Race To Witch Mountain **

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Marquette, Billy Brown
Director: Andy Fickman
Running Length: 1:38
MPAA Classification: PG

Sara (Robb) and Seth (Ludwig) are alien children who have crashed to Earth. They enlist the help of Jack Bruno (Johnson), a cab driver. The kids have special talents: Sara can read minds and levitate items, Seth can shift matter. The government, led by Henry Burke (Hinds) is aware of their crash and is after them. Jack can only do so much for them, and soon he enlists the help of astrophysicist Alex Friedmen (Gugino). Soon, they are racing to their spaceship, hidden in Witch Mountain. Nut, getting out alive won’t be as easy as they think, especially with another alien hunting them down.

“Race to Witch Mountain” is a bit of a disappointment. Duane Johnson brings his trademark charm to the role of Jack, but that isn’t enough to save this film. The problem lies mainly in the script, which calls for the characters to do stupid things. Also, the childrens’ powers expand and contract when necessary to add drama. Given what these kids can do, they should have minimal difficulty finding their ship and getting off the Earth. Younger kids will probably enjoy the film, but adults may find it frustrating.

Get Smart ***
Cast: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp, James Caan, Ken Davatian, Dalip Singh
Director: Peter Segal
Running Length: 1:50
MPAA Classification: PG-13

CONTROL is an American intelligence agency led by Te Chief (Arkin). Maxwell Smart (Carell) is their best analyst, but is not a field man. When arch-enemy KAOS attacks CONTROL headquarters and takes out the majority of the field agents, Max is elevated and given the designation “Agent 86.” He is partnered with Agent 99 (Hathaway) to stop whatever scheme KAOS is up to.

Steve Carell is the perfect choice for Maxwell Smart. He does not try to imitate Don Adams, and yet is reminiscent of him. Don Adams would be proud. Hathaway, Arkin, and Johnson are also good in their respective roles. There are plenty of laughs, and a surprising amount of action to be found too. One does not picture Carell as an action star, but with “Get Smart”, he is. Faithful to the television show, long time fans will not be disappointed. This is one TV to movie upgrade that works. I recommend this film for a good laugh.