Michael Jai White Kicks "Blood and Bone" into High Gear

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 83 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Blood and Bone (2009)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, pervasive language and brief drug use
DIRECTOR: Ben Ramsey
WRITER: Michael Andrews
PRODUCERS: Matthew Binns, Michael Mailer, and Nick Simunek
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roy H. Wagner
EDITOR: Dean Goodhill

DRAMA/CRIME/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Michael Jai White, Julian Sands, Eammon Walker, Dante Basco, Nona Gaye, Michele Belegrin, Bob Sapp, Ron Yuan, Kimbo Slice, Stuart Wilson, and Kevin Phillips

For all intents and purposes, the martial arts movie, Blood and Bone is a straight-to-video action movie. According to the website, IMDb, Blood and Bone only received a theatrical release in Lebanon. Some may think that this says something negative about the movie’s quality, but Blood and Bone is absolutely thrilling. The movie also says that Michael Jai White should be a big time action movie star.

When he gets out of prison, Bone (Michael Jai White) heads for Los Angeles with a plan for revenge. He enters LA’s underground fight scene with the help of a scrappy manager named Pinball (Dante Basco). Bone made a promise to Danny (Kevin Phillips), his prison cellmate who was murdered, that he would take care of Danny’s girlfriend and son. This promise brings him into conflict with James (Eammon Walker), an ambitious gangster, who has the most feared fighter in LA’s underground scene, the massive Hammerman (Bob Sapp).

In Blood and Bone, Michael Jai White reveals himself as a charismatic action star who is as cool and stoic as he is an ass-kickin’ superhero. Bone is similar to one of those characters that Clint Eastwood plays in Westerns – the mysterious stranger who suddenly appears on the scene specifically to deliver justice/revenge. Mix that with some Bruce Lee, and we have Isaiah Bone. White as Bone, however, is better as a martial arts hero than either Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. Over the course of his career, White’s acting has also improved, and he is much less stiff than he was in his first leading role in a movie, as the title character in Spawn (1997).

In Blood and Bone, White is smooth, funny, and occasionally, even droll and witty. He really comes alive as a martial artist in the film’s numerous fight scenes, and White is so exciting to watch that it may seem to some (like me) that there aren’t enough fight scenes and duels in Blood and Bone. White is electric when he is going up against prison thugs, street fighters, gangsters, and the film’s lead villain, James.

By the way, Eammon Walker is excellent as James, full of pathos and urgent ambition. This is one of several quality performances from actors who make the best of the awkward sounding dialogue given to them. Director Ben Ramsey not only gets the best out of many of his actors; he also paces the film so that it is always making the viewer anticipate something good.

It would be good to see the character Bone come back for a sequel. If he doesn’t bring him back, Michael Jai White has certainly given him a memorable one-shot at stardom in the surprisingly exciting, low-budget fight movie, Blood and Bone.

7 of 10
B+

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Waiting for "Superman" Inspires New Huffington Post Section

Press release:

The Huffington Post Launches Education Section Inspired By “Waiting For ‘Superman’” Documentary

"HuffPost Education" Covers Broad-Range Of Issues Impacting Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators, and the Nation

-- “Waiting for ‘Superman’” Signs on As Inaugural Sponsor --

New York, NY, October 4 – The Huffington Post (“HuffPost”) a leading social news and opinion site, today announces the launch of "HuffPost Education http://www.huffingtonpost.com/education/," a new education section inspired by the issues raised in WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN,” the documentary by Academy Award®-winning director Davis Guggenheim. HuffPost Education serves as a one-stop-shop education “hub,” featuring up-to-the-minute news and features, blog posts, video, and community engagement around America's troubled education system. The section is produced in partnership with Causecast, a leading cause marketing and technology solutions provider, and is the latest content "vertical" to be added to The Huffington Post, which continues its expansion as "The Internet Newspaper." Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, made the announcement.

