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Shelock Holmes
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Charlie Cain
Charlie Cain
Thespian

Jul-30-2009 18:39

Did you know there is a new movie about ole Sherlock coming out some time with in the next year? Yep its gonna have Robert Downey Jr. as the main character and Judd Law as Dr. Watson. Its supposed to be base on a graphic novel version of the detective who changed literary sleuthing. Its gonna focus on Holmes's martial abilities. I hope its gonna be good. I have been hoping for a good mystery movie for sometime. If anyone has any referals it would be greatly appreciated. Although my selection is quite thin for the time being I can always have my wife ship them to me.

Replies

Elizabeth Christie
Elizabeth Christie
Tireless Tiger

Dec-30-2009 12:32

I saw in on Christmas Day and I adored it! It was such an enjoyable movie!

I haven't read them either, but I've been wanting to for awhile and Google Books has almost all of them online for free. And you can read all the Google Books on the Barnes & Nobles Nook (that I really want) for free. :)

Anikka
Anikka
Babelfish

Jan-1-2010 23:14

I saw it last night and thought it was terrific - except for one thing. The music.

Dear Heavens.

Anyway, I loved that Watson was actually intelligent, and not a bumbler or unable to keep up with Holmes. I loved that Holmes was portrayed as a genius, with all the high intelligence and social impairments that go with it. Neither of them was perfect, but neither of them was so badly flawed as to be a parody. And Marsan's Lestrade was perfect!

Sadly, I must admit that my favourite character was Constable Clark. I know, I'm pathetic.

Encyclopedia Zero
Encyclopedia Zero
Well-Connected

Jan-8-2010 14:52

Funny. I liked the music.. kinda. Hans Zimmer is quite the composer. And the little irish folksongs and stuff they'd put in there. In my personal opinion they manage to give the feeling of early twentieth century England more than Mr Doyle did. But the music was only part of that.

Let me review it:

It's clearly (as they've marketed it) not "my grandfather's Sherlock Holmes". Having read many (even if not all) of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and through all these years whinced at the different portrayals in the visual media of them (and even watched the series based on Doyle's life of working with the doctor he allegedly based Sherlock Holmes on) I have to say this ain't half bad. For example I strongly dislike Hollywood's love for turning someone into a comical sidekick all of the time. If it's not Dr Watson who's incorrectly portrayed as a daft, stumbling fool it's Gimli or Ron Weasley. In this new Sherlock Holmes carnation it's clear that they've picked A LOT from Doyles stories. But only bits and pieces that they liked, and then extrapolated. It makes for one heck of a good movie. It's not the Sherlock Holmes, but it's A Sherlock Holmes. The things in the movie that people will go "Hay that's not how Doyle wrote it" over is actually just as Doyle wrote it. Only they've chosed to flesh them out. Call it artistic freedom or mockery. It's still all in Doyle's stories for the reaping.

After all, Sherlock Holmes is an excentric drug user and a fighter, who plays the violin. The new movie is an interesting take on the character and his closest friends, and can't be deemed "false".

(If you have seen the movie "Zero Effect" with Bill Pullman you might recall the scene in the beginning where he is found high on drugs, jumping up and down in his bed and slamming on an acoustic guitar. I thought "Well heck if that ain't Sherlock Holmes.)

Anikka
Anikka
Babelfish

Jan-8-2010 22:25

I think my biggest problem with the music was that it was at times SO LOUD, and at time SO FRENETIC, it really took away a lot of my enjoyment. I didn't go there to get a pounding headache. Had it been lower in volume, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Cordelia Falco
Cordelia Falco
Battered Shoe

Jan-9-2010 08:40

"I strongly dislike Hollywood's love for turning someone into a comical sidekick all of the time. If it's not Dr Watson who's incorrectly portrayed as a daft, stumbling fool it's Gimli or Ron Weasley."

Couldn't agree more, Encyclopedia Zero, well said!

Encyclopedia Zero
Encyclopedia Zero
Well-Connected

Jan-10-2010 06:39

I gotta add something, or possibly revise my "review" here:

The more and more I think of the movie (which I will be revisiting the theatre to watch at least once more before it's out on DVD) the more I like it. The movie is a great, thrilling adventure and as such it succeeds. But it succeeds EVEN MORE as an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

I should add that from what I hear from far bigger fans than myself that they consider the movie close to perfect, and that they are sorry that so many people claim to be fans and know the character and complain about the movie being inaccurate. This just makes me want to find all the stories I have not yet read and study the character even more. At least I appear to be "getting it" which is a relief.

----------------------------------

Anikka, I see. But that would be a problem at the local theatre and not an unsolvable problem with the film. If that happens again ask them to turn the volume down a bit. Or perhaps watch it over again on DVD when it comes out. ;)

Molly Maltese
Molly Maltese
Old Shoe

Jan-10-2010 12:16

Hollywood plays to their audience. In general, movie viewers want simple, understandable characters and heavy comic relief, so characters (such as Watson, Gimli and Ron Weasley) are cheapened for the sake of raking in more money. One cannot POSSIBLY go to a movie these days and expect true artistic integrity in an adaptation, however I think they really did Sherlock Holmes justice straight from casting. RDJ is a wizard at acting, and he's quite adept at the snarky, sarcastic characters which makes Sherlock Holmes seem like a second-skin to him (see his nomination for Best Actor. ;D) Not only that, rather than selling out Watson, they cast a capable actor, who though well-known, does NOT take silly roles generally. I was SO happy that rather than blatant, in-your-face potty jokes, the humor came from their interactions together, and lurked just under every quip and line as they bantered on like brothers. For me, RDJ and Jude Law's relationship on-screen as Holmes and Watson made the movie for me.


Lord Blackwood was pretty B.A. too. ;D

Anikka
Anikka
Babelfish

Jan-10-2010 13:24

I agree with everything you said, Molly, except your last line.

Every time I saw him, I just wanted to slap his face and tell him to get over himself. The actor was excellent, as he obviously played the part well enough to get a reaction from me (!), but I don't think it was the reaction they were going for. B.A.? Nah, just a self-serving J.A. But that's just my opinion. :-D

When I watched the movie, I also had Sam the Rose's comment in mind (regarding Irene Adler being classy, not a tart) and I have to say that I didn't consider the movie Adler to be at all tart-ish. Even when running around in a suit of men's clothes, she was a lady. I don't believe that she would have dealt with anyone else the way she dealt with Holmes; that behaviour was for him alone.

Molly Maltese
Molly Maltese
Old Shoe

Jan-10-2010 13:59

Well, as far as villains go he was quite...villainous, which is all I meant by the B.A. classfication, I wanted to slap him silly as well! :D

Waking up handcuffed to the bed= hilarious. Sherlock's line to the maid= more hilarious.

Even when she had a knife at that guys throat in the alley, it was oddly gentile. What a fun role!

Encyclopedia Zero
Encyclopedia Zero
Well-Connected

Jan-11-2010 13:37

Here's an article:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-32109-Orange-County-Movie-Examiner~y2010m1d2-Sherlockians-critics-and-audience-react-to-the-new-Sherlock-Holmes

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