21. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

[has it really been 10 years?
...as of July 5th, apparently it will be]


Code-name: Brick


Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Adam McKay and Will Ferrell
Notable Producers: Judd Apatow, (executive) David O. Russell
Type: Frat Pack Comedy


Cast:
Ron Burgundy- Will Ferrell
Veronica Corningstone- Christina Applegate
Brian Fantana- Paul Rudd
Champ Kind- David Koechner
Brick Tamland- Steve Carell
Channel 4 news exec Ed Harken- Fred Willard
Wes Mantooth of the Channel 9 newsteam- Vince Vaughn


Cameos:
Jack Black as the biker Ron hit with a burrito
Luke Wilson as the anchorman of Channel 2 news
Tim Robbins as the anchorman of the Public News Network
Ben Stiller as the anchorman of the Spanish Language News
Seth Rogen as the "eager cameraman"


Write-up:


Introduction


Up until this movie came out, I thought Will Ferrell was an idiot.


...how's that for an introduction? :-P


Seriously, what little I saw him, his sense of humor to me was nothing but idiocy and stupidity. He was nothing but an unfunny man-child and I just didn't get the hype after him.


But when I saw the trailer of "Anchorman," I couldn't explain why but I felt like I had to see it. The idea of a movie about people in a newsroom, a comedy no less... it just looked like one of those "so crazy but just might work" sort of things.


Not that I thought it was crazy. It just looked legitimately funny. And it absolutely was.


Plot, Characters and So On


Something this insanely awesome can't really be sectioned off too much. Everything is more or less interrelated.


Ron Burgundy is THE anchorman with perfect hair, a dog named Baxter and mad jazz flute skills.


Brian Fantana does all the reporting on the streets, is a bit of a womanizer and believes that 80% of the time, his potent Sex Panther cologne works every time.


Champ Kind is an overenthusiastic sport guy who may be a tad possessive with little sense of personal boundaries.


Brick Tamland is the rarely late weatherman with an IQ of 48 who loves lamp and enjoys a good pair of slacks.


And Veronica Corningstone is the new woman [the first ever female reporter] on the block of the Channel 4 new station who soon rises to the role of co-anchor.


Before this movie, I only knew three actors.
Besides Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd (who I was happy didn't disappear with the rest of the "Clueless" cast) and Christina Appelgate (who my family knew as Kelly Bundy on "Married with Children").


David Koechner, I'd seen a couple times doing similar roles to Will Ferrell. Not terribly funny and a bit of an idiot. Including cameos on "The Office" and a small role in "Get Smart"... both are gigs he probably got because of Steve Carell.


Steve Carell


He deserves his own subheading :P
and let's just say he had me from "


This was my first ever encounter with Steve Carell and it made me a fan for life.
I'm not sure if I made this connection with him before or after my dad saw the movie and said "the weatherman is hilarious"... but either way, every one of his lines is funny because it's so idiotic but he says it with confidence.


It all began with: "Right now, it’s 82 degrees in our fair city, and compare that to 48 degrees in the upper Northwest and 38 degrees in the Middle East."


One of the most lovable idiots you'll ever find on film.
It took me a little while to find the humor in "The Office," and Michael Scott is also a bit of an idiot, but he's got a big heart and really cares about the people around him.


I'd seen plenty of Steve Carell since and [not knowing of his involvement in Comedy Central satire] I predicted he'd become a big star.


His films have been a little uneven. For every "Get Smart" and "Dinner with Schmucks," there's a "Crazy Stupid Love" (which became a complete buzzkill when we found out Emma Stone with his daughter and he wasn't okay with her dating Ryan Gosling... so quick to turn on his newest male best friend).


But nothing beats:


"I love lamp" and "LOUD NOISES!"


Back to the Story...


The Channel Four news team has been #1 in the San Diego area for what feels like forever.
Then we're introduced to the newest addition: Veronica Corningstone.


Such a testosterone embroiled workplace, it's obvious where this is going:
she's the latest conquest and all the men fail miserably.


However innocent, Brick had the best idea with his invitation to "that pants party"...
Champ did a seemingly innocent reach-around, which was insanely obvious.
Brian was the second most memorable after Brick and not in the best way: his Sex Panther cologne resulted in a hazmat chemical shower.


Then Ron did the phony workout thing where he pretends to do 100 reps on his "guns" and says his arms are tired from doing so many.
He does however get her attention with a good date where he plays jazz flute and they wind up in "Pleasure Town" when they return to his place.


However, it does not last long as Ron finds himself in a "glass case of emotion" and the studio has no choice but to have Veronica anchor in his place...


Aside from being a chauvinistic pig, the things to remember about Ron Burgundy is that the only thing he loves more than poetry and a glass of Scotch is his dog Baxter...
who gets punted off a bridge by this biker Ron hits with a burrito he carelessly throws out a window...


Yeah, this would have only worked in this movie and with Jack Black playing the biker. And in any other context, Will Ferrell in the phone booth would have just not been funny.
He's crying unintelligibly to Brian Fantana


"Bad man punted Baxter... on the bridge... I hit him with a burrito!"
Even more ridiculous, what sells it for me is when he's just crying, Brian asks him to repeat himself and he keeps doing so at a higher volume :-P hilarious every time


The end result of this entire episode is that Veronica is a hit with the ratings and the guys have no choice but to deal with the fact she's Ron's new co-anchor.


This boils to the point where the guys get in a 5-way bilingual new station brawl with the other news teams.
In other words, let the cameos fly!
Everyone from Luke Wilson to Tim Robbins to Ben Stiller show up... the only person missing is Owen Wilson, who didn't even show up in the sequel... maybe he was off doing another Wes Anderson movie :-P


Again, Brick steals the show on numerous occasions.
Before they even start fighting, we see him standing with the Channel 9 news team, laughing with them.
Everyone takes out their weapons and he has a hand grenade
("Brick where you'd get the hand grenade?" [he responds with no chance of expression] "I don't know")
When the fight breaks out, we see him waving it around, yelling, but never actually see him use it. But he does kill a dude with a trident... very randomly but hilariously.


When all the guys' schemes to get Veronica fired don't work, she pulls something of her own armed with another important bit of information:


"Ron will read ANYTHING that's on the teleprompter"... if you remember from a scene earlier on, there's a question mark in there and he pronounces it...


so... yeah, he unintentionally verbally flips off all of San Diego and is forced to resign...


For this 10 minute period, the movie is back to being Will Ferrell-grade unwatchable. The dude's miserable with a long phony beard.
Lucky for him, though, his ship comes back in when Veronica disappears in the midst of the biggest ratings grab in the San Diego news world...


Yeah, a new panda is being born at the zoo... they must really be starving for stories over there...
Ironically, that part of the storyline is 100% inaccurate. This movie takes place in the 70's and pandas didn't arrive in San Diego until 1987. Considering who's doing the writing, though, we know they're not complete geniuses.


Ron shows up to save the day and, yeah, Baxter is alive and well and arrives to save Ron and Veronica from the grizzlies. Wes Mantooth also gains the courage to tell Ron how he really feels, that as much as he dislikes him, he respects the hell out of him :P


We get a little bit of an epilogue, explaining where the news team wound up.
A couple memorable jokes is that Champ is sued for sexual harassment by Terry Bradshaw and Brick has 10 kids and is an advisor to George W. Bush... in other words, liberal Hollywood is poking fun at the Republican administration :shrug: what can you do, right?


Legacy and Sequel


I'm not entirely sure how big a hit this movie was when it first came out. I believe it was and it only gained more of a following as the years went by.
The lines hold up really well. YouTube is chock full of montages where people segued their favorite quotes and scenes together.


Anyone who didn't know the song at the time like I did also learned a little something about "Afternoon Delight" which the guys sang in a pretty darn good 4-part harmony.