"The Huffington Post is thrilled to launch HuffPost Education -- a new section that highlights and builds on the issues raised in WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN,’”said Arianna Huffington. “Education has always been the great equalizer in America: the chance for each succeeding generation to improve their minds -- and their lives. But something has gone terribly wrong with our education system, and this failure has profound consequences for America’s future. Our nation’s education crisis demands ‘the fierce urgency of now,’ and that’s why HuffPost Education looks at the problems plaguing our schools but also focuses on the innovative solutions being proposed and implemented all across the country. Last but not least, it’s an opportunity to celebrate and support the many teachers who, despite a broken system, are doing heroic work.”

HuffPost Education serves as a hub for education news and trends -- from school success stories and teacher profiles to tips for parents and the latest research and expert analysis. The section features broad-ranging coverage of what’s happening at schools across the country, and around the world, including curricula, testing, resource allocation, teacher training, and more. HuffPost Education highlights the important work that teachers are doing as well as provides them with a real-time forum to discuss the issues impacting them. As part of this, the section will highlight great teachers from around the country, and feature the innovative ways they are getting children to learn. It is also home to a spirited ongoing conversation about what’s gone wrong with America’s educational system -- and what needs to be done to fix it -- featuring topical takes from an eclectic mix of stakeholders in the education debate.

Said Ryan Scott, CEO of Causecast: “We’re delighted to announce the expansion of our HuffPost partnership with the launch of HuffPost Education. Like HuffPost Impact, our award winning service and philanthropy vertical, HuffPost Education strives to move the needle forward by providing inspiring content combined with tools that let readers take action. The aim is to be the definitive online hub for addressing the education crisis, a forum for the best and most innovative minds in America to discuss the current and future state of our public education system, and a venue for everyday participation.”


About The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/) is a leading social news and opinion site which in four and a half years has become an influential and oft-quoted media brand, "The Internet Newspaper." The site offers coverage of politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, sustainable “green” living, world news, technology, nonprofits, college life, books, religion, food and comedy, and is a top destination for news, blogs and original content. The Huffington Post ("HuffPost") has over 40 million unique visitors per month (source: Google Analytics) and is the “most-linked-to blog” on the Internet, per Technorati. In 2008, the site launched its first local version, HuffPost Chicago; HuffPost New York, HuffPost Denver and HuffPost LA launched in 2009. The Huffington Post has an active community, with over three million comments made on the site each month. HuffPost Social News launched in partnership with Facebook in 2009 to leverage the power of social networking to allow readers to create their own personalized social networking-like news page on HuffPost itself. The Huffington Post Twitter Edition launched in 2010. HuffPost has 6,000 bloggers -- from politicians and celebrities to academics and policy experts -- who contribute in real-time on a wide-range of topics making news today. Among those who have blogged on HuffPost are Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Larry David, Nora Ephron, Larry Page, Madeleine Albright, Robert Redford, Neil Young, Rahm Emanuel, Albert Brooks, Mia Farrow, Russ Feingold, Al Franken, Ari Emanuel, Gary Hart, Harry Shearer, John Kerry, Bill Maher, Nancy Pelosi, Madonna, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ryan Reynolds, Craig Newmark, Alec Baldwin, Donna Karan, Kenneth Cole and Donatella Versace. A comprehensive list of the contributors to The Huffington Post can be found in its blogger index: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/index/.

About Causecast
Causecast is a full-service cause integration company that provides custom solutions to nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Causecast leverages media and technology platforms to develop cause marketing campaigns, provide fundraising and volunteer management tools to nonprofits, and support for-profit CSR with a patent pending employee engagement platform. Clients include AARP, The Huffington Post, Ben Stiller, Malaria No More, John Legend's Show Me Campaign, The National Forensics League, Charity: Water.

About WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”
From AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH director Davis Guggenheim comes WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN,” a provocative and cogent examination of the crisis of public education in the United States told through multiple interlocking stories—from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system. Tackling such politically radioactive topics as the power of teachers’ unions and the entrenchment of school bureaucracies, Guggenheim reveals the invisible forces that have held true education reform back for decades.

The film is produced by Lesley Chilcott, with Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as executive producers. It is written by Davis Guggenheim & Billy Kimball.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About Participant Media
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President.

Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs, which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The Informant!, The Cove, The Crazies, Oceans, Furry Vengeance, CASINO JACK and the United States of Money, Countdown to Zero and Waiting for “Superman.”

About Walden Media
Walden Media specializes in entertainment for the whole family. Past award-winning films include: “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “Nim’s Island” and “Charlotte’s Web.” Upcoming films include the third installment in the Narnia series “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

Review: "Guess Who" Laughs to Get Along (Missing Bernie Mac)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 147 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Guess Who (2005)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sex-related humor
DIRECTOR: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
WRITERS: David Ronn and Jay Scherick and Peter Tolan, from a story by David Ronn and Jay Scherick (based loosely on the screenplay, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner by William Rose)
PRODUCERS: Jason Goldberg, Erwin Stoff, and Jenno Topping
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
EDITOR: Paul Seydor

COMEDY with elements of drama and romance

Starring: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoë Saldaña, Judith Scott, Hal Williams, Kellee Stewart, Robert Curtis-Brown, RonReaco Lee, Niecy Nash, Kimberly Scott, Denise Dowse, and Mike Epps

In the famous 1967 film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a young white woman (played by Katharine Houghton) brings her black fiancé (famously played by Sidney Poitier) home to meet her parents, the mother played by Katherine Hepburn and the disapproving father played by Spencer Tracy.

Director Kevin Rodney Sullivan (Barbershop 2: Back in Business) updates this classic of interracial (a tired, archaic term) dating in Guess Who. This time, Theresa Jones (Zoë Saldaña), a young black woman, brings her fiancé, Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher), a young white man, home to meet her parents, Percy (Bernie Mac) and Marilyn Jones (Judith Scott). Percy has already had a credit check done on Simon and knows that he has a high-powered job at an investment firm, but Percy doesn’t know two things about Simon: (1) he quits his job the day he’s supposed to meet Theresa’s parents who may end up being his in-laws and (2) Simon is white. Complicating matters is that Simon and Theresa plan on announcing their engagement on the very weekend that Percy and Marilyn are holding a big and expensive ceremony to renew their vows after 25 years of marriage. Percy is upfront and blunt with his disappoint in Theresa’s choice of Simon, and Simon tries his best to make friends with Percy. Will Percy ever learn to like… or at least tolerate Simon?

Guess Who is more funny than smart, and it’s actually very funny when it deals with tense issues of interracial dating and race relations in an off-handed way. Several times the films seems as if it wants to deal with America’s proverbial elephant in the room (race), but most of the time it has to awkwardly limp away from that after fumbling the ball at the 20-yard line and getting injured. Guess Who is a film about race relations that never uses the word “nigger,” but feels safe using the ineffective racial slur, “honky.” That is the best Guess Who could do as far as walking the tightrope between what is acceptable and offensive. It avoids discussing what people have in common (humanity) and what divides us (skin color, ethnicity, religion, etc.), so it certainly isn’t a daring film. In the end it’s also about as glib as Meet the Parents and, to a lesser extent, its sequel, Meet the Fockers, in terms of dealing with the conflicts that result when an outsider marries into the family and when two really different groups of people come together because of a marriage.

On the other hand, the film is funny, very funny. Mac and Kutcher have excellent screen chemistry; in fact the script gets that right, so much to the point that it could be a text book example of how to make interpersonal dynamics in screen narratives in which a screen duo or couple are of different skin colors work. The drama does seem a little leaden and forced, but if a viewer goes in expecting a typical comedy of errors and misunderstandings, he’ll get one that has a lot of laughs. There is deep fun in watching Mac’s Percy Jones and Kutcher’s Simon Green dance awkwardly around each other for a long time, each graceless meeting helping each to learn about (if not understand) the other.

