“The Devil is in the Details” - A Sherlock Holmes Review

The Novel Sherlock Holmes, is set in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century featuring the exploits of a brilliant detective and his Doctorate assistant Watson. The novel was originally published in 1887 and was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is notorious for his deductive reasoning, acute observation and his ever evolving set of gadgets, not to mention an affinity for late night violin concertos.

Apparently the Sherlock Holmes character has a history of mental illness and drug abuse as well. Some mental illnesses including mania, depression and bi-polar disorder are an ever present issue between Watson and Holmes throughout the novels.

As always Hollywood sweeps in on the beloved literature of many for the lucrative motion picture opportunity. For once, they didn't mess one up too badly.

Robert Downey Jr. really saves this movie big time with his performance. It wasn't too hard for him, his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes reflects himself in many ways, including the overall “Rockstar” appeal of the character. The boredom that Holmes experiences while being out of work is something that Downey is, of course very familiar with I am sure. As always, Jr. put on a stunning performance. I am happy for the way the man has turned around his life since his time in prison. Also be on the look out for Iron Man 2. Tony Stark is my hero, for the record.

Overall the cast was alright. Many were complaining about the homo-sexual tension between Jude Law and Robert Downey, which I did not pick up so much on. It wasn't like they were running around in tutu's broke back mountain style. From what I drew, the relationship was the typical strife between a man's best friend and his girlfriend, which is a very relate-able topic to males of my age.

There is no point in reviewing this movie without talking about its director, Guy Ritchie for a little bit as well. Although not my favorite movie of his, (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Rock n Rolla) all the signatures of the great British director were present. The bare knuckle boxing, the flash forwards and the interweaving plot culminating in the last ten minutes all made it very apparent as to who was running the show.

The tone and setting of the movie were both very attractive. I loved the whole 19th century feel of steam engines, the bleak London weather and the beginnings of man's disbelief in magic through the discoveries of science and logic. I may be biased in my liking for the movies setting. Admittedly, I am a big steam punk fan, if you are unaware of the steam punk genre, view the pics and enlighten yourself.

Personally, my favorite aspect of the movie were the pauses in time where Sherlock Holmes asseses his surroundings and plans out his attack against his opponents.  During the bare knuckle boxing match, Holmes strings together a barage of attacks in his mind which are played out for the audience in slow motion first.  Then after the final blow is struck in Holme's imgaination, the actual sequence of the fight takes place in real time.  This part of the movie expounds upon the great foward thinking of Holmes which is reflected in his detective work throughout the film. 

Overall, the movie was entertaining. A few witty comments and dry remarks from the main characters kept the movie lively in slow spots. I will admit Sherlock Holmes was not as entertaining as Avatar of course, but a good follow up for my Christmas romp through the greater Metropolitan area. I agree with rotten tomatoes in their assessment of the film. Downey Jr. really takes the spotlight away from a thinly plotted movie. His overall performance saves the entirety of the film. A good watch, go see it if your bored, but if you haven't seen Avatar, that should be your priority.

When the Magic of Christmas Changes Hands

Last night my siblings and I came to an agreement to open our Christmas presents at 8AM. Yes, this was still an early resolution, but it was important to establish a decent time, because if not, I am quite sure that both of my younger sisters, one 6, and the other 7, would both be excitedly be jumping on my bed at 630 in the morning.

I set my alarm for 7:50 and attempted to get to bed at a decent time on Christmas eve. When I awoke I took a shower and proceeded upstairs for a cup of coffee where I found my sisters already raging for their presents.


Rebecca (age 7): “Okay, I am trying to open some presents here people...” Both of my sisters are a riot.

This Christmas I have fully realized one thing, the joy of seeing other people opening presents. Sure I have been taught that it is better to give than receive, and that Christmas is a time of giving. And yea, everyone says that, but how many people actually mean it?

There were no surprises for me under the Christmas tree. Everything that I received, was either bought by me, or ordered from Amazon by my request. A few books and a jacket were all that I asked for.

Truthfully, it was so fun to watch my sisters open all of their presents. The magic is really still there for them. It brings back so many fond memories of past Christmases. I remember back in the day when I couldn't even sleep the night before because I was so excited for my own Christmas presents.

For the first time ever I think I have truly realized the joy that my parents feel in giving their offspring gifts. When you understand that Christmas isn't about you, it makes a whole lot more sense, at least in my mind.

