Guy Ritchie brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master of deduction to the big screen in Sherlock Holmes. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as his faithful right hand, Dr. John Watson, the two must stop a plot by an occult leader by the name of Lord Blackwood. Secrecy surrounds Blackwood and his methods as Holmes and Watson must end his killing spree and uncover the mystery on how he arose from the grave.

Robert Downey Jr. is my favorite actor right now, hands down. I have enjoyed, pretty much, his entire film library. I may be the driver of his bandwagon. With Sherlock Holmes, Downey Jr. does what he does best and sells you a great character. Set aside his ability to act and look at the mans range. The way he portrays Conan Doyle’s brilliant work is a well blended mix of the classic works with a hint of Hollywood. His accent was near flawless to my ears and you believed that he was actually figuring these crimes out. There may be some English people that will disagree, but this American bought it. Downey Jr’s. performance is highlighted more by the addition of Jude Law’s Dr. Watson. I must say that I have not been a fan of Law’s in the past, however with this role he may have captured a new fan. He definitely was the Watson to Downey Jr’s Holmes.

A big, yet pleasant surprise, was the direction of Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has a very distinct style. If your a fan of his work, you know it when you see it. That is not the case with Sherlock Holmes. If I didn’t know that Ritchie was the director of this film before I watched it, I would have never known. I think that may have been one of the reasons that I liked it so much. It’s great when a director can step out of his shell to tell a good story. If you didn’t know, Ritchie writes most of the projects that he directs, so he always knows where he is going when he shoots a film. I can imagine it being hard for him to go from that particular method, to using a screenplay written by someone else. I know that there are some critics that did not like seeing a Guy Ritchie film and it not feel like it was a Guy Ritchie film. If your not sure what I am talking about, check out the style of Ritchie’s previous films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. After watching Sherlock Holmes a second time I did pick out some of Ritchie’s trade marks such as high speed photography during the action sequences, but steering away from his usual style was a welcomed breath of fresh air from a director that I was already fond of.

Is this movie perfect? No. I believe there may or may not be some technology that didn’t belong in that era, and it may feel at times that it is all too glamorous. If you watched the trailer and enjoyed it I feel that it delivered on that note. It gave me exactly what I expected when I saw it. It’s a nice balance of action and mystery that doesn’t try too hard. Most hardcore fans of the novel will need to understand that this is a take on the vintage character and not the most literal interpretation. Others who are just looking for a fun popcorn film should be satisfied. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but as I previously mentioned, I am a big fan of two of the major players.

Watch Sherlock Holmes in theaters now.

Fanboyz Grade: B+

]]> http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/movie-review-sherlock-holmes/feed/ 1 http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/box-office-avatar-sherlock-and-alvin-break-records-over-holiday-weekend/ http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/box-office-avatar-sherlock-and-alvin-break-records-over-holiday-weekend/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:54:37 +0000 Jeff Olson http://fanboyz.net/?p=9166

It took an indigenous planet, a detective, and a trio of musical chipmunks to make Hollywood have a very merry Christmas. This holiday weekend witnessed numerous box office records being broken. Instead of coal under the tree, studio executives will be seeing dollar signs. The big winner of the weekend was once again James Cameron’s Avatar which took the top spot for a second weekend with an astonishing $75 million. For the record, that is less than a 2% drop from it’s opening weekend last week (where it banked $77 million.) Also, bringing in huge numbers were Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and the animated kids movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Sherlock drummed up $62.3 million opening weekend and Alvin and company pulled in $48.8 million. Multiple records were broken this weekend. To see what those are and for a full weekend break down of the box office continue reading.

The big news of the weekend is the impressive box office returns for James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar. Dropping less than 2% from it’s opening weekend (most blockbusters drop between 30-50%) Avatar has banked $212.7 million in two weeks of release. That number reflects only its domestic haul. The more impressive figure is how much the movie has made world wide. Yahoo is reporting that the worldwide gross for Avatar has reached $617.3 million! For those who followed the excessive hype leading up to Avatar, you may know that the estimated budget for the film was in the $500 million range. So for those nay-sayers out there: how do you like them apples?