News of a sequel had been on the horizon for years and last year it finally happened. To promote it, Ron Burgundy appeared in several Dodge Durango ads, released an autobiography and even got his own Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Sadly, "Scotchy Scotch Scotch" does not contain any actual scotch... it does however contain ample swirls of BUTTERscotch. I'm not the biggest fan of the stuff, but I did try it. It wasn't bad, but Stephen Colbert's "AmeriCone Dream" still is way better 8-)


As for the sequel... well, it's hit and miss for me... mostly missing.
I had issues with it like I did with the Sherlock Holmes sequel... they tried to up the ante a little too much and it kinda blew up in their face.


Namely, the humor is a little more extreme, going for the gross-out moments or pushing the envelope in general...
Ron is 100x the idiot he was in the previous film. He and Veronica are married with a kid, but they aren't exactly the most stable family. The kid adores him despite the fact he spends zero time with him. Their relationship is tested when Veronica gets a promotion and he doesn't and they wind up separating.


Ron's follow-up job is at a SeaWorld... being a marine biology major and animal lover in general, I was embarrassed with how that scene played out...


He's proposed the idea for a 24/7 news network (kinda like CNN) and "gets the band back together." Champ owns a KFC type place (where the overwought dialogue and puns get tiresome within 5 minutes). Brian is a cat photographer (hilariously because he talks to them as if he's shooting nude models). And Brick makes a cameo where he cries his way through a eulogy AT HIS OWN FUNERAL... now that's just priceless :-P


I think the part that really lost it for me was when Ron ice skates (which I kinda didn't appreciate on the surface since I saw this a few months after the Olympics... no way he could do a quadruple toe-loop) and the rival anchor played by James Marsden causes an accident where he is blinded.


Geesh, the logic of the quadruple toe-loop held more water than that BS.


And the BS continued. Veronica nursed Ron back to health and helped rehabilitate him with the intention of getting her family back together... to the point where she hid from him that a procedure could be done to get his sight back.
Even more idiotic was her starting a cat fight with one of the girls at the news station who had been sweet on Ron. Just, why? She didn't want Ron anymore so why is it her business that he's moving on with someone else?


Probably the worst joke of a scene in the movie was when Ron met the new girlfriend's family and tried to speak all ghetto so they'd understand him. Never mind idiotic, but insensitive... makes me want to ask if Will Ferrell's black friends still talk to him.


At the finale we have the return of the news team fight, but after the first five minutes it just goes too far... Harrison Ford turns into a freaking werewolf and Kanye West (who's already one of my least favorite people in the world) says he's got an idea for Michael Jackson... :facepalm: just no...


The only good thing about the movie was the story arc where they gave Brick the perfect love interest, played by Kristen Wiig.


Coming Soon


Independence Day is next weekend and in an odd sort of way, my next movie plays into that vein.
It got some people talking politics, those who chose to read between the lines.
It got other people, me included, excited with the special effects ALONE


Even after seeing the "true" winner, I still maintain it was robbed at the Oscars in its given year...

22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Code-name: Zero

Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Tim Burton (based on a poem he wrote)
Composer: Danny Elfman
Type: Halloween/holiday themed animated film

Cast:
Jack Skellington- Chris Sarandon
Jack Skellington (singing voice)- Danny Elfman
Sally- Catherine O'Hara
Dr. Finkelstein- William Hickey
The Mayor- Glenn Shadix
Oogie Boogie- Ken Page
Lock- Paul Reubens
Shock- Catherine O'Hara
Barrel- Danny Elfman
Santa Claus- Ed Ivory
Narrator- Patrick Stewart

Notable Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Visual Effects
Golden Globe- Best Original Score- Danny Elfman

Write-up:

Introduction

I remember wanting to see this movie when it came out on VHS, but I don't know if we ever got around to renting it. At the tender age of 8, I probably wouldn't have gotten into it or enjoyed it as much as I do now.

I have "Kingdom Hearts" alone to thank for convincing me to give this movie another shot. Now I can't get through the Halloween season without seeing it once and I have this thing where I have to see every second of it or the overall experience doesn't feel complete.

The first time I saw a run-through of the game, I was surprised that HalloweenTown was one of the worlds. I didn't remember it being a Disney movie... apparently Touchstone Pictures is OWNED by Disney and they used to distribute their darker films.

...I have mixed feelings about that :-P Disney handles some pretty dark stuff on their own

But anyway, both installments of the series handled different elements from this movie. This is opposed to one game handling a plot similar to the movie and the other making up its own storyline. That alone, I find pretty impressive.

In Kingdom Hearts, Jack wanted to use the Heartless for his yearly Halloween celebration and it has some serious repercussions. Naturally, Sally thinks it's a horrible idea and tries to talk him out of it. Oogie Boogie's roulette wheel was featured in the first boss fight.

The second game revisit the plot where Jack has Sally make him a Santa Claus costume and it's hinted that he wants to give the Christmas thing another try.
Both renderings were really well done, using a lot of the same settings in the film (KHII also has a ChristmasTown locale, which is a nice addition).

It's also nice that they brought back Chris Sarandon to perform for Jack... everyone else, they were sourced out to prolific, albeit, generic voiceover veterans like Kathe Soucie and Jeff Bennett (who I love in their own work, it's just a minor peeve of mine when other actors originate roles and sound-alikes take over for monetary reasons)...

Anyway, moving on...

The Story


Halloweentown is one of several parallel universes where holidays come from. The inhabitants include all the creatures one would associate with Halloween, monsters, vampires, werewolves and such. The most notable resident: Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King. During every year's Halloween celebration, he's at the center of its planning and staging.

This year, however, after Halloween comes and goes, Jack feels empty inside, doing the same thing year after year and wants to find something new.
What he winds up finding is the portal to ChristmasTown, leading him on a mission to explain the spirit of Christmas to the HalloweenTown residents.

This does not go over well and he soon decides the best way is to take over Christmas, getting everyone else involved.
The only person against it is Sally, a ragdoll created by the mad scientist Dr. Finkelstein. She spends much of the movie trying to get away from him as he believes she's not quite ready for the outside world. She also falls in love with Jack, despite her opposition to his idea.

What could possibly go wrong? With Christmas now under the leadership of someone best skilled at scaring people? And with Santa Claus in the clutches of Oogie Boogie, the town's Boogie Man?

How about everything? :-P
But every minute of it isn't to be missed.

Characters and Actors

Easily, the biggest stars of this movie are Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman and Catherine O'Hara.

Knowing him only as Prince Humperdink of "The Princess Bride," I wouldn't have figured Chris Sarandon had this much depth. Of course his performance is aided by dozens of expressions for Jack's figurine, but he brings so much life to it... you feel like Jack is really alive.
Not that all of the characters aren't lively, but there are so many dimensions to Jack's personality. Despite going about his good intentions the wrong way, you find yourself wanting to get behind him. He has that irresistible charm and charisma.

Catherine O'Hara previously worked with Tim Burton in "Beetlejuice" and most of us know her as Mrs. McAllister in the "Home Alone" movies. Sally is a unique character, unlike anything she'd played before and also unique among the HalloweenTown residents. She has a good heart, a conscience and probably more common sense than everyone else in the world put together.

As Santa Claus put it, "the next time you take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her. She's the only one who makes sense around this insane asylum"

Given the back and forth we have throughout the movie, Jack realizing his feelings for Sally and uniting with her... such a sweet pay-off.

Adults are more likely to see the humor in The Mayor. He's a man with two faces that transition based on his mood (one happy, one terrified/sad) and his shtick (probably moreso in the Kingdom Hearts series than in the movie) is saying "I'm only an elected official, I can't handle this by myself"...
:sigh: sad but true

Lock, Shock and Barrel are all minions of Oogie Boogie's, but they have their unique personalities and quirks. They're mischievous kids dressed as a devil, a witch and a skeleton. Jack hires them to kidnap Santa Claus so he can take over the holiday. They also wind up handing Santa over to Oogie Boogie, who absolutely enjoys making a spectacle of himself to horrify him.
Although Jack's plan is all kinds of wrong, Oogie Boogie's the true villain of the movie. How he's defeated is textbook horror-genre'd B-movie... about as silly as seeing the zipper in the back of a monster costume.