I hope that everyone enjoys their Christmas!

Be Safe

Avatar – A Review

*SPOILER WARNING*


First and foremost I would just like to say that James Cameron deserves every penny of profit that is made from the movie Avatar.

By far, watching this movie was the most I have been entertained for the entire year, no exaggeration. The environment of the movie was so magnetic, and spectacular. James Cameron's creativity is unmatched in his knack for captivating audiences through the use of space and color. The blend of CG with the live actors was seamless.

Going into any movie with such high caliber special effects, you expect little to no storyline. On the contrary, the plot of Avatar was very thought provoking as well as entertaining. It was a little predictable as it was given away in the previews, but not enough to ruin the movie. You were left wondering which side the main character was on up until the last 40 minutes of the movie.

Many viewers were complaining about the agenda of the movie and how it reflects the foreign policy of America in relation to our occupation of countries in search of oil. And yea, so what if it does? Maybe the U.S. is not as bad as the movie portrays, but is that not the point of a hyperbole?

If you were offended by the underlying political tone of the movie then you should be ashamed of yourself for letting something so small ruin the movie of the year for you. And when I say movie of the year, yes I mean better than Peter Jackson's District 9 and Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.

Lastly, the acting and character development were superb. As I write I feel like this could be a book report, speaking about character development, but it does the movie justice. The main character goes through quite the transformation. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington begins his journey as a hardcore Jarhead, when a bullet “Blows a huge hole right in the middle of his life.” Being a paraplegic, he is talked into entering into a science program that enables him to pilot an Avatar for observational purposes. By the end of the movie he is leading the revolution of the Na'vi people against his human counterparts.

One aspect that I very much enjoyed about this movie was The Matrix aspect of it. Jake Sully “plugs in” to his Avatar body to study the Na'vi. He becomes so engrossed in their culture and his new shell that when he is in the “real world” it feels more like a dream.
"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"

-Morpheus

The video “confessionals” reflecting his thoughts were also a nice touch throughout the movie as well.

In conclusion, James Cameron's movie Avatar is a must see. Whatever you are doing at this very moment, drop it and go spend the $15 to see it in 3D, or Imax. Don't even finish reading the rest of this review.
I asked a friend of mine Chris what he thought of the movie as we walked out of the theater. He responded: “Well now I know where James Cameron has been since Titanic!”

Enjoy the movie

GO SEE IT!

Interesting Pictures

Throughout my travels on the wonderful Internet I stumble upon lots of interesting things. Pictures being one of them. I found a guys picture blog once and I did enjoy it so I will attempt to post up any and all interesting pictures I take myself or that I find.

I just thought the drawing was cool. I myself am part of corporate America, in fact I am very much a part of the machine that spreads it. Regardless, here is the picture.

Working from Home

Being home from school in New Jersey at the begining of winter can only mean one thing.  Boredom.  The experience of boredom is the bane of my existence, I attempt to avoid it at all costs.  Idle hands are Satans play ground.

I have the opportunity to work from home for World Market Media, writing about Market Movers and International Affairs as I please. It's great pratice in journalism, etc. 

Anyway, I digress.  The point of the post is how I completely geek out when home,  I set up duel monitors, started playing starcraft again.  I fall back into what I know when I go home. 
Here is a picture of my duel monitor set up. 

It is insanely basic, and kind of stupid looking with the laptop.  It does have productive qualities when I am writing and analyzing data for work though.  I plan on bringing it back down to Florida wwith me during the break. 

As far as starcraft goes, I am getting the skills back and enjoying game play thoroughly.  I think being a nerd is great as long as you know you can go back to not being one eventually. 

Here is a video of Boxer, who is alleged to be the best starcraft player in the world.  He was recommended to me by my cousin chris, who thinks he is God's gift to video games.  Anyway, this kid is really good, of course he is from Korea.  He has some real nasty macro and micro technique which I am no where close to having. 

I find the level of serious play to be funny.  Just notice how no one is fat in any of these videos.  Obviously video games are not the problem with Obesity. 

The First Post

So I am currently home from college, and I decided that in my free time I would slap together this blog.  The point of it is to really just be able to post whatever I feel like on the internet, and maybe one day someone will actually be inspired by my writing and my linkages.