Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
What to Borrow
In Darkness
What to Ignore (or see, if you're into the awful)
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
WHAT TO BUY: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, is the second installment in Guy Ritchie's take on Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes novels. In A Game of Shadows, Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Watson (Jude Law) attempt to sabotage an evil Oxford professor's attempts to push Europe into war.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will not win over those who didn't enjoy Ritchie's first installment in the series. It's more of the same, and that's okay with me. Robert Downey Jr is still fantastic as the eccentric, brainy, bare-knuckle boxing detective Baker Street. The Victorian set is gorgeous. I wish the film had slowed down a little to let us appreciate the world more. The score by Hans Zimmer was wonderful. It added some much needed refinement to the movie.My primary complaint with A Game of Shadows is the underdeveloped plot. There wasn't a lot of story. There was also too much John Woo-esque action, and too little contemplation. Noomi Rapace did alright as Holmes' female interest, but I wish Rachel McAdams was sticking around. She added much more life to the series.
Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is a different breed. It's not the well-loved story from Sir Conan Doyle. There's less brains, and far more brawls. But if you can leave Doyle's brilliant classics on the bookshelf while watching these popcorn flicks, you may find yourself thoroughly entertained.WHAT TO BORROW: In Darkness is about Leopold Socha, a Polish sewer worker and thief, that finds a group of Jews trying to escape the ghettos of Lvov. For a price, Socha agrees to hide the Jewish refugees in the dark sewers. Based on a true story.
I liked In Darkness. The story is worth telling. The film looks impressive: great cinematography, an excellent set, and fantastic costumes. But I wanted to love it.
What prevented me from falling head-over-heels for In Darkness was a lack of emotional connection. There were too many central characters. I couldn't develop a strong connection to anyone. I also felt the frequent, awkward sex scenes were a little off-putting. I'm no prude, but there was just too much of it. In really strange settings. It was distracting.
In Darkness is a good film about an interesting story. It's just not as good as other films in the genre (like Schindler's List), and lacks a strong, emotional punch.WHAT TO IGNORE: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is another flick about the demonically-possessed, biker dude, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage). In Spirit of Vengeance, Blaze gets an offer from a biker-monk he can't refuse: save a kidnapped boy, and the monk will free Blaze from possession. But when Blaze realizes Satan himself is behind the kidnapping, will he ride away, or stick around to take on the Dark Lord himself?
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is bad. Really bad. But it may fit into the "so bad, it's good" area for some. The visuals are actually quite impressive. And there is an off-the-wall, gonzo quality to the film that makes it almost impossible to turn off. I don't know. It's just a really weird movie.
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| Remember when Nic Cage won an Oscar? |
There's very few people that will enjoy this one. But you may be one of them. 
