Tag Archives: Sherlock Holmes

MOV084: “It’s So Overt, It’s Covert!”

This reel of COL Movies starts off with walk down memory lane with that “don’t stick your tongue on the frozen flag pole” and “you’ll shoot your eye out” film, “A Christmas Story”. After surviving the holidays, the boys head to the theater to see if Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law retain their magic in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”. From there, they check out the trailer for the 2nd installment of the “Ghost Rider” franchise. Do we think we’ll get more out of Nick Cage in this movie? That’s still to be determined. In news, they discuss a prison sentence for pirating X-Men, Daniel Craig’s potential monopoly on the Bond franchise, and details on the BluRay for Jaws? It’s the 84th reel of COL Movies…”It’s so overt, it’s covert”

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News:

The Past: A Christmas Story (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Fresh, 82% Audience

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Director: Bob Clark

Starring: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz, Peter Billingsly, Jean Shepherd (Voice)

Trivia:

  • To find an American city resembling an Indiana town of the 1940s, director Bob Clark sent his location scouts to twenty cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the site for filming.
  • The people of Cleveland were incredibly cooperative during filming, donating antique vehicles from every corner of the city. These vintage vehicles helped to enhance the authenticity of the production design.
  • Ralph’s school exteriors were filmed at Victoria School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
  • Singer/Songwriter Pepper McGowan was an extra during the mall scene.
  • Jean Shepherd’s book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”, which the film is partly based on, is a collection of short stories that Jean Shepherd wrote for “Playboy” magazine during the 1960s, including the stories about the tongue sticking to the flagpole, and eating Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The subplot of the mangy dogs constantly harassing The Old Man was taken from another of Mr. Shepherd’s short story collections, “Wanda Hickey’s Night Of Golden Memories and Other Disasters.” In that book, the character of Ralph is about 17 years old.
  • The film’s setting is a town in Indiana, but was actually filmed in Cleveland, Ohio. The street the “Parker’s” live in is called “Cleveland Street”.
  • The movie was set in Hammond Indiana. References were made throughout the film to support this claim. Examples: Harding school (on 165th St.) where Flick stuck his tongue to the flagpole, Goldblatt’s department store, the mention of Griffith (a city that borders Hammond), Cleveland Street, Hohman Ave, and other streets that are located in Hammond. Although the movie was not filmed in Hammond the houses and look of the film is very authentic. Jean Shepherd (Writer) grew up in Hammond.
  • Parts of the movie, including the Christmas tree shopping scene, were filmed in Toronto, Ontario. One of Toronto’s trademark red trolleys can be seen driving by the shot of the outside of the tree lot.
  • The St. Catharine’s Museum owns some props used in the film, including two pairs of Ralphie’s glasses including the pair that was smashed, and two scripts.
  • According to the Daisy Air Rifle manufacturers on the Special Edition DVD documentary on the history of the Red Ryder BB Gun, the gun did exist except for one error in the story: The gun did not have a compass and sundial as mentioned in the movie. According to the historians, writer Jean Shepard confused the Red Ryder gun with another rifle that did have those features. But because the story and screen play were scripted to have the compass and sundial, guns had to be specially made for the movie.
  • Inspired the creation of The Wonder Years.
  • The film was released just before Thanksgiving and became a surprise hit. By the time Christmas rolled around, the movie had already been pulled from most theaters because it had been “played out”. After complaints were lodged at the theater owners and the studio, the film played on select screens until after the first of the year 1984.
  • According to Director Bob Clark, Jack Nicholson was given the script and was very much interested in the role of Mr. Parker, “The Old Man”. However, Clark didn’t learn of this until later and the studio didn’t want to pay Nicholson’s fee anyway, which would have doubled the budget. Regardless, Clark says that Darren McGavin was still the better choice and was born to play the role.
