Set in 1891, the great detective, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.), and his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), solve crimes across London. But when Holmes and Dr. Watson stop Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) from completing his human sacrifice, they enter a case of smoke and mirrors posed as magic. In Guy Ritchie’s version of the classic, Holmes is a rough-and-tumble detective with the same analytic skills as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional character. The screenplay uses murder by magic to keep audiences in the same suspense that readers of Doyle’s novels experienced in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and will likely appease the appetites of Sherlock Holmes fans.
In Sherlock Holmes, the police arrest Lord Blackwood after Holmes and Dr. Watson halt the sacrifice of a young woman. During Blackwood’s execution three months later, the Lord warns Holmes that three more deaths will occur after his execution. Before the executioner secures the rope around Blackwood’s neck, his choice last words are “death is only the beginning.” Blackwood is hung and Dr. Watson pronounces the criminal dead.
While waiting for a new case, Holmes’ love interest, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), appears and offers Holmes money on behalf of her mysterious employer to solve the case of Reordan (Oran Gurel), a missing red-haired midget with teeth resembling fangs. Meanwhile, the Lord Blackwood case reopens when word travels that Blackwood was seen walking away from his tomb by eyewitnesses. When Holmes investigates the tomb, he discovers Reordan, dead inside the coffin. Turns out that Adler’s case is involved with Lord Blackwood’s survival and Holmes searches through the Temple of the Four Orders, a secret society that Blackwood is involved in, to solve the mystery.
Sherlock Holmes is entertaining and well-cast. In particular, Jude Law makes an excellent Dr. Watson, kind-hearted and realistic but utterly devoted to his detective friend. This film is a good old-fashioned fun movie; it is not vying for awards or relying on vulgarity and nudity for laughs, Sherlock Holmes is just simply an entertaining weekday movie. The music is extraordinarily done, using instruments popular during the late 1800s with the suspenseful soundtrack style of today to add an element of time period with modern drama. A nicely added touch was the analysis given by Holmes of what punches he planned on throwing to opponents before doing it and the breakdown of how he solved the case, a throwback to Doyle’s novels. True to form, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes did not stray far from the original novels of the same name and was certainly, as Holmes would put it, “well done.”
Back in September, I waited at the barricades, shuffled between fans and paparazzi, to see the stars of Up in the Air. I got a glimpse of Jason Bateman, Anna Kendrick and George Clooney on the red carpet. I even wrote about the experience in a blog post. I hadn’t heard anything about the film back in September, I only knew that George Clooney would be at the premiere and that was enough for me.
When commercials starting popping up for the film, I realized that this was the film I had seen the stars of back in September. But it wasn’t George Clooney, Anna Kendrick or the Arrested Development star that brought me to the theatre, it was writer/director Jason Reitman.
In my first year of university, Juno had just came out and was a smash hit, catapulting director Jason Reitman into a new league of fame. It was during this rush that Reitman paid a visit to Ryerson University, speaking to students interested in the film industry. I was there, along with many other students, to listen to the charismatic director. He was funny, engaging and not one bit pretentious. As a fan of Thank You for Smoking, I was thrilled to hear Reitman speak, and his humbleness made his success even sweeter. Reitman told the room packed with students that he had just cast Mean Girls’ Amanda Seyfried in a new Diablo Cody film and over a year later that female vampire comedy was revealed to be Jennifer’s Body. Reitman produced the piece.
Today, Reitman’s Up in the Air is nominated for six Golden Globes. After watching the film, I say it deserves every nomination. I will be honest, however, and say that many people in the audience left the theatre asking, “What was that about?” Reitman films focus on dialogue over action, realistic change over dramatic character development and, rather than a climactic ending, typically end on a more subtle note. Up in the Air is closer to Thank You for Smoking than Juno, so if you are a fan of Smoking, you will surely enjoy Up in the Air.
Up in the Air follows Ryan Bingham (Clooney), a man who fires people across the United States on behalf of employers unwilling to do so themselves. Bingham leads a commitment-free life, even delivering motivational speeches on this lifestyle choice, and begins a casual relationship with a like-minded career woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga). Bingham’s only goal is to earn 10 million frequent flyer miles, which would make him the seventh person to ever do this, and thanks to his career of constant travelling for Integrated Strategic Management, Bingham may just accomplish this feat.
Then Natalie Keener (Kendrick) enters the picture. With a degree from Cornell to her name, the ambitious young woman is set to make her mark on Integrated Strategic Management by firing people via webcam as opposed to sending employees across the country to do the deed. Bingham objects to this idea and challenges Keener to actual fire people herself; thus sets off Integrated Strategic Management owner Craig Gregory (Bateman) to send the pair on a trip across the U.S. firing people together.
