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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, a review by Dragonfire

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows



I've been wanting to see this movie since before I knew what it would be about.  I loved the first one - I even watched it again recently.  I've seen other Sherlock Holmes movies, and the wonderful Sherlock - Season 1 since I first saw Sherlock Holmes in 2009, so I've seen more versions of the character - and Watson now.  I still love this version of the characters. 

I've only read one of the Sherlock stories...I have a book with most of them, but I can't remember where I put it.  I need to find it and read more of the stories.  I don't know for sure, but I think at least some of the story elements were pulled from one of the Sherlock stories. 

This plot for this movie isn't directly tied to the first movie, but it definitely builds on what was established in it.  Irene Adler returns, though only briefly.  I'm not that .....pleased with how her part of the story is handled, though it does make sense for the movie.  Professor Moriarty is front and center as the villain.  It is set up like Sherlock has been tracking him for a while, tying different crimes to him.  The two do meet face to face only a few times, but those meetings are very well done.  Yes it is known from very early that Moriarty is the main villain - the trailers make that very clear - but I don't think that hurts the movie.  The audience even knows something before Sherlock this time.  I like the plot and think it is very entertaining.  I also loved how Watson's wedding is added into the mix, along with how Sherlock is trying to deal with the changes to his friendship with Watson.  It is clear that he is sad about the thought of him and Watson not working together anymore. 

Some people may be disappointed that the mystery isn't stronger, but I think it is still very entertaining.  Even while knowing that Moriarty is pulling all sorts of strings and manipulating various things, it takes a little while for the big picture to become clear.  I really like that Moriarty is just as smart as Sherlock and I think that gives Sherlock more of a challenge and ultimately makes the story stronger.  There is suspense in a few scenes, as well as some action scenes.  The action scenes are done well.  Sherlock fights again at different times, while still using his intelligence to deal with most situations.  The movie has the same amazing look as the first movie, with new locations used.  One late in the movie really looks amazing.  I know special effects are used again, but I don't feel like they dominate what is going on.  The humor is back as well, again mostly from the way that Watson and Sherlock interact.  I love their friendship and how they bicker over little things at times.  Sherlock shows off a few more disguises, including as a woman at one point.  Watson and Mary's reactions to that disguise is very amusing.  We get to see that Sherlock has another issue when he won't ride a horse, another humorous scene.

The characters are wonderful and I love how Sherlock and Watson act with each other.  Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are great in the parts.  They have a good chemistry together that makes the relationship between Sherlock and Watson that much stronger.  Mycroft turns up in a few scenes and I really liked Stephen Fry in the part.  It would have been nice if he had a little more to do.  Mary is limited to a few scenes again, so she isn't as developed, but she seems nice.  She still has some issues with Sherlock. Simza is a new character tied to what is going on.  She is a gypsy fortune teller.  She is interesting, though she could have been a little more developed.  Moriarty is a good addition to the movie and he makes a good foil to Sherlock. 

This movie is a lot of fun, like the first one.  In some ways, I think this movie is a bit better.   It is definitely worth seeing.



I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to check it out.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows


(From Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on December 21st, 2011)

Stargate, a review by DJ Doena

First I thought about a re-run of Smallville but I have watched this in the middle of last year and it's been a while since I've watched Stargate SG-1.

In order to watch Stargate SG-1, one has to watch Stargate first.



Kurt Russell ... Col. Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil
James Spader ... Dr. Daniel Jackson
Alexis Cruz ... Skaara
Viveca Lindfors ... Catherine
Mili Avital ... Sha'uri
John Diehl ... Lieutenant Kawalsky
Leon Rippy ... General W.O. West
Erick Avari ... Kasuf
French Stewart ... Lieutenant Ferretti
Jaye Davidson ... Ra

Synopsis: Dr. Jackson is not very renowned in the scientific community. But he is convinced that the great pyramids weren't build during the fourth dynasty 5,000 years ago. He believes that they are much older. A digging back in 1928 confirms his suspicions: buried in the sands of Egypt under a great cover stone with unknown symbols - not hieroglyphs - the Door to Heaven Stargate was found. The Stargate is an ancient device to open an intergalactic connection to the planet Abydos. Dr. Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill (and a group of soldiers) go there. O'Neill's job is to evaluate the danger of the situation they are facing.

My Opinion: Unfortunately I haven't seen this movie in the theatres (I went to Star Trek: Generations instead). The idea that alien cultures have been to Earth and have had an influence isn't new, but it was interestingly presented. I also liked that the Abydosians really spoke abydosian (a variant of ancient egyptian) and not just english. The fights were very well choreographed, too, I didn't have the feeling that the weapons of the humans were a match to the ones of Ra's.

To adopt the story for the series they had to make some adjustments (this contains spoilers in regard to the pilot of the series):

• In the movie, Ra is portrayed as the last of his kind, in the series he is one System Lord amongst many - although the most powerful one
• In the movie, Ra is no Goa'uld, his alien body looks totally different
• In the movie, Abydos is in another galaxy, in the series it's the planet closest to Earth
• In the movie, the Stargate is a point-to-point connection to Abydos, in the series it's one in a great network of Stargates
• Ra's Jaffa (who aren't called Jaffa in the movie) don't have an abdomen pouch in which they carry a Goa'uld larva (the term Goa'uld is also an invention of the series)

Additionally one has to activate one's "suspension of disbelief" even more than in the movie, because:

• On most planets the people speak english, no explanation is given (Universal Translator in Star Trek, Translator Microbes in Farscape)
• Most planets look like canadian forrests
• On some planets are earth-like cultures that developed only after the gate was buried
• We never see normal Goa'ulds, they are either rulers or at least scientists, but the huge number of Gua'uld larvae in the Jaffa have to result in a much larger Goa'uld population

Now we can get started ...



(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on February 29th, 2008)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek: Voyager
4.09 Year of Hell, Part II
Writer: Brannon Braga (Writer), Joe Menosky (Writer)
Director: Mike Vejar
Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), John Loprieno (Obrist), Kurtwood Smith (Annorax), Peter Slutsker (Krenim Commandant), Lise Simms (Wife), Majel Barrett (Narrator (voice))

The most part of this episode is nothing really special. But the ending makes up for it big time. This is one time, where the episode reset button is used to great effect and makes sense story-wise.


Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on November 29th, 2011)