Alan Arkin

Critics may draw comparisons between this year's Sunshine Cleaning and 2007 Best Picture nominee Little Miss Sunshine. Both were Sundance darlings, both star the wonderful Alan Arkin, and both have optimistic-sounding titles. And despite each film's light-bright disposition, both skew closer to comedy of the darker sort. This intriguing juxtaposition worked quite well for Little Miss Sunshine, and, to a slightly lesser extent, it works for Sunshine Cleaning, too.

The off-kilter premise is what first drew me to the movie when I previewed it for last year's Sundance Film Festival. I loved that the film focuses on the dirty and demeaning task of cleaning up crime scenes, yet didn't seem as gloomy as the description suggested. By the time I saw the trailer, it was clear: No CSI confusion here. Luckily the film delighted me as much as I had hoped, mostly because the two lead actresses, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, are so compelling to watch.

To hear a little bit more about the plot and what else I liked, read more

"Turns out it's against the law to throw biohazards in the dumpster. Who knew?"

Emily Blunt's character, Norah, dryly says this in the preview for Sunshine Cleaning, a little indie movie from this year's Sundance that finds two sisters starting up a "biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service." One of the sisters (Amy Adams) is a single mom who needs to earn money to send her son to a new school. From the trailer, the movie seems strange, dark and funny, a little like Six Feet Under but with the innocent sweetness of Amy Adams.

There's still no actual release date for the film, though apparently it'll open sometime this year. To check out the trailer, read more

You know when you're tired, cranky, and hungry right around mid-afternoon and you know you should just gnaw on the baby carrots you put in the office fridge during a fit of optimism but all you want to do is grab the Ho-Hos (or in my case, those Tag-a-Long Girl Scout cookies) in your top drawer and stuff your face? And then sometimes you decide to stuff your face and it's insanely satisfying (if only temporarily)? That's what my experience of watching Get Smart was like. This was one week when I needed a good, lighthearted laugh and in that sense, Get Smart is the perfect thing. It's obviously not high art and it's not even really clever as far as comedies go. It's just fun. I watched, I laughed, I went home happy.

Steve Carell resurrects Maxwell Smart, the main character from the 1960s TV series on which this movie is based. Smart only becomes a secret agent for the spy organization CONTROL when The Chief (Alan Arkin) needs more people on his team after their offices have been attacked by nemesis spy team, KAOS. Now deemed Agent 86, Smart is paired up with the intelligent, accomplished Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and, together with The Chief and the outrageously manly Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), the CONTROL operatives struggle to stop KAOS from carrying out their plans of mass murder and world domination. Other CONTROL duos like Agent 91 (Terry Crews) and Larabee (David Koechner, who I wish had been recast with Rob Corddry), and the young geek team Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence) provide additional laughs when necessary. To find out what I liked best about the movie, read more

Anne Hathaway was all smiles last night with co-star Steve Carell at the LA premiere of Get Smart, but note that one accessory was missing — her boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri. The Daily Mail is reporting that Anne dumped him this weekend because she didn't want his legal troubles to damage her reputation and career. We have a feeling Anne will be better off without Raffaello's sketchy problems, and having funny man Steve Carell as her co-star and new friend is sure to keep her cheered up.

To see more photos from the night including Jenna Fischer showing off a new, longer, hairstyle, plus Kevin Sorbo, Dwayne Johnson and others just read more

Owen Wilson looked happy and animated on the set of Marley and Me in Miami yesterday. We love seeing him in good spirits, especially after the rumors that he hasn't been playing so nicely with the rest of the cast and crew lately. Even though Kate is back in NYC, we can't help but speculate that their hand-holding session has just a little bit to do with the smile on Owen's face and the twinkle in his eye.

Splash News Online

It's a good day for Steve Carell fans. An international trailer has appeared online for Get Smart, in which he plays the legendary bumbling Agent 86 (Maxwell Smart). The headquarters of US spy agency Control are attacked, and the identities of its agents compromised, just as evil crime syndicate KAOS plots world domination. Thus, Control Chief (Alan Arkin) is forced to promote his eager analyst Smart, pairing him with veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). They then stumble their way through attempts to thwart KAOS's destructive plans.

The trailer features plenty of Steve Carell-y jokes and slapstick humor. I totally can't wait to see Get Smart when it opens June 20. To watch the trailer and have a few chuckles, read more

I am so thrilled to go to Sundance this year, and I can't wait to see as many movies as possible while I'm out there! For the next few days I'll be highlighting some of the films I'm most curious to see. Today's spotlight: Sunshine Cleaning.

Wait a minute — is this the award-nominated Amy Adams and Emily Blunt? Why, yes, yes it is! Sunshine Cleaning stars these two talented ladies, along with Steve Zhan, Alan Arkin and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from 24). To see what the story's about, read more

Lots of movie casting news these days — from Marley and Me to aliens lurking upstairs.

• Alan Arkin will join Jennifer Aniston and Owen WIlson in the film adaptation of bestselling memoir Marley and Me. Wilson plays a newspaper columnist who adopts a dog with his wife (Aniston). Arkin will play the editor of the newspaper.
• Jessica Biel will star as the lead in the romantic comedy Easy Virtue, based on the Noel Coward play. The movie follows Biel's character, "an American divorcee who travels to the South of France and marries a young Englishman, played by Ben Barnes, on the spur of the moment. The couple return to England to face his family, including his parents, played by Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas."
• Amy Ryan is the lucky lady chosen to star opposite Matt Damon in an untitled Iraq war thriller directed by Paul Greengrass, the director of two of the Bourne movies and United 93.
• High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale will make her feature film debut in "the adventure comedy" They Came From Upstairs about "a group of teens who have to defend their Maine home from the aliens who invaded the top floor." Just the top floor? Huh.