My 2010 Movie Odyssey - Part III

Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Guy Ritchie takes the Sherlock Holmes mythology and turns it into an action movie. Does this mean it is a good Sherlock Holmes movie? I’m not sure, but it is a highly entertaining thrill ride from start to finish. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law work well together as Holmes and Watson (though I always imagined Watson looking more like Terry Jones than an alpha male with a funny mustache). Also, while I’m not always a fan of his work, the unorthodox score from Hans Zimmer is a lot of fun.

The Book of Eli (2010)
Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a man on a mission (from God?) to protect a book in a post-apocalyptic America that is reminiscent of the wild west. Of course there are men who are trying to get the book from Eli, and he is forced to defend himself and the book through a series of gritty, brutal fight scenes. But there are also a couple scenes where Eli recites Scripture. Even though the words he speaks are ones I have heard hundreds of times before, hearing them in that context gave them a whole new resonance and it was almost like hearing them for the first time. For this and other reasons that I choose not to divulge in the interests of keeping this relatively spoiler-free, I highly recommend this movie to Christians who are able to take the very R-rated violence.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)
There are some cool visuals (as is standard for most anime) but the story turned really weird in the end using a logic that my western mind couldn’t process.

The Princess and the Frog (2009)
I really wanted this to be a good movie, and thankfully I was not let down. It features slick animation, several snazzy tunes, and a cast of strong voice actors instead of the celebrity panel that populates far too many animated movies these days. I also appreciated that voodoo is presented as truly dangerous with real consequences. And the little twist of an ending is the type that I like to end my stories with.

Bride & Prejudice (2004)
I was interested in expanding my film viewing horizons with some Bollywood films, and this bit of Bollywood-lite seemed like a good stepping stone. It is a fun production with several high energy musical numbers, taking the classic tale of Pride and Prejudice and giving it a Bollywood spin. It is a joyous film that makes me want to delve deeper into the true world of Bollywood.

Coming up next: more catching up on the movies of 2009.