"Sherlock Holmes" (2009) -- Exquisite set design, extra-loud punches, jaunty hats and people running away from explosions. This movie was silly, but fun, and probably won't damage the Holmes legend forever, although it's true what they say: Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. have more chemistry with each other as long-time partners in detection than with their respective female counterparts.
"The Informant!" (2009) -- Great Matt Damon performance around a solid movie in which he plays a naïf caught up in an international corporate scandal (or is he?). It runs a bit long but I was with it the whole time because it has a very carefree, almost idiosyncratically cheerful tone. Melanie Lynskey is very good as Damon's wife, capping a year of small scene-stealing parts (see also "Away We Go" and "Up In The Air"). Also, a great "Hey! It's That Guy!" movie, especially if you like comedians.
"The Lovely Bones" (2009) -- It's been so long since I read this book I'm not reliable on how much was changed, but this movie is part Hallmark and part horror and it's a mighty uneasy mix. (The last trailer I saw shaped it into a Mark-Wahlberg-avenging-dad movie, and it is very little of that.) One juxtaposition in particular made my skin crawl even as I felt I was supposed to be moved by it. But Saoirse Ronan is terrific as Susie -- a little older and she would be a Best Actress shoo-in. Can't imagine ever sitting through this one again, but it's great to look at; the visuals of "the in-between" are more wow-inducing than "Avatar," while Earth is shot in the same lovely-scary palette as "Little Children."
"The Lovely Bones" (2009) -- It's been so long since I read this book I'm not reliable on how much was changed, but this movie is part Hallmark and part horror and it's a mighty uneasy mix. (The last trailer I saw shaped it into a Mark-Wahlberg-avenging-dad movie, and it is very little of that.) One juxtaposition in particular made my skin crawl even as I felt I was supposed to be moved by it. But Saoirse Ronan is terrific as Susie -- a little older and she would be a Best Actress shoo-in. Can't imagine ever sitting through this one again, but it's great to look at; the visuals of "the in-between" are more wow-inducing than "Avatar," while Earth is shot in the same lovely-scary palette as "Little Children."
5 comments:
I think any movie can be improved by the addition of jaunty hats.
Or, of Robert Downey Jr.
Hatted or unhatted, he's really fun to watch here.
Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. have more chemistry with each other as long-time partners in detection than with their respective female counterparts.
I'm sure that was intentional. After all, Holmes takes Irene Adler's ring and gives it to Watson.
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