And of course, there's Jack's faithful ghost dog companion, Zero. So loveable, one of several dogs Tim Burton had written into his stop-motion animated films... all of which were dead yet alive in their own way.
However cheesy it is, he's there to "light the way" for Jack's sleigh when Sally tries to stop the flight with fog juice.

Yeah, they totally gave him a glowing jack-o-lantern nose for that reason :-P

The Music

Danny Elfman said writing the 10 songs in this movie was "one of the easiest jobs I've ever had" because he had a lot in common with our anti-hero, Jack Skellington 8-)

I got to know "This is Halloween," the opening musical number of this film, as the musical score of HalloweenTown in Kingdom Heart... meaning I didn't know there were actually words attached.
Whenever I watch the movie, for whatever reason, my sister will come in and sing along with the song... the only part of the movie she will watch with me...

But yeah, it's a pretty kick ass song and I can play at least the first couple bars on keyboard.

Actually, all of the songs in this movie are really good with the exception of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," sung by Lock, Stock and Barrel. Not that it's bad songwriting, it's just hard to listen to and enjoy it, especially with the childish sounding vocals.

Right after "This is Halloween," we have "Jack's Lament" where he moans about not feeling the Halloween spirit and not understanding why.
One of many songs where Danny Elfman does melancholy so well.

So naturally we had to follow it with something happier and more upbeat.
"What's this?" where Jack is running around ChristmasTown trying to make sense of everything, how this world is so different from his.
It's so much fun, seeing his flexible body weave in and out of the town, the expressions on his face, the range of his vocals. He's so captivated and overwhelmed by every little detail.

Another fun song, if you're into the demented side of fun, is Oogie Boogie's song. For a younger audience, it might be deemed a little creepy with all the crazy colors and patterns appearing throughout the number.
It also prominently features the roulette wheel that was part of the first HalloweenTown boss fight in Kingdom Hearts, as does the epic battle scene in the finale between him and Jack.

A great moment that was parodied by Nostalgia Critic was in a song called "Poor Jack" where Jack's plan literally blows up in his face and he wonders why.
Then he realizes the error of his ways, puts an optimistic spin on things and resolves to come up with something better for next Halloween.

Nostalgia Critic put his some of own lyrics to this song after a vlog of him reviewing old commercials at a time where he was questioning why he was doing what he was doing.
He then proceeds to end it the same way:

"I hope there's still time to set things right... Sandy Claws"... he goes off screen and comes back on, "Sandy Claws?" and quickly corrects himself.
I just find that hilarious.

Aside from "What's this?," my favorite song is the one sung by Sally and later by her and Jack. The chord progression is all over the place, but that's part of its charm.
Another melancholy track done really well, but it's so beautiful, especially when she and Jack get together in the end.This part especially is where I feel it's crucial to not miss a second. One time I missed hearing the final notes of the song at the end of the movie and I wasn't entirely satisfied at the end because of it. Mainly because one of the many things in music I go crazy for is having a song ending on the perfect note. That just makes me so happy 8-)

Theatrical Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Date: June 15, 2014
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 11:30 am
Party: 2 (my sister & I)


Writer/Director: Dean DeBlois
Based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell


Duration: 102 minutes (+3 trailers)


Cast:
Hiccup- Jay Baruchel
Stoick- Gerard Butler
Valka- Cate Blanchett
Astrid- America Ferrera
Snotlout- Jonah Hill
Fishlegs- Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Tuffnut- T.J. Miller
Ruffnut- Kristen Wiig
Gobber- Craig Ferguson
Eret- Kit Harington
Drago- Djimon Hounsou


Trailers:


The marquee to our theater had this movie's title and "Maleficent." Based on the first trailer, I was a little afraid they were showing the wrong movie.


Basically, it was a teaser trailer for next year's live-action "Cinderella," a black screen that rotated around a glass slipper. I don't know much about it, but I'm already excited about it much more than "Maleficent"... I'm not the biggest Angelina Jolie fan


The second looked like a pet project Guillermo de Toro had been working on for years. It was an animated film called "The Book of Life." His heritage was very much in play because it takes place in Spain, one scene had bullfighters involved and Zoe Saldana plays the female lead who's dressed like Carmen ala the opera of the same name.
The overall look of it reminded me a little bit of "Coraline," but with more textures, colors and patterns.


Then there was a Disney movie called "Big Hero 6" by the same people behind "Wreck-It Ralph" (still haven't seen it and still wanting to). It was a goofy teaser trailer where this kid conjured armor for his creature and has difficulty fitting the pieces over his large frame.


Write-up:

Intro

I figured we were due for another animated film my sister could enjoy. The box office has been going through a bit of a drought lately with nothing I'd really wanted to see.
As August approaches, I think that'll start to change.


It might not resonate with her in the long run as much as "The Lego Movie" did (which we'll most definitely get on DVD whenever possible), but we both enjoyed this movie a great deal.
So did the dozen or so other people in the theater with us. A lot of parents with kids, all younger than 12.


I feel bad going into this with little memory of the first movie, which I do remember enjoying quite a bit. I guess it would help to see the first movie before this one, but you won't be lost if this is the first time you're visiting the Nordic village of Berk.


Word Travels Fast


Going into it, I've heard a couple things about it. I've heard a lot of good things said about it. One trailer said it was "Braver than Brave and more fun than Frozen"... Loved both movies and I'll give them the first thing, but not the second.
[Brings me back to the "Captain America" trailer that claimed it was better than "The Avengers"... uh, no..]


I've also heard a couple negative things, few I paid attention to. One review I read compared the new sport of Berk to Quidditch... not that there's anything wrong with Quidditch, but I understand where the comparison came from.


Then I heard a rumored "traumatic" scene that drew comparisons to Bambi's mom getting shot... if the scene is what I think it is, it doesn't come until maybe the 90 minute mark*, just before the final battle scene. I can see why it might be rough for some people, but it isn't tragic to that nth degree.


Either way, it astounds me that this movie only raked in $50 million, $10mill shy of the #1 spot, "22 Jump Street."
How "22 Jump Street" is drawing such an audience is beyond me, although I haven't seen any of the series or the previous film. But you'd think with this movie being in 3D that'd give them more of a boost.


Speaking from an objective POV, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" was really well done.


Plot


We return to the island village of Berk 5 years after the previous film... which came out in 2010 (eh, I'll let that slide).
We enter in the middle of an action scene that happens to be their version of Quidditch. Riding dragons, the kids have to carry a sheep into their particular goal and there's plenty of roughhousing along the way. Then there's a black sheep that's worth an extra amount of points and could turn the tide (kinda like their Golden Snitch).
However, the only kid missing from the action is Hiccup, who is busy chartering more outer territory with his best friend, Toothless. He also tries out his set of wings, which he uses a few times to glide solo.


Part of the storyline is your run-of-the-mill "coming of age" story.
The village leader, Stoicke, just asked Hiccup to take over for him and he's unsure if he could handle the responsibility. Between his small build and his demeanor, it's understandable why he doesn't want the job.


While exploring with Astrid, they come upon dragon trappers, who tell them about their leader, Drago, who wants to take over the world with his dragon army.
As it turns out, Stoicke had met Drago before. We see a flashback where Drago proposes his dragon army idea to the other leaders and massacres them by dragon fire when they don't agree with him.


Stoicke decides to put the village on lockdown, but Hiccup believes he can convince Drago to change his mind... a naïve notion, yes, but that's exactly what he does.
His plan is not without its snags. Firstly, his big idea is surrendering to the dragon trappers so they'll take him to their leader. Secondly, his friends show up to rescue him and fowl everything up. Then Hiccup and Toothless run into a bit of trouble... or so it seems that way at first.


They get kidnapped by, as it turns out, Hiccup's believed-to-be-dead mother Valka who explains her 20 year absence and shows them the Dragon Paradise where she'd been living. Then Stoicke tracks them down and we have a touching reunion between him and Valka.


