"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" a Familiar, But Fun Game

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 105 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie
WRITERS: Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney (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

ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, Geraldine James, and Eddie Marsan

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 Sherlock Holmes film and action/mystery movie. It is a direct sequel to the 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes, which brought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective back to the big screen as an in-your-face, two-fisted genius. A Game of Shadows finds Holmes taking on his greatest adversary, Professor Moriarty.

A year after the events of the first film, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.), the renowned "consulting detective,” is investigating a seemingly unrelated series of crimes around Europe, including a bombing in London and the murder of prominent physician. Holmes believes the crimes are tied to the criminal mastermind, Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris), who is just as smart as Holmes and more ruthless. Meanwhile, Holmes’ trusted ally and physician, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), is set to marry Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly).

It is Watson’s stag (bachelor) party that brings Holmes into contact with Sim (Noomi Rapace), a gypsy fortune teller marked for death by Moriarty. Holmes and Watson follow Sim to Paris where they discover the far-reaching implications of Moriarty’s plot. With his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry), providing some assistance (from a distance), Holmes tries to stop a possible war. But in Moriarty, Holmes may have met an opponent that even he cannot overcome.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow offers the same thrills, chills, laughs, and mind games of the first film, except this new movie is more intense than wry. It is darker, has more action, and plays more on the razor’s edge than the first film, which was clever and loose, whereas this film is cunning and taut. You get the idea that the well-being of the world is on the line if Holmes’ slips up, and Moriarty is so damn formidable, Holmes is often outmaneuvered in this story. The best thing director Guy Ritchie gets out of the script is that the action in this story really matters.

Good performances abound. Watching Robert Downey, Jr. play Holmes, I got the feeling that if his brain were not firing on all cylinders, it was close. Downey’s performance was like mixing a high wire act with juggling and being on the receiving end of a knife-throwing act. Jared Harris is superb as Moriarty; I’ve never been more in awe and more afraid of this villain, and I wish Harris’ take on Moriarty had more screen time. Noomi Rapace makes the most of her role as Sim, a character whose screen time exceeds her importance.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows sticks with the winning formula of the first film with some refinement. It delivers glossy, high-caliber entertainment with a clever edge that puts it above the typical Hollywood fast food, movie product. I’m already ready for a third Robert Downey, Jr.-Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movie.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Las Vegas Film Critics Support "The Artist"

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society is a non-profit organization that describes itself as “progressive” and “dedicated to the advancement and preservation of film.” The LVFCS membership is comprised of “select” print, television and internet film critics in the Las Vegas area. The LVFCS presents its "Sierra" awards each year for the best in film, including The William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award, which is named for the late Academy Award winning actor.

As are many other film critics groups in 2011, Las Vegas film critics are down with The Artist.

2011 Sierra Award winners:

Best Picture
“The Artist”

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Best Actress
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”

Best Director
Nicholas Winding Refn, “Drive”

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted)
Aaron Sorkin & Steve Zaillian, “Moneyball”

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezski, “Tree of Life”

Best Film Editing
Thelma Schoonmaker, “Hugo”

Best Costume Design
Mark Bridges, “The Artist”

Best Art Direction
Gregory S. Hooper, “The Artist”

Best Visual Effects
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

Best Documentary
“Project NIM”

Best Foreign Film
“13 Assassins”

Best Song
“Man or Muppet” - Written by Bret McKenzie

Best Score
Ludovic Bource, “The Artist”

Best Family Film
“Hugo”

Best Animated Film
“Rango”

Youth in Film
Asa Butterfield, “Hugo”

Best DVD (Packaging, Design, and Content)
“Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy (Blu-Ray)

William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010:
Albert Brooks


http://www.lvfcs.org/lvfcs/Home.html

Review: New "Fright Night" is Sexy and Mean

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 104 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fright Night (2011)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references
DIRECTOR: Craig Gillespie
WRITERS: Marti Noxon; from a story by Tom Holland (based upon the film, Fright Night, written by Tom Holland)
PRODUCERS: Michael De Luca and Alison R. Rosenzweig
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Javier Aguirresarobe
EDITOR: Tatiana S. Riegel
COMPOSER: Ramin Djawadi

HORROR/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Sandra Vergara, and Chris Sarandon

Fright Night is a 2011 comic horror film. It is also a remake of the 1985 film of the same name from writer/director Tom Holland. Like the original film, the new Fright Night is about a teen boy who believes that his new next door neighbor is a vampire and tries to stop the monster’s killing spree.

