Movie Monday - Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes (2010)



[Dominic Keating; Gareth David-Lloyd; Ben Syder; William Huw; Elizabeth Arends]

Plot: When a mob of massive monsters invades London, only master sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson can save the city. Watson begins to believe that the creatures exist, but Holmes thinks villain Spring-Heeled Jack is behind the attacks. Now, they must track down the master criminal before his plan for world domination comes to fruition in this action-packed mystery.

First off, this is NOT the film released in theaters and starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law. This is a direct-to-DVD film from Asylum Home Entertainment. I watched this as part of a multi-review led by Jason over at Invasion of the B-Movies.

Okay, with that out of the way, I can tell you that, the characters aside, I don't think you could confuse this film with the other. The acting is okay from some, but the casting for the main role of Sherlock Holmes was way wrong. Syder just doesn't have the confidence or presence to pull of a role of such legendary proportions. This Sherlock sounds immature, unsure and just cannot command a scene with any of his acting partners.

The plot itself is far-fetched, and while I get that it is supposed to be cheesy-fun and not a 'traditional' Holmes story, taken on its own it is still a bit much to swallow. The action scenes are done with a mixture of live and computer action, but never convincingly mixing the two. I can't give much away without revealing too much plot, so I will let it be at that.

However, one scene that particularly annoyed me was set with Watson in a dangerous situation. We know this because of the frequent camera cuts and dramatic music. Except the tension is all for nothing because we know at this point Watson will be fine, since his OLDER SELF OPENS THE MOVIE TO NARRATE THE ENTIRE THING! Gah!

As you can tell, I just didn't like it. Wasn't good, and wasn't bad in a cheesy/guilty-pleasure way either.

Not recommended, unless you are a really committed Sherlock Holmes completist.

Theme Thursday - 10

Theme Thursday this week is "10", so I decided to do 10 films that are the tenth entries in their respective series.

(And I am excluding 'adult' films... sorry, WAY too many in that genre!)

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1)

Jason X (2002)



The tenth film in the "Friday the 13th" series, this film is the "Jason in space" movie. Seems to be an love it/hate it film among fans, but I like it.

I know it is lacking in plot and such (what F13 movie isn't?), but I think it makes up for that with an interesting premise (hey, at least they tried something different), some interesting kills and UBER-Jason. Not as fun as Part VI: Jason Lives, but fun in it's own right.

I definitely rank it higher than a few others in this series (Jason Takes Manhattan, anyone?). And it's also Kane Hodder's swan-song as Mr. Voorhees.

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2)

H2: Halloween 2 (to be released later this year)



This is the tenth film in the successful Halloween series, but only the first sequel to "Rob Zombie's Halloween". Supposedly picking up where the first film left off, this movie will apparently feature the consequences of Myers rampage in the previous film.

I am not really excited about this one. Zombie's Halloween was a let down for me, too much in the vein of Hostel or the Saw movies. One of the things I like about the original film is the unknown, the mystery, as to why Michael is as he is. This film goes overboard to show you it all. Not my cup of tea.

But, I will give this film a chance. Hope for the best.

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3)

Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft (1998)



10 years after Witchcraft comes this tenth film in the series. This direct-to-video sequel ranks 1.4 stars out of 10 on IMDb's site, out 226 votes. I have never seen it, so I can't comment on it's quality. But, the series HAS to be making a profit if they are still making them, right? According to the site, a Part 13 was released in 2008.

The plot: In England, bisexual British vampires free Californian Satanist Hyde from police custody; LAPD Detective Lutz and Interpol's Bureau 17 try to catch them.

Anybody seen these films?

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4)

All Monsters Attack (aka Godzilla's Revenge) (aka Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki) (1969)



Okay... So, I have not seen this film in a LOOOOONG time, not since my "Creature Double Feature" days. I don't remember it.

But, it's a Godzilla film that also features the monsters Anguirus, Ebirah, Gabara, Gorosaurus, Kamacuras, Kumong, Manda, Minilla and the Giant Gondor. Now, that's 10 monsters, in one film, and it's the 10th Godzilla film. Serendipity!

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5)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)



This tenth film in the Star Trek franchise is the fourth one to feature the Next Generation cast. It ended up being the final film before the "reboot" movie "Star Trek", due out this May.

This is the film that some cite as the "burnout" of the Star Trek franchise. It is an okay film, more so maybe for Trek fans that non-fans. It also has an ending I didn't especially care for.

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6)

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945)



Sherlock Holmes is the most filmed fictional character, with nearly 200 appearances to date, including a new film due out late this year with Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear is the tenth film of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series. Rathbone's Holmes and Bruce's Dr. Watson are considered by many to be the quintessential portrayals of the characters.