After that, conflict erupts when Drago arrives, overthrows the alpha dragon with a larger one of his own and spellbinds the remaining dragons to attack Berk.*


Everything turns all right in the end, but there are a bunch of great twists and turns I don't want to give away. Let's just say that the pay-off we get at the end: such a great ending 8-)


Cast and Characters


I was saddened when I read that Jay Baruchel was retiring from acting. With the exception of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" (he's just not cut out to be anything but a good guy), I've loved him in every movie. But I always knew I had this sequel to look forward to.
As was the case with the original, nobody else could play Hiccup to be the loveable young Viking we know him to be. Such an endearing underdog of a character we can't help but want to see do well.


Actually, for the first half hour of the movie, it was hard for me to watch this movie and not think about the all-star cast. I only remembered the first four names off the cast list, but I could picture the actors while listening to their voices. As much as I enjoy that, I also like to be lost in the illusion of animation.
After the first half hour, I became immersed in this fantastic world and forget about the actors...


...with the exception of one moment with Gerard Butler as Stoicke.
Now there's another of those "where the heck has he been?" names. Looking over his resume, a couple movies ring bells: Olympus has Fallen, Playing for Keeps, Chasing Mavericks... nothing I've seen or wanted to see or did well in general.


We hear his native Scottish accent in full force here, a great asset to this franchise.
He's one of few foreign actors I've encountered who got to KEEP their accents in their roles. (yet why is it that Robert Pattinson, Alex Pettyfer and Theo James had to go "American" for their roles? doesn't seem fair to me)


But I digress... there's a sweet scene where Stoicke serenades Valka with song to talk her into coming home with them. Even more sweet for me because I hadn't heard Gerard Butler sing since "The Phantom of the Opera"
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2013/11/53-phantom-of-opera-2004.html


Overall, the cast was great throughout this movie.


No matter what she does, Cate Blanchett always does well and having her in animation was a nice change of pace.


Djimon Housou, who I remember most from his compelling "Amistad" performance, made an already intimidating villain even more so. Plus the dude was drawn so ugly that you needed just the right voice to pull everything together.


Kit Harington plays the lead dragon trapper, Eret.
If my mom was around, she would have jumped for joy because he's a "Game of Thrones" actor. I don't know much about him, so I spent part of the movie thinking maybe Eret was played by Orlando Bloom. Either way, a really good looking guy with a hot accent.


This movie was not short on comedic relief and it provided great balance with all the dramatic and sentimental bits in between. One running joke that got laughs out of us and the audience was the way Ruffnut (the twin voiced by Kristen Wiig, who I did not recognize at all) fawned over him and his muscles.
Even animated, the dude was good looking. I also loved how, later on, he has a change of heart and allies with the good guys.


Jonah Hill is another voice easy to recognize and begs the question if it's fair that he has two movies coming out the same weekend. Whether he has a leading role or not is not the point :-P it's just a pet peeve of mine because that kind of thing never happens with actors and actresses I personally invest in.


Animation and Story


However good the reviews said this movie was in 3D (DreamWorks actually does it pretty well), we saw it in 2D just because it was cheaper and it was the earlier showing (did not want to deal with the parking situation later in the day).


There are definitely a lot of high-flying moments that lend themselves well to 3D. Anytime we fly around with the dragons is an exhilarating experience. Loved it.
I had a jaw-dropping moment when we arrived in Dragon Paradise because everything was so vibrant and so beautifully rendered. Maybe not the same degree as "Avatar," but in the back of my mind, I thought how I'd love to live there.


Also in the back of my head, I had that little voice warning me how good things won't last forever. The movie does get dark in some places, especially when the new alpha dragon gets control over Toothless and temporarily sways his loyalty.


I don't know if it was my overall mindset or the balance of the script, but optimism always had a way of winning out. I felt a reassurance that everything would be okay in the end and I was not disappointed.


Grade: A


-I don't think I can say anything bad about this movie. In any aspect, it did really well and as a sequel, it did justice to the original and stood on its own really well. Not many sequels, live-action OR animated, can say that.

23. Finding Nemo (2003)

Code-name: Sharkbait
("Sharkbait, bru-ha-ha!")

Directors: Andrew Stanton*, Lee Unkrick
*Andrew wrote the story and worked with Bob Peterson and David Reynolds on the screenplayType: animation, adventure, comedy
Music: Thomas Newman

Cast:
[The Ocean]
Nemo- Alexander Gould
Marlin- Albert Brooks
Mr. Ray- Bob Peterson
Dory- Ellen DeGeneres
Bruce- Barry Humphries
Chum- Bruce Spence
Anchor- Eric Bana
Fish School- John Ratzenberger [aka Pixar's good-luck charm]
Crush- Andrew Stanton
Coral- Elizabeth Perkins

[The Dentist Office]
Nigel- Geoffrey Rush
Gill- Willem Dafoe
Bloat- Brad Garrett
Bubbles- Stephen Root ["my bubbles!"]
Deb/Flo- Vicki Lewis
Peach- Allison Janney
Jacques- John Ranft
Dentist P. Sherman- Bill Hunter

Notable Awards and Nominations:
OSCAR- Best animated film
nomination- OSCAR- Best Original Screenplay
nomination- OSCAR- Best Sound Editing
nomination- OSCAR- Best Original Score
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Picture (comedy/musical)
AFI- Movie of the Year- 2004

Write-up:

First Impression

First of all, Pixar is amazing in general. The only film from this company I didn't get into was "Monsters Inc." I don't know, but not a huge fan. (And for the record, I have not seen "Cars 2," which I've heard some horrific things about, and don't plan on seeing "Planes").

In 2003, it was on the cutting edge. They had success already with "Toy Story," a series I enjoyed, but didn't fully become immersed in for a couple years.
"Finding Nemo," on the premise alone and the amazing animation, of course, we had to go out and see that.

That was a particular amazing summer where I did so much. Among those things, I got my permit (don't ask me why, but I didn't bother to get my license until summer of 2005), I went to an amazing Jesse McCartney concert, "The O.C." premiered and I went to the movies three times.
The other two were "Freaky Friday" and "Princess Diaries 2."

I don't have a lot of old ticket stubs, but I still have mine for "Finding Nemo."

Saw it on June 6th 2003 at 4:40pm.

The animation's incredible, we had such memorable characters and dozens of great quotes.
This was before I became an avid viewer of Ellen's daytime talk show, but she was probably my favorite part of this movie. Animation agreed with her voice so well.

Bits of Trivia

For someone who goes crazy over movie trivia, I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know a lot of stuff that went on behind the scenes of this movie. Other than one or two TV sneak peeks where they showed how they make the underwater scenery and movement of the characters look so realistic. And they also showed other Pixar references in the background, including a Buzz Lightyear at the dentist office and the Pizza Planet car in the "great escape" sequence.

Some interesting tidbits I'm picking up:

• Dory was written specifically for Ellen
• It was dedicated to Pixar animator Glenn McQueen who became the namesake for the protagonist of "Cars"
• It beat out "The Lion King" for highest grossing animated film (a title, I believe, was later taken by "Toy Story 3" and most recently, "Frozen")
• Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer were approached to score the film and turned it down (both great composers I respect, but they weren't quite right for this

Actors and Actresses

Willem Dafoe's been appearing in my reviews a lot lately... it's not intentional, I promise.

I've said some movies are more about the story than the actors.
This one has been so about the memorable characters that I didn't think to look up the all-star cast. At the time, I only knew Ellen, Albert Brooks (who I'd seen previously voiceover for the tiger in Eddie Murphy's "Doctor Doolittle" remake), and Brad Garrett (even though I watched very little of "Everyone Loves Raymond," my mom loved him in that show).

Willem Dafoe and Allison Janney, I picked up on only a couple years ago. For once, it is kinda nice to see Dafoe play a good guy, even though Gill does look a little rough around the edges when we first meet him.

But now I'm learning that Eric Bana was one of the sharks, Nigel the pelican was done by Captain Barbossa himself, Geoffrey Rush...
the actual screenwriters even got into the act with Bob Peterson as the teacher, Mr. Ray, and Andrew Stanton as Crush (a toootally awwwesssome sea turtle, bro)...

Yeah, great cast of people.

More often than that, though, Pixar to me is about the characters and the cutting edge computer animation.

Characters, Quotes and Sea Life

The makings of great films also include falling in love with certain aspects at first and appreciating more things about them as you get older.

