Christmas day, 2011, turned out to be a memorable Christmas even though we were low on the gifts this year. But the day was something quite unexpected and truly treasured. My kids and I attended church – RockHarbor in Costa Mesa – and enjoyed a great not-the-usual-Christmas-story sermon, music and slam poetry which received thunderous applause.
After church we drove to the beautiful pristine mall, also known as Bella Terra, in Huntington Beach for lunch and a movie. Johnny Rocket’s, with a view of a giant Christmas tree, was open on Christmas day and we were serenaded by jukebox hits from the 1950’s and burgers to die for. Their shakes, we chose the chocolate banana, come close to being the best ever. From that day on, we all decided that this would be our Christmas tradition; Church, lunch and a movie.
In any case, my daughter’s keen eyes found the lone poster on the window which said we could purchase tickets from the restaurant at half price with lunch and a drink. Worked for us. We made sure our server got a Christmas-bonus tip and we unanimously decided to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Actually, it wasn’t our first choice but it was the one movie that we could all agree on. I’m glad we did. I’m not really a Robert Downey Jr. fan but I think teaming up with Jude Law was rather genius. And now I wouldn’t want anyone else but Downey to play Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law to reprise Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes is a fast-paced action detective mystery. That’s how I would describe it as an eerie mind game brews between Holmes and his adversary, Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris. Downey and Law are funny and cute. Right from the first minute you can feel trouble brewing. I just love that in movies. Also, the ambiance if you will, makes you feel right at home in the era of new inventions and all that marvelous stuff.
It was a tad bit difficult, at first, to follow the plot. Maybe because there was so much action going on and characters to figure out, or perhaps it was the fact that there wasn’t a lot of seats left in the theater and we had to sit in the front row. Wow, the screen is like in your face.
Sherlock Holmes, the movie, had very interesting camera angles. I wasn’t quite sure if I liked the foretelling of events to come (mostly fight scenes) until my daughter, a film and digital video student at AI, reminded me of all the thought that went into it including camera angles and effects. Reflecting on this movie I find it rather interesting that somehow my brain still thinks it was shot in black and white, though I know it was full color.
With Sherlock Holmes you can always expect comic relief and both Downy and Law supplied us with lots of giggles and laughter. However, I will say that I especially enjoyed the drama, the serious parts, and some of it really made you sigh, in a good way. This was a well-thought-out movie, clever, witty and fun. Costumes, sets and script were also on the A List.
It’s a movie you can enjoy with your family, no cussing or even bad words that I can remember and no embarrassing love scenes. Just goes to prove it is possible to create successful blockbuster movies without swearing or nudity. I even adored the credits at the end with all the illustrations and a wonderful soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer. This movie gets my thumbs up and I might just have to appreciate it a second time.