Didn't completely work but was fun, I'll watch Downey watching TV at this point

EDIT: As I said, it was a fun flick that didn't completely work... for one thing, the central mystery is less a traditional Holmes whodunit (or at least as I remember them being) than it was a whydunit, so the big reveal of how everything was done was cool in one sense, as it showed how brilliant Holmes indeed was, but it also felt like a cheat, a way for the filmmakers to bring Holmes up-to-date... Mark Strong was cool as the villain of the piece, and the way he pulled everything off was interesting (and should make quite a few, uh, attentive posters in General Discussion mad)...

I also thought Rachel McAdams could have been in a different movie, as she was almost a second thought and played the backseat to Downey and Jude Law a great deal... and of course, this makes some kind of sense in the light of Downey playfully hinting that Holmes and Watson were gay during the promotion of the movie... but their comedic banter was solid and amusing... the movie could have also stood to have been about 10 minutes shorter, as I didn't think we needed the climatic fight...

Now, as for the controversial ranking question, I still think Lock Stock is Guy's best movie, and this probably being his third best behind the criminally hated on RocknRolla... hope that answers that question...

If you've got nothing else poppin' on Christmas and have already seen Avatar (or if it's sold out), I say check it out...

_________________________________________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/user/punannydiaries

also on Facebook

Worse than Snatch or Lock Stock? Better than Rock'n'Rolla?

And I haven't seen Snatch in a minute

________________________________________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/user/punannydiaries

also on Facebook

So I was wondering which films it fell behind, if any.

If it was obviously Guy's best, I'd think that would make it in even a quick review like the one above.

that the former two aren't very good.

I'd say his best film after Lock, Stock and Snatch.
Definitely his most accesible.
It's definitely the most "fun" movie he's made since Lock, Stock.


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

I was ready to write Ritchie off after Revolver & Rock n Rolla but he won me back over with this one. He's still up to his usual tricks here & throws in a few new ones as. This is the best camerawork I've seen in any of his flicks. I liked the score from Zimmer as well.

Downey doesn't disappoint. But Jude breakin the Law steals several scenes by my count. They've got great chemistry as Holmes & Watson & beat the shit outta guys with their strength almost as much as their smarts. That was the obvious vibe from the trailer tho so I went with it & it worked for me. Mark Strong & Eddie Marsan needed more screen time but they were solid. Could've used someone else in Rachel's role tho. Plenty of comic relief to balance out some pretty graphic moments. I wonder if a buncha stuff was cut to avoid an R rating.

B+

I ask because this is my first post-Snatch Ritchie film, and I didn't even see that until earlier this year.

about what I expected. Didn't amaze. Didn't suck. RDJ and Jude Law were good. Props to Ritchie for breaking the first rule in film school (don't show the same thing twice - it worked pretty well in the film).


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

I've pretty much disliked everything I've seen by him except for about fifteen minutes of Snatch.

Christmas day.

Cause I am prolly gonna have to watch it for two weeks straight.

Better get used to it as soon as I can.

i'm of the elk who holds jeremy brett as the best sherlock holmes, and loved his 10 years on the adventures of sherlock holmes. i'm not too excited, but i do love downey jr. as sherlock.

i wouldnt call it an action movie....more like a clever movie? lol

and so gay
marvelously so
=)
~~~~
smart dumb niggas i see is the theme of the week on okp (c)esb
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

Im also a Guy Ritchie hater.

>Im also a Guy Ritchie hater.

After all, he is the real thing.

I guess they thought that since RDJr is now a bigger name, he gets the lead.

Downey WAS a major star up until the mid 90s, when he went to jail for drug possession and some other things...

it wasn't until he got out and popped up on Ally MacBeal that his career slowly started to turn around...

once Downey did Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005 then did Iron Man a few years later..his career TRULY TOOK OFF (rightfully so) and catapulted him BACK onto the A list, some 15+ years later...

Jude Law WAS A-list from jump, but a HOST of bombs and a messy divorce and personal life threw him OFF...and he's now trying to get A list status now having to compete with the likes of Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, and newcomers like Tom Hardy...

so, in theory, Law SHOULD have been Sherlock but Downey IS the perfect fit in the role.

i'm not so sure that downeys extracurricular activities affected his star power


it affected who was hiring him but oddly
it inversely affected his popularity

in which case it makes downey always a bigger star than jude

jude btw didn't start out big
he's mainly been coasting on his looks
not on his acting skills

he and ewan remind me of
affleck and damon
they start out on the same level career wise
but
the better looking male obtains popularity and opportunities
initially
but since they less acting skill
and the movies they are in are mediocre and their star power peters out relatively quickly and then if they personal life gets 'uninteresting' they become even less popular and then they get older and less attractive

the difference though is jude really does have some acting chops
(compared to affleck) but is still has a bit to go in comparison to Downey
~~~~
smart dumb niggas i see is the theme of the week on okp (c)esb
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