Up in the Air has its funny moments, tender moments and hopeful moments. It is not a romance nor a drama, rather an engaging dark comedy about life in general. There isn’t a huge life changing kerfuffle, but-as is the case in real life-change does occur, only in a more subtle way. Reitman’s writing is realistic and fun and will surely appease the appetites of Thank You for Smoking fans.
I know it’s trashy reality television, but I love The Real World. The love connections, friendships and fights make every season worth watching. Although I expressed my annoyance with the Cancun season in a previous blog post, I’m holding out hope that the upcoming installment will be more to my liking. The Real World: Washington D.C. puts the “[...] strangers picked to live in a house” in America’s capital and hopefully the housemates will take full advantage of the opportunities available in Washington. From the information MTV has shared thus far, the show’s 23rd season includes Andrew Woods, a comic book creator; former delegate Ashley Lindley; Callie Walker, a woman that lived in junkyards and warehouses as a child; singers Josh Colon and Erika Wasilewski; bisexual Mike Manning; and religious skeptics Ty Ruff and Emily Schromm. Of course, the labels given to the cast members quickly dissolve once viewers start watching the reality show, but for now Lindley is the “former delegate” and Ty Ruff is the “religious skeptic.”
I have hope that Washington D.C. will offer more to viewers than Cancun. The castmates sound like opinionated people with a lot of ambition; something that Cancun lacked. But, in my opinion, Brooklyn and Hollywood weren’t that much better; both lacked “character development” and grew to be a little boring. I miss the Real World seasons when I genuinely cared about the people; the seasons that made me laugh, cry and hopeful for their future. Will Washington have that drama? Only time will tell, but for now let’s look back at some memorable Real World seasons.
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The Real World: Key West
Cast: Zach Mann, Jose Tapia, Paula Meronek, John Devenanzio, Janelle Casanave, Tyler Duckworth, Svetlana Shusterman.
What made this season awesome: The housemates were so close. Unlike Brooklyn, there was no childish “girls versus boys”; they all became friends. Well… Svetlana might not have been that close with the boys as they had a tendency to tease her. From Paula’s eating disorder to Tyler’s scheming, Key West had a lot of drama, but also a lot of friendship. Viewers could see the genuine connection that these housemates had, and the struggle they endured trying to help Paula overcome her eating disorder only strengthened relationships. Key West was a season to remember.
The Real World: Austin
Cast: Danny Jamieson, Johanna Botta, Lacey Buehler, Melinda Stolp, Nehemiah Clark, Rachel Moyal, Wes Bergmann.
What made this season awesome: The love connection. In the first episode-when MTV pairs up cast members to travel to the house together-Melinda and Danny were paired and it was love at first sight. Danny was clearly smitten with the blonde and their love only strengthened when a family tragedy arose. The Massachusetts-native found true love with Melinda and the pair have since married.
The Real World: Los Angeles
Cast: Aaron Behle, Beth Stolarczyk, David Edwards, Dominic Griffin, Irene Berrera-Kearns, John Brennan, Tami Roman, Glen Naessens, Beth Anthony.
What made this season awesome: The humour. This cast was just so zany they were funny. From the purposely funny Dominic and Aaron to the unintentional funny of Tami wiring her jaw shut to lose weight, talking to people through clenched teeth; Los Angeles brought the laughs. It was sad to see this season end, but I’m sure the boys were happy to leave Beth behind.
Will Washington D.C. have a close-knit group, feature a love connection, bring lots of laughs or offer something uniquely its own? Find out on December 30th when The Real World: Washington D.C. begins.
What season of The Real World was your favourite? Tweet me @LAMcEachran!
Set in 1891, the great detective, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.), and his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), solve crimes across London. But when Holmes and Dr. Watson stop Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) from completing his human sacrifice, they enter a case of smoke and mirrors posed as magic. In Guy Ritchie’s version of the classic, Holmes is a rough-and-tumble detective with the same analytic skills as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional character. The screenplay uses murder by magic to keep audiences in the same suspense that readers of Doyle’s novels experienced in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and will likely appease the appetites of Sherlock Holmes fans.
Up in the Air follows Ryan Bingham (Clooney), a man who fires people across the United States on behalf of employers unwilling to do so themselves. Bingham leads a commitment-free life, even delivering motivational speeches on this lifestyle choice, and begins a casual relationship with a like-minded career woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga). Bingham’s only goal is to earn 10 million frequent flyer miles, which would make him the seventh person to ever do this, and thanks to his career of constant travelling for Integrated Strategic Management, Bingham may just accomplish this feat.