  • The “major award” was based on a real lamp: an illuminated Nehi logo.
  • The Radio Orphan Annie decoder pin that Ralphie receives is the 1940 “Speedomatic” model, indicating that the movie takes place in December, 1940. Different decoder badges were made each year from 1935-1940. By 1941, the decoders were made of paper.
  • The Department Store featured in the Santa scene is really Higbee’s in Downtown Cleveland. There were no Higbee’s in Hammond.
  • During the filming in downtown Cleveland, the antique automobile club members, whose cars were used, were given a route to follow on Public Square. They were instructed to continue circling the square until otherwise instructed. Road salt was a major concern for the car owners and the cars were pressure-washed after each day’s filming and parked underground beneath the Terminal Tower.
  • When the character of Scut Farkas first appears, the “Wolf” music from Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” plays in the background. The name “Farkas” is derived from the Hungarian word for “wolf”.
  • The Parker’s Oldsmobile is a 1937 Model 6, four-door sedan with Indiana license plate 56 498.
  • Mrs. Parker’s memory is correct. The Lone Ranger’s nephew, Dan Reid, rode a horse named “Victor”. He was the son of the Lone Ranger’s horse, Silver.
  • While reading the newspaper at the kitchen table the “Old Man” angrily mentions that the “Sox traded Bullfrog”. This is a reference to long time Chicago White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich, who’s nickname was Bullfrog. He pitched during the 1930s and 1940s. Dietrich was never traded from the Sox, he was released September 18, 1946.
  • Ralphie says that he wanted the “Red Ryder BB Gun” 28 times.
  • The character of Red Ryder, whose name bears the BB Gun Ralphie is desperately trying to acquire, is a real comic book (and radio) character that existed in the 1930’s-40’s, akin to popular western heroes like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and the Lone Ranger.
  • The piece of music that plays after Ralphie says “fudge”, and after the lamp breaks for the second time, is the opening of “Hamlet” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • White Sox player Bill “Bullfrog” Dietrich (Bill Dietrich) is mentioned as being traded. He was traded to the White Sox in 1936 and from the White Sox in 1946. Since the family drives a 1937 Olds, it would imply it was the 1946 trade. This would be consistent with the soldiers present at Higbee’s corner window in the movie opening, since the war may have just ended. However, war-era versions of the decoder badge were paper due to the shortage and Little Orphan Annie was off the air well before 1946.
  • Bob Clark’s success with the teen-sex comedy Porky’s allowed him the ability to make a movie he wanted to make. Without Porky’s there would have been no Christmas Story.
  • For the scene in which Flick’s tongue sticks to the flagpole, a hidden suction tube was used to safely create the illusion that his tongue had frozen to the metal.
  • An elaborate fantasy sequence – in which Ralphie joins Flash Gordon to fight Ming the Merciless – was filmed but dropped from the final cut.
  • In 2005, the original home used for the exterior shots of the family home was put up for auction on eBay and avid fan of the movie Brian Jones managed to purchase the home directly from the seller for $150,000.00 USD. Jones then spent the following year restoring the home to the way it looked on screen. The exterior of the home was completely restored and the interior was renovated to match the interior of the home shown in the movie. (Parts of the interior was actually filmed in a Toronto studio) On November 25th, 2006, the famous home finally opened its doors as a tourist attraction. Jones spent close to $500,000.00 USD in preparation for this grand opening. In addition, Jones also purchased the house next door and converted it to a gift shop and museum dedicated to the film and the house.
  • Director Bob Clark mentions in the commentary on the 2003 DVD that he worked with writer Jean Shepherd for nearly ten years on the concept of ‘A Christmas Story’ before the film was made.
  • According to Peter Billingsley (young Ralphie) in the DVD Commentary, the nonsensical ramblings that Ralphie exclaims while beating up Scott Farkus were scripted, word for word.