This film, based on "The Five Orange Pips" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is sort of in the vein of "10 Little Indians", in that the murders keep occurring and Holmes must deduce the culprit.

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7)

Blondie Goes to College (1942)



Never saw any of the films in the "Blondie" series. I am sure they are a fun watch, if you like oldies or comedies. This film is the tenth in the series, of course, out of a total of 28 films - wow!

In this movie, Dagwood wants to go to college and Blondie wants another baby. A young Lloyd Bridges has a role as a college student.

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8)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)



This is the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as bond. Many fans of the series consider this one of the best entries.

In this one, the villain Stromberg wants to destroy the world and build his own undersea civilization. I have never been a major Bond fan, but Moore was always my favorite 007, mainly due to the fact that he was the one I grew up with.

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9)

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989)



This is the tenth film of the 30 TV movies that reunited the "Perry Mason" cast from the classic show. These came out around the same time "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock" were popular shows.

Speaking of "Perry Mason", there is a television station in Portland, Oregon that has been playing the show almost non-stop in the noon timeslot since 1966. Calls come in if, for any reason, the channel pre-empts the show. Talk about devotion!

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10)

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)



This is the tenth entry in the (as of 2007) 13 movie-strong series about the dinosaur Littlefoot and his friends.

My daughter was a fan of these movies when she was really little, but she outgrew them awhile ago.

This entry also features the voices of James Garner, Bernadette Peters and Kiefer Sutherland.

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I only did 10 movies here (keeping with the theme), so if you know of others, let me know.

Movies I've Subjected Myself to Lately

Do You Wanna Know a Secret? (2001)

[Joey Lawrence, Chad Allen, Jeff Conaway]

Ugh. What a waste of time. I had read bad things about this, but went in hoping for the best. It's just not good, not even a "so bad, it's good" movie. Just bad. The climax of the film was just stupid.

You are better off with watching nothing than watching this, and I won't watch it again.

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Nightmare Honeymoon (1973)

[Dack Rambo, John Beck, Rebecca Dianna Smith]

This is a 70s flick I had never seen, and I DVR'd it from TCM last week. The plot is simple: newlyweds head off for their honeymoon but run into some bad dudes who do some horrible things. The rest of the movie is about the new couple in the direct aftermath and how they deal with what happened.

This was okay, but was too "of it's time period" for me. I can't reveal too much without giving away the plot, but let's just say I think the way the couple deal with things would be handled MUCH differently were this remade today.

Wouldn't watch it again, but if you like 70s movies or revenge flicks, give it a whirl.

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Leprechaun 2 (1994)

[Warwick Davis, Charlie Heath, Shevonne Durkin]

Okay, I had never watched this one before, either, and only did so now because it aired on St. Patrick's Day and I figured it would give it a go.

This movie just couldn't hold my interest, and I actually dozed off once toward the end. Just boring and blah. At first I assumed this was an 80s flick, but it was made in 1994. This comedy/horror film fails on both counts.

Will NOT watch this one again.

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The Abandoned (2006)

[Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden]

Had no clue what to expect from this one. And now that I have seen it, I don't know what I watched.

It is a Bulgarian ghost/doppelgänger film, but set in Russia. Frankly, I was just confused. That said, it was creepy at times and there is a "twist" at the end that isn't really shocking. Just unsure what to make of it all.

Not sure if another viewing would help clear things up or not. I dunno.

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One Missed Call (2008)

[Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns]

Ok, so this is the film from last year, where people hear their deaths on cell phones before it actually occurs. An American remake of the Japanese film "Chakushin ari", which I haven't seen.

This one seems to be missing something. There are creepy faces, creepy moments, but nothing that really scared me. And the end was just ... meh.

The actors were fine, for the most part. Although Margaret Cho in a serious (albeit small) role was odd. Not sure if the original version is supposed to better or not, but this film doesn't make me want to rush out and see it.

Wouldn't watch it again.

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Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)

[Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill]

A classic "Sherlock Holmes" movie, with Rathbone and Bruce great as Holmes and Watson, and Atwill equally wonderful as Moriarty.

If you like old mystery movies or Sherlock Holmes in general, you will love it.

I would definitely watch it again!

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Niagara (1953)

[Joseph Cotten, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Peters]

I had never seen this great little thriller before. Just a fun, suspense type of movie, with great acting and awesome locations. Cotten is always superb, and Monroe is beautiful, if not the best actress around. But I think Jean Peters was just as beautiful, even is they try and play her off as the "plain" one here.

A great movie and one I would watch again sometime.

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