Review: Sherlock Holmes The Scarlet Claw

Atmospheric reworking of the Hound of the Baskervilles starring Rathbone and Bruce. This was our Halloween viewing  as neither of us fancied a straight out horror. This is a hugely nostalgic film for me as it evokes BBC showings of the series back in 1980s and watching them on our small black and white TV.  Viewing it on our projector recently was obviously rather different!

What I found extraordinary was that I'd quite forgotten the majority of the plot and only one or two scenes gave me vague feelings of deja vu. I think I'm long overdue a rewatch of the rest of the series.

This adventure is probably one of the better ones as it's an original tale which while being set in the modern days of 1940s, Holmes and Watson aren't being compelled to help with the war effort. Further, no one has gone overboard with the makeup, given Rathbone a distracting hair style and the script isn't too abusive to Watson. The remote Canadian village location also adds a certain timeless quality which while you couldn't mistake it for nowadays, it could easily be more period accurate for Holmes.

Verdict: Top tier Rathbone & Bruce. 

Review: The Rainmaker

The stakes in this feel lower than some of the other Grisham adaptations. But that's resulted in a more nuanced (although still occasionally implausible) film.

Damon's earnest newbie lawyer is perfectly balanced by DeVito's rather more cynical hack.  Voight makes for a good adversary.

Unusually, for these movies it finds time to weave in at least one secondary narrative.

Having watched a run of these long courtroom dramas now, I'm struck by Grisham's confidence in ordinary people doing the right thing.

Verdict: One of the more intelligent adaptations. 

Review: A Time to Kill

Another Grisham courtroom drama and it doesn't shy away from controversial topics as it deals with racism and revenge killing.  Likely, also a step up in terms of cost compared to some of the others.

As a story it's an absorbing if overwrought one as one brutal act risks escalating into a feud combined with race war.  The act which kicks it all off also made it a difficult watch for me and I'm not sure I would have chosen it had I known.

The cast are good good in this, with McConaughey showing early ability to portray complex roles and be the core of a movie.

It's odd seeing Jackson with hair and Spacey in a movie at all now.

Verdict: Good, but probably a bit overlong.
 

Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

This movie isn't quite sure if it's a Freddie Mercury biopic or a Queen docudrama.  The result is something of a compromise. The focus is very much on Freddie (some of the other band members while convincing looking are thinly drawn characterisation wise), but doesn't manage to get under the skin of what made him tick.

The other problem is that the story of Queen doesn't seem to be a very interesting one. It's basically band gets together, has some hits and becomes massive, splits and then reunites.  The snippets of insight into the how and why some of the hit songs were made was often fascinating, but probably not covered in any more depth than the relevant wikipedia article.

The film's crescendo - a performance at Live Aid - is hardly the stuff of legend to the average viewer.  I have honestly given Live Aid almost no thought in the last 30 years - and can remember nothing about the individual band performances.  Mercury, however, is genuinely interesting as a person.  For example, "What drove him creatively?" is a question which is barely touched upon.

By now you've probably realised I am at best a passing Queen fan, and I felt Malek had got Mercury about 90% right. The accent and diction is a bit variable, but his look and movement often eerily invoked the musician.  The film soars when it comes together and you realise the dent in the public conscious this band family managed to make thanks in large part to Mercury's singular vision and zest for life.

Verdict: Does the job. 

Review: Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury is yet another 90s adaptation of a Grisham courtroom novel. I can see why they were so popular with Hollywood, easy to adapt best-selling books and limited sets to worry about means you can concentrate on hiring charismatic stars old and new to get them packing the cinemas.  Hackman gets by far the most fun lines to play with.

The underlying trial around gun control remains as relevant now as then. Barely a week goes by without a mass shooting in the US and fingers being pointed regarding responsibility.  This time its the gun industry itself on trial.

With such high stakes, it's no wonder that the opposing lawyers worry about jury selection and decision making. So when someone promises to fix the jury, it must be very tempting...

Verdict: Implausible but fun ride. 

Review: The Rosie Project

Amusing romantic comedy featuring high functioning Aspergers academic, Don Tilman in his pursuit of a wife. What makes the project so charming is the insights into Tilman's daily routine, his unique approach to life and social ineptness. In many ways, he feels not dissimilar to my younger self.

Less well drawn is the object of his affections and that's just about forgivable given the Tilman's eye view of proceedings.

Verdict: Charming and unconventional romcom. 

Review: Shooter

Shooter is a bit of a oddity in that it has some care and attention to the details, but it all seems to go a bit James Bond towards the end.  The basic premise of this film ie "what would it take to beat all of the various measures that are currently in place to prevent the assassination of a US President?" is an intriguing one as is the solution.  The resulting JFK like conspiracy, something which the characters are somewhat self-aware of, is rather less so.

Enter Wahlberg to take of business in another loner underdog (anti)hero role.  Predictably increasing levels of action, mayhem and twists result as he goes in pursuit of justice while evading the long arm of the law.  He's never less than convincing in a way that Dwayne Johnson isn't.

Verdict:  Passable action thriller.