New Releases for the Week of May 24, 2019

ALADDIN

(Disney) Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Marwan Kenzari, Billy Magnusson, Nasim Pedrad, Alan Tudyk (voice), Jordan Nash. Directed by Guy Ritchie

Continuing Disney’s recent spate of live action remakes of animated hits, a young Arabian thief discovers a magic lamp and frees the genie within, allowing him to be transformed into a handsome prince to win the princess of his dreams. However, an evil sorcerer has his own plans for the lamp.

See the trailer, video featurettes, clips and promos here
For more on the movie this is the website
Genre: Family
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for some action/peril)

Booksmart

(Annapurna/United Artists) Kathryn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Billie Lourd, Skyler Gisondo Two hard-working high school seniors who were academic champions at their school come to the realization that they should have spent a little more time having fun. They are therefore determined to cram four years of fun into a single night.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, video featurettes and B-roll video here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking – all involving teens)

BrightBurn

(Screen Gems) Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones. A childless couple find a child in a crashed spacecraft and raise them on their own. Sound familiar? Think of this as Superman Dark.

See the trailer and a clip here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Horror
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for horror violence/bloody images, and language)

India’s Most Wanted

(Fox STAR) Arjun Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma, Prasanth, Gaurav Mishra. Based on the true story of the largest covert operation in the history of India in which a vicious terrorist is captured without firing a single bullet.

See the trailer and clips here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Action
Now Playing: Touchstar Southchase
Rating: NR

Photograph

(Amazon) Nawazuddin Siddiqi, Sanya Malhotra, Akash Sinha, Abdul Quadir Amin. A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, heavily pressured by his grandmother to marry, manages to convince a shy young stranger to pose as his fiancé. Unexpectedly, the two form a deeper bond that transforms them in ways they couldn’t have predicted.

See the trailer and a clip here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for some thematic material)

PM Narendra Modi

(Rising Star) Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Barkha Bhist, Anjan Srivastav. The story of the often controversial Indian Prime Minister, who was recently re-elected to a second term.

See the trailer, clips and video featurettes here
For more on the movie this is the website  
Genre: Biographical Drama
Now Playing: AMC West Oaks
Rating: NR

ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:

Assimilate
Between Maybes
Combat Obscura
The Poison Rose
The Professor

ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:

All is True
Between Maybes
The Cold Blue
Non-Fiction
Sita

ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:

Isabelle
Ratnamanjari
Sita

ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:

Between Maybes
Sita

SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:

Aladdin
Booksmart
BrightBurn

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Robert Downey Jr. always gets offended when someone disses Iron Man

(2011) Adventure (Warner Brothers) Robert Downey Jr. Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Rachel McAdams, Eddie Marsan, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine James, William Houston, Wolf Kahler, Affif Ben Badra. Directed by Guy Ritchie

 

When the game is afoot, there is nobody you want on the case more than Sherlock Holmes. Still more than 100 years after his debut there has been no detective to equal his keen deductive mind and razor-sharp observation skills.

Holmes (Downey) is investigating a series of terrorist bombings in Europe, mostly involving France and Germany. He is also preparing to be best man at his old friend Dr. Watson’s (Law) wedding. As distracted as Holmes is he nearly forgets to put together Watson’s stag party which he does only at the last minute, inviting only his brother Mycroft (Fry) and none of Watson’s friends.

He also has an ulterior motive for where he has scheduled the stag party; one of the clues he has discovered has led him to gypsy fortune teller Madame Simza Heron (Rapace). He arrives in time to foil a murder attempt by acrobatic Russian Cossacks but this leads him no closer to the truth. He only has his powers of deduction to lead him to who is behind all of this – Professor James Moriarty (Harris). But what is he up to and why?

The need to find out the truth will lead Holmes to tear Watson away from his honeymoon for one last case which will take him to the basements of Paris to the castles of Switzerland. At stake is the peace of Europe, which if disturbed too much will lead to a catastrophic war, one which Moriarty seeks to profit from and one which Holmes seeks to prevent.

The plot is slightly more convoluted than what I’ve presented but in the interest in keeping some of the twists hidden I’ve kept it deliberately vague. There are some cross-references to the industrial military complex and a few to modern economic issues. This is pretty much a mishmash of about half a dozen Conan Doyle-penned Holmes stories, primarily “The Final Problem” but there are elements from “The Sign of Four,” “Valley of Fear” and “The Greek Interpreter” among others.

Once again this isn’t your granddaddy’s Holmes; Ritchie and Downey bring him a little closer in some ways to how Conan Doyle originally wrote him (while Holmes in the stories wasn’t primarily a fighter, he certainly lacked in social skills) but this isn’t the urbane deerstalker-wearing sleuth depicted by Basil Rathbone whose performance has essentially defined the role ever since.