  • In the beginning credits, the actress portraying Mrs. Parker is listed correctly as Melinda Dillon. In the ending credits she is incorrectly listed as Melinda Dillion.
  • A behind-the-scenes documentary named ‘Road Trip for Ralphie’ follows two mega-fans on a two-year quest to locate and visit every location used in the movie. Along the way, they uncover Miss Shields’ chalk board from a dumpster, discover all the movie costumes hidden in a Toronto warehouse, track down the antique fire truck seen in the movie and visit the forgotten location of the actual Chop Suey Palace.
  • In early December of 2008, there was a contest to see who can portray the best Ralphie, whether if it’s him in a pink bunny suit, or in his winter apparel in celebration of the movie’s 25th anniversary. Plus they revealed the house in Cleveland where the movie was filmed.
  • Clarkworld is a heart-warming documentary on “A Christmas Story” director Bob Clark. The documentary’s director, Deren Abram, worked with Bob Clark for over a decade before Clark and his 22-year old son, Ariel, were killed by a drunk driver in April 2007.
  • According to Director Bob Clark’s commentary on the Christmas Story DVD, the first actor he had in mind to play Ralphie’s father was ‘Jack Nicholson’. Jack was very impressed with the script and was interested in doing the movie, but there was no way Clark could afford Jack Nicholson’s salary, and went instead with Darren McGavin as the father.
  • The real house used during filming can be found at 3159 W 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Pictures and a “Street View” of the house can be seen on Google Maps. A nearby street that intersects with W. 11th St is Clark Avenue.
  • ‘Don Geyer (I)’, who played the Scarecrow, was the head of Display and Fixtures at Higbee’s Department Store / Dillards. Santa’s throne in the movie is one of the actual chairs owned by Higbee’s and used annually for Santa. After his death in 1999, his co-workers reported seeing him on the loading dock, where he used to smoke and a few claim they heard his voice on the overhead paging system.
  • Although now the film is considered a Christmas classic, what’s interesting is that at the time, according to Peter Billingsley, not many major studios were interested in a Depression-era story about a little boy wanting a BB gun for Christmas. Billingsley also stated in an interview that director Bob Clark agreed to make a horror film for the studio in order to get A Christmas Story made.
  • The film is set in 1941, according to the reference made by Mrs Parker to Mr Parker about an upcoming game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. These two teams met in a playoff game on December 14, 1941, a Sunday. It was their only playoff game against each other until January 23, 2011. The only previous time these two teams met during a regular season game in December was December 10, 1933. Throughout the 1940’s the second game of the regular season between these two teams all occurred in November, the two latest being mid-November in 1942 and 1948.
  • The LOOK magazine used by Ralph Parker to insert his Red Ryder promotion for his mother’s observation, was a December 21, 1937 edition with a cover featuring Shirley Temple pouring tea for Santa Clause. Based upon the optics of this prop it is quite possible the use of a brass decoder pin instead of the paper decoder pin used by Ralph in 1941 was chosen for its optics.
  • Since Jean Shepherd is listed in the opening set of credits, but is not in the more comprehensive end credits, the opening credits are used first in the IMDb cast list, followed by those in the end credits not yet in, as required by IMDb policy on cast ordering. In addition to being credited as “Ralphie as an Adult,” Shepherd also is uncredited as the Narrator/The Man in Line for Santa/Santa.
  • The Chinese restaurant is named ‘Bo Ling’s’. There is a neon sign across the top of the storefront that reads ‘Bowling’, except the ‘W’ is not lit.
  • There is a debate about when the film takes place. Evidence seems to point to 1939 because of “the wizard of oz” references. The decoder ring points to 1940. However, if you look at the calender on the wall (during the first dinner sequence), you can clearly see the first of December falls on a Friday. December 1st fell on a Friday in 1939. Not 1940 as what was previously excepted.
  • Jean Shepherd: writer/narrator, is the irate man waiting in the Santa line at the department store. The woman standing behind Shepherd is his wife, Leigh Brown.