I don't know how the fascination with sea life started when I was a kid. I loved animals in general, everything from dinosaurs to cats and dogs to dolphins and whales. So I knew a lot of stuff when it came to these guys. At one time, I did have a fish tank, but it was all freshwater warm water fish, mostly tetras (and to this day, it still confounds me that my catfish never managed to stay alive after the one I had for a number of years died).

Some of it comes from computer programs like "In the Company of Whales" and "Shark Alert," where I absorbed so many facts like a sponge.

Right now, I'm remembering back to my college's Marine Biology club taking a trip to the Camden Aquarium and my friend Kirby found Nemo and pointed out Dory (a blue tang) to a kid who was a fan of the movie.
LOL
I thought I knew my stuff about marine life, but Kirby was even more savvy about that stuff.
Oh well, at least a fellow marine biology major, he's living that dream in some capacity... it's been a while since we've talked, so maybe this is a good excuse to see what it is that he's doing. Other than fishing and helping out people with their fish tanks with his expertise 8-)

But I digress...

I don't know WTF is with Disney and killing off parents (I'm still groaning over "Frozen" in that department because that could have easily have been avoided), but that's how the movie begins. Nemo's mom gets eaten by a barracuda.

As a result, Marlin is left to raise Nemo alone and he's overprotective to the nth degree.
On Nemo's first day of school, this becomes a major issue. Nemo gets fed up and tries to prove he's capable of being on his own by swimming to a boat... where he gets himself caught by an Aussie dentist.

So in an odd sort of way, this is another version of your "fish out of water" story. Marlin has no choice, but to put his fear of the oceanic unknown aside to get Nemo back. Right away, he bumps into the friendly, although absent-minded, Dory.

Then their story continues on, following the address on the diving mask...

Say it with me...
P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney

It's a guarantee you'll never forget that address after seeing this movie even once ;)

...and they run into all kinds of obstacles along the way.
You get lots of action and adventure, plenty of drama (mostly from Marlin being a neurotic drama king, lol) and Dory provides the comedic element to lighten everyone's mood.

Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming swimming swimming...

Then on the other side of the Big Blue and the EAC (East Australian Current), we spend the other half of this part of the film with Nemo and his new friends, who live in the dentist office fish tank. They'd been there so long that they know all the dentist's habits by the clock... They also have their issues.

As Gill puts it; "Fish aren't meant to be in a box, kid, it does stuff to you"

Like the damselfish who's convinced her reflection is her sister
And the yellow tang who is oddly possessive of his bubble-churning treasure chest

My bubbles!

Probably my favorite quote of the movie :-P I use it whenever I can... that and the seagulls who constantly say "Mine!" ...and occasionally I like to say "es-ca-pey" like Dory

Nemo's storyline with his tank-mates is all about putting together the "great escape," a plan that's failed miserably on numerous occasions, even resulting in permanent scaling for Gill. Not just to get him back to the ocean, but to keep him out of the hands of P. Sherman's niece, Darla, who they've labeled as a fish killer.
She's not exactly the female equivalent of Sid from "Toy Story," meaning she doesn't intentionally kill fish. She just doesn't know not to shake the plastic bag holding them.

While Marlin and Dory head to Sydney, Australia, they're on this mission, but part of their storyline is the cliché of two opposite personalities traveling together.
Marlin being the pessimist, worrier and realistic and Dory being the optimist and idealist. They compliment each other really well. Often times, this helps keep them alive.
Marlin does a great deal of this, knowing well to be wary of the so-called "vegetarian" sharks, even when things are looking up.

On the flipside, he almost leads the two of them to death of jellyfish

I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy...

because he doesn't listen to her about swimming through the trench.
After what happened in the beginning of the film, he has trouble trusting anyone's judgment but his own, particularly Dory's, since he perceives her to be an absent-minded flake.
Sooner or later, he does learn to let go a bit and grows immensely as a character.

Despite all the things the characters endure, everyone gets their happy ending with plenty of laughs and tense moments along the way.
Good for all ages, although I'd read a couple accounts from people who thought the opening scene with the barracuda was a little too intense, however short it may be. Not quite as bad as some other Disney death sequences, but still worthy of note.

Upcoming Sequel

I wasn't sure if it was just a running joke or she was deadly serious, but rarely did a lot of time go by without Ellen lobbying on her talk show for a "Finding Nemo" sequel...
After doing this for a number of years, she finally got her wish last year.




 "Finding Dory" was announced and is currently in production.

On the one hand, I guess it does make sense because "Toy Story" had great success with its sequels. But then again, there was also "Cars" and "Monsters Inc." that had not-so-good sequels/prequels. Plus, "Finding Nemo" is so amazing on its own that any notion to top that seems ludicrous.... but nonetheless, we shall see how this works out.

24. The Princess Bride (1987)

Code-name: Iocaine

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman (novel AND screenplay) 
Type: Fantasy, comedy, romance, adventure, book-to-movie adaptation

Cast:
Buttercup, the Princess Bride- Robin Wright
Wesley- Cary Elwes
Vizzini- Wallace Shawn
Fezzik- Andre the Giant
Inigo Montoya- Mandy Patinkin
Prince Humperdink- Chris Sarandon
Count Rugen- Christopher Guest
The Albino- Mel Smith
Miracle Max- Billy Crystal
Valerie- Carol Kane
The "Impressive" Clergyman- Peter Cook
The Grandson- Fred Savage
The Grandfather- Peter Falk

Notable Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Original Song- "Storybook Love" by Willy DeVille
Grammy- Best Score for a Motion Picture- Mark Knopfler

Write-up:
Some Spoilers To Follow

Skepticism Turned to True Love
Considering how I grew up with a lot of Disney movies involving fairytales and princesses, I don't know why I resisted this movie for the years that I did. One of several movies my mom tried to sell me on over the years , but I don't remember any specifics other than "it's a cute movie."

The day I saw it for the first time, it was during my art class in middle school. I believe it was towards the end of the year on this particular occasion.
I saw this movie, figured I'd give it a shot and... at some point, I was immediately turned onto it and the love affair began.

I don't remember the specific moment where it "clicked" for me... but I'd wager it was when Vizzini, Fezzik and Inigo were introduced and they were being pursued by "Zorro."
It's funny how the trivia for this movie says that the Dreaded Pirate Roberts look was modeled after Zorro because I didn't know what else to think of it.
Ironically, the school year ended after Wesley gets 50 years sucked away by "the machine" and is presumed dead... the worst possible cliffhanger imaginable for this movie.

Of course, I'm freaking out, not wanting to leave things off without knowing what happens. But if I remember right, I didn't get my hands on a Blockbuster rental for a couple weeks, maybe even a month after this. Guess I wasn't in that much of a hurry...

A Little Bit of Everything
First of all, this movie is told in somewhat of a creative way. We're introduced to an unnamed grandson, home sick from school, who receives a visit from his grandfather (also unnamed). To help him feel better, the grandfather reads him a book that was read to him by his father, that he read to his father.

As he tells the story, we the audience see the visuals come to life, and occasionally we cut back to them during some dramatic parts of the story. After giving him the "in my day, television was called books" line, the grandfather runs down all of the things that happen:
"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..."

It's amazing that a balance is struck between all the genres represented here. It's one thing to carry on a love story, which includes a love triangle. It's another to give an additional storyline to a presumed second-tier character that, crazy enough, intersects with the main storyline that provides plenty of good action scenes and comic relief.

Plot

At the center is the relationship between a girl and her farm boy, Wesley. For years, she loved bossing him around and asking him to do tedious tasks for her, but he had nothing but love for her. By the time they come to realize this, he leaves to seek fortune across the sea (I assume to marry her), and is killed by pirates.
After weeks of mourning, Buttercup becomes engaged to Prince Humperdrink, who falls for her beauty and according to the law of the land, he has the right to choose his bride.