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has a new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), who claims to work construction at night. Charley doesn’t like the way Jerry looks at his mother, Jane Brewster (Toni Collette), and his girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Imogen Poots). Charley’s former best friend, Edward “Evil Ed” Lee (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), claims that Jerry is the reason people have been disappearing from all over the Las Vegas suburb where they live… because Jerry is a vampire. After Ed disappears, Charley realizes that he needs help, so he turns to Las Vegas magician, Peter Vincent (David Tennant), whose Vegas stage show, Fright Night, chronicles his vampire-hunting adventures. But can the reluctant Vincent really help Charley fight a powerful vampire?

I like to distinguish how movies mix laughs and chills. A horror comedy is a comedy that tries to act and look like a horror movie. A comedy horror is a horror movie that desperately wants to have it both ways – be funny and scary, usually with disastrous results. The best is the comic horror film. This type of movie is truly a horror movie. It looks and acts like a horror movie because it is a horror movie. It is scary, violent, and thrilling, but there is humor of some type: sarcasm, satire, slapstick, and camp. Successful comic horror films include a classic, The Evil Dead, and the more recent Zombieland, and of course, the vampire send-up, the original Fright Night.

The new Fright Night is a superb comic horror film. In fact, it’s batshit crazy with its gleefully vicious villain and its hero – some kid trying to be the protector, rescuer, and savior. I like how screenwriter Marti Noxon re-imagines the original film into a story of a large transient and disconnected population that is easy prey to the monster next door. It’s as if these people don’t notice that their friends, neighbors, classmates, and sometimes even entire households have seemingly disappeared into thin air (or that there is a small war going on between a vampire and a kid). I cannot help but believe that this film is a biting commentary of our foreclosure and alienation society.

Director Craig Gillespie offers so many exciting action set pieces, and he imaginatively stages some of the wackier elements of the screenplay in ways that create a comic edge vampire films rarely have. The action in this film is also aggressive. In the first Fright Night, the part of the plot that dealt directly with the vampire was like a mystery story, and the villain was a suave ladies’ man. In the new film, there is little pretense about what Jerry Dandrige is; thus, the conflict between boy hero and vampire becomes practically a small war. In this way, Fright Night 2011 is more visceral than the original. It is a wild, bloody ride with generous helpings of jest and sarcasm.

This comic horror film has a few key, droll and witty performances, but first, I have a complaint. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the new “Evil Ed” is an insult to Stephen Geoffreys as the original. It’s not Mintz-Plasse’s fault; the new version doesn’t seem to care much for the character, and it seems as if Ed is included out of a sense of obligation. Conversely, David Tennant’s loutish spin on the Peter Vincent character is a winner; early in the film, this interpretation seems as if it will be a disaster, but, by the end of the film, I wanted more.

Colin Farrell’s Jerry Dandrige is part bully, part predator, and pure carnivore. Farrell is funny, and this performance testifies to his largely untapped talent. Farrell’s Dandrige is similar to a description of baseball pitcher Roger Clemens by a commentator: a big white Republican who believes that he can do whatever he wants – damn the rules.

