Get Smart

In a Nutshell: Lots and lots of smiles, if not a lot of belly laughs. Worth seeing, but I'd suggest renting.

Quick Plot: After years of trying, Maxwell Smart is finally promoted to an agent for CONTROL. With Agent 99 by his side, they work to battle the evil KAOS and save the President of the United States.

In Detail: This movie really was a good bit of fun. Nothing spectacular, and we didn't find ourselves laughing out loud too often (though two particular instances do come to mind), but it was a perfectly fun way to spend a lazy afternoon at the theater. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway were just a delight. They clearly enjoyed each other and what they were doing, playing off each other effortlessly. I will admit that we are both huge Dwayne Johnson fans, so we were a bit disappointed that he wasn't in the movie more than he was. The gadgets were fun (and many of them are actually real, including the tooth radio), and the homages to the original television show were excellent. We couldn't help but leave the theater with big smiles on our faces; hard to ask for more than that.

Will I Buy It? Unlikely. I'm not sure we'd watch it over and over. But it is certainly worth seeing once.

Ghosts of the Abyss

In a Nutshell: Amazing, too short, and too much yapping.

Quick Plot: James Cameron's 3D IMAX film about the Titanic, the *real* one, at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.

In Detail: The footage was simply breathtaking, what little it had. The film was about 45 minutes long, and only 20-25 minutes of it was actually footage of the ship. I understand he's proud of the technology, and I understand that lots of people worked hard on the expedition so you want to show them in the movie, but I went to this move to see the ship, not the people! And when people talk, you can have them talk over ship footage; we don't actually need to *see* them speak. But even with these complaints, it was totally worth the experience. What footage they did have of Titanic (both the bow and the stern) was just a wonder to behold. So beautiful, so etherial, so tragic. See it if you are a Titanic fan at all.

Will I Buy It? Many IMAX films are available now, including the first IMAX Titanic feature "Titanica," which I still haven't seen. May or may not buy it when the time comes; would lose a lot without the 3D.

Gone in 60 Seconds

In a Nutshell: Typical no-brainer action flick, a fun 2 hours.

Quick Plot: Memphis Raines is a retired (but still infamous) car thief. When his kid brother signs a deal to "boost" 50 cars and can't deliver, Memphis assembles his old crew in order to "acquire" the goods, and save his brother's life.

In Detail: Well, I don't have much detail to give. Another predictable film, this time in the action department. A perfectly fun 2-hours, with nothing deep to linger with you once it's finished. Nothing wrong with those kinds of films, but I like others in this genre better. The car chase was quite good, and I'm a sucker for those for some strange reason (must be all those James Bond films and Dukes of Hazzard episodes I watched as a kid). Not a bad outing for Nicolas Cage, not a great role for Angelina Jolie, and everyone else was pretty ho-hum. Not even a great villain. ::shrug:: If you're looking for a fun action flick you haven't seen, give this one a try. Just know what to expect.

Will I Buy It? Doubtful. I wouldn't watch it enough to make it worth it. As I said, there are others I like better in this genre.

Gosford Park

In a Nutshell: Toooooooooooo slow. Possible rental if you like slow British drama, otherwise skip it.

Quick Plot: A tale of the interactions among and between the "above stairs" (servants) and "below stairs" (wealthy socialites) guests at an English country manor in the early 1930s, including clandestine meetings and murder.

In Detail: I really wanted to like this movie. The previews looked pretty good. A witty comedy intertwined with a whodunit murder mystery. The few witty lines were in the previews, and they came off better there than in context. How can it be a murder mystery if the murder didn't happen until 45 minutes from the end, and even then there was no set up per se IMO? Add to that the fact that I had the "mystery" figured out as soon as they gave the blatantly obvious clues, so there was not even that to carry me through the rest of the film. Though I am normally good with accents, I often found the constant British mumbling difficult to follow. This may have come off better in a theater where the background noise would have been "behind you" due to the surround sound, while the dialog was "in front of you," but I'm not convinced that would have wholly solved the problem. And I do know after watching this film that Robert Altman has very little use for Americans, and significantly less for the police. Mostly a waste of my 2+ hours.

Will I Buy It? No way.