We're introduced to, we originally presume, the main villain and his two lackeys that kidnap Buttercup to start a war between the countries of Gildar and Florin.
As they make their escape, they're pursed by "the man in black" (aka "Zorro"... minus the cape). This pursuit becomes increasingly serious (just follow the "inconceivable!" s) so Vizzini splits the crew up one by one, hoping his men with their unique skill sets can stop him.

1)
The Adversary: Inigo Montoya
-we hear his backstory, how he's searching for the "six fingered man" who killed his father... you know the drill :-P
The Skill: Fencing (both left AND right handed)

The rewatchability value of this movie is pretty amazing. If anything, it's worth waiting for all three of these duels. Some great banter is in this first one with Inigo so excitable and "The Man in Black" being so laid-back and sarcastic.

One final "inconceivable" later...

2)
The Adversary: Fezzik
The Skill:...
Fezzik: no tricks, no weapons, skill against your own
The Man in Black: You mean, you put down your rock, I'll put down my sword and we try to kill each other like civilized people?

Somehow, Fezzik loses this fight, despite his massive strength and size. After the thrill of the previous fight, this duel is a little anti-climatic and feels drawn out. It also takes a few views to understand his dialogue....I forget the circumstances, but I think my mom said she briefly met Andre the Giant once when she was working at the Penny Arcade years ago.

3)
The Adversary: Vizzini
The Skill: "A Battle of Wits"

After bragging about being smarter than Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, the Man in Black challenges Vizzini to a battle of wits to the death.
Here we see the "odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid and one of the more deadly poisons known to man"... known as Iocaine... fictional, by the way.

He supposedly pours the poison into one goblet and Vizzini has to pick which one has the poison in it. Now this banter is hilarious because it goes on for ages and the result... a catch-22, really... the first time I saw it, it totally caught me off guard as did the explanation. Very unexpected and in a cool way.

SPOILER
The Man in Black is Wesley who inherited the pirate ship Revenge and the name of Dread Pirate Roberts from the very pirate that was rumored to have killed him... It also turns out that the name was passed down through a series of individuals. Although Wesley started as a prison on presumed death row, the pirate never killed him and they wound up becoming friends.

Not all things are as they seem in this story, which always keeps it exciting.

I had my suspicions and hopes early on that Wesley was the Man in Black. For a split second, when he said to Buttercup "he died well, that should please you," I remember feeling overcome with sadness that my hopes had been dashed...
Then of course, it was all a façade and Wesley was alive.

Meanwhile as we see the various duels unfold, we also see Prince Humperdink [who I always joke is wearing a dress in these scenes, lol] and Count Rugen pursuing Buttercup's kidnappers.

Wesley and Buttercup have their reunion, but it only lasts through the dreaded "fire swamp." It's pretty rough and graphic at points, especially when Wesley comes face to face with the ROUSes (rodents of unusual size).
She goes back with Humperdink and Wesley is held in the Pit of Despair to await torture.
The plot stalls for only 10-15 minutes or so. Buttercup comes to realize [mostly thanks to a crazy-ass dream where this old lady breaks the fourth wall to wake her up to the truth that] she will always love Wesley. Humperdrink plays along, but only we the audience know he has an even more devious plan in mind.

Not only is he not a real Prince Charming, but he SPOILER had actually hired Vizzini and his crew to murder Buttercup so he can start a war with Gildar... seriously, some crazy stuff goes on that goes against the conventions of most fairytales.

Like Buttercup preferring farm boy-turned-pirate Wesley over a Prince... of course, you had to be there in the beginning to believe why this is. Plus all sorts of despicable reasons as to why Humperdink is a bit of a jerk that has no business marrying anyone.
As I mentioned earlier, the most unconventional part that works with this movie is how the supporting characters, the lackeys, particularly Inigo Montoya gets his storyline... not only continued but resolved.  Heck, if you really look beyond the surface, he's the most interesting, most complex character this movie has... except for maybe Humperdink.

So we get to the point where I left off the first time...
Buttercup loses her temper with Humperdink, so he uses his torture machine to kill Wesley.
By some miracle, Inigo and Fezzik find him and bring him to Miracle Max to revive.

To be brutally honest, the rest of this movie probably would have fallen apart had it not been for Fezzik. If he hadn't found Inigo (back to being the drunkard he was when Vizzini hired him), Wesley wouldn't have been saved and neither would have Buttercup. Plus, it helped lighten the mood (the movie was getting kinda dark and hopeless at this point) and kept the momentum going.
Although we don't see all the details, the grandfather's narration clues us in that Fezzik found the "six-fingered man" and wakes Inigo out of his stupor. Inigo decides to look for Wesley because he needs a brilliant mind to plan his storming of the castle.

Three parts of the movie are particularly memorable and always worth the revisit of the whole.
The first is Wesley's three-part duel with Vizzini and his crew.
The second is the scene with Miracle Max.
And the third is the wedding ceremony between Buttercup and Humpderink
(well, four if you include Wesley's "To the Pain" speech to Humperdink)

From start to finish, Miracle Max is probably the funniest, most quotable scene this movie has. The man is played by none other than Billy Crystal, completely unrecognizable except for his voice. If he wasn't funny enough on his own, Carol Kane who plays his wife... forget about it! :-P
It's hard to resist the temptation of quoting this scene as it's progressing. It's even harder not to do it while imitating their voices.

So Wesley is revived (without much strength in his extremities) and goes with Inigo and Fezzik to storm the castle.
Buttercup and Humperdink are married by the "impressive" clergyman who begins the sermon with the ever-memorable "wah-widge... wah-widge is what bwings us togetha today"

Everyone gets exactly what they want out of the deal... except for Humperdink, obviously.
And the grandson, who was calling for Humperdink's murder earlier on when Wesley was presumed dead :-P

Inigo's final showdown with Count Rugen is pretty impressive, although one can't help but wonder how he survived that blow to the stomach... especially considering this is set in medieval times.
But yeah, it's a great conclusion to his 20 year request for revenge and it proves cathartic for him as well as Mandy Patinkin, the actor who plays him. According to a bit of trivia, his final blow to Count Rugen was, to him, like killing the cancer that killed his father.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"

Wesley's "To the Pain" speech, in a nutshell, is his wish for Humperdink "to live in anguish wallowing in freakish misery forever" because it is the only punishment worthy of him after all the trouble he put him and Buttercup through.

This fantasy involves maiming his limbs, taking out his tongue and his eyes.
The only thing that remains are the ears. ("Wrong! Your ears you keep!")
Once the speech is done, Buttercup ties up Humperdink (wearing another dress, btw, lol) to leave to rot and the foursome head for the horizon on the four white horses Fezzik finds for them.

Actors and Actresses
For the most part, this is another of those movies where, for me, it's more about the story and the genres represented more than the actors.

However, I cannot go into this movie without giving a good part of the discussion to Cary Elwes.With Cary Elwes as Wesley, he was the quintessential knight in shining armor... minus the armor, obviously. For the sake of his beloved, he's willing to go to any lengths to reunite with her and he looks dashingly handsome while doing so. He has vulnerability and doesn't let that hold him back. So handsome, great speaking voice and overall, he's aged well.
It was interesting to see him as the villain in "Ella Enchanted," the reverse of the role he's best known for. [He's also great in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," like the second coming of Errol Flynn, albeit more comedic]
What's incredible to me about him is that, despite all the years that have gone by, he still embraces this role and he looks back on it as one of the best experiences he ever had on a film.

The same goes for Mandy Patinkin. He's done so many other things since this movie. Most recently, the ShowTime series "Homeland," and he still loves it when people come up to him and quote his infamous line.

Wallace Shawn is hilarious in this movie, despite only being in it for a short time.
He introduced us to "inconceivable!"

Early on what made this movie work for me was the banter between Fezzik and Inigo, completing each other's sentences and such. They're lackeys originally, but they get along so well that they become best friends.

Buttercup's resolve in her love for Wesley as much as he's persistent about getting her back. Other than that, Buttercup might not be the strongest character in this movie. But as of lately, we've been spoiled by free-minded princesses and this movie came out 25+ years ago so that can be overlooked. Sure, she's blonde, but I don't find her all that pretty. And she's kinda one-note.

