FILMS 2012, Entry #7: TWO SERVINGS OF SHERLOCK, AND ONE SERVING OF PIG'S MEAT.

17 weeks, 1 day

Total: 36 films

Well. I'm happy to report that I have managed to survived my final exams since my last update. And as you can see from below, I've also (happily) managed to catch a good four films since my papers ended three days ago.

As both the title and picture above has pointed out, two of the films I caught were Buster Keaton's 1924 silent film "Sherlock Jr." and Guy Ritchie/Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes".

The more recent effort was reasonably (and somewhat surprisingly) enjoyable. I haven't caught many of Guy Ritchie's film, but for better or worse, you could tell it was his film from the get go. A lot of stylistic camera swoops and treatment of men as his film subjects (see also "Lock, Stock" and "Snatch"). It was pretty much an okay film to catch when you're bored, but definitely forgettable.

I do, however, have a serious quibble with the film that takes a classic character and changes so many elements that it no longer has any resemblance to the original character. Downey Jr. gives what is supposed to be a "new" take on the classic character, but it feels more like RDJ being himself more than anything else. Gone is the measured and almost antiseptic nature of Sherlock Holmes, replaced by this new and swaggering version. And Jude Law's Watson is arguably even further from the original version of himself in the book. I suppose if you buy into the whole RDJ is a great and charming actor, you will love the film (One reviewer on RT says "there is no such thing as too much Downey". Yes there was, it was called Iron Man 2).

"Sherlock Jr." on the other hand, was quite a remarkable film to watch. It was my first Buster Keaton film, and it was easy to see what the hype was about. The plot was imaginative; I liked the detail of the character being a film projectionist and the concept of a film-within-a-film. But the true star was Keaton the stunt man, who performed all his stunts with such energy and physicality. You can definitely see his influence on modern cinema, and I was especially reminded of Jackie Chan, who has made numerous references to Keaton as an inspiration. It provided, for me, more entertainment and laughs in 44 minutes than the other Sherlock did in 128 minutes.

The other film alluded to in my title was Pedro Almodovar's "Volver". As with "Sherlock Jr.", this was my introduction to one of cinema's most talked-about personalities, and I was definitely not disappointed. The film centers around strong, female characters (a recurrent subject from his works) and the concept of family, which was quite personal to him. You can tell the effort and thought put into crafting the film, from the outfits to the tone of film. The script was really good, although with the multiple story lines, it could have been tightened just a bit. With its big characters and surreal plot, it walked a thin line and could have become complete melodrama. But the handling of the material is superb and both Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura were really, really good in it, which helps it to always maintain an emotional resonance and connection.

There's plenty more to talk about, but I just want to talk about one of the most fascinating quirks I noted, which was Almodovar's use of primary colours, especially the colour red. I haven't seen enough to see if this is a stylistic signature, but it was fun to see how the colour was incorporated into almost every shot in the film. If you happen to watch it, do keep an eye out for it.

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Caught in the cinema:

1. A Separation
2. Sink (short)
3. The Hunger Games
4. John Carter
5. Margin Call
6. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
7. Moneyball
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. The Descendants
10. War Horse
11. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

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Caught elsewhere:

1. Volver
2. Sherlock Jr.
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (swedish version)
5. The Dark Knight
6. Four Lions
7. Lars and the Real Girl
8. L'Enfant
9. Hanna
10. Shutter Island
11. Goodfellas
12. Assault on Precinct 13
13. Notorious
14. City Lights
15. Bronson
16. Drive
17. The Man from Nowhere
18. Cheng ji cha lou (The Teahouse)
19. Warrior
20. Dial M for Murder
21. Training Day
22. Winter's Bone
23. Oldboy
24. Invictus
25. The Incredibles