Coming in at number two this weekend was Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law, Sherlock grossed $62.3 million opening weekend. Thanks to a Christmas day opening of $24 million, director Guy Ritchie has a massive holiday hit to be thankful for. In fact, Holmes actually broke the Christmas day record for both single day and opening day grosses. Look for these detectives to hold up strong as the new year approaches.

The number three spot went to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel which opened on Wednesday the 23rd. Over the five day haul Alvin, Simon, and Theodore grossed $75.5 million with a $48.8 million three day weekend.

It’s Complicated (#4), the Nancy Meyers romantic comedy starring Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep was a strong weekend contender with $22 million Friday-Sunday.

Sandra Bullock’s The Blindside took in $11.5 million for a fifth place finish.

Up in the Air, starring George Clooney expanded its release on the 23rd which helped it bank $11.2 million. The Golden Globe nominated drama from director Jason Reitman should pick up steam over the next few weeks from strong word of mouth.

The only Christmas release not to pull in stellar numbers was Rob Marshall’s musical Nine which made $5.4 million for an eighth place finish. I guess people were not feeling the song and dance movies this holidays season.

Overall the weekend box office was a dominating force this holiday weekend. The top twelve films grossed a whopping $259 million which makes this weekend the most profitable weekend ever at the box office. Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin beat out The Dark Knight’s weekend from July 2008 which along with the other top 11 films held the record with $253 million.

Box Office numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

I love the Splashpage.com because they put up some of the best comic book/ movie content on the web. Also, because they are relentless when it comes to trying to get information. At a sit down with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law on the upcoming Sherlock Holmes release, it seems all that our friends at MTV wanted to talk about were other projects for Marvel’s Iron Man. One day, when our website is all grown up, we will bring you big boy content and hard hitting interviews but until then check this video out and enjoy!

Wow, it seemed like RDJ was getting a bit irritated with the questions, but can you blame him? He wants to talk about Sherlock Holmes, out December 25th, but all we want to hear about is Iron Man. Don’t get me wrong, I am as excited about Iron Man as the next guy. Though, I think that Sherlock Holmes deserves its time in the lime light. It may be one of my top three most anticipated movies of the year. So, I propose that we let the Holmes flower blossom and watch as the Iron Man 2 seeds grow on there own.

Which movie are you more excited for? Let us know.

We have several new posters to share with you that have been released in the past week. They range from a comic book character to a man buried alive to a famous detective. Check out these new posters after the break.

Kick-Ass hits theaters March 2010. Check out the trailer here.

Buried stars Ryan Reynolds as a man who has been buried alive in a coffin.

The Book of Eli arrives in theaters January 2010. Check out the trailer here.

The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters May 2010. Watch the trailer here.

Final Sherlock Holmes poster. Watch the trailer here.

]]> http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/08/movie-posters-kick-ass-buried-book-of-eli-prince-of-persia-and-sherlock-holmes/feed/ 0 http://fanboyz.net/2009/11/19/iron-man-2-trailer-attached-to-sherlock-holmes/ http://fanboyz.net/2009/11/19/iron-man-2-trailer-attached-to-sherlock-holmes/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:45:23 +0000 Jeff Olson http://fanboyz.net/?p=8659

Christmas day will have a present for everyone to enjoy: The first trailer for Iron Man 2! This is not confirmed news but based upon Jon Favreau’s Twitter message earlier today it is safe to assume that we will get our first glimpse of Iron Man 2 attached to Sherlock Holmes on Christmas day. Director Jon Favreau retweeted a message today that gives all of us Iron Man fans a little hope.Check out the message after the jump.

Here is what the message said:

RT @Ann_Howard: @Jon_Favreau PLEASE tell us the trailer is coming soon – w/Sherlock Holmes, perhaps??

It was previously assumed that the Iron Man 2 trailer would premiere before James Cameron’s Avatar which opens on December 18th. However, debuting the trailer before Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes makes sense.

Iron Man 2 hits theaters everywhere May 7, 2010.

Click here to follow Jon Favreau on Twitter.

