2011 in movies continued….

Cowboys and Aliens. So I love Westerns and Space movies so this shoulda been right up my alley.  Eh…

Brilliant concept that I think they just missed on.  And that’s a shame.  Steven Speilburg teaming up with Iron Man director Jon Favreau shoulda been awesome.  But it was only okay.  Maybe I was too hyped but I thought they missed on this one.

I mean it looks cool and there are some great visuals and some good lines and solid performances from Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford but… blah.  And why do all aliens now have to have exo-skeletons and be subterranean?

Did you know there were more sequels released in 2011 than in any other year?   Ever.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

This film didn’t suck.  It has some of the best action of the year and I really like the ensemble cast they’ve assembled.  Apparently Jeremy Renner is going to be the lead character for this series once Tom Cruise steps away and I don’t know how they could find a better replacement.  Love that dude.

The film is a little long and has a real big cheese ball ending.  I’ll not spoil it for ya.  It was good to see Ving Rhames in there for about 20 seconds.  And how much did he get for that?  13 mil?  My respect for Tom Cruise really did go up when I heard that.  Consider it back payment for all the money Cruise has made with those MI films.

Add it to the collection if your an MI fan.  This one is actually still in theaters but I’d recommend picking it up on DVD so you can pause it and go to the bathroom.  It’s long.

Let’s do another one still in theaters.  And also a sequel.  Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows.

Well, there really wasn’t much of a game of shadows.  There’s not really much of any kind of mystery either.  And somehow Sherlock has developed something similar to “Spidey Sense” as he simply knows the moves the bad guys are going to make without any deducing at all.  I found that to be a bit, tiresome.

Also tiresome was Downey Jr’s prissy British accent.  And boy, does he have lots of lines.

If you like watching Robert Downey Jr. run around with a serious man crush on Watson (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a serious man crush on Jude Law) then this film is for you.  Not as good as the first one and they kill Rachel McAdams off in the first 10 minutes.  I just didn’t believe any of it this time around.

But it made, and is making a boat load of cash so we’ll have Sherlock 3 probably Christmas time 2013.

And since I’m on recent films let me talk about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Now, this film has a mystery.  And should be considered for best picture in my opinion.  It’s also very long but moves along a lot better than say MI: Ghost Protocol.

There are some graphic scenes you should be aware of going in.  It’s intense, to be sure.  The opening credits do a great job of setting the mood of the film.  I really liked it.  Daniel Craig is good, Rooney Mara is out of this world.  I’m looking forward to the next couple of these films.  I’ll probably buy the books and read them.  I started to watch the original version of this film, which stars Noomi Rapace as the character Lisbeth Salander who co-stars in the above mentioned Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows.  But it’s subtitled and I fell asleep.

Alright, good for now.  More of the earlier 2011 films next.

sherlock holmes.

yeah, it’s just okay.  the best part is the interaction between holmes and watson.  the story is a little convoluted and by the end it’s pretty easy to tell they are trying to set up a series of films.  but it was good enough that i’ll go see them.  this film didn’t suck, it’s just nothing that i’d write home to mom about, ya know.

robert downey, jr. and jude law are terrific.  which as i said above is the best thing about the film.  and it’s important to have likable characters.  especially if you are setting up a series of films.

rachel mcadams is super hot and mark strong makes for a pretty creepy villian.  the supporting cast is all well and good.  guy ritchie brings some cool stuff into the mix as well.  sherlock being the genius that he is has the uncanny ability to see a situation, make his plan of action, then execute it.  for example, he sees a bad guy that he must get past so we see in slow motion his plan.  to punch him here, there and wherever all in slow motion.  then he executes his plan in a quick fury.  that’s pretty cool to see a couple of times in the film.

the scenery is all bleak, industrial age london.  it’s done very well.  i’m glad i live in a time where indoor plumbing and daily baths are fairly commonplace.  and i like to think big giant rats aren’t running wild in our meat processing plants.

i give this one three bad english teeth out of five.  i’m still way behind on my movies but if you havn’t seen avatar yet, go see that one first.  it’s bad ass.