That makes the inevitable hug of real friendship seem so… well, real, and rewards us with a happy moment to top of a truly funny film. You see, every movie about us (all of us) learning to get along shouldn’t involve cursing, screaming, tears, and finally a tragic incident that brings us together to appreciate life. Sometimes, we can all laugh our way to getting along, or so says Guess Who.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2006 Black Reel: 1 nomination: “Best Actress” (Zoe Saldana)

2006 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Zoe Saldana)

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

Review: "Mr. 3000" Gets Save from Mac and Bassett (Happy B'day, Bernie!)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 192 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mr. 3000 (2004)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content and language
DIRECTOR: Charles Stone III
WRITERS: Eric Champnella and Keith Mitchell and Howard Michael Gould; from a story by Eric Champnella and Keith Mitchell
PRODUCERS: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, and Maggie Wilde
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut
EDITOR: Bill Pankow

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE/SPORTS

Starring: Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Michael Rispoli, Brian J. White, Ian Anthony Dale, Evan Jones, Amaury Nolasco, Dondre Whitfield, Paul Sorvino, Earl Billings, Chris Noth, and John McConnell

In 1995, Stan Woods (Bernie Mac) got his 3000th hit as a Major League baseball player, thereby (according to him) assuring him of his place among the immortals of baseball and guaranteeing him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Vain and jaded, Stan, however, retired in the middle of the same season and on the same day he got his 3000th hit. Nine years later, his reputation as selfish has kept him out of the Hall because the baseball writers (who vote on admission into the Hall) still don’t like him. If that weren’t enough, baseball officials suddenly disqualify three of the hits, for which he was apparently credited due to a clerical error. Woods now officially has 2997 hits, but he has been living it up as his business alter ego, Mr. 3000, merchandising himself and using the moniker for his business ventures.

Now, Stan wants back into the Major Leagues, and because his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, is losing, Brewer ownership is glad to have him back. Mr. 3000 was and still is a fan favorite, but he’s returning as a 47-year old man who is way out of shape. His old manager, Gus Panas (Paul Sorvino), isn’t welcoming him back with open arms, because he and Woods didn’t get along back in the day. The current Brewers roster is filled with young players who don’t fully focus their attentions on the game. Also, an old flame, Mo (Angela Bassett), is now a reporter with ESPN, and she is very skeptical of Woods’ motives for returning, as is the rest of the press. Can Mr. 3000 get back in shape, earn Mo’s trust, relearn his childhood love of the game, and pass it on to a new generation of teammates?

Mr. 3000 is very similar to the baseball romantic comedy Bull Durham, except that the romance between Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett’s characters has more edge to it than the Kevin Costner-Susan Sarandon love fest of Bull Durham. Durham also had a great script; Mr. 3000 doesn’t. This film’s screenplay has all the markings of being something special, but it ultimately falls apart; I don’t know if this is because of studio interference or because the film was ultimately edited for time, but the writing fumbles at the one-foot line.

Good characters are introduced and dropped. Other characters hang around and aren’t properly utilized. However, the film’s most egregious error is trying to fit an adult comedy/drama/romance into the mold of being a light-hearted family baseball film. Mac’s character is a hardass, even more so than many people believe baseball superstar Barry Bonds to be. Mac, for that matter, is an R-rated personality who seems out of place in PG or PG-13 rated productions. Trying to make Mr. 3000 a family film is like trying to put Richard Pryor’s edgy act into a kids’ animated feature.

As badly as the romantic angle of this film is handled, the baseball part of this film is also betrayed. The filmmakers get the technical aspects of filming a baseball movie correct, but the spirit, flavor, and atmosphere of the game doesn’t come through as well as it should. And the story choice of having the team fighting to move from fifth place to third just doesn’t have the heat that having the Brewers chase a title would.

Mac and Ms. Bassett are great together and have excellent screen chemistry. They ably sell their screen couple’s troubled relationship – that the duo can love each other a lot but so irritate each other. To see a black actor and actress together in such a unique romantic entanglement is a treat. We already know that Ms. Bassett is a fine actress, but Bernie Mac also shows his acting chops. Hopefully, both will get better material in the future, but Mr. 3000, warts and all, is still worth seeing.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Best Actor, Musical or Comedy” (Bernie Mac); 2 nominations: “Best Actress, Musical or Comedy” (Angela Bassett) and “Best Director” (Charles Stone III)

2005 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Angela Bassett)

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

Web Series "The Resistance" Now Available

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starz Digital Media revolutionary new project, “The Resistance” came to life on Monday, October 4.