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A fourth trailer for Sherlock Holmes has hit the net and it is action packed! Directed by Guy Ritchie, Sherlock Holmes arrives in theaters Christmas Day. This latest trailer is the best one yet! This should be a huge holiday hit that the entire family can enjoy. Robert Downey, Jr makes a great Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law holds his own as his assistant Dr. Watson. Check out this exciting, fast paced, stylish trailer for Sherlock Holmes and leave your comments below.

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Trailer courtesy of MTV

“Holmes for the Holiday” reads the tag-line for this latest poster for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes film. The action adventure drops into theaters on Christmas Day and up until this point all we have seen are teaser posters. This weekend Cinematical debuted this poster featuring both Sherlock Holmes and his partner John Watson. Played by actors Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law, Sherlock Holmes is directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch.) This new poster fits well into the previously seen teaser posters, and while many may not enjoy the tag-line, it made me smile. Check out the full poster after the jump.

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Sherlock Holmes will not hit theaters until this Christmas and Warner Brothers is already planning a sequel. According to the Risky Biz Blog (via THR) Warner Brothers has hired writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney who previously penned Justice League: Mortal and Paper Man. The studio has apparently also been in talks with Brad Pitt to join the sequel as Holme’s nemesis Moriarty. This is all speculative at this time as Warner Brothers has yet to ink a deal for the actor. It would be great to see yet another high profile actor join this project which has now become a possible franchise.

Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams in a film by director Guy Ritchie. The detective adventure has a great trailer, tons of buzz, and Downey, Jr really entertained audiences at Comic-Con with footage and a Q&A session. Even though the film has yet to be release the studio has invested enough money into the project that news of a sequel is not surprising. The reports of Brad Pitt being a contender for the role of Moriarty is an interesting choice. I think the trio of Downey Jr, Law, and Pitt would be very entertaining. What do you think?

Warner Brothers had set the bar fairly high with its previous panels of Where the Wild Thing Are, The Book of Eli, The Box, Jonah Hex and A Nightmare on Elm Street; all of which had very impressive footage along with great star power. However, as we all knew, Sherlock Holmes was the flagship for the WB panel this Friday morning at Comic-Con.

As the cast of Jonah Hex exited, Robert Downey Jr. took the stage to a standing ovation. Clearly RDJ has become one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood, thanks to Jon Favreau and the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Downey briefly talked about the character of Sherlock Holmes stating that “122 years ago Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the first superhero ever, an intellectual superhero.” RDJ continued on: “There have been a myriad of TV shows and films made about Sherlock Holmes, but why haven’t they brought it back to mainstream today? The answer is casting!” he jokingly said as he winked and nodded to an absolutely captivated crowd.

Following Downey’s introduction, we were shown a clip running about four minutes long that was almost an extended trailer from what we have already seen. Explosions, actions, jokes, and some great fight scenes highlighted what appeared to be a huge blockbuster for this Holiday season. The scenes we saw had a real fun feel, but I will say that with so much action and adventure being shown, I am almost worried that they will forget about the detective aspect of Sherlock Holmes. Of course that is yet to be seen, but it is still a concern for me and many other Holmes fans. All in all, the clip was good, and it should prove to draw quite a crowd Christmas Day.

When asked about the martial arts preparation for Holmes, RDJ laughingly said “I could windmill the whole lot of you, right out the goddamn door.” Rachel McAdams looked as stunning as ever, as she joined him for the Q&A. They all seemed very excited to be a part of this project, and from start to finish the actors continually gushed about being a part of a Guy Ritchie project.

RDJ’s confidence in his own acting ability is something that oozed out here in Hall H, as he added, “This is how sick I am, I don’t think anything is too challenging for me. I have an illness of confidence.” I hope that his confidence is something that can carry this film into greatness. I am sure it will be a lot of fun, but I really wasn’t wowed. It will inevitably make a lot of money, sure, but will it reach the heights of other big films this winter? Only time will tell.

Yahoo Movies has debuted two new character posters for Sherlock Holmes. The Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law crime caper doesn’t hit theaters until this Christmas but the buzz for this film has been very strong. These two new posters are stylish and the taglines are what really sells these as great one sheets. I look forward to seeing more from this film as the release date approaches. Check out the two new posters featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson after the jump.