Thank you for that, Reed. Brought a smile to my finals beaten face. And Gamester, you didn't ask yesterday! :P

Saw a couple of stinkers, one that I expected to stink and one that I thought might be good. [b]Crazy, Stupid, Love[/b] was the first, a tragi-comedy somewhere in between the unfortunate tradition of Little Miss Sunshine and something more like, say, Dan in Real Life (can you spot a running thread here?). This absurd motion picture is somehow compulsively watchable despite having three increasingly terrible endings - mostly, I think, due to its talented cast. This was not a movie I was ever going to like; however, it was at least funny a good bit of the time. Unlike [b]Bridesmaids[/b], which was almost never funny despite funny being the only thing it was going for. That movie was like a mediocre SNL sketch stretched out for two hours. The setups had comic potential, but the payoffs rarely succeeded in getting laughs. There's too much of that mumbly-awkward humor that Kristen Wiig always does and it seems like everyone in this movie was written to be played by her. This was a real letdown. 1. Drive - 8/10 2. The Adjustment Bureau - 8/10 3. Hanna - 7/10 4. Super 8 - 7/10 5. Martha Marcy May Marlene - 7/10 6. Horrible Bosses - 7/10 7. The Ward - 7/10 8. In Time - 7/10 9. Source Code - 7/10 10. Contagion - 7/10 11. The Lincoln Lawyer - 7/10 12. Limitless - 6.5/10 13. Insidious - 6/10 14. Midnight in Paris - 6/10 15. Unknown - 6/10 16. X-Men: First Class - 5/10 17. Thor - 5/10 [b]18. Crazy, Stupid, Love - 5/10 19. Bridesmaids - 4/10[/b] 20. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop - 4/10 21. Just Go With It - 2/10

Saw the new [b]Sherlock Holmes[/b] today. It's alright. Basically more of the same. If you liked the first movie you'll at least enjoy this one. Personally I was less enthused this time around. For a movie about the world's best detective there's relatively little detecting done (at least any that the audience is invited to follow) so there are no real "a-ha!" moments that one generally expects from a mystery. In fact, there's not really any mystery at all. You know who the villain is from the outset, and when we find out what he's planning we aren't surprised. The film keeps so much of the information in the characters minds that we often don't even know who they're chasing or why, let alone have time to sort things out and try to guess what might be happening - maybe follow a red herring or two. No, we get nothing like that. Again, it's no surprise after the last movie but at least that would had you wondering how Mark Strong's villain was accomplishing his supernatural feats. No, this Sherlock Holmes is Cleric Preston from Equilibrium - he does gun-kata with his fists. Lots of people get hit, lots of things explode, lots of chase scenes and shooting. This is a loud movie so if motion and sound are what it takes to keep you entertained you could hardly pick a better movie. Nevermind that the central conflict is a chess game between two masterminds, Holmes and Moriarty. Or that the heart of the flick is Holmes' relationship with Watson. When the movie takes time to indulge those two parts of the story it buoys. The ending is pretty good and left me with a better impression than the whole of the film probably warranted. Downey Jr. is just such a good actor, it's rare to find a role or film equal to his talents. Sherlock Holmes could have been that role, perhaps in different hands from Guy Ritchie. The director of Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is an awkward fit for these stories. When Holmes is allowed to spar with his nemesis and his friend, this is an entertaining crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately the focus remains on hyper-kinetic action sequences that aren't particularly thrilling to the senses and are even less so to the mind. 1. Drive - 8/10 2. The Adjustment Bureau - 8/10 3. Hanna - 7/10 4. Super 8 - 7/10 5. Martha Marcy May Marlene - 7/10 6. Horrible Bosses - 7/10 7. The Ward - 7/10 8. In Time - 7/10 9. Source Code - 7/10 10. Contagion - 7/10 11. The Lincoln Lawyer - 7/10 12. Limitless - 6.5/10 13. Insidious - 6/10 14. Midnight in Paris - 6/10 [b]15. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 6/10[/b] 16. Unknown - 6/10 17. X-Men: First Class - 5/10 18. Thor - 5/10 [b]19. Crazy, Stupid, Love - 5/10 20. Bridesmaids - 4/10[/b] 21. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop - 4/10 22. Just Go With It - 2/10

I liked X-Men origins: Wolverine that I got from the library. it was a very cool movie.