 

“The Resistance,” a science fiction action thriller, premieres on the SyFy October 4th 11:00pm ET/PT. In partnership with Starz Digital Media, series creator Adrian Picardi was able to take what was originally envisioned as a web-series and transformed it into a multi-platform launch. The Resistance was discovered by Aaron Lam of Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures in 2008 when he found trailers of the then unproduced show on YouTube. Starz Media saw potential in the series and cleared the funding for the then 21-year-old Picardi to make 35 minutes, or the first installment.

Along with an hour-long premiere on the SyFy channel, “The Resistance” will be released on October 5th as a multi-episode web series for EST purchase on iTunes, XBOX Live, Amazon Video and The PlayStation Network.

The unique series is based in the fantastical world of Aurordeca. Syrus Primoris, a powerful chemist, has taken over the remaining population by keeping them alive with his miracle suppressant in exchange for total power. Lana (Spartacus’ Katrina Law) powerful leader of the Aurordecan Resistance Movement (ARM) is determined to find a new cure and free the people from Syrus’ suppression.

Check out the “The Resistance” trailer here and more background information at http://www.theresistanceseries.com/.

Review: "Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes" and a Good Time is Had

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 82 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010) – Video
Running time: 50 minutes
DIRECTORS: Spike Brandt and Jeff Siergey
ANIMATION DIRECTOR: Kirk Tingblad
WRITER: Earl Kress (based upon the characters created by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna)
PRODUCER: Bobbie Page
EDITOR: Robert S. Birchard

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ACTION/MYSTERY

Starring: (voices) Jeff Bergman, Grey DeLisle, Greg Ellis, Jess Harnell, Phil LaMarr, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, Kath Soucie, and Michael York

Tom, a house cat, and Jerry, the brown house mouse he chases, have been cartoon stars for 70 years. In addition to appearing in over a hundred cartoon shorts and numerous television shows, Tom and Jerry have also starred in a series of straight-to-video movies, beginning with Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring in 2001. Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes is the sixth in the series, and like the others, is a traditional, hand-drawn (or 2D) animated film. Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes finds Tom as the assistant or companion to a beautiful dancer and Jerry as an assistant to literature’s most famous detective.

In London, a trio of bat-winged cats is stealing the city’s most precious and famous jewels. Sherlock Holmes (Michael York) and Dr. Watson (John Rhys-Davies) are on the case, with a little help from Holmes’ mouse, Jerry. Meanwhile, a beautiful club singer named Red (Grey DeLisle) and her cat, Tom, seek Holmes’ help. Red believes that she will be framed for the jewel thefts, and she needs the famous detective to prove that she is innocent. How is Red involved? Is Professor Moriarty (Malcolm McDowell), Holmes’ nemesis, involved, and if he is, how? Classic MGM cartoon characters Droopy, Butch, and Spike and his son, Tyke, join the fun.

Once again, Warner Bros. Animation delivers a high-quality, straight-to-video movie, and frankly, I was shocked by how much I liked Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes. The character animation is good, and the characters move pretty well, well enough to make the action scenes, some of which are high-flying or fast-moving, look good. The character designs are also surprisingly good, and the drawing style is reminiscent of late 1980s and early 1990s Disney television animation like Duck Tales.

Here, the people who worked on this movie certainly acted as if they were working on something just as important as a big budget, theatrical animated feature. The background art: the exteriors of building, cityscapes, a graveyard, the countryside and the interiors of houses, a church, and various businesses are not only good-looking, but also convincingly visualize this movie’s idealized Victorian era, London setting.

