Crucial to your enjoyment of Sherlock Holmes is bearing in mind that this isn't a true Sherlock Holmes adaptation. It is instead a 19th-century comic-book action movie which happens to share certain characters and ideas with Conan-Doyle's novels. If you can manage that then chances are you will find Guy Ritchie's first foray into Hollywood to be quite fun. It's stylish, well-acted, features some good action scenes and is fairly amusing. Whilst not quite the spectacular roller-coaster some early reviews promised, it does enough to warrant the start of a new franchise and the sequel has already been set up very well.
VERDICT: Enjoyable enough if a little forgettable.
An adaptation of a (supposedly) classic children's book, Where The Wild Things Are tells the story of an obnoxious brat who runs away from home and finds himself in a fantasy world populated by large furry monsters, screws everything up there and then returns home. I really can't see the appeal, especially as the director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) has opted for a very indie-movie, grown-up approach resulting in a film that is boring for children and contains no plot for adults. The cinematography and the creature costumes/effects are very impressive though.
VERDICT: A waste of time.
Another Broadway musical adaptation from the director of Chicago, Nine was widely expected to be a major Oscar contender, but poor reviews and box office have put paid to that. As you would expect from a cast with a combined 7 Oscar wins (and 11 further nominations) the acting is good (Marillon Cotillard being the stand-out), and the cinematography, production design, costumes and so on are excellent. Unfortunately the plot itself doesn't have much substance and the songs aren't very memorable. All in all a lackluster effort.
VERDICT: It's okay but very forgettable.
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