Check out his filmography. Dude took a huge plunge in the 90s. The drug thing hit his career hard. Plus I think he was a huge liability for any movie.

I remember it being a pretty slow comeback. The first 'could he be back?' buzz that I remember was Two Girls and A Guy (I'm pretty sure nobody went to see U.S. Marshalls because of him). It was a slow creep up from there, with Ally McBeal, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, even The Singing Detective.

But for the mainstream it wasn't a proper comeback until Iron Man. And I'd say nowadays, more people know him from that than from anything he did in the 80s.

However I don't think that's so for Jude Law. His breakout performance was Gattaca (I don't know if him being in a wheelchair the whole time can be considered coasting on sex appeal). And then he hit it big with Talented Mr Ripley, the Oscar nod role. It seems like he's been an A actor since then. Outside of a few romantic comedies, I wouldn't say he's coasting on his looks, but that's just my opinion.

.......

> for one thing, the central mystery is less a
>traditional Holmes whodunit (or at least as I remember them
>being) than it was a whydunit, so the big reveal of how
>everything was done was cool in one sense, as it showed how
>brilliant Holmes indeed was, but it also felt like a cheat, a
>way for the filmmakers to bring Holmes up-to-date...

Cause most of the Holmes stories revolve around some central scientific fact/chemical concoction/deus ex machina that NOBODY can put together ahead of time.

Most mysteries like to tease you with hints and clues dropped throughout the story. They prey on the reader/viewer's pride in intelligence. They want the reader/viewer to figure it out, or at least have a good idea of who it's not, and who it could be and how.

IMO, most of Doyle's stuff throws all that out of the window, and just leaves you with thinking that Sherlock Holmes is pretty smart.

Perfect example was the take down of Watson's fiancee. A modern mystery would at least have a screen shot or 2 of an earlobe, so you could possibly notice a blue ink spatter.

one
k. orr

________________________________________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/user/punannydiaries

also on Facebook

the magic of the Sherlock stories isn't that you can figure them out by the clues Doyle leaves (which are few)
it's that the story is presented from a third party who DOESN'T notice the details until Sherlock tells him what they are.

The majority of the stories begin with Sherlock being introduced to a character and then Sherlock telling us everything we could possibly know about this character without us being able to deduce any of it ourself.

This is played out perfectly in the film,
specifically in his first meetings with Mary and Sir Thomas.

Although we can see Mary and what she is wearing,
Ritchie does not give us a close up of her necklace, ring, etc.

Instead he lets Sherlock do the noticing and the audience the enjoying.

As an enormous Sherlock fan I must admit that the things that happen in his stories annoy me in every other mystery (if I can't figure it out it's bullshit!) but I love it when Sherlock does it.

I enjoyed it.

Hell I even saw and liked The Time Traveler's wife, RDJ was just a bonus. Really good movie tho, even made me like Jude Law.

Watching it, I immediately thought of Superbad and Clerks 2. lol
Predictable at times, but still lots of fun to watch.
Not something I'd cop on DVD, but I managed to enjoy it till the credits started rolling.





http://twitter.com/Balisong
http://www.myspace.com/insightclopediabrown
http://www.myspace.com/dumhi
http://www.youtube.com/group/okayplayer
http://www.last.fm/user/Dawgeatah

The mystery was so so. The whole thing was just a prolonged intro for 1 villian.

None-the-less. They DID keep you guessing, and it was fun throughout.

good shit.

maybe it was because i saw avatar the night before. but at the same time it was cool how they brought it all together at the end. i kinda had a hard time understanding jr. and law at times. but overall it was good.


