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Movie weekend...
Jan. 10th, 2010 10:13 pmYesterday, Natalie came by to take Lola to her new home and, by the way, to go with me to see the recently released Sherlock Holmes movie.
I have been a fan for most of my life, first reading through my mother's copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes during one summer of junior high school. I still remember how disappointed I was when there were no stories left to read, and I recalled that the thought crossed had my mind, as I was reading the book, that perhaps I should ration myself to a story a day or something like that, but in the end, the spell Conan Doyle wove was too strong for me. Later pastiches, along the lines of The Seven Percent Solution did as much to inflame the itch as to scratch it.
I managed to catch most of the movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce over the years, though it was only a couple of years ago that I finally saw The Lady in Green, which I didn't like very much. Overall, the thing that bothered me about those movies was the mediocre portrayal of Dr. Watson, who gave me the impression of someone I wouldn't trust to inspect a hangnail, much less entrust any of the tasks he is called upon to perform in The Canon.
The Grenada Television productions from the early 1990s were, in my opinion, much better. I liked the fact that Watson's IQ had risen into triple digits in the director's estimation, and I really liked Jeremy Brett's depiction of Holmes (at least in those dramatizations where Brett didn't look like he was in the final months of his life, which it turns out he was). Furthermore, many of the dramatizations were quite faithful to The Canon, although from my perspective, this was not necessarily a plus, as I was able to involuntarily recall the story lines of quite a number of the tales as they were being laid out.
So how would I rate this latest outing?
I liked it.
I didn't miss the stereotypical Holmes trappings (deestalker, meerschaum) at all. I enjoyed the deep-throated roar of Homes' firing bullets into the wall, and the bits with the violin. I liked the repartee between Holmes and Lestrade.
In particular, I enjoyed Holmes' flirtatious interactions with the woman (Irene Adler). In previous characterizations, Holmes was simply a cold fish; in this movie his reluctance to deal with women seems more understandable. Speaking of which, I was floored by how well Watson was depicted and made human as well.
I am not sorry to have spent money to go see this first-run film.
* * * This evening, upon leaving the HEB food store, I stood in line behind a woman who spoke incessantly on her cell phone while deciding what to rent from a Redbox kiosk. Once she freed the machine for my use, I spent about 30 seconds overall and walked away with Julie & Julia. Galina and I just finished watching the film and I haven't had such a good time watching a romantic comedy in ages, and Meryl Streep was dead-on with her... impersonation?... of Julia Child. Completely believable.
Not only that, but when I get back to Pagosa, I plan to go looking for my mother's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
* * * Galina and I spent a lot of time driving around today, too, mostly going from home-improvement store to home-improvement store returning stuff that was not used during the "Great Retiling of 2010."
I still have about 800 words left of an assignment due early tomorrow afternoon, as well as three invoices that need to be written. There's probably more to do, but that will suffice as a start.
Cheers...
I have been a fan for most of my life, first reading through my mother's copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes during one summer of junior high school. I still remember how disappointed I was when there were no stories left to read, and I recalled that the thought crossed had my mind, as I was reading the book, that perhaps I should ration myself to a story a day or something like that, but in the end, the spell Conan Doyle wove was too strong for me. Later pastiches, along the lines of The Seven Percent Solution did as much to inflame the itch as to scratch it.
I managed to catch most of the movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce over the years, though it was only a couple of years ago that I finally saw The Lady in Green, which I didn't like very much. Overall, the thing that bothered me about those movies was the mediocre portrayal of Dr. Watson, who gave me the impression of someone I wouldn't trust to inspect a hangnail, much less entrust any of the tasks he is called upon to perform in The Canon.
The Grenada Television productions from the early 1990s were, in my opinion, much better. I liked the fact that Watson's IQ had risen into triple digits in the director's estimation, and I really liked Jeremy Brett's depiction of Holmes (at least in those dramatizations where Brett didn't look like he was in the final months of his life, which it turns out he was). Furthermore, many of the dramatizations were quite faithful to The Canon, although from my perspective, this was not necessarily a plus, as I was able to involuntarily recall the story lines of quite a number of the tales as they were being laid out.
So how would I rate this latest outing?
I liked it.
I didn't miss the stereotypical Holmes trappings (deestalker, meerschaum) at all. I enjoyed the deep-throated roar of Homes' firing bullets into the wall, and the bits with the violin. I liked the repartee between Holmes and Lestrade.
In particular, I enjoyed Holmes' flirtatious interactions with the woman (Irene Adler). In previous characterizations, Holmes was simply a cold fish; in this movie his reluctance to deal with women seems more understandable. Speaking of which, I was floored by how well Watson was depicted and made human as well.
I am not sorry to have spent money to go see this first-run film.
Not only that, but when I get back to Pagosa, I plan to go looking for my mother's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
I still have about 800 words left of an assignment due early tomorrow afternoon, as well as three invoices that need to be written. There's probably more to do, but that will suffice as a start.
Cheers...
