A Fun British Romp

Wild Target is a film I wasn’t sure I’d ever watch.  It came up on Netflix instant several times as a suggestion, but I always wrote it off because something about the art for it through me off and made me think it wasn’t what it ended up being.  I thought it was going to be some slightly-serious girl in trouble piece, but it turned out to be a not-even-remotely-serious girl in trouble piece, and is a whole lot of fun to watch.

Wild Target is the story of a thief who is more like a kleptomaniac named Rose (Emily Blunt).  In selling a piece of artwork she had stolen, she unfortunately rips off the wrong British gangster (Rupert Everett).  He is understandably pissed off, so hires the best assassin in the business Victor Maynard (Bill Nighy) to kill her.  Victor is somewhat particular about things, which is evident from his meticulous plastic-wrapped home.  In his pursuit of Rose, he changes his mind about killing her, which sets into motion a comedy of errors where he is trying to prevent Rose from being killed by the gangster’s henchmen with the help of Tony, played by Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame.  Thankfully, aside from the initial “He’s from Harry Potter!” you don’t think of him that way for the rest of the movie.

A Tale of Two Interpretations

At the end of his review for the poorly named, but better than the original, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, my Hackert mentions that he prefers the BBC’s Sherlock better.  This may have been glossed over by many, but it is a very important take away from that review in my opinion.

This isn’t to say I too did not find the Guy Ritchie film, filled with his characteristic dull colors with glossy sheens and slow motion action, to be a bad film. I enjoyed it’s more intellectual story relative to the original film, in which Sherlock was less detective and more fighter, and balances its grand set pieces with a more complex interweaving plot.  On the other side of the coin, it also has horribly obvious foreshadowing which sadly ruins some of its more emotive moments. It is a great flick, but clearly not without its flaws.

And don’t call me Sherly

Over break I went and saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which like its predecessor was a great romp to see over the holidays.  Although he was hinted at as the villain in the first movie, Professor James Moriarty--played very well by Jared Harries—is front and center the bad guy in this film.  Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Moriarty have always had an interesting relationship in the various ways they have been presented over the years, and this movie is no exception.  Although they come face to face early in the movie, both are too sure of their own genius to feel the need to do anything at that moment, so leave each other be.  The reason may also to have been to allow for the rest of the movie to take place, but that is a rather dull reason.

The rest of the cast is equally great in their roles, the returning characters as well as the new characters.  Jude Law returns as Doctor John Watson, who you have to feel for since his best friend does a very good job of making his life very complicated.  In the end they are still bros though, so it’s all good.  Rachel McAdams also returns for this film as the thief Irene Adler, but she is mostly a foil for presenting the main conflict of the movie, and only features in the early part of the movie.  The two new supporting characters are probably the most fun though.  Stephen Fry play Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s equally eccentric brother, and like in his other movies brings a dry wit and a flair for the insane.  Noomi Rapace, who some may recognize from the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies, plays Madam Simza Heron, a gypsy fortuneteller with a penchant for knives.  What Stephen Fry brings to the humor, Noomi Rapace brings to the action, helping Watson and Sherlock escape from a number of dangerous predicaments they find themselves in.

Catching Up on Past Viewings: A Dangerous Method

"Chewing the Scenery" is a term for melodramatic over acting, and it also happens to be the exact phrase my dad used to describe Keira Knightley's performance in A Dangerous Method.  His argument is that it is easier to overact and it isn't always right to do so.  I'd argue that Knightley does exactly what is asked of her, and does it well and in a way that adds to the story, rather than as a way to draw attention to herself at the expense of the other characters.

Saturday Night Live: A Return to Decency

With the Christmas episode in the can, I'm calling this the halfway mark of the Saturday Night Live season, and boy has it been a good one.  Each year SNL is dissected because of its past glories as a barometer for cool.  It's history has been filled with great comedians who have gone on to having their own success outside of the show, and the past few years, particularly with Seth Myers as head writer, the show has taken some lumps.

Catching up on Past Viewings: The Muppets

If you've ever wanted to feel extremely nostalgic this is a movie to do it.  I consider myself to have a fairly terrible memory of childhood.  That's not to say my childhood was bad, merely that unlike my sister, I don't remember a lot from when I was 8 and younger.  Despite not being able to distinctly ever watching any episode of the Muppet show from the 70s, Sesame Street, or Fraggle Rock this movie made me feel like a kid again.

Catching Up on Past Viewings: Shame

Yesterday afternoon, I caught a matinee showing of Shame, the slightly controversial, NC-17 rated movie starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan (An Education).  The film, directed by Steve McQueen, who I'd say ranks third behind Alexander McQueen, a fashion designer, and Steve McQueen (The Great Escape), is the second collaborative effort with Fassbender, the first being Hunger [can be seen on netflix instant].