During all the July 4th hoopla, Wheezley and I snuck off to see Get Smart this weekend. It’s a spy movie, and y’all know I’m a sucker for those. Seriously, I will watch or read just about anything if there are spies in it.

But you know what? Get Smart was surprisingly good. My expectations were pretty low, and I was pleasantly surprised. Always a good thing.

The movie is a remake of the classic TV series (which I’ve never seen, but Wheezley claims was super cool) and focuses on Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) and the sexy Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway).

Max wants to be a Control field agent more than anything, and he finally gets his chance when headquarters is attacked by evil Kaos agents. It seems Kaos has stolen some nuclear weapons and plans to blow up the president (a goofy James Caan). Of course, Max and Agent 99 are sent to Russia to find the weapons. But really, the plot just sets up scenes for Carell to work his goofy charm.

Carell doesn’t do anything new in the movie. He’s still the likable, downtrodden straight guy who gets caught up in goofy situations, like inhaling a blow dart and shooting a miniature harpoon through his face — multiple times. But the gags really work in Get Smart. There are some hysterical scenes, including a dance-off that had the whole theater chuckling. At some parts, people were laughing so loudly you couldn’t hear the dialogue — it was that funny in places.

Hathaway also does a nice job being the straight women, and she gets her share of the good lines. Plus, her clothes in the movie were just gorgeous. Sigh.

The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously like some remakes do (which is something I always appreciate), and the actors all look like they’re having a great time. Dwayne Johnson (formerly known as The Rock) plays a suave agent who mentors Max, and Masi Oka of Heroes fame pops up as a lab geek. And, of course, Terence Stamp is one of the bad guys because, well, he usually plays a bad guy. There are also cameos from lots of comedians.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun summer movie, go see Get Smart. You’ll probably leave with a smile on your face. Thumbs up. In fact, the movie was so fun I’m going to check out the original TV series.

What about you guys? Anyone see anything good at the movies this weekend? The Dark Knight approacheth … along with Hellboy II …

Hope everybody has a great Fourth of July! Eat some hamburgers, watch some fireworks, and take a minute to remember what the whole shebang is really all about.

I’ll be on my computer most of the weekend, working on some minor and final (I hope) revisions on my Assassin book. But Wheezley and I will probably sneak off to the movies or bookstore at some point … because no holiday weekend would be complete without me getting my book fix on.

Enjoy the weekend!

Finished Dark Dreamers, which contains novellas by Christine Feehan and Marjorie M. Liu.

Feehan’s novella, Dark Dream, is one of her Carpathian (vampire) stories. I’d never read a Carpathian story before and was interested in trying one. Basically, Feehan’s vampires slowly go insane until their meet their lifemate, which is the only thing that can keep them from turning evil. In this one, warrior Falcon has to protect his lifemate Sara from a vampire who’s been stalking her for years.

Liu’s novella, A Dream of Stone and Shadow, is set in her Dirk & Steele world. In this one, Charlie, a gargoyle, has to convince D&S agent Aggie to rescue a girl who’s being abused. A bit of a problem, since Charlie is currently being held captive by an evil witch and can only appear as a shadowy form to Aggie.

Of the two stories, I liked Liu’s better. I actually think this shorter format worked better than some of her longer books that I’ve read. Liu got right down to the action, and Charlie was a great hero. Funny, warm, caring. He was just cool. I also liked Aggie, who kicked butt right alongside Liu’s other characters. The only quibble I had were the sex scenes. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how Charlie and Aggie could have sex while he was in shadow form, but oh well. Didn’t throw me off that much.

Feehan’s story felt very Gothic to me, with an old-fashioned voice to match. Nothing wrong with that, but I’ve never been a huge fan of Gothic stories. I’m probably the only person alive who doesn’t like Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, and that’s what Feehan’s story reminded me of. Also, I’m a little tired of the soulmate story line. It’s just not something that works for me. That being said, I did enjoy the last half of the story, as Sara and Falcon try to outwit the vampire stalking her.

If you’re a Feehan or Liu fan, you’ll want to pick up this book. Both stories are a nice, quick introduction to their larger worlds. Thumbs up.

Up next: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.

So the mass market version of Karma Girl was officially released yesterday. Huzzah!

This means that folks who didn’t read the book the first time around can now try it in the cheaper, mass market form. Since the book was first released in trade paperback last year, I’ve gotten e-mails from several readers and booksellers wanting to know when the book was coming out in mass market.

And now, it is out.

I don’t blame folks for waiting until the book was out in mass market format to try it. Trade paperbacks are nice, but spending $14 or more on a book you might not like is getting to be a luxury these days. But now, you can get Karma Girl for the low, low price of $7.99. And if you wait until Aug. 5, you can get Hot Mama too, since that’s when that book will be released in mass market format. Basically, you can get the two Bigtime mass markets for the price of one of the trade paperbacks. Not that I would encourage you to do that or anything.

All kidding aside, I hope folks who haven’t tried the Bigtime series will pick up Karma Girl and give it a try. And for those of you who are fans, I just want to say thanks for all your letters, e-mails, and support this past year. Knowing that people enjoy my books is very wonderful and humbling at the same time.

All right, enough mushy stuff. Happy reading! :ww:

Is over at Romancing the Blog. Enjoy!