However, the new Fright Night hinges on Anton Yelchin, and he is fantastic. In the new Charley Brewster, Yelchin creates a complex, layered teen. When the story focuses on Brewster as the reformed nerd, his stubborn determination to be the cool kid, no matter the cost to his soul, to say nothing of the cost to his former friends, is painfully realistic. That is why Brewster’s transformation into teen warrior also rings true. The new Fright Night is a delight, and the reasons are many for this well-made film – with Yelchin being the most important one.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, December 16, 2011

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"Death Race 3" Begins Production

The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever For the Ultimate Road Warrior In An All-New Deadly Race

DEATH RACE 3 Currently Filming in South Africa

Death Race 3, the latest heart-pounding entry in the high-octane franchise, is currently filming in and around Cape Town, South Africa. In this all-new original feature film from Universal 1440 Entertainment, hardened criminalsrace for their freedom in vicious new vehicles and face-off in the ultimateblood sport, when the popular Death Race is transported across the globe to the unforgiving and rugged terrain of South Africa. Forced against his will to participate in this global TV spectacle, Frankenstein - the greatest Death Race driver of all time - takes on this ultimate challenge to not only save himself, but his pit crew as well.

Inspired by Roger Corman’s cult classic thrill ride, Death Race 3 marks the return of Luke Goss (Death Race 2, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Blade 2), Danny Trejo (Death Race 2, Machete, “Sons of Anarchy”), Ving Rhames (Death Race 2, Mission: Impossible franchise, Pulp Fiction), Fred Koehler (Death Race 1 & 2, “Lost”), Robin Shou (Death Race 1 & 2, Mortal Kombat) and Tanit Phoenix (Death Race 2, “Femme Fatales”). Also, joining the action are Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible II, “Heist”) and Hlubi Mboya (How to Steal 2 Million).

“Universal’s first two Death Race films have garnered an ardent global following that is eagerly awaiting a new chapter in this riveting saga,” says Glenn Ross,General Manager and Executive Vice President, Universal 1440 Entertainment. “Death Race 3 will exceed their expectations with even more explosive action, elaborately outfitted cars, inventive weaponry and death-defying stunts that have made the franchise such a huge fan favorite.”

Director Roel Reiné (Death Race 2, Scorpion King 3) once again takes the wheel of the explosive, action-thrill ride. Death Race 3 is produced by Mike Elliott (Death Race 2, Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins Ball), with Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Tony Giglio (Death Race 2). The film is an official South African/German Co-Production between Universal Pictures Productions GmbH and Moonlighting DR3 Production (Pty) Ltd, shot in South Africa and co-produced by Genevieve Hofmeyr, Marvin Saven, and Ralph Tuebben. The film’s stellar production team includes director of photography John Shields (The Last House on the Left).

SYNOPSIS:
Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas, aka Frankenstein, is a superstar driver in the brutal prison yard demolition derby known as Death Race. Only one victory away from winning freedom for himself and his pit crew, Lucas is plunged into an all-new competition more vicious than anything he has experienced before. Pitted against his most ruthless adversaries ever, Lucas fights to keep himself and his team alive in a race in South Africa’s infernal Kalahari Desert. With powerful forces at work behind the scenes to ensure his defeat, will Lucas’ determination to win at all costs mean the end of the road for him?


Universal 1440 Entertainment is a production entity of Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE). Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stationsgroup and world-renowned theme parks.Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

Toronto Film Critics Climb "The Tree of Life"

The Toronto Film Critics Association was established in 1997 and is comprised of Toronto based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print and electronic outlets are represented.

Under the TFCA’s guidelines, contenders eligible for the awards include films released in Canada in 2011 plus films that qualify for the 2011 Oscars and have Canadian distribution scheduled by the end of February 2012.

The 2011 TFCA Awards will be presented at a gala dinner on January 10, 2012 in a ceremony hosted by Cameron Bailey, co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival. During the ceremony, the TFCA will also reveal the winner of the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, which carries a $15,000 cash prize. David Cronenberg will also be on hand to present a special award.

