This week, a double header:
"Did I do that?"
In an attempt to rejuvenate Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary private dick, Warner Bros. in conjunction with a sugared-up Guy Ritchie have brought us "Sherlock Holmes." More "Wild Wild West" than "Pirates of the Caribbean," Ritchie's stab at the elementary man is half-assed. Watson is more interesting than Holmes, which is odd.
My skills of deduction: Here's what was up.
- Guy Ritchie has no attention span. In fact, I'm now OK with calling him a bad director.
- Robert Downey Jr. is game as a quirky Holmes, and seems to have a good time. He tries hard. But, is it just me or are his theatrics a little shallow?
- Jude Law is the best actor in this, by and far. His (oddly slim) Watson is a tremendously likable partner. He is the reliable voice of reason we all deserve.
- Script sucked. Mystery's a bore. London looked a little blue-screen-y. Villain's weak.
- They dumbed down the detective aspects, complete with cutaways (to remind you of clues), and breaking the great parlor-room scenes of past Holmes.
- I sorta had fun.
- Basil Rathbone: Check him out.
"Hi Penelope. He OK? Anyways, wanna go out with me?"
What a wholly satisfying filmgoing experience. You know that visceral feeling you get from seeing a Tarantino or a PT Anderson film in the theater? Try Almodovar and his latest, "Broken Embraces," and you'll get a whole new thrill for film people's films. What am I saying? "Broken Embraces" is an imperfect, but amazing film, for film lovers. A super hybrid of Welles, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Herzog and many others, this is like a master's course in film appreciation. The non-linear story of a blind filmmaker's romance with his one-time lead address, Pedro Almovodar's newest film is about films and the passion that can still drive them.
It's all on screen: Seeing Almodovar's movies are just too rewarding.
- The film vacillates from genre to genre. Uneven as it may be while attempting romance, thriller and comedy, "Embraces" does just that, and shows care and compassion for each direction.
- Penelope Cruz, yet again, is luminous. Beautiful, talented and completely captivating, her portrayal of a lead actress learning about film is on par with "Volver."
- Lluis Homar's blind writer/director, "Harry Caine" is affecting. A film lover, that can't see? Obvious as it may be, the man may be tragic, but his true love for film is still present.
- Pedro Almodovar is a director that I've only recently come to know. I've seen "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," "Talk to Her" and a few others. The man is gifted in the way he can move from fun and fanciful farce to deeply affecting melodrama. I only wish I'd started watching his movies earlier. And, watching "Breakdown" is an added bonus for this.
- See this now.
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