Chris Sarandon makes a pretty good villain, something he did a bang up job of in the 80's. Between this and "Fright Night," which I only saw recently because Anton Yelchin starred in the remake.
He also plays a good role further into my countdown, so I'll talk about him more then.

Between "The Wonder Years" and "Boy Meets World," the Brothers Savage were pretty big in the late 80's, early 90's. Fred Savage was here just before he did "The Wonder Years" and has since gone on to directing as well as occasionally acting.
I remember one cameo he did on "Boys Meets World" where I did not like him much at all... he was putting the moves on Topanga despite being her teacher and threatened to have Corey expelled after getting into an altercation with him.

And In Memorium, Andre the Giant (1946-1993) and Peter Falk (1927-2011) will be missed for their various contributions, but certainly in their loveable, memorable roles here.

Overall, though, the movie's biggest star has to be the script.

25. Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Code-name: 1890's bromance

Director: Guy Ritchie

Type: book-to-movie, mystery, thriller, drama, action/adventure

Music: Hans Zimmer
(I had, unknowingly, been a fan of Hans Zimmer for years and this movie is why he's become one of my favorite movie composers, second only to John Williams).

Cast:
Sherlock Holmes- Robert Downey Jr.
Dr. Watson- Jude Law
Lord Blackwood- Mark Strong
Irene Adler- Rachel McAdams
Mary Morstan- Kelly Reilly 
Mrs. Hudson- Geraldine James
Inspector Lestrade- Eddie Marsan
Clarkey- William Huston
[Honorable Mention]
Dredger- Robert Maillet

Notable Awards and Nominations:

Golden Globe-

Best Actor (comedy/musical)-

Robert Downey Jr.

...yeah, it's kind of a big deal 8-)

nomination-OSCAR- Best Art Direction (lost to "Avatar")
nomination-OSCAR- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer (lost to "Up")

...btw, where was his freaking Oscar nomination for this? :-P

nomination- Grammy- Best Original Score- Hans Zimmer

Write-up:

First Impressions [both of Sherlock and this movie]

I knew nothing about Sherlock Holmes before this movie. The closest I got to it was when we read "The Speckled Band" in 7th grade.

It was announced a few months after Robert impressed me in "Tropic Thunder" that he'd play the title role in this new adaptation. This was a couple years before I became the crazy super fan I am now, so my intentions were just to see another great performance.
I want to say that I saw the movie before he won the Golden Globe. The timing of both things were pretty close. The same weekend I saw it and "Avatar" (the 2nd time, this time in 3D) was the weekend he won...

Anyway, my reaction was mixed. I gave "Sherlock Holmes" a B+
and my first review went something like this:

Overall, I’d say my rating is generous. Of course, I am very generous to my current favorite actor. There was one part towards the end before the climax where I think I was starting to fall asleep. It’s the sort of movie where your paying attention is rewarded at the end where everything is explained. But at times, it's very hard to pick out individual words and phrases from Downey’s British accent. One scene aside (featuring McAdams in men’s clothing and mulitple explosions in slow motion), there are some moments that only RDJ’s charisma make special"

Aside from running a little too long, my first impression wasn't great because I didn't know what to expect coming into it. I expected the typical pensive Sherlock Holmes we're all accustomed to seeing or, in my case, just knowing of. Instead, this was an action/adventure with emphasis on action. It took me a while to get used to the fact that this was a more active version of this character.

As it turns out, this was actually the closest adaptation there's been to the source material.
Aside from the dead-on accent, the comedic aspect and, obviously, Robert's overall performance, the coolest thing about it for me the first time was the final act. When Sherlock reveals to Lord Blackwood how he solved the case and discredited him as a practitioner of dark magic.

My dad's mentioned a few times with a couple movies he'd seen in-flight how it helps to pay attention because it comes together in the end. This was my first experience with this personally and naturally that helped me fall slowly in love with the film.
Unless you're British or have a good ear for accents, on those grounds alone, I'd recommend seeing this movie more than once. Not just catching the dialogue, but also all the tiny details that come together in Blackwood's grand scheme.

Plot
We open up in the middle of the action. Sherlock and Watson are pursing a killer responsible for the deaths of four girls and if not for them, would have killed a fifth in yet another ritualistic sacrifice. Lord Blackwood is apprehended and taken to jail to await his execution.

Three months later, he's to be hanged and Sherlock's biggest concern, aside from lack of cases, is losing Watson to marriage. In this portion, there's a lot of great character development between the two roommates, which helps if you're unfamiliar with the stories. Mostly in the form of witty banter and one-liners from Sherlock.

We get back to the main plot where Lord Blackwood tells Sherlock about the next part of his plan, just moments before he is hanged.
Then reentering his life for, according to dialogue, the third time is Irene Adler. She asks Sherlock to find someone for her and he purses her (in disguise of course) to find more. Particularly a little about her employer.

He does find her missing "ginger midget" (his words), but in the coffin of Lord Blackwood. Scotland Yard had been called to the graveyard initially on reports that he had risen from the grave. And so the game is afoot...

Watson tries his best to break ties with Holmes, but gets roped into one last case with him where they try to discern Lord Blackwood's plan. This is done with some assistance, as well as some hindrance, from Irene Adler.

The Actors and The Acting

Oddly enough, I have a very hard time imagining where I had seen Jude Law before Sherlock Holmes. I'm starting to think that the only place I'd seen him was in entertainment news and as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.
After this movie and seeing the amazing chemistry he has with Robert, I'd wanted to see more of him. Plus, he's a good looking guy, so that goes without saying. Sadly, the only other positive venture I got out of it was "The Holiday." I stuck with him and defended him throughout "Closer" until the final moments. And "The Talented Mr. Ripley"... let's say he did deserve what he got.

Between "Mean Girls" and "The Vow," I'd seen so much of Rachel McAdams lately that the illusion I always had of her as Irene Adler was temporarily shattered. She is so into this role and so good at it that I usually see her as the character, not as one of my favorite actresses.

Everyone else, I'm getting to know for the first time. I'd seen Eddie Marsan once or twice since out of pure coincidence. Mark Strong, the only other time I'd seen him was a cameo he had on a Jaguar SuperBowl commercial with Tom Hiddelston and Ben Kingsley (note: all three had worked with RDJ... the only other common link is that they're Brits who play helluva good villains).

Just recently, I've started watching Kelly Reilly's new show "Black Box" and the results have been great so far. There could be an Emmy in it for her ;) assuming it avoids cancellation

As far as the acting goes, this is definitely among Robert's finest performances. The Golden Globe was well deserved. He always has this magnetism on screen. When he's at his best, I feel like he becomes his character and I forget he's playing a role.
Having said all that, I have other roles I prefer him in per my personal tastes. Sometimes it's more about the emotional intangibles than grade A execution. Also, as much as I think he pulls off a great accent here (thanks to his dialect coach Andrew Jack, whom he worked with on "Chaplin"), I find his normal speaking voice much more attractive.

Credits to the Director and Producers

Except for Mel Brooks back in the day, I didn't really pay attention to directors until I watched Robert Inside The Actor's Studio. He spoke so highly of the directors and writers he'd worked with that I couldn't help but want to learn more.

Guy Ritchie is a very hands-on director. Behind the scenes, you'd see him up close with the actors going over the choreography with them step by step.

After Sherlock Holmes, I checked into "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch"... just to see the types of movies he'd been known for doing beforehand.
So far, for me, the results have been mixed. I think I needed subtitles for LS2SB because I could not understand 80% of the dialogue. I don't remember much else except there were no big names in it and the last half hour was actually good. As for "Snatch," I could understand it better but not by much. It starred Brad Pitt and he was rather good in it. It had some comedic moments, but the pacing was slow on numerous occasions.
But I'm not giving up. It might just take multiple viewings for me to wrap my head around this man's style. One thing's for sure: Sherlock Holmes speaks on a grander scale with a much sharper picture, probably thanks to having more resources from WB studios. And kick-ass producers like Joel Silver ("Lethal Weapon" and "Weird Science" to name a few), Susan Downey (yes, Robert's amazing wife 8-) ), and Lionel Wigram (all of David Yates' directed Harry Potter films).

