1182 replies to this topic

[Jackanaples]

And here's the trailer for SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS. Looks like fun to me, but then I loved the first one too.

[00Twelve]

For those that know, feel free to put it in spoiler tags if you feel so inclined, but is Game Of Shadows supposed to be a beefed up adaptation of The Final Problem, or is it supposed to be an entirely new story with Moriarty as the general villain? Since getting into Holmes, I don't see Moriarty as needing to be a long-recurring character, and I wouldn't want to see him become Holmes' "Blofeld" (in the sense of coming back again and again). Whatever happens with Moriarty should (IMO) be a short, intense build to the big confrontation. I think they're being smart on Sherlock to (presumably) get right to the chase this season instead of dragging out the Holmes/Moriarty standoff for any longer.

Anyway, beefed-up Final Problem or new story with no intent of being Final Problem?

[Dustin]

And here's the trailer for SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS. Looks like fun to me, but then I loved the first one too.

The usual popcorn-action flick, with a turn-of-the-next-to-last-century twist. Steampunk Holmes is back in action. Good fun, albeit a bit empty and with an aftertaste of flavour-enhancers as the last one perhaps?
Anyway, it will probably be a roaring success and a third instalment is inevitable.

[TheREAL008]

I'll take the modern BBC movies over the Downey films.

[Jackanaples]

I'll take the modern BBC movies over the Downey films.

I'll take the modern BBC movies AND the Downey films. I claim Nerd Victory!

I do prefer the modern BBC take on Holmes I must admit. But I find Guy Ritchie's take interesting as well. Plus, SH:AGOS features Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes --this bit of casting alone means it ranks among the best Sherlock Holmes movies ever made in at least one respect.

To answer OOTwelve's question, I think it's a beefed up version of "The Final Problem." That is the only canon story that features Holmes directly facing off against Moriarty, and at least part of the movie is in Austria. Or maybe I'm wrong and part of the movie is in Germany. I forget what I read now.

[marktmurphy]

I think that trailer looks like loads of fun.

I'll take the modern BBC movies over the Downey films.

It's quite funny; going back a few a pages in this thread when I was excited for the upcoming BBC version and all anyone could talk about was the Downey film!

[Matt_13]

Looks exciting! Hopefully that last recycled joke is the only one of it's kind. All in all, very pleased with what I see.

[00Twelve]

I'm sure this was a big to-do a while back, but I just can't resist not looking back through the thread at this hour.

Thoughts on setting the initial encounter with Moriarty (as well as pretty much everything else in these films) after Watson has already moved out and gotten in his relationship?

[Brisco]

The Horowitz book, House of Silk, is now available to pre-order on Amazon in both the US and UK. Cover art is available both places. More interestingly, though, there's a limited edition of 250 available to pre-order from Goldsboro here. And even more interestingly than that, Goldsboro's blog makes reference to a signed, limited edition hardcover proof (edition of 300) that's already available! Unfortunately, they don't have it to order, and I can't even find any on Ebay. Too bad. That's the edition I want! Oh well.

Besides House of Silk, there's another interesting Holmes book due out this fall. Leslie S. Klinger, who did the big Annotated Sherlock Holmes, and Laurie King have edited a new collection of Holmes pastiches and Holmes-inspired stories. Yes, I know there have been many such compilations over the years, but this one, A Study in Sherlock, boasts a pretty impressive assortment of authors including Neil Gaiman and Lee Child. So there's a lot to look forward to on the book front this fall, not just the Fry movie! (As I think of it.)

[terminus]

Picked up Young Sherlock Book 4: Fire Storm yesterday. Am I the only person still reading the books here?

[zencat]

Picked up Young Sherlock Book 4: Fire Storm yesterday. Am I the only person still reading the books here?

I'm still reading them, but I'm going to wait for the paperback of Fire Storm.

[Brisco]

Picked up Young Sherlock Book 4: Fire Storm yesterday. Am I the only person still reading the books here?

I'm still reading them, but I'm going to wait for the paperback of Fire Storm.

Good to see some life around here again! Though I'm afraid I still haven't read any of those Young Sherlock books. But, in other Holmes news, Universal quietly released The Seven-Per-Cent Solution in America over the summer as an MOD title. And I do mean QUIETLY! No studio but Warner properly promotes their MOD titles, but this Universal wave came COMPLETELY under the radar! The bad news is that the disc is utterly no-frills--not even a menu! The good news is that the widescreen transfer looks very nice, and that the cover (which utilizes original poster art) is way, way, way better than the lame cover of the R2 release! Still seems strange to me, though, that Uni wouldn't give this movie an actual release on DVD and Blu this winter, to coincide with Game of Shadows, with a few special features (Nicholas Meyer told me last year at a book fair that he would love to do a commentary if they'd let him) and a cover and font that vaguely recall that of the RDJ movie. Oh well. At least we've finally got it in North America now...

[TheREAL008]

Has anyone seen the old movie Murder By Decree? I have it on my netflix instant queue. Looking for some opinions of the movie before I watch.

