Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows review

The sequel to the not-too-bad Sherlock Holmes movie back in Christmas 2009, starring the now-superstar Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his partner and flatmate, Dr. John Watson.

The first movie, titled Sherlock Holmes (duh), was a pretty good movie, with a excellent performance as usual by Robert Downey Jr as the eccentric Sherlock Holmes. Jude Law himself was a pretty badass Watson.

And now, is this sequel better? Well...Yes and no.

Rad Bromance.

A Game of Shadows features the appearance of Professor James Moriarty, widely considered to be Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, although in actual fact, he appeared in maybe 2-3 of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original 60+ Sherlock stories.

Despite, or maybe its BECAUSE of, his limited appearances, he has made a huge impact with Sherlock's fans. And in this movie, Jarred Harris does deliver as the supervillain that is more than a match for the scruffy eccentric detective.

The main focus of this movie however, has to be the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. But this is of course nothing new, there are a number of fans who realise, or even support wholeheartedly, that they both are, ahem, rather close.

I leave that to your imagination.

In A Game of Shadows, Holmes is finding it very difficult to adjust to the fact that Watson will be marrying his fiancee, Mary Morstan. Thankfully, he does not try to sabotage their marriage, well not intentionally anyways.

But, it is clear that Holmes also wants Watson to be happy and safe, as he puts himself in danger just to protect him and his wife via his eccentric methods.

Don't they make a cute couple? Hey, there's a hot girl in white next to Watson.

However, wasn't this issue in the first movie? It feels like the movie is trying to play it safe by re-using the same conflict between them. Granted, the issue is somewhat more developed but still...It's an old issue.

The movie also treats the female cast rather poorly this time around, given less screentime in lieu of the dynamic duo.

Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) is killed very early in the movie, making it a very personal battle for Sherlock Holmes. Come on, she was a main character in the first movie! At least give her more dignified screentime!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....!!
WHY MUST THE HOT ONES DIE YOUNG!?

Mary Morstan, Watson's wife, is also reduced to a few screens, but then again she didn't have much scenes in the first movie, so it's not a big loss. And she was actually pretty badass in one or two scenes.

And lastly we have Madame Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace), who is suppose to the lead female here, but....well...yea. She feels like nothing more than just a link and a pretty face here.

Delicious....Dibs.

So much of the screentime this time around is dedicated to the trio of Holmes, Watson and Moriarty.

Robert Downey Jr is once again a bloody delight to watch as a different type of Sherlock Holmes than we normally see. Scruffy, extremely eccentric, socially challenged but bloody smart, kick-ass fighter, determined and overall badass. And his Sherlock-Scan-Bullet-Time-Analysing-Kick-Ass vision returns!!

Jude Law is pretty badass as well, playing excellently as the man torn between his friendship (or more? *snigger*) to Holmes, and his dedication to his new wife.

Jarred Harris plays Professor James Moriarty who is actually pretty damn scary. If you watch the movie's interrogation scene, yea...He does not FUCK around.

I like this movie's version of Moriarty. He is extremely ruthless and cunning, he gives Holmes the greatest mental battle of his life. And, somehow he still manages to keep all his connections and his reputations intact.

I will take your property. Then kill you. Then I will leave the toilet seat up.
Cause I'm evil.

Moriarty has a second-in-command named Sebastian Moran. Damn, that dude is one hell of a soldier. I hope he appears again in the sequel. That guy was a real determined soldier.

Also, Stephen Fry appears in the movie as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holme's brother who works for the British government....as something. Important. Just don't know what the fuck it is. Also, there was this unnecessary scene with him in it. It's...erm...disturbing.

Action wise, A Game of Shadows delivers a lot of it.

Shoot outs. Chase scenes. Explosions.

A lot of explosions.

And its quite funny too. More so than the last movie. Especially Robert Downey Jr. He's like a walking comedy scene waiting to happen.

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So...now the question is: Is the movie worth a watch?

Well, overall yes. It is entertaining, there is no doubt about that. Robert Downey Jr is always a delight to watch no matter what.

It's just that the movie treads familiar ground, the only thing different this time is that the situation has gone even more dangerous, and the villain is so much deadlier and smarter.

Just like the last movie, A Game of Shadows isn't much of a Sherlock Holmes movie.

It's a movie about Robert Downey Jr playing Sherlock Holmes. Featuring other people.

Happy new year, kids.

Do not be alarmed. Underneath this pillow, lies the key to my release.

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol review

The 4th installment of the Mission Impossible film franchise. Now, while I'm not a big fan of the original Mission Impossible TV series, nor was I that impressed with the film versions.

Watched the first one, found it confusing, probably cause I was a kid at that time when I was expecting an action movie. Second one was somewhat better when I watched it, but didn't hold me enough to watch the third one.

So, let's treat this as a standalone movie until I get around to watching the rest.

So why did I decide to watch this movie when I'm not a big fan of the series? Well, this.

It was a pretty good trailer. Eminem's rapping certainly sells it.

Is it good? FUCK YEA. The best in the franchise BY FAR.

I can't bear to watch this part.

The IMF team this time has to stop a terrorist from inciting a global nuclear war between Russia and the United States, however, they are framed for an operation gone wrong in Russia that involves the bombing of the Kremlin.

Disavowed by the President of the United States via the eponymous Ghost Protocol, the IMF team are left on their own to save the world while being pursued by the Russians.

A lot of factors helped in making this movie the best one so far.

For one thing, the director is Brad Bird, the director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille. And the movie is no longer just about Agent Ethan Hunt, this time his IMF team actually helps out, unlike the previous movies, where Ethan Hunt is somehow the only reliable agent.