The action sequences, as befitting a sequel, are much more elaborate than the first and sometimes that’s a good thing (as is a gun battle on a speeding train, or a frantic escape through a forest while under heavy artillery fire) and sometimes, not so much (as in a Holmes solo fight against a group of thugs early on in the movie). Ritchie’s trademark of using extreme slow motion and extreme fast motion to stylize his fights is here in spades; there were times I wish he just filmed the sequences straight but I have to admit the forest sequence was made more powerful because of it.

Downey and Law are at the core of the film; their relationship is what powers the movie and thankfully the chemistry between them that the first film established is still going strong here. Their by-play makes for some of the best moments in the film, and is at times delightful. Downey plays Holmes as even more disreputable in this film than he is in the first; although there is little contact with Inspector Lestrade (Marsan) who is only in a single scene this time out, nonetheless Ritchie enhances Holmes’ keen sense of observation with camera and digital tricks meant to give us an idea of how Holmes sees the world. Downey plays into this nicely which is one of the best things about the movie.

Harris makes a competent Moriarty, definitely giving us a glimpse into his own intelligence but keeping his character rather bland. You would expect that a master criminal, a “Napoleon of crime” would want to fly under the radar somewhat so the flamboyant villains of other films in that sense don’t really work in real life, if you can call the Holmes films that.

There is plenty to delight those who like action-packed spectacles including some amazing sets (the castle in Switzerland is nothing short of astonishing) and some fine acting. However, be warned that the plot is pretty much the same as other movies we’ve seen set in the same time period where the hero attempts to stop Europe from being plunged into a massive war that it would be plunged into anyway – twice. Too bad Holmes wasn’t around to stop Adolph Hitler. Now that would make for an interesting movie!

REASONS TO GO: Great chemistry between Downey and Law. Harris makes a fine albeit bland Moriarty. Some action sequences are spectacular.

REASONS TO STAY: The slo-mo/fast-mo action juxtapositions get a bit old. The “bringing Europe to the brink of war” saw is also a bit stale.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s some action violence and brief drug use references.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: At the beginning of the film, the camera pans over typed excerpts of stories Watson has been working on; these are from the Sherlock Holmes stories “A Study in Scarlet” and “A Blue Carbuncle.”

HOME OR THEATER: Definitely better on the big screen.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: The Adventures of Tintin

New Releases for the Week of December 16, 2011

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

(Warner Brothers) Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry, Rachel McAdams, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine Hudson, Paul Anderson. Directed by Guy Ritchie

Holmes is pitted against his archrival, Professor Moriarty and the stakes couldn’t possibly get higher. When the Crown Prince of Austria is discovered dead, all signs point to suicide – but Holmes sees the signs nobody else can see and deduces that the Prince was in truth murdered and that murder is part of a larger plot, one that would plunge Europe into chaos and indeed change the course of history. Holmes must enlist his stalwart friend Dr. Watson and enlist the help of a gypsy to stop Moriarty’s fiendish plans and save Europe from catastrophe.

See the trailer, clips and a featurette here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Adventure

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

(20th Century Fox) Jason Lee, David Cross, Jenny Slate, Justin Long. The lovable chipmunks turn what was supposed to be a relaxing cruise into their own brand of fun. The fun ends when they get stranded on a remote island. The furry rodents plot their escape to get back home but then it turns out the island isn’t as deserted as they thought.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Family

Rating: G

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey

(Submarine Deluxe) Kevin Clash, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Frank Oz.  A young man becomes enchanted with Sesame Street and resolves to become a Muppeteer. That this young man is an African American raises all sorts of different obstacles, but this young man will eventually become the voice and the soul of Elmo, arguably the most beloved Muppet of them all and certainly one of the most popular.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Documentary

Rating: NR

Dragonslayer

(Drag City) Josh “Skreech” Sandoval, Leslie. The winner of Best Documentary from the most recent SXSW Film Festival, Dragonslayer chronicles disaffected youth Josh “Skreech” Sandoval from Fullerton, California. Skreech lives the skate punk ethos, possessing as little as possible, staying high as much as possible and skating whenever possible, finding abandoned swimming pools to swoop and glide in.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Documentary

Rating: NR

Young Adult

(Paramount) Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Elizabeth Reaser. A successful writer of teen literature returns to where she grew up for a class reunion, she plots to reclaim her high school sweetheart. Never mind that he is happily married with a baby on the way, that’s just petty distractions. Along the way she kindles a strange friendship with a misfit who also never got past high school. This reteams director Jason Reitman with writer Diablo Cody who together made Juno.

