Movies with Ben Brown – Fall Previews Part 2

Sherlock Holmes – Isn’t it hard to believe that only two years ago, Robert Downey Jr. was simply another face in the ever-expanding character actor crowd? Aside from a few undeniably sharp supporting performances in fare such as “Zodiac,” “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” and “U.S. Marshalls,” the actor still remained more known for his off-screen antics than on-screen performances. And now … now, Downey essentially has all of Tinseltown in his pocket. Riding off of terrifically varied performances in “Iron Man,” “The Soloist” and, of course, “Tropic Thunder,” Downey now gets the chance to don the eternal sleuth’s cap and eye piece for a little good ol’ fashioned mystery solving, aided by a cast that includes Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and newcomer Mark Strong. The action looks fierce. The comedy, broad. The look, inspired. The tone, grand. The movie, terrific. “Sherlock Holmes” may not be art, but when it comes to fun, it looks to be a masterpiece in showmanship.

The Lovely Bones – If there’s a movie coming out this winter that looks more visually exquisite, assuredly bold, heart wrenching and gut twisting … well, than you must be thinking of “Saw VI.” Sarcasm aside, this is what you call an Oscar movie – an adaptation of Alice Sebold’s excellent 2002 novel, “The Lovely Bones,” details a young girl’s tragic murder … and then her plight from beyond the grave to bring the killer to justice. Directed by “Lord of the Rings’” Peter Jackson, “Bones” looks to be this year’s Christmas-time epic, albeit on a far more personal scale than we’ve seen before. With a cast of A-listers that includes Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz and Saoirse Ronan, a script by frequent Jackson collaborator Frans Walsh, and a look that is simply gorgeous, “The Lovely Bones” looks to be quite lovely indeed.

Twilight: New Moon – You knew this one was coming. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the cultural impact that Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series has had on this country, and after the box office homerun that was the first film, a follow-up was all but guaranteed. As anyone who has read the book knows, this new film deals with newly minted heartthrob Robert Pattinson’s “Edward” leaving Kirsten Stewart’s “Bella” … oh, the angst! But look, here comes Taylor Lautner’s “Jacob” to help fill the void! And look, all the guys have their shirts off! And look, werewolves! Vampires! Dakota Fanning with red eyes! However the film turns out being, two things are all but assured: one, this thing has a fighting shot at becoming the moneymaker of the fall, and two, it has to be better than the first one.

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Tags: movies

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Arts & Entertainment.
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