Film Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

A blockbuster with entertaining action sequences, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows should satisfy most. The film continues much in the same vein as its predecessor.

In the run up to Dr Watson’s wedding, detective Sherlock Holmes is more concerned with a strange series of events. Holmes links these to one man; Professor Moriarty. Holmes and Watson team up once more to try and stop Moriarty’s plans. The pair also need to rely upon the help of others…

With the premise set up at the end of Sherlock Holmes, there is less of a build up in A Game of Shadows. The lack of required development allows for more action sequences. These work well; their frenetic style certainly grabs the attention. There is little downtime, with set piece following set piece. While these are fun, the ordering of events does get a little repetitive.

With Moriarty revealed as the target very early on, there is not the same emphasis on mystery as there was in director Guy Ritchie’s first Holmes adaptation. After all, mystery was the big selling point of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories. However, there is enough to sustain the imagination, as well as a fantastic conclusion.

With Irene Adler having a marginal role in proceedings, the female character gap is filled by fortune teller Simza. She is given a fair amount of screen time, which is at odds with the significance of her role. It is not that the character is not sufficiently developed, but that Ritchie’s film lays the emphasis firmly on the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Moriarty is a welcome adversary for Holmes in that he matches the detective’s intellect.

Some of the big effects in the film look a bit synthetic. The stunts, however, are good. Ritchie does tend to overuse the slow-motion effects. These work well in the scenes with Holmes giving a narration of his intended action. They can get a little tiresome as they are employed in every action sequence, regardless of Holmes’ thoughts.

Robert Downey Jr. is solid as ever as Holmes. The actor has great chemistry with Jude Law’s Watson. Stephen Fry makes a welcome appearance, while Noomi Rapace is suitably cast as Simza. Jared Harris makes a decent Moriarty, although there is less emphasis on him as a villain than in some previous adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Although there are some flaws, A Game of Shadows is a lot of fun. The humour works well, and combined with the set pieces and the sense of adventure, the film is likely to see healthy box office returns.

Film Review: New Year’s Eve

If you find life too placid and want to be thoroughly annoyed by something trivial, go and see New Year’s Eve. Its working title may just have been So What if I’ve Won an Oscar? I Need a Pay Cheque.

It is New Year’s Eve and a young courier makes an unlikely deal with a middle-aged assistant. His flatmate meanwhile hates New Year’s Eve and wants to avoid all celebration of it. A teenager hopes to enjoy her first kiss, but is stopped from going out by her protective mother. A terminally ill patient hopes to see the ball drop one last time…

Love Actually has a lot to answer for. Granted, it was not the first film to feature a multi-strand narrative that ties together at the end, but it is responsible for the recent spate of films which employ this format. Whilst Richard Curtis‘ film did have some redeeming features, sadly the same cannot be said for Garry Marshall’s latest effort.

It is not simply the clichéd plots and stock stereotypes that grate. For a romantic comedy, New Year’s Eve is almost devoid of laughs. It is not entertaining, not even in a trashy or cheesy way. The predictable chain of events would not be a big problem if the film at least provided some amusing situations or jokes.

Worse than the lack of humour, however, are the vomit-inducing attempts at emotion. The mawkish voice overs and speech by Hilary Swank’s character are imbued with the worst kind of synthetic sentimentality. Rather than evoke emotion, these are more likely to irritate beyond belief.

If the assault on viewers’ minds was not enough, New Year’s Eve goes one further by including eyesore-inducing product placement. While characters discover the importance of love, forgiveness and new beginnings, logos for Nivea, Phillips and Toshiba parade around the screen like wanton hussies. If this wasn’t bad enough, audiences cannot escape the New York landmarks being thrust in their every direction. Perhaps this was a condition of filming in the city, but it was not a price worth paying. Warner Bros even sneak in an advert for their upcoming feature Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. At this point, however, viewers must just nod and utter “well played”.

New Year’s Eve boasts a lot of acting talent. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Hilary Swank (among others) should be ashamed of themselves for agreeing to appear. Despite the varied cast, New Year’s Eve is unequivocal in its stance. Same race, heterosexual couples are the only ones featured here, with the onus on the fact that it is females who desire a kiss from an attractive male.

New Year’s Eve is one big cynical money-making extravaganza that fails to entertain. Hopefully it will kill the multi-strand, ensemble cast, holiday-themed romantic comedy trend dead.

The Empire Big Screen Diaries – Day 2

After staying up last night writing my diary entry, I decided to do it throughout the day. We await with baited breath what film distributors Entertainment One have to show us. Clips of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 are rumoured to be screened. Having not seen any of the previous films, this means nothing to be, but I hear the series is pretty popular. Empire editor Chris Hewitt is currently introducing the day on stage. Paul W.S. Anderson is up first introducing The Three Musketeers. The clip was in 3D which was quite exciting, but I think I would prefer a feature-length version of the Dogtanian and the Three Muskerhounds cartoon.