See the trailer, clips, promos and web-only content here.

For more on the movie this is the website

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Black Comedy

Rating: R (for language and some sexual content)

RocknRolla

The Defiant Ones, these ain't.

(2008) Crime Drama (Warner Brothers) Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Karel Roden, Gemma Arterton. Directed by Guy Ritchie

Few directors do crime movies as well as Guy Ritchie. Movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch are highly entertaining, highly stylized British gangster pictures. He’d taken a brief break from the genre with the somewhat cerebral Revolver but fans of his first two movies rejoiced at his return to the genre in this movie. Was there reason to cheer?

One Two (Butler) is a mid-level criminal who leads a loose bunch of associates dubbed “The Wild Bunch,” with Mumbles (Elba) his right hand man and Handsome Bob (Hardy). He is in a real estate deal with Lenny (Wilkinson), the kingpin of London crime, an old school boss whose grip on the throne is slowly slipping away. Lenny screws over One Two, keeping both the land and the money that One Two gives him. To add insult to injury, he insists that One Two owes him two million pounds, which One Two doesn’t have – because Lenny stole his stash.

So One Two sets out to get two million pounds and figure out a way to get Lenny back while avoiding Archy (Strong), Lenny’s right hand muscle. That will involve a Russian mobster (Roden) who has lent Lenny his lucky painting, a sexy bookkeeper (Newton) in stilettos who’s smart and greedy, a dead junkie rock star (Kebbell) who is rather far from deceased, and a pair of American music promoters (Piven and Bridges).

I’ve tried to give you an idea about the plot; quite frankly, it’s so convoluted that trying to sum it up in any more detail will be not only futile but unnecessarily confusing. Therein lies one of the problems here; there are so many threads going on that at times your brain threatens to explode. While Ritchie is known for weaving multiple threads through his storyline, here it doesn’t work as well as it does in his other films. While I’m not against complex plots per se, I am against overly complicated plots. There’s a difference – and this one falls into the latter category.

That doesn’t mean all the threads don’t work though. There are some pretty good acting performances here, particularly from the always charming Butler, Elba and Strong, who does double duty as the narrator. Wilkinson is a terrific actor who makes Lenny thoroughly reprehensible. In fact, nearly every role is well-acted.

There are plenty of excellent action sequences as well. Ritchie has a flair for them and for that sudden violence that takes the audience by surprise (there are a few gotcha scenes here that I thoroughly enjoyed). He also has a flair for the language and the flow of the words – few movies sound as good as a Guy Ritchie movie in that regard, even if we Americans can’t understand everything that’s being said at all times. To my admittedly uneducated ear, it all sounds authentic.

There are also some positively funny moments here. Some of the laughs are of the kind you feel guilty about later for having laughed; those are the kind that takes you by surprise. Yeah, I know it’s wrong but I laughed anyway – is that so wrong?

No, it’s not. While this isn’t up to Ritchie’s previous output, it’s still solidly entertaining. If you haven’t seen his first two films, by all means start there. If you’re a Gerard Butler fan, by all means start here. Either way, Ritchie has carved a nice niche out for himself. While he has gone on to the Sherlock Holmes movies (with a new one coming out in December), these may be the kinds of movies that define his career as a filmmaker and if so, not a bad tombstone to leave behind.

WHY RENT THIS: Guy Ritchie doing what he does best. Funny and violent where it needs to be.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Not up to his best stuff. Too many plot lines going on at once.

FAMILY VALUES: The language is rough and pervasive; there’s also a good deal of violence and drug use. There is a little bit of sex as well.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: According to director Guy Ritchie, this is the first film in a trilogy starring the Wild Bunch. However, there are no plans at this time to film the sequel anytime soon.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There’s a featurette called “Guy’s Town” which looks at the locations in London where the movie was filmed and commentary from Ritchie about how the face of London has changed over the past ten years.

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $25.7M on an unreported production budget; the movie broke even at best but more likely lost money.

FINAL RATING: 5.5/10

TOMORROW: True Grit (2010)

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

The McManus clan prays for an audience to show up this time.

(2009) Action (Apparition) Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Connolly, Julie Benz, Clifton Collins, Peter Fonda, Judd Nelson, Brian Mahoney. Directed by Troy Duffy

Once upon a time writer/director Troy Duffy wrote a script called Boondock Saints that became the subject of a heated bidding war among studios both major and otherwise. Miramax won that war and wheels were set in motion to get the movie made.

