Some Movie Reviews

Last night I celebrated my 24th birthday by writing a test, baking my brother's birthday cake, going out for Thai food, and watching two movies. When we stopped by Blockbusters on the way home from Thai Boat, we weren't really sure what to get, but ended up coming home with two movies placed in the Victorian era. Not really sure how that happened. That, however, is where the similarities between these movies ended.

The first movie was The Young Victoria, with Emily Blunt. I really had no idea what to expect with this one, as I don't recall seeing the preview or anything. It looked good, so we got it. It ended up being a wonderful movie! The costumes were incredible, the characters believable, the story very sweet. It's not a huge dramatic story like so many love stories are these days (Nicholas Sparks, anyone?) but when the movie drew to a close, I was left with a wonderful, happy feeling and was touched by the love between Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. I remember reading in my London guidebook that she wore mourning for forty years after he died and that all the iron-wrought fences in downtown London were painted black for his funeral, but to see their story portrayed so well was a real treat. I would give it five stars.

With our happy love story out of the way, we turned to our next Victorian movie. When I heard a while ago that Sherlock Holmes was being made into another movie, I was apprehensive. You see, I'm a bit of a closet Sherlock fan. I've read most of the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels, listened to the Sherlock Holmes radio show from the 40s, and devoured lots of old Holmes movies. My favourite portrayer of the occupant of 221 B Baker street is Basil Rathbone, the voice from the radio show and star of several old films. He plays the perfect dry, sarcastic, condescending Holmes from the books. I love following the dance of crime and detection between Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. The preview made the current Sherlock Holmes sound a little too supernatural for my taste and I wasn't sure if I liked their portrayal of a sloppy, badly dressed Sherlock. Last night, though, I figured I'd give it a try. I was not disappointed. The whole movie was full of little gems from the books– references to previous cases from the short stories, constant use of characters from Sir Conan Doyle's writing, and a wonderful (though slightly reinvented) portrayal of the world's most famous detective. I was pleased with the attention to detail that came out in Holmes' final expose of the criminal and in the way that this movie didn't replay all the classic Holmes' eccentricities to death. The way they treated the violin set this movie apart. This one is a gem, especially for detective fans. It's not BBC's Hercule Poirot, but it's pretty dang close.