Liz's Journal: anne hathaway

"GET SMART" (2008) Review

Just recently, I saw "GET SMART", a comic action movie based upon the 1965-1971 television comedy that starred Don Adams. Only this version starred Steve Carell as CONTROL Agent 86 - Maxwell Smart.

I can only think of five or six movies based upon old television series that I have ever really enjoyed. And if I must be honest, "GET SMART" is one of them. Many people have stated before its release that they found the idea of someone other than Adams portraying the Clouseau-like spy, Maxwell Smart (Agent 86 of CONTROL). It is understanding, considering it was Adams' most famous role and he really made it his own.

I never thought I would say this, but Steve Carell can be the second actor who has the right to boast the Smart character as his own. He was truly superb. And what made his performance so astounding is that instead of attempting a replica of Adams' performances, he portrayed the Smart character in his own style. What also made this movie different from the TV series is that Smart starts out as an intelligence analyst for CONTROL, who desires to become a field agent. He finally gets his chance when CONTROL Headquarters is attacked by their arch-enemy, the evil KAOS organization led by Siegfried (Terence Stamp). Almost all of CONTROL's Agents are either exposed or killed. Max becomes Agent 86 and is partnered with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), whose recent plastic surgery has protected her identity. Together, the pair investigate how KAOS has been getting nuclear weapons and who was the mole who had betrayed CONTROL.

Portraying Agent 99 is Anne Hathaway ("BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" and "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA"), whose take on the character is slightly different than Barbara Feldon's in the television series. Hathaway's Agent 99 is a cool and very competent agent like her television counterpart. However, her 99 is more experienced than Max. She is also slightly sardonic and a little more aggressive. What really surprised me was how Hathaway and Carell managed to create a sizzling screen chemistry between them. I mean they really sizzled. Alan Arkin (who co-starred with Carell in "LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE") really shined as the Chief of CONTROL. Like his television counterpart, he found the antics of Max and certain other CONTROL operatives rather exasperating. But what really seemed to annoy him is the idea that he might be too old for any action in the field.

The rest of the cast included Dwayne Johnson as CONTROL'S top operative, Agent 23. He portrayed the agent with a charm, smoothness and arrogance that justified Max's envious worship of him. Both Terry Crewes and David Koechner made a great comedic pair as CONTROL agents 91 and Larabee. So did Masi Oka ("HEROES") and Nate Torrence as CONTROL's two top techies - Bruce and Lloyd. My only complaint centered around Terrence Stamp, as KAOS's head honcho, Siegfried. With that impervious expression fixed upon his face, Stamp seemed to try too hard in being funny. Well . . . at times. In other scenes, his sardonic style did strike me as funny. And I must admit that he managed to have one very hilarious scene involving Max's attempt to penetrate a KAOS lair in Russia.

Thanks to screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, along with director Peter Segal ("MY FELLOW AMERICANS") and Steve Carell, this version of "GET SMART" turned out to be just as funny as the television series from the 1960s. And believe it or, "GET SMART" also turned out to be a first-class action movie centered around betrayal in the intelligence community and the threat of a nuclear bomb. I plan to watch my DVD copy of it, again.

"LES MISERABLES" (2012) Review

There were a few movies released in 2012 that I was very reluctant to see in the theaters. One of those movies turned out to be "LES MISERABLES", the recent adaptation of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's 1985 stage musical of the same name. And that musical was an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel.

Directed by Oscar winning director Tom Hooper, "LES MISERABLES" told the story of early 19th century French convict Jean Valjean released from prison on parole by a guard named Javert in 1815. Nineteen years earlier, Valjean had been imprisoned for stealing bread for his sister's starving family. Because of his paroled status, Valjean is driven out of every town. He is offered food and shelter by the Bishop of Digne, but steals the latter's silver during the night. Valjean's former prison guard, the police captures him. But the Bishop informs them that he had given the silver to Valjean as a gift. The former convict eventually breaks his parole and Javert vows to capture him. Eight years later, Valjean has become a wealthy factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Some of Valjean's factory workers discover that one of their own, a woman named Fantine, one of his workers, has been sending money to an illegitimate daughter named Cosette. Fantine uses her salary to pay an unscrupulous innkeeper named Thénardiers, his equally shady wife and their daughter Éponine to take care of Cosette. However, Valjean's foreman dismisses Fantine and she resorts to desperate measures to support her daughter by selling her hair and teeth, before becoming a prostitute. Javert, who has become the town's chief inspector, arrests Fantine for striking an abusive customer. Valjean saves her and has her hospitalized. He also learns that a man believed to be him, has been arrested. Refusing to allow an innocent man to become condemned in his place, Valjean reveals his identity during the man's trial. Then then returns to the hospital and he promises the dying Fantine that he will look after Cosette.

Javert arrives to take Valjean into custody, but Valjean escape with a jump into the local river. He then pays the Thénardiers to allow him to take Cosette. The pair elude Javert's pursuit and begin a new life in Paris. The story jumps nine years later in which the grandson of a wealthy man and student and named Marius Pontmercy becomes involved in a growing revolutionary movement following the death a government official sympathetic to the poor named Jean Maximilien Lamarque. He also falls in love with Cosette, much to Valjean's dismay, who believes he is an agent of Javert's. Meanwhile, Marius is unaware that Éponine Thénardier, the daughter of Cosette's former caretakers, has fallen in love with him. Most of these storylines - Valjean's reluctance to acknowledge Cosette and Marius' love; Éponine's unrequited love for Marius; and Valjean's problems with Javert, who has joined the Paris police force, culminates in the long and detailed sequence that features the June Rebellion of 1832.

