Mr. Holmes

Mr. Holmes

Sir Ian McKellen hails from the school of great British actors including John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi and Ralph Fiennes. This small jewel of a movie is a showcase for a master actor. Mckellen plays Holmes devoid of his pipe, cap and cape. This Holmes is more debonair with a silk top hat and a bespoke suit. His attitude is prickly and distant.  McKellen can play the role without words. You know what he is saying just by looking at him. He ages ten years just by using facial expressions. We have not seen this Holmes before. At 93 stands at the edge of darkness and refuses to look down.

Holmes retired 35 years ago and lives on a farm in Dover. He lives with his house keeper Mrs. Munro, played by Laura Linney and her young son Roger. All of Holmes’s loved ones have passed on: Dr. Watson, his brother Mycroft and Mrs. Hudson his former house keeper. These deaths put a profound sadness on Holmes, but what scares him more is his loss of memory. What Dr. Morioirty could not do with a gun and a dagger, Alzheimer is killing cell by cell. Desperately seeking a cure for his memory loss he travels to Japan for a plant found in the fields of Hiroshima. At home he cultivates Royal Jelly hoping for the same cure. They prove to be hokum. He is more frightened of losing his memory than death.

There is a story within a story. Compared to other Holmes tales this one is a simple. It is a vehicle to show how Holmes wound up in his farm house. The sad outcome of the case lead to his retirement.

Mercifully this movie is devoid of stunts and CG. The great unwashed will ridicule the movie’s low box office but be confounded by the great number of nominations it garners. This is an actor’s movie, the cast is outstanding. For the Master Piece Theater crowd this film is for you. For you Sherlock Holmes groupies, this movie is for you. For the rest, you could do a lot worst.

Jurassic World

Jurassic World

This is movie is predictable and formulaic. There are the munch and crunch dinosaurs, herbivores who invariably become appetizers, lost kids in peril and a super designed dino’s, Indominus.  Inodminus dominates the movie terrorizing the park. The other non-human stars are the four Velociraptors. In this film they are domesticated (sort of) by Chris Pratt. Frankly I prefer the vicious cunning flesh ripping raptors of the first film rather than these semi-tamed hunting dogs.

Chris Pratt plays a He-man like character with gun in hand, knife in his belt and a shirt he should have changed a week age. He is the alpha male, unless the dinosaurs tell him otherwise. He plays the role too straight which is unfortunate since the movie could have used his well-honed humor (big mistake).

Bryce Dallas Howard, plays Claire Dearing, with her porcelain looks and Cleopatra haircut. She is the park’s CEO. She does the whole movie wearing six inch heels, even running in the jungle. Her character starts out a cool in control executive and deteriorates in to panicked screaming wreck.  Taking a serious actress and reducing her to a screaming wretch seems like a waste of money and talent.

Claire’s two nephews visit the park. They are wholesome non-descript kids from anywhere America. The Jurassic franchise uses kids as a barometer to gauge fear with their eyes popping out and lips cracked from screaming. No different here.

In this type of movie acting is tertiary. No one’s performance can be criticized because they are part of a spectacle. Actors could be interchangeable. All the director wants is a marquee name to boost box office.   

This movie is like a beloved amusement park ride. You know what to expect with highs between the lows. You have been on the ride before and you will again. If you are a paleontologist or still enchanted with your childhood plastic dinosaurs, this is your movie. But if you resist the urge to see the film, consider saving your money for another flick, perhaps the Grey series (NEVER!!!).