Get Smart is the new movie adaptation of the vintage 1960s TV series and has proven to be a near-perfect vehicle for Carell, who plays a more intelligent and less offensive variation on his infamous Michael Scott character from The Office. Based on a madcap '60s television series created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart is a comic caper about an accident-prone yet sensitive secret agent who might just be mankind's last, great hope. Anne Hathaway is the beauty and the brains and The Rock is the brawn. Get Smart is oftentimes very subtle in its humor and doesn't rely on exaggerated action and screamed nonsense for its jokes. It is an excellent escape of a movie that never takes itself seriously. Despite a plot that should be simpler, Get Smart is as big on action as it is on laughs and works because it. The movie is at its best when 86 and 99 hit the trail, leaving the old TV series behind as they work out their new professional relationship. Carell makes the character of Maxwell Smart his own, but at the same time with deadpan and implied decency he stays true to the character.

Hathaway is relegated to "straight man" status, but she proves she's got the timing and chops to match Carell. Hathaway's Agent 99, (made famous by the beautiful Barbara Feldon in the comedy series), is somewhat darker and handles the role of well. Carell and Hathaway were not only an inspired bit of casting when stacked against original players Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, but they are amongst the most likable actors around today.

Along with the renewed interest in the old 1960's show the Get Smart movie has renewed an interest in get smart memorabilia and autographs as collectibles and gifts. So much so that many stores have sold out of the increasingly harder to find items. Not that this is the first time a movie or television show has spawned greater interest in memorabilia and autographs. Shows like Star Trek, Charmed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were great hits on the television screen as well as the memorabilia shops. Furthermore, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and Oz created a phenomenon, neo-Beatlemania, and while their popularity still continues, the new memorabilia, "must haves", like Dexter and The Tudors, which are both extremely popular for collecting and for gifts, is now apparently joined by Get Smart.

One collector who is well-known in memorabilia collector circles is Gary Townsend. Who has a very fine collection of television and movie memorabilia that is not the largest but certainly one of the most interesting since every piece is carefully selected to fit into the collection. His collection is made up of small groups of items. Each group will have a piece of memorabilia from a show like Gilmore Girls and an autograph from numerous actors from the show. In working the collection in this manner he has kept the cost down while quickly building it into a true pleasurable treasure. His most recent focus is on obtaining pieces from both the original Get Smart TV series and the new movie and he is moving quickly to obtain them before the best pieces are bought out.

While there is a not really a bad time to start collecting or giving collectibles as gifts, this Get Smart-mania makes it a perfect time for both.

Virgil Morris is a successful author and businessman having written 2 books and numerous articles and owner of an online celebrity gift and hobby shop, Big Fan Gifts and Collectibles.


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"Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together." Goethe

Have you ever had someone do something really nice for you, but you didn't know who it was to thank them? When I was in graduate school on a limited budget I was running very short on funds one month. One day when I checked my mail, there was a plain white envelope with no return address. Inside was a twenty dollar bill, with a note that read, "Enjoy!" The note was unsigned. I never found out the identity of my unknown benefactor.

I still remember twenty-five years later the extra boost I got from knowing someone out there sensed my need and demonstrated their love in so tangible a manner.

Years later I heard about "Random Acts of Kindness." The idea is that you do something unexpectedly nice for another human being, without expecting any thanks or pay. Often Random Acts of Kindness are done anonymously, as in my experience. In this way a domino effect is created. One person receives a kindness, then passes it on to others, who pass it on to still others. Tiny points of light are multiplied, until the whole world becomes brighter.

In this spirit, you can play the Generosity Game. To play, simply do something good for someone anonymously, and give them a card that says: "It's Your Turn! Pass It On."*

But kindness and generosity need not be either random or anonymous. In the movie Pay It Forward (Warner Brothers, 2000), a junior high class is given the assignment to do something that will change the world. Young Trevor McKinney (played by Haley Joel Osmont) decides that if people consciously choose to "pay 'em forward" when someone does something nice for them instead of "paying 'em back" for slights and insults, then the world could indeed change for the better.

Trevor started the ball rolling by doing something nice for three people, and asked each to do the same for three others. When they "paid it forward" they were to explain why they did what they did, and ask the people they helped to keep the ball rolling. At first the Pay It Forward project seemed to be a failure, since the recipients of the good deeds did not follow through with good deeds of their own. When they finally did, Pay It Forward became a popular movement across the country.

Pay It Forward was only a movie, with an unsatisfactory ending. But author Catherine Ryan Hyde's vision lives on. Every day across the world millions of people find themselves as links in a chain. They receive many acts of kindness, both large and small, both from anonymous benefactors and from people they know and love. Many of them in turn show kindness and love to others in their lives.

So join the ranks of people who perform acts of kindness, without any thought of payment or thanks. Do something nice to brighten the day of people you encounter as you go through your life.

But don't limit your kindness to strangers. Your friends and family need your planned, intentional demonstrations of caring, too. Be a Cage Opener who nurtures the dreams of those around you. Break chains of negative behavior by responding to insults with compliments. Look for opportunities to lift the spirits of someone who appears discouraged. Share the blessings you have received with those in need.

A popular song reminds us that "it only takes a spark to get a fire going" (from Pass It On by Kurt Kaiser). Be that spark today!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_H._Morris

A review of the movie, Speed Racer from a Christian perspective.

Movie Title: Speed Racer
Rating: PG
Director: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Staring: Emile Hirsch; Christina Ricci; John Goodman; Susan Sarandon; Matthew Fox
Category: Family

Christian Perspective Rating: 3 out of a possible 5 stars

Intro: Speed Racer is a fairly clean PG rated guy movie. I must admit I never watched the cartoon and am still not planning to! However, it was my husband's turn to pick the movie, so....

Review: The Racer family is a very loyal family that is completed devoted to one another. They show this loyalty and love through out the film. The racer family also tries to keep the integrity in racing and they are unwilling to "sell out," or compromise on this issue.

Speed is tempted to give in to materialism and go with a sponsor who does not have Racer's (or racing as a whole) best interest at heart.

Language was not too bad. There were a couple of choice phrases that were cut off mid sentence. However, you are aware of what was going to be said. A** is said several times, da** and he** were each said once as well. There were a few other minor crude words used as well, but nothing over the top.

Cons: There is also a LOT of violence in the film. One particular scene was a bit much in my opinion. One of the bad guys has a tank with piranhas in it and uses it to not only threaten someone, but one of his men gets his finger eaten. It was not pleasant. There are also several other violent racing and fighting scenes through the course of this film.

There are a few areas that you may want to be aware of, especially for your teenage boys. You will see several low cut shirts and some leggy women here and there throughout the film. Nothing to risky, however, enough to have a conversation with your son after the movie.

Conclusion: Overall, Speed Racer was a pretty decent film with some great graphics. Granted, some of the elements could have been left out without compromising the film. However, this is Hollywood we are talking about!


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lara_Velez