Marley and Me....

....a book that made me laugh (out loud, that is) and cry. Yeah, I admit that I was teary eyed and the throat was all choke-y by the time I finished reading it. I had never imagined a book could bring out so many emotions in me. I must say, all the people who love dogs, or let me just broaden the group a bit, all those who can read, must read this book.

Marley and me is about a Dog which, according to the author, John Grogan, is the World's Worst Dog. The kind of humour the author has incorporated and the kind of emotions he has weaved into the story, its hard not to get totally involved with the proceedings in the book. The book is not a work of fiction, it is a personal account and experience of the author with his dog, written in first person by the author (of course). The book journeys from the time Marley is a little puppy to his death. The best part about this book is that I knew what was going to happen in the end, but I still ended up teary eyed.

And now am excited about the movie that is being made on this book. The trailers are out and they look good. Owen Wilson is playing John Grogan and Jennifer Aniston, his wife Jenny. Heard it'll be out this Christmas. Cant wait to watch it!!!

I have never been a fan of autobiographies till now but this book has changed that opinion of mine. I recommend this one to everyone. Read it and you'll not regret.

Get Smart

Get Smart.... I watched it last saturday @ Spice, Noida and simply loved it.

I don't remember the last time i saw an intelligent comedy. This one came as a breath of fresh air amidst all the crappy, mindless comedies(i dont mind watching them though). I liked this movie more coz i went in with zero expectations.

Steve Carell is awesome. This guy enacts his part so effortlessly that you cannot imagine anyone else playing Maxwell Smart. I read somewhere that initially Jim Carrey was being considered for this role, but in my opinion, casting Steve as Maxwell Smart was the best thing that the makers of Get Smart could do. His comic timing is Impeccable. Get Smart marks Steve's arrival on to the big stage.

I never used to like Anne Hathaway much. But i was impressed by her potrayal of Agent 99 (we dont get to know her name in the movie). She matches Steve Carell in every scene and she has a decent comic timing too. It was nice to see, unlike other spy flicks, a female character that is not there just as an "Eye Candy". I say this coz she does kick some serious ass in this movie.

It was good to see Dwayne Johnson coming out of "The Rock" mould and a playing a character (Agent 23) as it should be played. In other movies(The Mummy Returns, Walking Tall, Rundown, The Scorpion King etc) , it always seemed that "The Rock" was trying to act, and whenever he came on screen i anticipated that he would do a "if you smell, what The Rock is cooking" routine. For the uninitiated, he used to do the "If u smell thing" when he was at WWE.

All the other cast gives a decent support. I particularly liked the "Shtarker" character, the villian's side-kick, and also the Dumb President Cameo.

Coming to jokes in the movie, there is an ample doze of humour. One has to be smart to understand all the jokes in the movie (and i did understand most of them ;) ). The one that i liked the most was "the man from the easter island". That was slam dunk. I dont want to give away too much as it'll spoil the fun for those who want to watch.

Here's another one they show in the trailer:

Siegfried: How do I know you're not from CONTROL?
Maxwell Smart: If I were from CONTROL, you'd already be dead.
Siegfried: If you were from CONTROL, YOU'D already be dead.
Maxwell Smart: Neither of us is dead, so I'm obviously not from CONTROL.
[long pause]
Shtarker: That actually makes sense.

I hope this is a beginning of a new franchise and if it is, i am sure Maxwell Smart is gonna give Austin Powers a run for his money.