Talking Points:

  • Even though I’ve seen this a million times I still remember the first time.
  • Do you think there will ever be a time when this movie stops being played so many times during Christmas?

What We’ve Learned:

  • The Kid year revolves around Christmas
  • The Lone Rangers nephew’s horse was a great character in American literature
  • Grizzly bears like to stalk candy stores
  • There is a black cloud of obscenity floating somewhere over Lake Michigan
  • Nothing trumps the triple dog dare
  • Don’t stick your tongue (or anything else wet) to a metal light pole in winter
  • You’ll shoot your eye out kid
  • Be sure to drink your Ovaltine

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Okay, okay, the movies not that bad. But seriously, that Santa give me nightmares. I hate you A Christmas Story. Definitely a skippable movie for every year.
Ray: A movie plagued by it’s own popularity. Regardless of how good a movie it may or may not be.. it’s an overplayed joke at this point. Which is unfortunate. If you haven’t seen it, yes you should see it at least once..and then never turn your TV on during Christmas ever again.
Steve: Always worth a look, especially if you’ve never seen it. I don’t need to see it over and over every year, but it’s a little gem to find in your stocking every few years, if nothing but for nostalgia’s sake. It is very surprising to see how much this movie is in our popular culture though…images pop up everywhere if you look.

The Present: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% Fresh, 85% Audience

Director: Guy Richie

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry.

Trivia:

  • Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn and Javier Bardem were considered to play Moriarty.
  • Both Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) had acted in the Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers.
  • Robert Morley and Stephen Fry have both played Oscar Wilde and Mycroft Holmes. In the Gyles Brandreth books where Oscar is a detective, his friend Conan Doyle states that Oscar was the inspiration for Mycroft.
  • Sophie Marceau, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Virginie Ledoyen, Eva Green, Marion Cotillard and Cécile De France were considered to play Sim before Noomi Rapace was cast.
  • Leslie S. Klinger, author of “The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes” and a consultant on this film, said in an interview that he suggested “Sherlock Holmes: The Grand Game” as a title.
  • Stephen Fry (Mycroft) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) share the same birthday.
  • Robert Downey Jr. came up with the idea for the disguise as a cross-dresser, which was originally a priest.
  • The bagpipers at Dr. Watson’s wedding were from the Leicestershire Seaforth Highlanders. Guy Ritchie contacted them as his grandfather was in the Seaforth Highlanders.
  • Due to Warner Bros.’ fast-tracking of this sequel, director Guy Ritchie was forced to drop out of an adaptation of Lobo, while Robert Downey Jr. was forced to drop out of Cowboys & Aliens
  • Stephen Fry is also set to appear in The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Also appearing in that film is Christopher Lee; who has played both Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes; as well as Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, who also appear together as the modern-day Holmes and Watson inc Sherlock.
  • At the beginning when Watson is typing, the camera pans over typed excerpts from Doyle’s stories, including “The Blue Carbuncle” and “A Study in Scarlet.”
  • Both Jude Law (Watson) and Stephen Fry (Mycroft) starred together in the 1997 film Wilde.
  • ‘Wolf Khaler’, who plays Doctor Hoffmanstahl, also played the King of Bohemia (Irene Adler’s former lover) in the adaptation of “A Scandal In Bohemia” from “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” with Jeremy Brett.
  • The medals Watson wears during his stag party are the Afghan War Medal (red and green ribbon) and the Kandahar Bronze Star (multi-colored striped ribbon), which would make Watson a veteran of the Second Afghan War (1878-1880).
  • The movie is primarily based on the short story “The Final Problem” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but also shows aspects from other Sherlock Holmes stories: “The Sign of Four”; “The Greek Interpretor”; “Valley of Fear”; “The Speckled Band”; “The Dying Detective”; “Bruce Partington Plans”; and “The Second Stain”.
  • After Holmes refuses to ride the horse offered to him by the Gypsies, he is seen riding a mule. The music they play for that scene is the theme from Two Mules for Sister Sara from 1970.

Talking Points:

  • Again..does every action sequence have to be sloooowwweeeeedddd dooooooowwwnnnnnn (this movie would have been over a lot quicker)

What We Learned:

  • You can’t use the lavatory on a Victorian era train while its not moving.
  • Bagpipes make a most effective alarm clock
  • Horses are dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle.

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: On par with the first movie. Added a couple of new things. I just like the Sherlock Holmes movie so I’m good. Sherlock and Moriarty’s fight was one of my favorite parts.
Ray: Was a game of snoozes for me, even with this really being about as far away from an actual Sherlock Holmes story…and despite all the action sequences, it couldn’t keep me awake in my seat. ZzzZzzZzzZZz
Steve: I like the action, although the bullet time and slo-mo got REALLY annoying over time. Was definitely action-oriented and was non-stop. The story was “eh”, but at least the visuals and action were worth seeing in the theater.

