, so I have no idea how it compares. Steve Carrell was pretty good in this role, decent action, story was rather typical but did the job well enough. I give it 8/10.  |  IP: Logged Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 07-12-2008 08:59 PM                     This new incarnation of the popular 60's TV series is easily the equal of the best Sean Connery 007 movies. "I find that very hard to believe." Would you believe the equal of an Avengers remake starring Vin Diesel and Pamela Anderson? "No." How about a Uwe Boll directed Inspector Gadget II? The film begins nicely, recreating the iconic opening sequence from the TV series, expanding on its ideas just enough to distinguish itself from its source. The nostalgia drips readily from the screen but sadly it rapidly fades as its comic targets are struck only occasionally. All of Maxwell Smart's iconic verbal quips are here ("missed it by that much", "ah, the old.....trick", "sorry about that, Chief" etc) but they seem to be included purely for nostalgic reason, their delivery lacking the intended comedic effect. And political correctness wins again, relegating Asian villain, The Claw ("No, not da Craw, DA CRAW!") to a merely a handwritten mention on one of Agent 86's analytical notes. Steve Carell concentrates a little too much on mimicking the late Don Adams' trademark dead-pan style that he misses the oversure cockiness required to make the character of Maxwell Smart work. Of course, Carell doesn't have Adams' voice either. Anne Hathaway fares much better, successfully transforming Barbara Feldon's doe-eyed Agent 99 into a modern day driven career woman unafraid to use her sexual wiles to influence people. Dwayne Johnson performs admirably as legend Agent 23. That the film received a PG classification is a little surprising given the frequency of inappropriate language and violence. Such a rating earns the movie a default kiddie audience and you can almost hear the squeaks of parents squirming in their seats at various points. Far from being an abject failure, Get Smart is a moderately entertaining spy farce which captures the spirit of Mel Brooks' and Buck Henry's original creation with only limited success. 6 out of 10  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-22-2008 11:48 AM                       Saw this at Becky's Drive-In, Berlinsville, PA. Had some laughs, but certainly not up to the TV show. I thought many of the jokes, as delivered by Carrell, fell flat. The other characters came off considerably better - even the one portrayed by Dwayne Johnson... and he's a professional wrestler by trade. When I saw the trailer, I thought Steve Carrell was probably the best choice anyone could've made to play Maxwell Smart. However, he turned out to be quite dull with a character that needed to be very sharp. I suppose this is the lot of remade TV shows... so much of the characters we grow attached to are borne of the original actor's personality. Anything else will either be a cheap imitation, or a different approach - neither of which will be as satisfying. Two popcorn kernals out of five, for slapstick moments.  |  IP: Logged Kurt Zupin Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 989 From: Maricopa, Arizona Registered: Oct 2004 posted 07-22-2008 07:27 PM                     quote: Tim Reed Dwayne Johnson... and he's a professional wrestler by trade. Actually he is now a professional Actor by trade  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 08-02-2008 04:47 PM                       At least he's not being credited as, "The Rock" anymore!  |  IP: Logged Gary Crawford Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: Neptune NJ USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 08-06-2008 01:04 PM                     Business wasn't all that great with this movie. Maybe the public is as tired of TV remakes as we are. I liked the movie, as escapist fare mostly. No lessons to be learned, just a little mind down time. The PG rating, like mentioned above, brought kids in. A few words here and there made me squirm because of kids watching. The captioned "Holy shit, a Ferrari" by the peasant farmer and his cell phone camera equipped wife wasn't necessary for this movie. I'm a little old fashioned maybe, but cussing isn't always needed. My opinion, that's all, and the grandfatherly instincts in me. It was fun, not great, not bad, just fun. 3 out of 5.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-11-2008 10:05 AM                        We watched this Saturday night. I had heard it was just as much a spoof on the Bourne-style movies as it was a remake of the TV show. It works better than the Bourne movies in some ways -- for one thing, the camera work is steady so it's possible to actually follow the action. I agree with the comment above that TV shows are more about the actors than the characters. If that wasn't the case we'd have seen a "Barney Fife" movie by now - but Hollywood knows that there is absolutely no way anybody else could do Don Knotts. I haven't seen the "Get Smart" TV show in many years but I do think a lot of the humor in the movie is lost on today's audiences because they're not familiar with the character. Hearing "Sorry about that, chief" once in a movie doesn't have the same comedic effect as hearing it in the TV show - you knew it was going to come up, but you just didn't know when. There have been a lot of bad TV remakes, and we haven't played them all, but my all time least favorite was "The Beverly Hillbillies." And my favorite was "Mission Impossible." If the former was a zero and the latter a 10, this would rank maybe a 6.5. On my usual five-star movie scale, I'd give it 3 stars. At least it didn't have a WTF moment, although the Carrell/Johnson kiss came close.  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 09-22-2008 04:36 PM                     Cineworld Bradford, Screen 12, 35mm, Dolby SR Not as good as I though it might have been. Not enough laughts and an overly confusing plot. 2 out of 5. BTW: Does anyone know what this was shot on. Some part definately look like HD, yet the end credits doesn't mention any digital photography (but does mention a "digital intermedite"). Could it be part film, part HD?  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-22-2008 08:10 PM                     Camera Panavision Genesis HD Camera, Primo Lenses Panavision Panastar, Primo Lenses Film negative format (mm/video inches) 35 mm (some scenes) (Kodak Vision2 50D 5201, Vision2 200T 5217, Vision2 500T 5218) Video (HDTV) Cinematographic process Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) HDCAM SR (source format) Spherical (some scenes) (source format)  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 09-23-2008 08:15 PM                     We opened it 2nd run this past Saturday night early show to an audience of slightly over eleven hundred, it has been a long time since I've heard so much laughter from an audience. I only watched a little, seemed pretty good to me.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-23-2008 10:10 PM                     Eleven hundred??? Holy smokes...how did you get that many to a second run? (That's huge even for a first run...! )  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-24-2008 10:44 AM                        Maybe it was the free beer?  |  IP: Logged

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