Holiday Reviews

Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie's flash-bang adaptation of Arthur Canan Doyle famous character offers some enjoyment in a few well staged action sequences and a great comedic performance by Robert Downey Jr. as the title character, as well as Jude Law as a more thuggish Dr. Watson. However, you have to try to get over a convoluted plot, an uninteresting villain, a bland love interest, and Ritchie's over-the-top direction that brings the film to a screeching halt in too many places. With all that, I can't quite say that you should seek out this film, but give it some time when it comes on video, then you might have a good time. The only real reason to recommend this film is for Downey Jr. and, to a lesser extent, Law. The rest of the cast, as good as Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong are, feel wasted under Ritchie's misplaced direction and Hans Zimmer's unimpressive score. **1/2 / ****; GRADE: B-

Crazy Heart

A lot of people have described this as the country music version of The Wrestler, and there are a lot of plot points that borrow heavily from that film. Jeff Bridges has the role of Bad Blake, a singer who was on top at one point but is now playing second rate venues. There's also a budding love interest with a reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and glimpses of a fellow musician (Colin Farrell) who was a protégé of Blake and took off financially while Blake was left behind. Even though all of this sounds familiar, it all comes together to make a truly great film. The center of it all is Bridges's performance, which engulfs a lot of warmth and passion and creates a character that succeeds at every emotional point. Gyllenhaal, Farrell and a brief appearance by Robert Duvall are well played and writer/director Scott Cooper creates a film that feels genuine, energizing and completely enjoyable. Bridges delivers a career best performance for one of the best films of the year. **** / ****; GRADE: A

Nine

Being Oscar season, it is yet again time for another movie musical based on a popular Broadway play that itself was based on a famous, non-musical film. This one's source material was inspired by Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, one of the best films ever made. This musical adaptation, sadly is not, as it tells the uninteresting tale of a famous Italian director named Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) balancing shooting his next film with his messed up personal life and the many different women in it, which include a fashion magazine writer (Kate Hudson), his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penélope Cruz), his costume designer (Judi Dench), his muse (Nicole Kidman) and his mother (Sophia Loren). All of them collide in a film that is a complete mess. Rob Marshall, who directed the Best Picture winner Chicago, directs this material just about the same, but the problem is that the material is dull which leads way to a showcase of poorly staged musical bits against overwrought, melodramatic Broadway showtunes; each musical number feels like a participation in excess, offering very little to the characters and drowning the movie in its own style. The only good things to point out are the quirky new song "Cinema Italiano", Dion Bebee's cinematography, and Cotillard's performance, the only performer who strikes any emotional resonance. Truly one of the most disappointing films of the year, and one that squalors its reputation from the talented cast and crew. ** / ****; GRADE: C

It's Complicated

If you saw Nancy Meyer's previous films like Something's Gotta Give and The Holiday, then you'll know the pace this film operates and come out enjoying it at the end. The love triangle plot is nothing new, only this time it is transported to the middle aged community as Jane (Meryl Streep) and Jake (Alec Baldwin), who has remarried to a younger wife, start up an affair almost a decade after their divorce. The other complication is that Jane's architect, Adam (Steve Martin) is also having feelings for Jane. In all aspects, it is Streep that makes this sitcom material work, and her abilities as an actress continue to show what a great talent she is and incapable of giving a bad performance. Baldwin and Martin are also quite funny in their roles, and there are also some good supporting turns by the children of Jake and Jane, even though they are written kind of one note. The big exception is John Krasinski in a role that usually goes to the family's best gay friend but here is awarded to the son-in-law, and he scores some good laughs in the film. Meyers's direction is a little off at some points, and the pace isn't always feeling right for a film that come close to overstaying its welcome. But in the end, it's a nice, fun and light piece of entertainment that is sure to please the crowd that has already been flocking to these types of films. *** / ****; GRADE: B