Unfortunately all the press and all the accolades went to Duffy’s head and his ego began to reign unchecked. All of this was captured in a documentary about the making of the movie called Overnight. When the movie finally came out, it did anemic box office on an extremely limited run and the documentary got better ratings than the film it chronicled did. It looked like Duffy’s career was over before it began.

A funny thing happened then; the movie took off in home video rentals and sales. In fact, it made enough to warrant a sequel, albeit ten years later. Despite the critical shellacking it took, people began to discover that Boondock Saints actually wasn’t a bad movie especially if you’re into Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino.

So how does the new movie rate? Well, it picks up about a decade after the first one left off. The McManus boys Connor (Flanery) and Murphy (Reedus) have been living quietly in Ireland on their dad Noah’s (Connolly) farm. Then news comes in that a beloved priest in Boston was murdered and pennies left on his eyes, a McManus brother’s trademark. It seems someone is sending a message; not only do they want the McManus boys back in the States they also want the authorities to think they are already.

Not being ones to back down from anything, they hop on a freighter and sneak into Boston. Aided by Romeo (Collins), a fan of their work and also a pretty good driver, they begin digging into the murder to try and find out who’s behind it and take them out before either the authorities or the murderers find the brothers. And by digging, I mean shooting everybody who gets within range and looks like they might have anything to do with it.

Doggedly on their tail is Eunice (Benz), a super-hot FBI agent who has inherited the case from Agent Smecker (a cameo by Willem Dafoe, who played the role in the original) who may be the one agent who can handle the boys and who has an agenda of her own to do so. And when things look bad, dear old Da comes in from Ireland to set things right.

The plot is pretty simple and the execution of it much better this time around. The body count is certainly higher and there is a bit more humor than there was before. One of the secrets to the movie’s charm is that the McManus brothers come off as guys you wouldn’t mind having a drink or ten with at the pub, and certainly guys you’d want in your corner if there was a fight at said pub. After the fight, you no doubt would want to go back to the pub with them to celebrate. Ah, to be Irish!

Reedus and Flanery step back into their roles as if no time has passed at all. Although the parts are a little bit less clearly written than they were in the first movie, they still hold the center of the movie together and put the Irish back into action anti-hero. Connolly is one of those actors who illuminates everything he’s in, and with his leonine mane and ridiculous amount of on-screen charisma, he is more of a force of nature than an actor here. He literally dominates every scene he’s in.

Benz, fresh off of “Dexter,” is scorching hot, something she didn’t particularly explore either in “Dexter” or in her new family show on ABC, “No Ordinary Family”. Not that it’s something she wants or even needs to pursue, but if she wanted to go the sex kitten route in her career, she’s certainly got the ability to go there.

Duffy knows what to do with violence in his action films, and some of the sequences here get superior marks for their execution, particularly the climactic gun battle and another involving a forklift in a factory. The movie has a phenomenal pace, and leaves no time for boredom.

Duffy and company set up the potential for a third movie and to be honest, I’d be interested to see it. That’s what you want to do with any sequel, and by that standard, mission accomplished. Hopefully we’ll get the chance before 2019.

WHY RENT THIS: The McManus boys are well-written and the film has the feel of a bunch of hell raising guys in a pub going out to blow off some steam. I’d walk a mile to see anything with Billy Connolly in it, and a mile more to see Julie Benz pulling off the sex kitten/FBI agent role. 

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The movie breaks no original ground and seems to coast on its own momentum in the middle.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s a surfeit of violence and foul language as well as a little bit of nudity; definitely for mature teens and older.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The sequel made more money in its opening weekend than the first film made in its entire theatrical run.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: An interview with Connolly and Duffy gives some insight into their working relationship, and there is also some manic footage from the cast’s appearance at the San Diego Comic Con with extra-special guest ex-porn star Ron Jeremy(!).

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $10.6 on a production budget of $8M; the movie didn’t quite make back its production and marketing costs.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: Ponyo

Sherlock Holmes

Downey and Law are disconcerted by the appearance of the Baker Street Irregulars carrying pitchforks and torches.

(Warner Brothers) Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, Robert Maillet, Geraldine James, William Houston, Hans Matheson, James Fox, William Hope, Clive Russell. Directed by Guy Ritchie

Certain literary characters are nearly sacred in their place in the human psyche, from Ebeneezer Scrooge to Tom Sawyer. Few have maintained the epic hold on our imagination as the great detective, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

In the first Holmes movie to reach American theaters in two decades, Holmes (Downey) and his faithful companion Dr. Watson (Law) foil the attempts by the very wicked Lord Blackwood (Strong) to murder an innocent girl in a ritual with Satanist trappings. Arriving just in time to make the arrest is the bumbling Inspector Lestrade (Marsan).