The full list of Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2011 winners and runners-up:

BEST PICTURE
“The Tree of Life” (eOne Films)

Runners-up:
“The Artist” (Alliance Films)
“The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

BEST ACTOR
Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Runners-up:
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Runners-up:
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Runners-up:
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Patton Oswalt, “Young Adult”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, “Take Shelter”

Runners-up:
Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

BEST DIRECTOR
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Runners-up:
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Moneyball”, written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis

Runners-up:
“The Descendants”, written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings
“The Tree of Life”, written by Terrence Malick

BEST FIRST FEATURE
“Attack the Block”, directed by Joe Cornish

Runners-up:
“Margin Call”, directed by J.C. Chandor
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”, directed by Sean Durkin

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Adventures of Tintin” (DreamWorks Animation)

Runners-up:
“Puss in Boots” (DreamWorks Animation)
“Rango” (Paramount Pictures)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Mysteries of Lisbon” (Alfama Films)

Runners-up:
“Attenberg” (filmswelike)
“Le Havre” (filmswelike)
“A Separation” (Mongrel Media)

ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY AWARD
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Icarus Films)

Runners-up:
“Into the Abyss” (Mongrel Media)
“Project Nim” (Mongrel Media)

ROGERS CANADIAN FILM AWARD FINALISTS
1. “Café de Flore,” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
2. “A Dangerous Method”, directed by David Cronenberg
3. “Monsieur Lazhar”, directed by Philippe Falardeau

Indiana Film Critics Honor "The Artist"

The Indiana Film Journalist Association announced its film critics awards earlier this week.  The black and white, silent movie, The Artist, continues to be the darling of the 2011 film critics awards.

The full list of 2011 winners:

Best Film of the Year
Winner: The Artist
Runner-up: The Descendants

Other Finalists: Coriolanus, Drive, Hugo, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Muppets, The Skin I Live In, Super 8, The Tree of Life

Best Animated Film
Winner: Rango
Runner-up: Winnie the Pooh

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: The Skin I Live In
Runner-up: 13 Assassins

Best Documentary
Winner: Project Nim
Runner-up: Into the Abyss

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Win Win
Runner-up: Margin Call

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: The Descendants
Runner-up: Moneyball

Best Director
Winner: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Runner-up: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actress
Winner: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Viola Davis, The Help
Runner-up: Amy Ryan, Win Win

Best Actor
Winner: Paul Giamatti, Win Win
Runner-up: Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up: Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Runner-up: Howard Shore, Hugo

Original Vision Award
Winner: The Tree of Life
Runner-up: The Artist

The Hoosier Award
Winner: Lindsay Goffman, producer of "Dumbstruck"

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Soundtrack Now Available

WaterTower Music to Release Soundtrack for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on December 13

Soundtrack Composed by Oscar®, Grammy & Golden Globe Award-Winning Composer Hans Zimmer

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music has announced the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with an original score by Oscar®, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Dark Knight, Gladiator and The Lion King) at physical and digital retailers on December 13, 2011.

The creation of this album brought Zimmer—who also scored the blockbuster Sherlock Holmes, for which he received an Oscar® nomination—all the way to Slovakia to capture the traditional sounds of the Roma people and bring an authentic musical accompaniment to the picture.

In addition to receiving the 18 tracks on the album, fans who purchase the soundtrack will also be able to download three free additional tracks from the film, along with a video chronicling Mr. Zimmer’s journey to Slovakia to record the music of the Roma people. “While visiting Roma settlements in Slovakia, I discovered unbelievable musicianship,” said Zimmer. “We heard a few bands, loved their playing and invited them to Vienna, where we went into a tiny recording studio and started making music. I don’t speak Romani, and they can’t speak German or English, but when we sat down and started playing, there was no question about what language we needed to speak,” continued Zimmer.

Hans Zimmer has received nine Academy Award® nominations for his scores for Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Gladiator, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Egypt, As Good As It Gets, The Preacher’s Wife, Rain Man and The Lion King, winning the Oscar® for the last. His more recent film credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Rango.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows stars Robert Downey Jr., reprising the title role of the world’s most famous detective, and Jude Law as his friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson.

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returned to direct Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the follow-up to the smash hit Sherlock Holmes. The sequel also reunited producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman and Steve Clark-Hall served as executive producers. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Wigram Productions, a Guy Ritchie Film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and some drug material.

http://www.sherlockholmes2.com/