"silence can never be misquoted"

very entertaining.

i guess the real illuminati is like ANOTHER fucking illuminati-flavored flick???

but it was dope.

the fight sequences at the beginning were great for drawing you in. plus i like the steez of 'this is HOW i'm gonna whup this dude's ass'.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
** i move away from the mic to breathe in

popeater.com:

>Brad Pitt Coming to 'Sherlock Holmes 2'

Posted Tuesday 29 December 01:03 PM By: Rob Shuter

What could make 'Sherlock Holmes' and all of its bare-chested (and perhaps not-so-straight) detective work even sexier? How about the addition of Brad Pitt in the sequel? Yep, you heard it here first: Papa Pitt is set to reunite with Guy Ritchie once things get underway on the 'Holmes' sequel.

After 'Sherlock Holmes' managed to uncover more than $65 million in its opening weekend, 'Sherlock Holmes 2' is being planned with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law already committed. But the big surprise will be the addition of Brad Pitt as Professor Moriarty.

"The director, Guy Ritchie, loves Brad," an industry source tells me. "He has worked with him before and thinks he is one of the most underrated actors working today. Guy knows that everyone thinks of as a Pitt as a pretty boy and can't wait to turn him into the world's greatest supervillain. It will definitely make the sequel a must-see."

Pitt and Ritchie worked together on 2000's 'Snatch,' in which Pitt played a mumbling, can't-understand-a-word-he-says Irish gypsy fighter. He definitely wasn't a 'pretty boy' in it, and hopefully that's exactly what Ritchie can pull out of him again.

As for Brad, an insider tells me he's "very interested in taking on the role and happy they aren't considering his kick-ass partner Angelina for the part."

________________________________________________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/user/punannydiaries

also on Facebook

And the following quote makes me discount it even more:

>As for Brad, an insider tells me he's "very interested in
>taking on the role and happy they aren't considering his
>kick-ass partner Angelina for the part."

Well no fucking shit she won't play a man.

Personally,
I don't ever want Moriarty to have a face.

My memory of him from the stories is that he is a pervading menace.
He is rarely mentioned,
but once you know him you start to think for yourself how he could possibly be behind some of the crimes being perpetuated.

The mistake I hope they do not make is to have him become an out and out villain as Blackwood is in this movie.
That simply is NOT his M.O.
He is not the "get your hands dirty" type;
he is a mastermind who succeeds because Sherlock is the only one who knows who he is.

The way I see it they can only deal with this in two ways:

1) The films are a trilogy in which our suspense is built through the first and second and the third ends with Holmes capturing Moriarty and retiring as a beekeeper.

or

2) The second film ends as the Holmes story "The Final Problem" does and the third opens with
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
Moriarty dead and Holmes making a glorious return
SPOILER OVER
SPOILER OVER
SPOILER OVER
SPOILER OVER
SPOILER OVER.

Either of these will inherently be at least somewhat unfaithful to the books,
but if the films are going to be a series these are the only ways I see it working itself out.

And if they put "The Final Problem" in the middle of either of the next two flicks I will unfathomably pissed.