[marktmurphy]

they're coming back...

[Satorious]

Has anyone seen the old movie Murder By Decree? I have it on my netflix instant queue. Looking for some opinions of the movie before I watch.

Well it's one of my favourite movies, even if it isn't perfect. Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper - it's a pre-From Hell - er - From Hell (if you haven't seen that - please watch this first). Rent it now I'd say! If you are a Holmes purist could well scoff at Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Holmes - his Holmes shows more humanity than any other. The explaination at the end goes on a bit, it doesn't have MTV style whip-lash editing - those expecting this should watch From Hell instead. This said - there is so much to enjoy - in particular I'd like to single out the following:

1. The awesome atmosphere and fantastic sets. Has a wonderful pea-soup, claustrophobic and almost eerie nightmarish feel about it. Watch it alone in the dark by firelight if you get the chance!
2. The score. Wonderful stuff! Please release this - please release this!!!!
3. The cast. Also wonderful. When Donald Sutherland is considered a weak link, you are onto a winner. Did he make any truly bad films in the mid-late 70's? Oh, and then there is the Geneviève Bujold scene!
4. James Mason. An "older" Watson for sure, but has wonderful chemistry with Plummer and could very well be my favourite Watson.
5. The Pea scene. I just love this. You will know when you see it!
6. It was written by John "Thunderball" Hopkins.
7. It's Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper. I mean, what's not to like?

It's a perfect compaignon to the Michael Caine Jack The Ripper series, From Hell and A Study In Terror.

[Matt_13]

New trailer



Definitely seeing this one.

[terminus]

House of Silk turned up today! Hurrah.

[ggl]

As a sherlockian myself I can say that I love the BBC series and I think is one of the most personal and original approaches to the myth.

By the way, a Spanish version is on the way. José Luis Garci (Oscar winner in 1982: Volver a Empezar) will direct a Holmes-Jack the Ripper encounter in Madrid. The title: "Holmes, Madrid Suite 1890". Gary Piquer will be Holmes and José Luis García Pérez will be Watson.

2012: 125 years of A Study in Scarlet...

[quantumofsolace]

House of Silk review

http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true

[Single-O-Seven]

House of Silk review

http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true

Wow!!! I've let my Holmes interest slip a bit the last few years - you've just made me aware of this book. Sounds great - I've just bought it for my eReader. Thanks!!

[killkenny kid]

House of Silk review

http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true

Wow!!! I've let my Holmes interest slip a bit the last few years - you've just made me aware of this book. Sounds great - I've just bought it for my eReader. Thanks!!

And I just got my kindle edition. What a great day.

[Satorious]

By the way, a Spanish version is on the way. José Luis Garci (Oscar winner in 1982: Volver a Empezar) will direct a Holmes-Jack the Ripper encounter in Madrid. The title: "Holmes, Madrid Suite 1890". Gary Piquer will be Holmes and José Luis García Pérez will be Watson.

Thanks for this. Please keep me posted as I'm extremely curious!

[ggl]

By the way, a Spanish version is on the way. José Luis Garci (Oscar winner in 1982: Volver a Empezar) will direct a Holmes-Jack the Ripper encounter in Madrid. The title: "Holmes, Madrid Suite 1890". Gary Piquer will be Holmes and José Luis García Pérez will be Watson.

Thanks for this. Please keep me posted as I'm extremely curious!

I'll try.

The filming has started with the filming of a dinner-homage to Benito Pérez Galdós (Carlos Hipólito) in Lhardy, one of the oldest restaurants in Madrid. The look is very good and Garci has said that the movie is not a drama or a film-noir or a mistery... he has changed some things of the script and doesn't know its genre...

Anyway I really love Garci´s cinema and I fondly recommend El Crack (I and II), Volver a empezar, Canción de Cuna or You´re the one.

[terminus]

Okay - there may be some spoilers ahead, I'm going to wax lyrical about House of Silk.




Some spoilers!




It begins interestingly enough - slotted between, presumably, other volumes of the Holmes canon. It's accesible enough - the major characters and a few adventures are mentioned, the status quo is pleasantly established. And then we meet our client - in which we are told an acceptable tale of art being sent to America and subsequently lost. This investigation evolves into another, with the initiating investigation all but forgotten until the closing pages - but the two never really gel in the way that Horowitz obviously wants. There are a lot of original characters - as well as the regulars - and whilst they are described, some blend together. One wonders if the cast is, perhaps, too sprawling. There are a handful of setpieces - the initial reunion with Watson (though a bit derivative of the intial encounter with the Doctor in Study in Scarlet), as well as the sequence at Holloway and the sequence at the carnival all stand out. Unfortunately, Horowitz' prose isn't as strong as it has been in his other literary efforts - and even these sequences are a touch too dry. The House of Silk itself is built up to be a massive threat - but the eventual reveal is somewhat lacklustre, everything finds itself nicely wrapped up within the final fifty pages, with a return to the original mystery at the close of the novel. It feels, as the novel itself admits, like two seperate cases - but they aren't as intertwined as it would like to have us believe - it feels like two novelettes sliced into each other: 'The House of Silk' and 'The Mystery of the Man In The Flat Cap' conjoined by only a single event. I will be honest, it was a valiant effort, but when you're stacked up against the admittedly excellent Young Sherlock Holmes series, and even putting it against the similar 'literary relaunch' of Carte Blanche, House of Silk comes out the loser. I wouldn't mind seeing another 'missing' Holmes - but I'm not convinced that Horowitz is the man for the job: perhaps Charlie Higson might be avaliable?