After watching my DVD copy of "LES MISERABLES", I cannot deny that the movie has some great moments and struck me as pretty damn good. The sequence featuring Fantine's troubles greatly moved me. After winning an Academy Award for her outstanding performance as the doomed woman, Anne Hathaway had expressed a hope that one day the misfortunes of Fantine would be found only in fiction in the future. That is a lovely hope, but knowing human nature, I doubt it will ever happen. And watching Fantine's life spin out of control, due to the narrow-minded views of society and male objectivity of her body, I think my views on human nature sunk even further. Some critics had the nerve to claim that Fantine's situation was something from the past and could never be considered relevant today. I am still amazed that adults - even those who considered themselves civilized and intelligent - could be so completely blind and idiotic. Even Valjean's attempts to make a life for himself, following his release from prison struck me as relevant - echoing the attempts of some convicts to overcome the criminal pasts and records in an effort to make a new life. Usually with little or no success, thanks to the chilly attitude of the public. Hugh Jackman's performance beautifully reflected the struggles of many convicts - past and present - to make new lives for themselves - especially in the movie's first half hour. Although many people tend to view the police officer Javert as evil, I suspect they view his villainy as a product of any society that creates rules - at times rigid - to keep the general population in check. While watching "LES MISERABLES", I realized that I could never view Javert as a villain of any kind. He merely seemed to be a foil or object to Valjean's chances for a new life. More than anything, Javert seemed to be a victim of his own rigid views on good, evil and upholding the law. Russell Crowe did a beautiful job of expressing Javert's inability to be flexible in his views on morality . . . even when his own flexibility comes to the fore when he allows Valjean to finally escape in the end. And it is a shame that he never earned an Academy Award or Golden Globe Award nomination.

"LES MISERABLES" has a running time of 2 hours and 38 minutes. Yet, only 50 minutes of the film focused on Valjean's early years as an ex-convict, his tenure as mayor of Montreuil-sur-Merhis, Fantine's troubles and young Cosette's time with the Thénardiers. The rest of the movie is set in 1832 Paris, leading up to the outbreak of the June Rebellion. And if I must honest . . . I found that a little disappointing. Mind you, not all of the 1832 segment was a waste. Thanks to Tom Hooper's direction, the segment featured a well directed and detailed account of the June Rebellion - especially from Marius Pontmercy, Valjean and Javert's viewpoints. It featured more fine performances from Jackman and Crowe, as Valjean and Javert continued their game of cat and mouse. It also featured an excellent performance from Samantha Barks, who made a very impressive film debut as Éponine Thénardier, the oldest daughter of Cosette's cruel caretakers. Many filmgoers and critics had complained about the romance between Cosette and Marius Pontmercy, claiming that it seemed forced. I do not know if I could agree with that assessment. I thought Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne did a pretty good job in conveying the young couple's romantic interest in each other. The problem with their romance centered on Cosette's character.

I realized that Seyfried did all she could to infuse some kind of energy into the role. I could say the same for Isabelle Allen. Both Seyfriend and Allen gave first-rate performances. Unfortunately, both were saddled with a one-dimensional character. At times, I found myself wishing that Éponine and not Cosette had ended up with Marius. In fact, I felt the movie could have explored Cosette and the Thénardiers' relationship with a little more depth. As for the Thénardiers, they proved to be the story's true villains. Unfortunately, Helen Bonham-Carter and Sascha Baron Cohen injected a little too much comedy into their performances. The couple came off more as comic relief, instead of villains. And I blame both Hooper and the screenwriters. Cosette and the Thénardiers were not the only problems. Although I had complimented Hooper's direction of the June Rebellion scenes, the entire sequence threatened to go on and on . . . almost forever. I ended up as one relieved moviegoer when the sequence ended with quick violence and Valjean's rescue of Marius. I have a deep suspicion that "LES MISERABLES" was really about the June Rebellion. Many claimed that Hugo was inspired by his witness of the insurrection. Which would explain why the story's earlier period between 1815 and 1823 were rushed in a span of 50 minutes or so. Pity. Other moviegoers complained about Hooper's constant use of close-ups in the film. And I have to agree with them. For a movie that was supposed to be a historic epic wrapped in a musical production, the balance between wide shots and close-ups somewhat unbalanced. During Valjean's death scene, he envisioned not only the long dead Fatine, but also the insurrectionists who had fought alongside Marius before getting killed. One of those insurrectionists turned out to be Éponine Thénardier. Only she had died before Valjean had arrived at Marius' barricade. So . . . why was he experiencing images of her?

I could comment on the singing performances of the cast. I thought they had more or less did a pretty good job. Many had criticized Crowe's singing, but I honestly felt nothing wrong about it. Hathaway's acting during her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" impressed me a lot more than her singing voice, which struck me as pretty solid. I had expected Jackman's singing to knock my socks off. It did not quite reach that level. Like Hathaway and Crowe, his acting impressed me a lot more than his singing. Both Redmayne and Seyfried sang pretty well. So did Helen Bonham-Carter and Cohen. But the one musical performance that really impressed me was Samantha Barks' rendition of "On My Own". The actress/singer has a beautiful voice.

I liked "LES MISERABLES" very much. The movie featured fine performances from the cast. And Tom Hooper did a very good job in directing the film, despite the many close-ups. And I do believe that it deserved a Best Picture nomination. Do not get me wrong. I enjoy musicals very much. But I simply could not endure a musical that not only featured songs, but dialogue acted out in song. It stretched my patience just a little too much - like the drawn out sequences leading up to the violence that ended the June Rebellion. I would like to say that I regret missing "LES MISERABLES" in the movie theaters. But I would be lying. I have no regrets . . . as much as I like the film.