hotness trifecta
~~~~
smart dumb niggas i see is the theme of the week on okp (c)esb
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

RDJ, Law, and RM all gave good performances, in my opinion. I was afraid that there would be too much over the top action and fighting, but I didn't come away with that feeling. I think Ritchie restrained himself pretty well with that.

>RDJ, Law, and RM all gave good performances, in my opinion. I
>was afraid that there would be too much over the top action
>and fighting, but I didn't come away with that feeling. I
>think Ritchie restrained himself pretty well with that.
Im late as all get out.. I agree. I just saw it.. nothing special but pretty decent

I'll check out the sequel when it comes out too.

Never done that before, ever.

RDJ is an OG and his Jack Sparrow-esque swagger completely carries this movie. If he wasn't in it this would be Van Helsing territory.

Van Helsing had vampires that laid eggs.





http://twitter.com/Balisong
http://www.myspace.com/insightclopediabrown
http://www.myspace.com/dumhi
http://www.youtube.com/group/okayplayer
http://www.last.fm/user/Dawgeatah

But Van Helsing?
Really?

my favorite part really wasn't that action packed. it was when he pretended to be the bum that ran into Moriarty's carriage. definitely wasn't expecting that.
I thought the ending was good as well.
the chemistry b/w Sherlock and Watson was great

There was no element of a whodunnit and the howdunnit didn't really play a role into how to stop the killer. They seemed more interested in throwing a lot of different "How'd that happen?" moments and didn't focus on incorporating them into the mystery. There was a shocking lack of even a single red herring and in the case of the Lion, Man, Eagle cross, we weren't even made aware of the riddle until Holmes was solving it.

Still, the banter between Holmes and Watson was great and it was mostly enjoyable (although I'd have gotten rid of most of the action scenes). Honestly, the film's biggest influence on me was to make me want to watch the superior and very similar Young Sherlock Holmes.

rdj and law had a great chemistry.

otherwise the story, dialogue, visual were so-so. enjoyable enough, but if it werent for the two leads, this would've been pretty shitty.

the setting was great, all those vistas of old london and street scenes and detailed Victorian interiors

could have used some better jokes though

the violin was cool

went in looking to be entertained and i was. i thought the fight scenes were also dope as lots of that stuff looked to be filipino martial arts (like most hollywood fight scenes nowadays) and that's what i study.

rdj of course is great in the role, but i also liked jude law. mcadams is the only one i didn't like much in the movie much.

But I had fun.


http://twitter.com/collazo
http://www.reverbnation.com/livesociety

It moved fast for me. McAdams character really did nothing but set up Moriarty. Jude Law & Robert Downey Jr. kilt it. Instead of a sequel I would really like a prequel with their first encounter with Moriarty. All in all it's still Holmes just updated for the 21st century.

Silly plot. Good acting.Too long.
Grade C

so kinda weird.

also weird to see them try to make holmes over as more edgy. i dont know if he ever really did underground fighting in the books. did he? if he did, well ok, but it just seemed a bit out of place. i know they want to give him a bond style makeover but wtf. i dont remember holmes in any of the films i watched as a kid being all broody and a drunk either, but hey.

but the film was more of a bromance between holmes and watson (which was ok actually} and an action flick than a whodunit so if you were expecting a good old fashioned detective story reworked for the 00s, you might be dissapointed. there wasnt any one part i was really kept in suspense, or wondered what was going to happen or who did what.

still, it was enjoyable in a sort of brain almost switched off kind of way.

and the woman in there was alright looking also, so...

edit - oh and it looked amazing. cool to see ye olde london.

i think the element of whodunnitry was replaced by the mystery of how all these 'black magic' events were carried out. i think the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' tv series is a bit like this, more than a murder mystery

i think the kept holmes's trademark of deduction from tiny details on peoples clothes etc. intact and applied it to action scenarios where you see his mind at work when the camera focusses on things he's about to use

apparantly he is a boxer in the books, or used to be. they took some liberties with his reclusiveness and arrogance and, er, violin playing, but it was imaginative

it did look amazing. i keep going to films with people who don't give any credit for visual flair, esp. if it involves CGI. one of my mates just said it looked 'dreary' - FOH. he also complained the action scenes were cut too fast and were pointlessly confusing. FOH. these two things are just something some critic pointed out recently

(ie. apparently filmmakers keep making their films look bleak/dreary these days and all actions scenes are cut so fast that you can't work out what's actually happening. can't remember who said it)

>so kinda weird.
>
>also weird to see them try to make holmes over as more edgy. i
>dont know if he ever really did underground fighting in the
>books. did he? if he did, well ok, but it just seemed a bit
>out of place. i know they want to give him a bond style
>makeover but wtf. i dont remember holmes in any of the films i
>watched as a kid being all broody and a drunk either, but hey.
>
>
>but the film was more of a bromance between holmes and watson
>(which was ok actually} and an action flick than a whodunit so
>if you were expecting a good old fashioned detective story
>reworked for the 00s, you might be dissapointed. there wasnt
>any one part i was really kept in suspense, or wondered what
>was going to happen or who did what.
>
>still, it was enjoyable in a sort of brain almost switched off
>kind of way.
>
>and the woman in there was alright looking also, so...
>
>edit - oh and it looked amazing. cool to see ye olde london.
>