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Reviews
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004)
Jolly good show, what-what!
Rupert Everett as the Master Detective? Yes please! It's all in the nose. You can spot an actor who is ideal to play Holmes as soon as they turn sideways... they just have to have The Profile. And the fact that Mr Everett can act is obviously a given... A glorious bit of arrogance with a few insights in Holmes's more unsavoury side. This is clearly a Holmes for the post Silence of the Lambs generation. To say any more would constitute a spoiler. One question (and I shouldn't think this is in any way a spoiler) - did they use the word 'pimp' in Victorian times? I'm not so sure... Well, I've ticked the spoiler box, so that's me covered! I was rather fascinated by Watson's ears... but a wonderful bit of acting as literature's most put-upon-best-mate-and-colleague. It's a good story which was a lot of fun to guess along with, with quite modern twists to it. The supporting cast did exactly that, and with aplomb. The main star, London itself is seen through tantalising gaps in the fog. Which, let's face it, is about all one would have seen!
Dogma (1999)
Profound!
I really loved this film. Take away the bad language (that would be Jay, then, mostly...) and you have a very powerful film about faith, and the nature of the relationship between God and humans. Okay, so there's some very off colour humour (it wouldn't be a Kevin Smith film without it, would it?!) but at the heart of it this is a very spiritual, even (dare I say it) inspiring film. And tons funnier than any po-faced nonsense that usually gets shoved at us under the banner of 'though provoking' (yawn provoking more like). Kevin Smith shows that you CAN get across some really serious points using comedy. Plus Ben Affleck looks kinda cool in his armour... Did I already say that I loved this film?
The Animatrix (2003)
Nice, bite-sized bits of sci-fi nonsense
This isn't as bad as some people will inevitably say it is, and while some sections leave you scratching your head and wondering what the point was, others are lovely to watch. The "Second Renaissance" is good, and does answer a few of the most nagging questions. Other sections like, for instance "The Kid' and (obviously) "The Last Flight of The Osiris' clear up a few head scratchers from Reloaded. The idea behind "World Record" is very much in keeping with the whole ethos of The Matrix, but its colours are just ugly.
Matriculated was a tad confusing initially with all its trippy visuals, but the ending is pure Asimov. Loved the haunted idea - mentioned in passing in the film, and fully stretched in "Beyond" - who hasn't had dreams of floating, falling without landing? Magic stuff. And was the grinning kid voiced by the same person as does Bobby in "King of the Hill"? Only one thing remains to keep the puzzling going: "Program"? WHY????