Sherlock Holmes - Out with the Old, in with the New

Sherlock Holmes is clearly a case of Hollywood getting its grubby mitts on a classic franchise, having its way with it, and turning it into something far more palatable for today’s, shall we say, less sophisticated audiences. It’s got all the classic hallmarks: explosions, action sequences carried out by characters who should barely know how to throw a punch correctly, and plenty of witticisms to keep the property well away from the dangerous territory of the serious.

What’s amazing is that this rather predictable Hollywood remake, this dumbing down of a classic figure of literature, actually manages to be thoroughly entertaining. Well, so long as you set your expectations correctly.

It would be fair to say that I know next to nothing about Sherlock Holmes save useless generalities. Even so, I know enough to say with a great deal of confidence that little effort at all was made in this adaptation to create a version of Sherlock Holmes that resembled the original even in the slightest. 

This movie features a remarkably smart British man who has a penchant for solving mysteries. If that’s all you need to believe a character is Sherlock Holmes then you should be right at home. For most it’s going to be a bit of a hard sell. His sarcastic wit, inexplicably superb fighting skill, and handsomely young appearance that one could politely say didn’t quite fit my initial expectation for the character make for a Sherlock Holmes that fits conveniently well into the ridiculous story he’s plopped into.

Click to read more ...

The Magic of Spirited Away

It is not every day that the experience of watching a movie can transport me beyond the structured confines of the plot and make me contemplate my own life. It is rarer still that the general sense of strong emotion that the movie provokes seems more important, more satisfying than the plot itself once all is said and done.

I experienced just such a movie when I watched Spirited Away.

What I found important was not the plot, the characters, or the setting. The movie’s true magic lies elsewhere. 

Somehow, if you let it, if you approach it with an open mind, Spirited Away manages to fill you with a sense of childlike wonder. It’s a fragile effect that would likely fall apart if you were to think about it too hard or try to analyze what, exactly, it is about the movie that manages to accomplish this wonderful feat, but the effect cannot be denied.

Watching the movie made me curious: why are such feelings so rare? Why have we allowed this state of mind to slip away from us, to be relegated to child’s play and the socially unacceptable fantasy worlds of those who haven’t properly “grown up”?

Clearly it’s not that only the young can experiences these feelings. Spirited Away left me with no doubt of that. I will admit that I had to battle my own sense of disbelief at the beginning of its tale. It took a good while for it to really draw me in. But once I did I was hooked. I was enveloped by it and felt a true sense of emptiness once the credits rolled and it was gone.  Like the mournful hours after a joyous celebration, I just wanted to go back to the good times that had somehow slipped away from me.

But what I missed was not the characters or the story or the world. What I wanted to go back to was not the classic “Alice falls down the rabbit hole” plot structure or dreamlike world.

What I wanted to go back to was that magical feeling of envelopment, of being in a different world. 

Some of my most cherished childhood memories are of creating such worlds for myself and for my friends. I think much of my interest in gaming and other forms of storytelling today might well be an attempt to recapture that feeling of being in another world. It doesn’t come close to those bygone days of youth, but I guess it’s the best socially acceptable outlet I have for seeking this type of fulfillment.

Frankly, that’s a problem.

Spirited Away reminded me how important such feelings are. Everyone needs to escape every once in a while. Everyone needs to build their own reality and live in it for a time. Real life can be a heck of a drag and it’s a damn shame that we treat imagination as such a leper, to be cast aside once we’ve entered adulthood.

Of course we must all face the sad truth that we have to grow up and enter the true world for ourselves someday, but we don’t have to leave a large part of ourselves behind in the transition. Child’s play shouldn’t just be left to the children.

Open up your mind, relax, and watch Spirited Away. See if you don’t agree with me by the time it’s over.

How I Long for a Story that Stands Alone

Why must everything be sequelled to death these days?

Why is it that we have totally lost our ability to use our imaginations?

Why is it that we insist on seeing every last detail of every last story told in pointless sequel after pointless sequel?

Why is it that we are no longer content with one satisfying story that tells its tale, completes its arc, and leaves us alone?  Instead, we insist that retreads of once unique story worlds will be forced upon us time and time again by marketing executives who are just looking out for the bottom line, but who are doing it by giving us what we seem to want.

How many more times will the tragedy of the Matrix sequels have to play itself out before we realize that one interesting story should be enough?  How many unnecessary trilogies will we suffer through before we realize that sometimes it's good NOT to see what happens next in a universe?  How many times will a compelling story be stretched out over too many movies, too many games, too many books, before we catch on and begin to yearn for the days when a story could appear, amaze, and then disappear, to forever live in our memories as a terrific one-off experience that we will cherish?

The news that I feared would come, that I knew would come, has apparently surfaced.  District 9 was one of the most fantastic movies I've seen in quite some time.  Its ambiguous ending was refreshing in that it didn't seem so much like an obvious sequel hint as it did an ending that closed up what it needed to without explaining too much.

I don't want to see another movie in that universe.  

I've seen what I want to.  I don't want to know anymore.  I don't want to be told any more.  I don't want the magic, the uniqueness, of the original to be spoiled by a pointless, money-driven, over-explanatory sequel that can't hope to stand up to the wonder instilled in me by the original movie. 

But it seems that even for this refreshingly original movie, a sequel will soon enough be shoved down my throat.

When will we learn?  

Do we really want District 10 to turn into The Matrix: Reloaded?

I certainly don't.

Down with the sequel!

A Different Perspective on Twilight

After writing nine days of Dreamcast articles in such quick succession, I rather need to take a break from significant writing chores this weekend.  Rest assured, however, that Twilight: Journey Into the Abyss will return in fine form next week.  

I'll even try to make up for the long wait you've had between articles somehow....

Other, non Dreamcast or Twilight stuff will surely come as well.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd pass this highly enjoyable link along.  It is a review of the Twilight movie from a perspective that, you might say, is not quite that of its target audience.

Kind of like my own take on it, come to think of it.

I don't know whether it's healthy for a writer/blogger such as myself to link to an article that is potentially much more humorous than his own, but I'm going to do it because this is just so damn funny.  I'm going to have to work very hard to even come close to this level of entertainment if I ever get as far as reviewing the movie.

Enjoy.

A Man's Perspective on Twilight