The Future: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence

Release: February 2012

Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba

Summary:

As Johnny Blaze hides out in Eastern Europe, he is called upon to stop the devil, who is trying to take human form.

Trivia:

  • The Ghost Rider’s skull has been redesigned for this sequel. The new skull appears to be black and charred, indicating that the skull is actually on fire as apposed to the clean fleshless skull simply cloaked in fire in the previous film.
  • Eva Mendes turned down the option to reprise her role

Talking Points:
Trailer 2 gives much more about the plot

Trailers:

#1:

#2:

Excitement:
Jeff: BUUUUUUURRRRRRRNNNNNN!!!!!! He he, fire, fire.
Ray: I’ve always seen the Ghost Rider franchise as some sort of D-List comic penned to catch on to the Evel Knieval craze of the 1970’s thus my excitement for this movie, as was the first one..pretty non existent
Steve: If I was into motorcycles more, or if it weren’t Nicholas Cage, I would probably be more into this movie. Effects look cool…but I was not a big fan of the first one. He might need to use that chain to drag me to the theater.

Coming Attractions

The Past

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The Present

The Future

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MOV070: “You may know kung fu… but you’re still a fairy.”

The boys head back in time to do a little Axe-Kicking with Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Hustle”. After watching the town defend themselves by beating up on some bad guys, it was time to head to the theater to see Zoe Saldana do some of her own ass-kicking as a killer for hire in “Colombiana”. In the end, they check out the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s 2nd offering from his series, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”. In news, they chat about “Source Code” becoming a CBS series, what it may be like not to have Ash in Evil Dead, follow-up on some recent Facebook posts, and chat about Time Out London’s Top 100 Comedies of All Time! In intermission, it’s time to really talk about the impact Netflix’s decision to hike up prices may have had on the company. It’s the 70th, yup…70th Reel of COL Movies where “You may know Kung Fu, but you’re still a fairy!”

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News:

The Past: Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Fresh 86% Audience

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Director: Stephen Chow

Starring: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen and Qiu Yuen

Trivia:

  • Surpassed Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer) in February 2005 to become the highest-grossing Hong Kong-made movie in Hong Kong.
  • As of 2005, this film had the widest cinematic release in the USA of a foreign language film.
  • Three scenes are not directed by Stephen Chow. One, the fight that reveals the three Pig Stye Masters, is directed by Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. The “Burly Brawl” parody where the One fights the thousand men in black suits, and the fight in the night, where the three masters face the two musicians were directed by Woo-ping Yuen.
  • Most of the names of the superpowers in the film are taken from the pulp novels of Louis Cha, a household name in Hong Kong often compared to Alexandre Dumas père and credited with the invention of modern martial arts swashbucklers.
  • The name “Pig Sty Alley” (Zhu Long Cheng Zhai) is a play on the Chinese name for the Walled City of Kowloon (Jiu Long Cheng Zhai), a Chinese ex-clave in Hong Kong for much of the 20th Century, and well-known as a breeding ground of crime, slums and disorder. It was torn down in 1993.
  • The literal translation of the name of “The Beast” is in fact “Dark God of the Fire Clouds”. The name was first used by the writer ‘Liu Canyang’ in his novels in the 50s and 60s, where his character was originally his protagonist’s mentor. Comparatively lax copyright laws in Hong Kong and the menacing sound of the name have since however, caused the name to be appropriated in many other films, novels and comics.
  • Bruce Lee Tribute: When the Landlady is seated between the Boss and his assistant, she faces the boss, and mimics the gestures Bruce Lee used while also facing a crime boss in Return of the Dragon. She wags her finger at him, then closes both fists, then just the right (while knuckles cracking can be heard), she jerks her head up, and the boss nods he understands, then she thumbs her nose, exactly like Bruce Lee.
  • The names of the Landlord and Landlady that they announce to the Beast are “Yang Guo” and “The Little Dragon Maiden” in the original Chinese, which is a joke nod to Louis Cha’s famous novel “Return of the Condor Heroes” that has been adapted many times for television and film. Part of the joke is that unlike the Landlord, the original Yang Guo was a handsome youth, and unlike the Landlady, the original “Little Dragon Maiden” was a beautiful, rarefied young woman.

