Sherlock Homes 2

Second viewing of this one and I'm pleased to say it was just as good the first time.. ****1/2
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Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol

That's Mission Impossible 4 to you and me.
There was something wrong with this film and I couldn't put my finger on it.. I'm not sure if it was because the main villain just wasn't there. In MI3 Philip Seymour Hoffman was an excellent bad guy who you genuinely feared.. This guy was just rubbish. Also Simon Pegg's humour didn't seem to sit well in the general tone of the film. In MI3 he played a small role and it complimented the film well. Here he is one of the team and his general incompetence undermines the seriousness of the film. All the other team members had to undergo rigorous training where as he didn't. Or at least that's the impression you got. All of which is not his fault, just the way he's written in..
On a positive note, the film does have some good action set pieces. Particularly the Dubai sequence with the dust storm/car chase..
Overall better than MI2 but not as good as MI3
Rating ***
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Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

This was the first of three films I saw today. I'd seen part of the original version but struggled to get into it and gave up after 20 minutes or so..
This, on the other hand started with a typical David Fincher title sequence. Cool visuals and a cool Led Zeppelin cover (reminded me of Fight Club) plus Trent Reznor credited for the music... Looked promising.
The film was an 18 certificate and I knew it was for sexual violence towards women.. Didn't make it any easier knowing this but I'm becoming desensitised these days.. Rooney Mara's performance was particularly good playing someone whose socially inept and was unrecognisable after her brief stint in The Social Network.
The film was long at 2 hours plus but I only looked at the clock once (mainly because I needed the loo!). Still, after that showing I'm looking forward to the next in the trilogy (in fact I may dig out the originals and watch them)
Overall another enjoyable film ***1/2
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Hugo (2D version)

Initially I was a bit apprehensive about this one. I didn't realise it was a 'U' certificate until I'd bought the ticket and I thought the screening's going to be full of kids... Turns out it wasn't, thankfully! Also the film didn't turn out too bad either..
I'd heard good things about this film but had no idea what it was actually about... Which wasn't a bad thing. After the spectacle of 'Sherlock Holmes' this was a more somber affair. Ben Kingsley put in another good performance and it was nice to see Chloe Morentz in a role that didn't involve bad language or sucking blood. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not too familiar with Martin Scorsese's work, having only seen a couple of his films (and they weren't his best either)
Overall I enjoyed this film. A typical Saturday afternoon viewing. ***
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Sherlock Homes 2

It's 2 o'clock, Christmas eve and I'm killing time before a 2.30 showing of Hugo (2D version - review to follow later)
What can I say about Sherlock Homes: Game of shadows? Well, excellent! I can't remember a film I've enjoyed that much for a long time..
Ok, let's get the gripes out of the way first. And there's only one really. This has been done before... The first Sherlock Homes to be precise. But it worked then and it works here too. There's a particular action scene with them running for a train that is really well choreographed, incorporating Guy Richies inimitable slo-mo style! The banter between Robert Downey and Jude Law is funny, and some of Sherlocks quotes appealed to my sense of humour..
Overall an excellent film **** 1/2
(I'll try and catch this one again before we head back to Hereford)
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