5 January 2010: Sherlock Holmes review

We found Sherlock Holmes to be entertaining, if not especially cerebral. Guy Ritchie did a better job of adapting Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal mysteries than some critics had feared, using dialogue and descriptions recognizable to Holmes enthusiasts. On the other hand, the movie has the director’s trademark slow-motion fisticuffs and explosions, modern quips, and focus on the seamy side of Great Britain.

Robert Downey Jr. is as much a caricature of Oscar Wilde or other Victorian bohemians as he is the great detective. As with Iron Man, he brings appropriate charisma, nervous energy, and intelligence to the role. Jude Law is good as Dr. Watson, giving Holmes’ sidekick a more youthful energy and making him more of a true partner than he has often been portrayed.

The pretty Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler in the largest deviation from “canon” as a recurring love interest of Sherlock Holmes, and genre veteran Mark Strong plays Lord Blackwood, the key to a nefarious plot threatening London, and by extension, civilization itself.

The story is similar to that of Young Sherlock Holmes and other pastiches, and even though I’m a big fan of the original books, I can appreciate well-done variations on the classic characters. The script leaves an obvious opening for a sequel.

I’ve argued on Facebook and elsewhere that Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is a decent adaptation of the literary sleuth but a better steampunk movie. I plan to blog more about this subgenre of speculative fiction, which has been growing in popularity and has had relatively few successes in film or on television.

Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of steampunk, including social commentary implied in the Dickensian images of a gritty (and class-stratified) industrial metropolis, a few clockwork and steam-powered gadgets, opulent costumes, playful anachronisms, and a lively soundtrack inspired by Gypsy music.

Although my favorite version of Sherlock Holmes so far is the early 1980s BBC/PBS television series starring Jeremy Brett, I enjoyed the movie, which I’d rate an 8.5 out of 10 or a B+. It’s rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality. Let’s hope that more movies this coming year are equally fun!

17 December 2009: Holiday rush and animation

Although I’ve recently posted my roundups of genre entertainment, I had intended to write “Best of 2009” blog posts before year’s end. As usual, however, I’ve fallen behind with holiday correspondence, so I may have to combine them with my looks at the year ahead.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been busy with work, attending local industry events, tackling budgeting, and trying to get ahead with editing assignments. I’ve also been dealing with conflicts in local and remote social/gaming groups. Janice and I easily completed our Christmas shopping and decorating, and we look forward to seeing her folks in Upstate New York next week.

We’ve also been watching various animated specials on television, including old favorites such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Claymation Christmas Celebration. Although some recent computer-animated shows such as Shrek the Halls and Flight Before Christmas were mediocre, I was favorably impressed with a few newer specials, like the whimsical Yes, Virginia, the clever Prep and Landing, and the quirky Olive, the Other Reindeer.

The Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa successfully recaptured some of the humane spirit of the late, great Jim Henson. I have yet to catch Gotta Catch Santa Claus or How the Toys Saved Christmas, but even with ABC Family’s help, there are more specials to watch than time to see them.

Speaking of animation, last weekend, I screened The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s first hand-drawn feature in several years. I liked the New Orleans setting and gender reversals, even as many other reviewers have focused on the fact that this is Disney’s first movie featuring an African-American heroine.

Although the plot, soundtrack, and characters weren’t particularly original (female lead, singing animals, romantic plot), I’m glad that John Lassiter recognizes the value of preserving multiple types of animation in addition to the currently popular CGI. (On a related note, I may try to catch James Cameron’s derivative but apparently spectacular Avatar.)

For example, stop-motion had a bit of a resurgence this year, with the well-received Coraline, 9, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. I’d give the all-ages Princess and the Frog three out of five stars, 8/10, or a “B” grade, and I hope it’s successful in reviving interest in 2-D
animation in the U.S.

7 December 2009: Potter, cake, and catching up

Friends, I hope you had a good weekend. Janice and I took Friday, 4 December 2009, off from work. We slept in, did some housecleaning, and walked to the Fuji Japanese steakhouse for lunch (and Spasso Café for gelato dessert). I also touched base with longtime friends including Damon F.P. and David I.S. by telephone. Among other things, we talked of news of murders at our alma mater and Dave’s university.

On Saturday, Janice drove her parents and me into town for the Harry Potter exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. The movie props and costumes were impressively detailed, and there were many young and enthusiastic fans of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels.

We went to Bertucci’s for lunch, followed by a chocolate cake for Janice’s birthday. Janice’s parents later returned to Upstate New York as snow began to fall. In addition to doing most of our Christmas shopping online, Janice and I ordered a new laptop from Dell. It will be in addition to our aging desktop computer and my work laptop, and we plan to use it for watching Blu-ray DVDs, travel, and faster performance.

I caught up on recorded genre television, including the half-season finales of metahuman melodrama Heroes, alien invasion remake V, and new sleuth show White Collar, as well as
the midseason premiere of syndicated fantasy Legend of the Seeker and the bittersweet series finale of BBC America’s Robin Hood. I need to get started with holiday cards and decorating.

Last night’s Pathfinder: “Holy Steel” teleconferencing game was canceled because of scheduling conflicts among some of the remote role-players, but the D&D4e “Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative” fantasy game should continue tonight, despite the
death of one Player Character in the Underdark last week and the absence of a few members.

Damon and Dexter V.H.‘s planned visit for this coming weekend is up in the air because of family issues, but the next few weekends should be busy as winter and the holidays approach. Upcoming movies include Disney’s traditionally animated The Princess and the Frog, James Cameron’s sci-fi actioner Avatar, Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr.’s take on Sherlock Holmes, and Terry Gilliam and the late Heath Ledger’s Imaginarium of
Doctor Parnassus.