[Just found this out: WB approached Guy Ritchie to direct this movie. Rather fittingly, Guy grew up on the stories and had wanted to bring them to the big screen.
WB wanted him to make it more like the films he'd done in the past and he wanted to do it on a broader, more accessible picture and the result was a compromise of that... fascinating stuff...]

All the Details
Overall, this movie is very cerebral. The dialogue is fast-paced, often with a lot of technical details, so you have to be on your toes. Or better yet, relax the first couple times and you'll absorb the details via osmosis :-P

If you have extra time, I'd recommend just searching the many interviews on YouTube Robert and Jude gave promoting this film. I have four of them saved under my YouTube favorites, but I'd probably seen this one the most out of all of them. They talk about how they go along almost instantly, their chemistry, how the characters relate to one another. Lots of juicy details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIHw55aeWM
In another interview, director Guy Ritchie said how he liked the idea of an American playing Sherlock. Then Jude coming on board came down to Robert saying "only Jude would do" and this epic bromance is born.

I've seen so much footage from interviews to Guy Ritchie's Maximum Movie Mode on the Blu-ray extras that I've learned so much about this movie, what happens in it, how certain scenes were shot, where some of the inspiration came from (actual dialogue in the actual stories!)... whether that makes me an obsessed fan girl or movie nerd is your choice.
I just found it all very fascinating, which makes the overall experience even more fun.

Seeing the movie more, going past the obvious things that keep me coming back, I came to love how detail-oriented it is. Every article in each setting belongs there and has some merit and bearing on the overall story. Some more obvious than others.
One thing Guy Ritchie pointed out in Maximum Movie Mode is a post in Baker Street Sherlock likely used to practice his martial arts on.

Like I said, this is a very physical film. Once I got used to that new element, I couldn't help but marvel at the fight scenes. Guy Ritchie worked with a lot of slow motion, especially in key fights where we see the slowed down version and it's sped up to normal speed after all the explanations.
The only scene where I felt this didn't work was during the slaughterhouse explosions... it was just overdone for me. Then again, the following scene where the police find Sherlock, wouldn't have worked if it was all filmed in normal speed.

Of course while doing their research, the guys read all of the stories. Robert went the extra mile by spending time with Leslie Clinger, a tax lawyer who lives in Malibu who happens to be an expert in all things Sherlock Holmes.

Researching The Brand

Part of it is because I'm a sucker for useless trivia and part of it is also living up to the fact this man researches his roles so well that he knows them backwards and forwards. I wanted in on that action. Actually, I think some of that has filtered into the novel I'd been working on for the past several months, wanting to know my characters as well as he does.

Sometime in early 2011, I bought myself the first volume (of two) of Sherlock Holmes and started reading the stories. I finished it within a month and shortly after got the second volume.
Makes me go back to one interview he did with Jimmy Kimmel. Robert asked the audience who read the books and Jimmy discounts the cheering saying they're all liars.
It'd been a year or two after the movie came out, but yeah, I READ THE STORIES, JIMMY KIMMEL!

Did I make that loud enough? :-P

I don't remember which ones, but there were only a handful of stories I didn't get into. One of them was the "Sign of Four," which I found overlong and boring.

With the first story, "A Study in Scarlet," I was impressed by chapter 2 where Holmes goes through his process, talking about how he only keeps the most important knowledge at his disposal (not caring that the Earth revolves around the sun, stuff like that), and at the crime scene where he measured a man's height by the stride of his footprints.

Extraordinary stuff...
it's also great reading Watson's engaging narrative and getting to know him, not as the bumbling old man people had come to know in previous adaptations, but as an ex-military man who battled in Afghanistan. It's pretty obvious how much they care about one another even if some of that involves tough love.

Naturally, I decided to check into as much Sherlock Holmes related stuff because I found the mythology fascinating and of course, part of me wanted to compare and say how much better the Guy Ritchie version is. (And how Robert would always be my favorite Sherlock).

From the scholarly standpoint, I think the CBS series "Elementary" captures the feel of the books better. How eccentric Sherlock was. And I also loved Lucy Liu as "Joan" Watson. On the premise alone, I was intrigued by a female Watson and she's an interesting character. They also take an interesting angle with her relationship with him, showing how she doesn't have much a life going on outside of him and as of recently, she decided that needs to change.
However, I can't stand by all of the reimaginings  presented in "Elementary." Case-in-point: how they made Irene Adler and Moriarty THE SAME PERSON. People who saw Sherlock 2 had their complaints that Jared Harris wasn't a sinister enough Moriarty (I'll cover that in a bit). I just felt cheated that they combined two of the most iconic characters from the series. And I rather liked Natalie Dormer as Irene Adler until they screwed things up.
Recently, they also caused a ruckus with Sherlock's brother Mycroft. He'd been featured in a few stories, written as someone even more brilliant than Sherlock, but too lazy to apply his powers of observation in anything constructive. In "Elementary," they wrote him as the estranged brother who had a fling with Watson, was a secret agent and ultimately had to fake his death to get away from the bad guys... yeah, nothing like the books or any other version.

I'd been meaning to see the highly acclaimed series Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch, but the timing was never right. Unless it's available on Hulu, I was always watching something else at the same time. But whatever flickers I did see of it, I did like, but I need to see more to be sure.

I also saw one adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" where Sherlock was played by Peter Cushing. It was a well-written adaptation for sure. I especially impressed that they had a more active Watson than people were accustomed to seeing.

Sequels

Yes, I have an "s" at the end of that and it's not just blind optimism.

I saw an article on IMDB from one of the producers who said a third Sherlock Holmes is in development. The problem is that everyone got busy... to which I say, "You try being Iron-Man and Sherlock Holmes and in Avengers at the same time" :-P

But it would put my heart at ease to see the moment where Sherlock and Watson have their epic reunion scene... seeing as Sherlock 2 ended with Sherlock believed to be dead by everyone but the audience ;)
I also want to give everyone involved a chance to redeem themselves for "A Game of Shadows."

To put it lightly, I felt like they went too big too fast.
The third act penultimate "explanation" of how he solved the puzzle of Moriarty was extremely rushed and muddled. Instead of laying out the evidence piece by piece in the background like in the previous film, they were barely glanced over to begin with. We're just expected to believe Mary had been playing detective with Mycroft and Sherlock followed Moriarty's whereabouts under more disguises... sorry, I ain't buyin'.
Jared Harris as Moriarty was intimidating at first, but seeing it a couple more times, I think his actions were more intimidating than his on-screen presence. Upon further examination, the final chess scene when he does his own "Holmes-a-vision" bit to counteract Sherlock's fight scene scenario comes off rather goofy.

What did work in its favor was casting Noomi Rapace as the new female co-lead (my first experience with her and I thought she was great). Watson's wedding to Mary was very touching. Every scene at 221b Baker Street felt like home. The train scene had all the elements of a great Sherlock Holmes action scene and is one of the better executed bits of dramatics in the film.
The funniest part with his promotion of Sherlock 2 was talking about this cross-dressing scene and how awkward it became remembering how it was HIS idea :-P

Of course, I have to address the awesomeness that is Robert hosting Maximum Movie Mode on the Blu-Ray. He joked throughout that this was something only of interest to people who are sick or cooped up on a rainy day.
I do not need those excuses to deal with DVD commentary. I do it because I want to know more about movies from the directors, producers and actors that work on them.
As he always is, Robert was intelligent and knowledgeable when he needed to be and comedic in the times in between. Personally, I have to disagree with his belief everyone decided that they loved seeing him get his ass handed to him in movies after getting a taste of it in a certain indie flick he did in 2005... I prefer seeing him able to handle himself ;)

Coming Soon


[here's hoping my next couple entries come out this good]


Next week will be a movie that has a little something for everyone. Action, adventure, romance, comedy (lots of great comedy), loveable sidekicks and much more. It's probably the most quotable movie on this list where I could easily mute it and know it word for word. And it's another movie, for whatever reason, I fought my mom on seeing for years and when I did, I couldn't not find out how it ended.