Talking Points:

  • Kung Fu movie style…does this count?
  • Was it supposed to be funny?

What We’ve Learned:

  • The lion’s roar kinda rocks.
  • The “fat lady” isn’t really that fat in American culture.
  • Where can I get me one of those Bhuddist Palm manuals?

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: A comedy of martial arts awesomeness. If you haven’t seen this, you’re missing out.
Ray: The humor is lost on me. I don’t really get it. It makes me smile, but I don’t find much of it funny. I can’t personally recommend it.
Steve: Enjoyable…if you like the genre, it’s fun. Don’t expect it to be a serious kung fu movie – more of a spoof by the people who know how to make kung fu movies well.

Intermission:
Higher Netflix prices equals fewer subscribers

Horror show: Netflix losing more customers than expected on price hike, stock plunges 19 pct

The Present: Colombiana
Rotten Tomatoes: 28% Rotten 59% Audience

Director: Olivier Megaton

Starring: Zoe Saldana, Michael Vartan and Callum Blue

Trivia:

  • The film has been criticized for stereotyping the Colombian culture, the president of the non-profit group PorColombia, Carlos Macias, depicting it as a proof of a “total lack of creativity” of “Hollywood”.
  • Several groups have rejected the film on the basis of the hypothesis that it was of a defamatory nature, changing the film’s slogan from “Vengeance is beautiful” to “Colombia is Beautiful”.
  • Filming began around August 20, 2010 in locations including Chicago, New Orleans, and Mexico.
  • The film was produced by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp company and the script was written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
  • Colombiana debuted in second place in its first week at the U.S. box office with $10,408,176 behind The Help. It stayed #2 until August 31, 2011, when it went down to #3 behind The Help and The Debt.
  • The film itself was not screened to most critics in advance of its release until the day before its release, preventing opening day print reviews, but nevertheless, some critics reviewed the film.

Talking Points:

  • Controversy.
  • Did Zoe do well as an action star?

What We Learned:

  • Smart Girls always get what they want
  • Chicago’s not just down the street
  • Always make sure your shark tank is secure.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Kind of a fun movie but didn’t feel theater worthy to me. Wait for the DVD.
Ray: I had high hopes for it, but it just sort of fell flat. I would recommend waiting for Netflix or Redbox.
Steve: It was a decent movie. Nothing truly original about it – mostly just rehashings of other similar movies. However, Zoe did well and it was enjoyable to watch.

The Future: Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Director: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Jared Harris

Summary:

Sherlock Holmes and his longtime trusted associate, Dr. John Watson, take on Professor Moriarty, with the help of Holmes’s older brother Mycroft Holmes and a Romani woman named Sim.

Trivia:

  • Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn and Javier Bardem were considered to play Moriarty.
  • Both Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) had acted in the Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers.
  • Robert Morley and Stephen Fry have both played Oscar Wilde and Mycroft Holmes. In the Gyles Brandreth books where Oscar is a detective, his friend Conan Doyle states that Oscar was the inspiration for Mycroft.
  • Sophie Marceau, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Virginie Ledoyen, Eva Green, Marion Cotillard and Cécile De France were considered to play Sim before Noomi Rapace was cast.
  • Leslie S. Klinger, author of “The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes” and a consultant on this film, said in an interview that he suggested “Sherlock Holmes: The Grand Game” as a title.
  • Stephen Fry (Mycroft) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) share the same birthday.

Talking Points:

  • Bullet time? really?
  • The actors didn’t seem to fit in the first movie. Will it be any better in #2?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: SOLD!
Ray: I can’t say I’m excited for it. The first one put me to sleep, literally.
Steve: Eh. Still haven’t seen the original. This doesn’t make me want to see it or this one, in particular. Rather spend my money on something else.

Coming Attractions:

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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