Eventhough the IMF team this time only consists of four people, the movie goes to great lengths to portray them as incredible agents, tasked with the impossible, where things will go to hell constantly and somehow managed to pull things off.

Prototype. Assassin's Creed. Hoodies are back in style.

This time, Tom Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, has less emotional baggage from his previous outings. So less time is focused on his past and him as a character in general. While this may seem like a bad thing, it actually works for this movie.

Come on we've seen Ethan Hunt for about three movies worth. There's not much point in trying to flesh out more of the same mold. So, this time we get to see the OTHER team members get fleshed out, which helps us viewers know the team better as a whole, and love them more.

SIMON PEGG!! Doing his Scottish technician Benji Dunn thingy again, like his character from Star Trek and Mission Impossible III. I like this guy and his movies (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul).

You need to climb to the Burj's 130th floor using these gloves.
Of course you'll be fine, what's the worst that could happen?

Then there's Jeremey Renner as William Brandt, an analyst caught up with the IMF team in the chaos. He's quite a badass.

Benji Dunn and William Brandt are really funny together and their cooperative scenes are usually quite a laugh.

And finally theres Paula Patton as Jane Carter. She is badass.

Also has a nice ass.

She kicks lots of ass too.

Don't cross her.

Dibs.

Did I mention that everyone in the movie is a badass? Like seriously.

It seems like everyone involved are really determined badasses with martial arts and hardy bodies. No one ever goes down easy.

Even the big bad, who is just some middle aged dude, not a trained soldier nor operative mind you, did not go down easy. Gave Ethan one hell of a fight.

But he wasn't that prominent. The other villainess showed up more. Not that I'm complaining. She was a badass fighter too, and she loves diamonds.

Dibs again. Me-owwwww.

A lot of scenes in the movie are of course, ridiculously insane, but bloody entertaining and keeps you on the edge of your seat, leaving you pondering how they were gonna get out of this one. Hallmark of a good action movie.

The movie really plays up the saying, "If it can go wrong, IT FUCKING WILL."

One thing though, they really thrashed the BMWs in this movie. My friend, a BMW lover, really felt it everytime one was crashed. One BMW takes the cake for being nothing more than just an express journey to go down 100 feet.

Thankfully, this one survived. Mostly.

Ooooo....and the gadgets!! The gadgets are pretty awesome too. Some scenes pretty much revolve around the team using their incredible tools. Though most of the tools do tend to malfunction, leading to intense scenes.

But that's the appeal of the movie for me: when shit hits the fan, how will IMF handle it!? With skill? With dumb luck?

Or both?


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So, the verdict comes down to this. Go watch this movie. Enjoy a proper action movie for once.

Your mission...

Should you choose to accept it...

Is to watch Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol...

Arthur Christmas

First ever post dedicated to a movie review! Finally got the time to do something like this, so lets start off with a review of Arthur Christmas, one of many family/Christmas movies for December 2011.

*Few spoilers alert*

Cool story, bro.

So, the movie starts off with a panning shot of the Santa's gallery, apparently the Santa Clause persona is hereditary, passed down from father to son for centuries. Though I wonder how the Santas ever found their wives...do they go out into the towns the rest of the non-Christmas months and get jiggy with it?

Then, it jumps into a kick-ass scene with a million elves in high tech gear, performing military-precision operations deliving GIFTS to children in a metropolis, along with Santa, dressed in a military commanding officers garb, but in the traditional colors (his beret is bright red!!)

Hey, he looks like Bill from Left 4 Dead.
Just you know, fatter, jollier, and not dead.

And thus, Santa has gone high-tech, aided by his son, Steve who is in command of the whole operation from the North Pole mission control center (with another million more elves), and his other son, Arthur, who is in the mail department handling children's letters.

Inevitably, something goes wrong, and Arthur has to save Christmas (kinda) by teaming up with Grand-santa for a mission before sunrise. The premise is simple, there are no backstabbing attempts or villainy twists, which seems to be more prevalent nowadays in (of all things) animated children films.

Some of the themes explored in the movie will no doubt be more noticeable by the adults, such as modernization, fear of retirement, ego etc etc.

Part of the opening scene, conveys more emotions than an entire Twilight movie.

This film is a simple, feel good animation for the whole family. The jokes are absolutely hilarious and unpredictable, personally I feel that most of the jokes will appeal to both adults and children. There are one or two jokes that only grownups will get, but it does not spoil the movie nor break the flow in any way.

It helps that the are plenty of big names in the movie, and their voice acting is top-notch: James McAvoy (Professor X!!), Jim Broadbent (WHOA!!), Bill Nighy (I love this guy!), and last but not least, Hugh Laurie (House!!).

Yup...big names abound in this movie.

But, in my opinion, this elf steals the show.

I <3 Bryony

Now, all the elves in the movie are damn bloody adorable, in a fanatical soldier, Christmas-loving, children-loving (not like that, *smack*) sorta way. But, by far, I absolutely adore Bryony of the Giftwrap Battalion.

Like the rest of the elves in the movie, she's more militaristic than the usual ones that we've seen, but she's just so damn endearing and cute, especially with the way she tackles giftwrapping like a combat skill. I applaud Ashley Jensen, her voice actress, for her fantastic work in bringing life to this character, it would only be half as effective without her.

She deserves a spin-off short film. Hmmm...


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Arthur Christmas is wonderful, delightful, funny and heartwarming movie. It's easily one of the best Christmas movies and one of the top animated movies of the year. The trailer really does not do it justice. The film is far better than what the trailer suggests.

The rest of the Christmas season movies have a really high bar to surpass.

My recommendations: watch this movie. You won't regret it one bit.

POLAR BEARS!!