The most important thing, however, is whether Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes is any good, and I’m happy to say that it is indeed good in terms of quality and fun to watch. The story deftly combines Tom and Jerry’s usual antics of beating the crap out of each other with a cartoon, mystery caper full of chases and narrow escapes. These aren’t the best versions of Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty, but they will do. The appearance of classic MGM cartoon characters looking fresh, new, and lively is a bonus. Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes will please both old Tom and Jerry fans and young viewers who enjoy animated films.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, October 04, 2010

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

Sherlock Holmes Was Fresh for the Twenty-Oh-Nine

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images, and a scene of suggestive material
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie
WRITERS: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg; from a screen story by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson (based on the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle)
PRODUCERS: Susan Downey, Dan Lin, Joel Silver, and Lionel Wigram
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Philippe Rousselot
EDITOR: James Herbert
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

ACTION/MYSTERY

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert Maillet, Geraldine James, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Hans Matheson, James Fox, and William Hope

At Christmas 2010, the film Sherlock Holmes brought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective back to the big screen. This new film features a Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson that are different from the most famous screen Holmes and Watson, actors Basil Rathbone (as Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (as Watson). Directed by Guy Ritchie, this Christmas 2009 Sherlock Holmes is something of an in-your-face buddy movie that is more event movie entertainment than it is detective film, but what fun it certainly is.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.), the renowned "consulting detective,” has made his reputation finding the truth at the heart of the most complex mysteries. That includes a recent case in which Holmes rescued a kidnapped young woman from the clutches of the murderous occultist, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Without a new case, Holmes is bored and also fretting over the impending marriage of his trusted ally and physician, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) to Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly).

Then, a new storm gathers over London, one bringing a threat unlike anything that Holmes has ever confronted. Although hung from the gallows for a string of brutal, ritualistic murders, Lord Blackwood has reportedly returned from the dead. Seemingly connected to dark and powerful forces, Blackwood launches a plot to change the British Empire forever, and his apparent resurrection has sent London into a panic. Somehow, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), a woman from America with whom Holmes has a tempestuous relationship, is also involved in this madness. Holmes may have found just the challenge he has been looking for.

Dynamic would be a good way to describe Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Everything well-mannered and traditional about Sherlock Holmes has been redone as rowdy and fast-paced. This primordial classical mystery has become the classic, loud, Hollywood blockbuster, event motion picture, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Sherlock Holmes satisfies, going down like a Big Mac when you’re especially hungry (and you don’t remember them tasting so good). Writer Lionel Wigram, who received a “screen story” credit for this film, is actually the writer who fashioned this reinvention of Sherlock Holmes. Wigram merely emphasized Holmes’ less social tendencies and his martial arts prowess (both part of the original Holmes stories). Is there a better way to re-imagine a Victorian era character for modern movie audiences than as a smart ass outsider who kicks ass?

Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law make this movie. Of course, Downey plays the venerable sleuth as a master of deduction who sees what is invisible to everyone else. Downey’s Holmes also engages in heart-stopping, bare-knuckle brawls, dodges explosions that would kill most, and leaps from buildings like a mad acrobat. This is Holmes as Indiana Jones, a crowd pleaser and man of the people. With a wink and a nudge, this Holmes is scruffy and frumpy, and you will not see him in a coat and tie – and forget about the deerstalker hat.

Jude Law’s genial Dr. John Watson is smart, has an eye for detail, and banters with Holmes as if the duo were an old couple. Law’s Watson, however, hides a thug beneath the whimsical, at-ease nature, and he looks as if his nice suit really hides a pair of brass knuckles and a blackjack.

Sherlock Holmes is not without its problems. One of them is that the director and the writers are so in love with their nouveau take on Holmes and Watson that they lose Lord Blackwood, an intriguing adversary whose potential is wasted. Ultimately, this film is like National Treasure with a Victorian James Bond, but is still Sherlock Holmes. Like many holiday crowd-pleasers, it is indeed forgettable. You will, however, remember that it was fun to watch, enough to want to see this Sherlock Holmes movie again – perhaps even enjoy repeated viewings on its eventual home, cable television.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, January 15, 2010

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Sarah Greenwood-art director and Katie Spencer-set decorator) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Hans Zimmer)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Robert Downey Jr.)