I, personally, loved Sherlock Holmes (The New One). I went through some of your reviews and they are actually quite interesting to read. You disect the movie with such precision, it is unbelievable. Back to what I was saying though. I haven't seen the original Sherlock Holmes, so seeing the one that came out in '11 was new to me. Going back to one of the reviews, you mentioned The Other Guys, and I must say, that movie made me laugh more than I have ever laughed. Thanks for the remembrance of good movies. Keep up the reviews, -William (TrueTalent)

Do not insult me with talk of those Guy Ritchie blasphemies. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is doing somersaults in his grave for such blatant degredation of his characters. Put any other name on those movies, and I would accept it as entertainment. (I'm one of those Sherlock Holmes purists that the critics criticized. ;))

I'm a purist who's read most of the books and have seen the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Williams portrayals. I idn't enjoy seeing Dr Watson being made into a clown, though. He was very astute for the average human in the books. He just didn't have the acumen of Sherlock, no one does. I've also seen the PBS portrayals. I really liked them. I did enjoy the first movie that came out a few years ago and probably will watch the dvd of the new one when it comes out. I don't have a car and movie theaters are at least 17 miles from where I live. car rental doesn't leave too much in the bank to go see a movie when there are other things more important to get. Priorities.

And I don't enjoy watching Holmes turned into a ladies man. He rejected his sexual urges, and only once did he have a relationship with a woman, and that was so he could get informatioon.

[b]TrueTalent wrote:[/b] [quote]I, personally, loved Sherlock Holmes (The New One). I went through some of your reviews and they are actually quite interesting to read. You disect the movie with such precision, it is unbelievable.[/quote] Thank you! As an aspiring reviewer and hopefully decent amateur writer, it's always nice to hear some encouragement. [quote]Back to what I was saying though. I haven't seen the original Sherlock Holmes, so seeing the one that came out in '11 was new to me. Going back to one of the reviews, you mentioned The Other Guys, and I must say, that movie made me laugh more than I have ever laughed.[/quote] Yeah, I really liked it. Need to watch it again soon. [quote]Thanks for the remembrance of good movies. Keep up the reviews, -William (TrueTalent)[/quote] PLUG WARNING: If you're interested in reading some of my more in-depth reviews, you can visit my blog at www.theraptorpack.wordpress.com. Haven't updated much lately but hopefully I'll do a year-end wrap-up at the end of the month.

Man, I really need to see some good movies. I know they're out there but I keep watching tripe. Last night I saw [b]Everything Must Go[/b], featuring Sad Will Ferrell. Ferrell can do quirky-but-serious. His best movie in my opinion is still Stranger Than Fiction. The problem isn't Ferrell. It's that the material here is just no good. It's flat, one-note, drawn-out, and makes no intellectual sense. Nick has a ton of legal resources at his disposal. We're supposed to believe that because someone drove off in the company car that had his license in it (even though they told him he'd have it til the end of the month) that he can't do anything to get his own money or his own house back? The premise is so faulty it keeps reminding us at every turn how improbable the whole setup is. The movie feels longer than it is, and has no real resolution. Hate to say this but it's kind of a time-waster. [b]We Bought a Zoo[/b] fared somewhat better, mostly thanks to Matt Damon who, like Ferrell before him, is better than the movie he's in. Zoo is predictable and tame, suffering from an overload of cutesy-ness in the form of a little girl whose every word is completely uncharacteristic of a child her age but who continually drew laughs and awws from the audience. Thankfully it doesn't go overboard too much in trying to wring emotion out of you. Damon, again, is mostly responsible for this with his restraint. There are a couple of fun side characters and Scar Jo looks believably scrappy for someone who's so glamorous. It's not a bad movie. If you wanted a film the whole family could go to without having to worry about much about content, you could do much worse. However, it does feel like settling for something that maybe isn't really worth your time. 1. Drive - 8/10 2. The Adjustment Bureau - 8/10 3. Hanna - 7/10 4. Super 8 - 7/10 5. Martha Marcy May Marlene - 7/10 6. Horrible Bosses - 7/10 7. The Ward - 7/10 8. In Time - 7/10 9. Source Code - 7/10 10. Contagion - 7/10 11. The Lincoln Lawyer - 7/10 12. Limitless - 6.5/10 13. Insidious - 6/10 14. Midnight in Paris - 6/10 15. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 6/10 16. Unknown - 6/10 17. X-Men: First Class - 5/10 18. Thor - 5/10 19. Crazy, Stupid, Love - 5/10 [b]20. We Bought A Zoo - 5/10[/b] 21. Bridesmaids - 4/10 [b]22. Everything Must Go - 4/10[/b] 23. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop - 4/10 24. Just Go With It - 2/10