[MrKidd]

Well that was VERY interesting! By luck I caught an episode of SHERLOCK on PBS last night – The Blind Banker I think it was called. How many of these have they made? At first it was a bit disorientating but by the end....
My thoughts:
1.I bought into Benedryl Cumberbunch very very quickly. In fact I thought he was fantastic. IMO very few actors have ever worn the character well, but Benedryl nailed it. To be honest he did look a bit too young for my liking but that’s more my problem rather than his fault!
2. I thought they used London magnificently – it looked terrific. British TV/movies always look crud compared to American but not this time. I was really impressed with the settings and locations and thought they made London look as good as any city on the planet.
3. While not a dazzler, the plot was sufficiently Holmesian to carry the intrigue to the end.
4. Morgan Freeman made a pretty good Watson. It was just his usual shtick but it was inoffensive and worked fine.
5.I admit I am an old (see point 1) but there was one piece of casting that kept taking me out of the show – Inspector Dimmock (?) I think he’s called. He looked about 12 and all dressed up for the junior school play. It simply didn’t work. I understand they may have wanted a younger cast to compliment the young Cumberband but this guy was just plain wrong. Don’t do it again.

As the credits rolled I had a smile on my face as I digested what I’d just seen. I likeyed a lot. And Benedryl is a real star. Looking forward to more.

[zencat]

Reading The House of Silk. So far so good!

Got the UK edition. Much better cover. All around nice looking book.

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[Jim]

Okay - there may be some spoilers ahead, I'm going to wax lyrical about House of Silk.




Some spoilers!




It begins interestingly enough - slotted between, presumably, other volumes of the Holmes canon. It's accesible enough - the major characters and a few adventures are mentioned, the status quo is pleasantly established. And then we meet our client - in which we are told an acceptable tale of art being sent to America and subsequently lost. This investigation evolves into another, with the initiating investigation all but forgotten until the closing pages - but the two never really gel in the way that Horowitz obviously wants. There are a lot of original characters - as well as the regulars - and whilst they are described, some blend together. One wonders if the cast is, perhaps, too sprawling. There are a handful of setpieces - the initial reunion with Watson (though a bit derivative of the intial encounter with the Doctor in Study in Scarlet), as well as the sequence at Holloway and the sequence at the carnival all stand out. Unfortunately, Horowitz' prose isn't as strong as it has been in his other literary efforts - and even these sequences are a touch too dry. The House of Silk itself is built up to be a massive threat - but the eventual reveal is somewhat lacklustre, everything finds itself nicely wrapped up within the final fifty pages, with a return to the original mystery at the close of the novel. It feels, as the novel itself admits, like two seperate cases - but they aren't as intertwined as it would like to have us believe - it feels like two novelettes sliced into each other: 'The House of Silk' and 'The Mystery of the Man In The Flat Cap' conjoined by only a single event. I will be honest, it was a valiant effort, but when you're stacked up against the admittedly excellent Young Sherlock Holmes series, and even putting it against the similar 'literary relaunch' of Carte Blanche, House of Silk comes out the loser. I wouldn't mind seeing another 'missing' Holmes - but I'm not convinced that Horowitz is the man for the job: perhaps Charlie Higson might be avaliable?

Wouldn't disagree with any of that. Book could have done with a further polish, but there are some fun ideas in there.

[00Twelve]

Has anyone seen the old movie Murder By Decree? I have it on my netflix instant queue. Looking for some opinions of the movie before I watch.

Been a while since you asked, but it's pretty good. Not life-changing, but definitely decent entertainment. Doesn't stray as far from the established conventions as the new films. Worth a watch if you're a Holmes geek.

In other news, I'm deeply disappointed (and a little incensed) that Netflix took the Granada series off their streaming library. I was just getting into the "Casebook" series and had another series and several feature length stories to watch. Guess they had contract issues or really low viewership. Huge shame, it's much better than some of the other BBC series they have going. At least SHERLOCK is still going strong.

[marktmurphy]

Well that was VERY interesting! By luck I caught an episode of SHERLOCK on PBS last night – The Blind Banker I think it was called. How many of these have they made? At first it was a bit disorientating but by the end....

Glad you like it: the other two they screened were even better than Blind Banker; especially better-directed. For me, A Study in Pink (the first one) is possibly the most successful adaptation of Holmes I've seen.
Three more films on the way, possibly just after Christmas.

[killkenny kid]

Reading The House of Silk. So far so good!

Got the UK edition. Much better cover. All around nice looking book.

Nice cover, now I'm jealous. And yes a nice read so far.