Get Smart (2008, U.S.)

I've never seen the TV show Get Smart, so I can't really judge it as an adaptation. There were some funny parts that had a definite 1960s taste to them, and they actually carried over fairly well to the modern movie. I gather that a lot of the gadgets they used, such as the famous shoe phone, came straight from the series.

Steve Carell is terribly funny. Sometimes I really don't like the movies he's in, but when he's given a role that isn't in one of those lowbrow comedies, he's great. And he makes a wonderful Maxwell Smart. The rest of the cast was okay, but nothing spectacular. Anne Hathaway underwhelmed, as usual. (Especially disappointing, considering she does have great talent in there.)

The plot was a bit murky and hard to follow, but then considering it's a spoof of the espionage genre, perhaps that makes sense. All in all, a pretty entertaining flick. Not the best thing I ever saw, but still pretty good.

Rating: 3.0

Sunshine Cleaning (2008, U.S.)

I went into this movie thinking it would be more comedy than drama, but let me be the first to tell you that isn't the case.

The best thing about this movie is that the characters were so real. A lot of times, characters are so obviously "characters" rather than "people," but not here. This family consists of a single mom who works as a maid, her young (and very strange) son, her (even stranger) father, and her screw-up sister. Their mother died when they were a child. Other characters include a married cop who the older sister is having an affair with, a group of shallow women she knew in high school, and a one-armed vacuum salesman. Every single one is so believable.

Also, what an usual story. This family is struggling to survive, and the main character hears that cleaning up crime scenes is a lucrative business. She drags her sister, who has just been fired from another job, into the work, and Sunshine Cleaning is born. The older sister sees herself as someone who helps others in a small way when they're going through a tough time. How they both react to the business tells a lot about their personalities—and how their mother's death changed them both and their relationship with each other.

This one is definitely an original, and quite well done.

Rating: 3.5