All is not well at 221-B Baker Street, however. Watson is engaged – well, very nearly – to marry the pretty Mary Morstan (Reilly) and leave the somewhat chaotic environment for home, respectability, marriage and medical practice. He has one last duty to perform – the medical declaration of death after Blackwood is hanged, which he duly performs. Case closed, right?

Except that it isn’t. It turns out that Blackwood is, in the immortal words of Monty Python, not quite dead yet. Complicating matters is the appearance of Irene Adler (McAdams), a master thief with whom Holmes has had affection for over the years. She hires Holmes for a missing person case, which turns out to be related to the Blackwood affair. It also turns out that Blackwood has a monstrous plan in mind to bring the British government to its knees in one fell swoop, allowing a secret cabal of ministers dabbling in black magic to take control and restore the Empire to greatness, which seems a bit of overkill considering that this was the period in which the sun never set on the British Empire. Still, you can’t blame a megalomaniac for trying.

Director Ritchie is better known for his superb gangster films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but after years of making good movies in England, he finally gets a shot at making a big-budget, high-profile tentpole release that Warner Brothers is no doubt hoping to be the start of a moneymaking franchise for them. The results are a little mixed – elements of the movie work very well, and others less so.

First of all, Holmes purists are going to be absolutely apoplectic over this interpretation of their beloved character. Gone is the fastidious Holmes, the deerstalker cap and Meerschaum pipe is nowhere in sight and to a certain extent, the slim, aesthete that we have always seen Holmes to be in the movie is jettisoned in favor of a buff, muscled Holmes who gets into bare knuckle prizefights and uses cattle prods to subdue enormous foes like Dredger (Maillet). While there are plenty of obscure and sometimes cheeky references to previous Holmes canon, Ritchie and his writing team prefer to create their own. I have no objections to re-inventing established characters, but it’s a bit like having Alan Quartermain subdue a foe with tae kwon do. It takes a bit of getting used to.

While Ritchie creates a suitable Victorian environment, with comfortable drawing rooms, dodgy back alleys and industrial grime, there are also some maddening inconsistencies. For example, Lord Blackwood makes reference to an American government still reeling from the after-effects of the Civil War, which ended in 1865 and yet Holmes also refers to radio, which wasn’t invented until 1897. Sorry guys, but while the American government had its issues in 1897, the Civil War wasn’t one of them.

I have to admit that the special effects were subpar in places; the climactic fight on the under-construction Tower Bridge, while well-choreographed, looked clunky and unreal. Perhaps I got a bit spoiled by Avatar but certainly the effects team could have done a better job of making the effects look seamless.

Ritchie does get some fine performances however. Downey, who is certainly one of Hollywood’s best leading men and a fine actor to boot, nails Holmes here. You get a sense of his attention to detail and the workings of a mind that is quicker and more focused than ours ever will be. Law is solid as the second banana, creating a Watson who stands out on his own and is less an appendage to Holmes. He never stammers or natters, he kicks down doors and as would befit a former British military man, kicks ass when he has to. Thankfully, Holmes never utters the phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson” (although there is one “the game is afoot”). McAdams is beautiful and deadly as Adler, although she doesn’t really seem to be the equal of Holmes in anything and it makes one wonder what Holmes sees in her besides the obvious.

Is Arthur Conan Doyle spinning in his grave? Probably so. This isn’t the character he created and it isn’t the kind of story he would have written either. However, if you look past that and consider this on its own merits, it comes out as solidly entertaining, easily worth the price of admission and two hours of your life. Just keep in mind that it is imperfect and as long as you try not to dissect this movie like Riordan’s frog, you should have an enjoyable experience.

REASONS TO GO: Ritchie captures the period of the film nicely, although there are some chronological inconsistencies. Downey is compelling as Holmes and Law holds his own as Watson.

REASONS TO STAY: Some of the CGI on the film is clunky and noticeable. From time to time, there are visual conceits that reek of “Look Ma, I’m Directing.” Holmes purists will cringe at the liberties taken with the character and canon.

FAMILY VALUES: Plenty of violence and some sexuality, but nothing that will bother the average savvy 10-year-old.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: This is the first movie released in the United States and directed by Ritchie not to carry an “R” rating.

HOME OR THEATER: I’m torn on this one. Some of the scenes certainly bring to mind the drawing room dramas of past Holmes movies, but there are plenty of big screen eye candy opportunities to be had. You make the call.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: The Lives of Others