30 November 2009: Thanksgiving and animation

Friends, I hope that you had a Happy Thanksgiving. Janice and I enjoyed the holiday, despite the long drive from Massachusetts to her grandmother in Pennsylvania and my parents in Virginia, worries about sick nieces, and news of marital strife among our circles of acquaintances. We ate well, caught up on sleep and reading, and managed to avoid the worst traffic. The weather was also pleasant.

Janice and I also screened The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion animated fantasy loosely based on the Roald Dahl book. Director Wes Anderson uses many familiar actors for the voice cast, including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Bill Murray, and Michael Gambon.

Clooney plays the titular character, a snazzily dressed vulpine who retires from stealing chickens before the birth of his son but is tempted back into a life of misadventure by three farms owned by grotesque humans. I thought The Fantastic Mr. Fox‘s script and dialogue were clever, and the two-dimensional flow of the action wasn’t as annoying as some trailers and reviews suggested.

The self-aware hero, use of an Anglo-American cast, and allusions to folklore and caper films were all well-done. The offbeat humor, adult themes, and cheerful soundtrack reminded me of the recent live-action adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are.

As with Coraline and Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, the stop-motion world again demonstrated that there are good alternatives to the current glut of computer-animated 3-D flicks. I’d give The Fantastic Mr. Fox three stars, an 8/10, or a B+. It’s rated PG for cartoony violence. The next animated movie I’ll probably catch in theaters is Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Speaking of cartoons, I have to note that recent television episodes of Star Wars: Clone Wars have been particularly strong, showing the grit and chaos of battle, as well as the moral erosion of an extended conflict that’s timely as the U.S. reconsiders its
military involvement in the Middle East.

Spectacular Spider-Man has also upped the ante, as Peter Parker’s personal life and numerous foes collided. Unfortunately, the Silver Age-style superhero show may be a casualty of the Marvel/Disney merger. Iron Man: Armored Avengers has been entertaining, despite stiff computer animation and making Tony Stark and
company into teenagers. Marvel’s Super Hero Squad skipped a week for the holiday.

Wolverine and the X-Men also concluded its current season, combining the “Days of Future Past,” “Phoenix Saga,” and “Rise of Apocalypse” storylines from the comics with
mixed results in terms of pacing and character development. The charmingly campy Batman and the Brave and the Bold has been on hiatus. DC/Warner Brothers’ release
of boxed sets of DVDs for Batman: the Animated Series, Superman: the Animated Series, and Justice League Unlimited are reminders of the best superhero cartoons of the past decade.

Coming soon: Live-action superheroes and remake reviews!

18 November 2009: Convention and concert report

I’m sorry that I haven’t blogged much in the past week or so — I’ve been busy with the usual round of work (for which I went to a trade show), gaming, genre TV, and seasonal events. I’ve also raked numerous bags of autumn leaves. On Saturday, 7 November 2009, Janice and I went into Boston for the Christmas Craft Festival at the World Trade Center. We didn’t buy lots of arts and crafts, just foodstuffs.

We got turned around a few times while trying to get to the Compleat Strategist, but we managed to eventually visit that game store and Pandemonium Books and Games in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We enjoyed a late lunch at Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage, one of the best places for hamburgers in the area, and walked around the book shops of Harvard Square, which we try to get to quarterly.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, we returned downtown for the New England Fan Experience (NEFX) and Star Wars in Concert. Janice and I stayed overnight at the Courtyard by Marriott Tremont, which hosted the genre entertainment convention. The ballrooms at that venue were adequate in size, but the hallways and elevators were a bit crowded.

We caught the tail end of the session featuring Corin Nemec, star of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose and Stargate SG1, as well as the career retrospective of character James Hong, who has worked in movies for more than 50 years! Hong was funny, doing impressions and mentioning his numerous roles in films such as Blade Runner, Big Trouble in Little China, Mulan, and Kung Fu Panda.

Janice and I had lunch at the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery before taking the
train to meet former co-worker Ken G. and his girlfriend Kahmmie at the Boston
Garden. Star Wars in Concert was excellent, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a large screen showing clips from all six movies, and even lasers and pyrotechnics.

We had difficulty choosing whether to focus on the talented and precise musicians
or on the well-organized vignettes introduced by C3P0 himself, Anthony Daniels.
On the way into the arena, we gazed at some props and costumes from the two
trilogies, as well as people in costume. I was pleased to see many children (some waving toy lightsabers) in the audience and to see that George Lucas’ space opera lives on.

We then returned to the hotel, grabbing dinner at the International Burger Bar before attending more convention sessions. Unfortunately, because of the concert’s timing, we missed the guest of honor, Star Trek and Mission Impossible‘s Leonard Nimoy. Still, we did get to see Gareth David-Lloyd from Torchwood because his room was on our floor! In addition to the usual aging male fans of comic books and old television shows, there were younger, often female anime and horror enthusiasts, multiple generations of Star Trek fans, and people in outlandish costumes.

I was impressed by the number and variety of panels at the NEFX. That evening, Janice and I sat in on sessions about technology (and “technobabble“) in Star Trek, steampunk media (about which I hope to blog more soon), and archaeology in science fiction. The steampunk sessions were led by comic book author Everett Soares and the fun troupe “the Penny Dreadfuls.”

On Sunday, Nov. 15, we went to the knowledgeable Paul Gavins’ panel on “suitmation” vs. computer-generated imagery in kaiju (giant monster) movies. We also picked up a few elements of steampunk garb at the dealers’ room. I’m looking forward to visiting the Super MegaFest and the “Harry Potter” exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science in the coming weeks!