MyAnna Buring has just introduced The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 trailer. We are awaiting clips. MyAnna was a massive fan of the series apparently. No clips have been screened after all. [Edit] Twilight footage has been found! First clip is of Edward and Bella on their honeymoon. I think there is some unintentional humour. Edward calls Bella “Mrs Cullen”. Second clip was of the werewolves have a facing off. Now Ghost Rider 2 trailer, which has a very amusing ending.

Warner Bros Showcase up next with Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows. Waiting for Guy Ritchie to get his mike fixed. Guy Ritchie just introduced a short featurette on the sequel. The director is talking about how eager he was to make a follow-up to Sherlock Holmes. Jared Harris is fantastic as Moriarty, apparently. An extended clip of Contagion was screened next, along with the trailer for Happy Feet 2. Peter Jackson introduces a video blog from the set of The Hobbit. Cast and crew seem to be having a lot of fun on set. The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer follows. Nothing new hear, but it is good to see it on the big screen. The Final Destination 5 opening sequence is so much fun, cannot wait to see it!

At this point, I received a verbal bitch-slapping from security for having my laptop out. After several minutes of indecision (and despite the best efforts of the lovely publicists), we had to put our laptops away, hence the delay in updating this post. With all the kerfuffle, I missed the beginning of the Optimum Showcase. Kill List was discussed, after which clips of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was screened. It is difficult to ascertain too much, but the film seems incredibly atmospheric.

The Sony Pictures Showcase was next, with a plethora of trailers and clips. First up was Arthur Christmas, with screenwriter Peter Baynham appearing to discuss the film. The film features a stellar cast of mostly British actors voicing the characters. Peter Lord, director of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists was next on stage to talk about making the animated film. The trailer was screened, as well as brief clips of the main characters.

Sony’s packed showcase continued with a series of trailers, beginning with Friends with Benefits introduced with a video message from Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. The trailer of the Straw Dogs remake was screened next, as well as Moneyball and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Next up was a clip from 30 Minutes or Less, introduced with a video message from Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari. Following this Len Wiseman introduced (again via video) some footage of Total Recall, due for release in 2012. The clip was pretty interesting; the fact that it was unfinished suggests how ‘in production’ the film is.

Roland Emmerich took to the stage to talk about his upcoming film Anonymous. Following this brief discussion, a lengthy clip of the film was screened. With phones confiscated and without a watch, I am not really sure how long this clip was. It felt at one point as if we were watching the entire movie, but not from the very beginning. The film is rather a daring take on a much-loved British icon (Shakespeare) so it will be interesting to see how it will be received. Finally, footage from The Amazing Spider-Man was screened, after a video introduction from Marc Webb, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The first clip focused on Peter Parker, while the second featured his nemesis in the new film, The Lizard. The footage certainly worked well to wet the appetite for next year’s release.

The shortest break only allowed me to snack on prawn cocktail crisps in the press room; every restaurant and cafe in the O2 seemed full to the rafters. Dashing back to the Indigo2, the Icon Showcase was brief and to the point, focusing solely on Drive. Nicholas Winding Refn was interviewed on stage about the film. The project was initially introduced to the director by star Ryan Gosling. A clip of the film was screened – it looks amazing. This is one I am really looking forward to.

After the showcases were done for the day, we queued for the Memories of Raiders event. There were many fans trying to get in for this, but my silver-tongued friend managed to gain us entry when the event looked full. Robert Watts, one of the producers of Raiders of the Lost Ark, delighted audience members with his tales of working with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. What was great about Robert’s discussion was that he was modest as well as entertaining. Despite having worked on some of the biggest films of the late 1970s and 1980s, he remained down to earth when talking about the films.

We languished in the corridor outside after the talk, trying to ascertain the possibility of getting into the secret screening. Alas, it was not to be, and a group of us ended up going to The Change-Up screening instead. The film was watchable but not overly exciting (review to follow).

After a long long day, we decided to go for a quick drink. On our way to one of the bars in the O2, we noticed that everyone seemed to be dressed in white. Rather than a hoodless Klan meeting, it was for some dance event being held there. Unperturbed, we had a drink before deciding that our bodies required some much needed nourishment. Armadillo was our next port of call, where we had chicken skewers and bacon and cheese toasted sandwiches. I also got a chocolate milkshake served in a pint bottle, but for the first time in my life I couldn’t finish a milkshake. This lead me to reevaluate my life for a quick minute. Thus, the day was ended.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Trailer

Two Sherlock Holmes posts in a row; I am really spoiling that one Conan Doyle fan who visits this website. The trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has been released. The film seems to be very much in the same vein as its predecessor. The trailer focuses upon what appears to be numerous action sequences, as well as Robert Downey Jr. in drag. Not sure how I feel about the latter. Those teases at Warner Bros also give us a look at Moriarty without giving too much away…

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Posters

New posters for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have been released. What I am really looking forward to is seeing images of Jared Harris as Moriarty. At one time Daniel Day Lewis was rumoured to be taking the role. This would have been a stroke of genius, as he is exactly how I have always imagined Moriarty to look. Nonetheless, Harris is an interesting choice. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, who was the best thing about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the two following films. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is released on 16th December 2011.