SHERLOCK HOLMES

One of the most devoted detectives of all time hits the cinemas all over the world creating expectations and buzz among lots of us, movie goers...

Sherlock Holmes (USA, 2009) tells the story of the worldwide famous detective and his companion solving one of the most mysterious case of their lives: the Blackwood case. In the story, is a dark magic lord who tries to dominate the world using old black magic.

Watson is engaged (don't worry, that's no spoiler) and Holmes tries at every cost to put an end to this relationship. But the story actually focuses on solving the case: Holmes and Watson go through every kind of situation to haunt Blackwood down.

It would be a simple task, other than... Blackwood has been executed recently. Hanged and buried, he appears to have escaped the grave, turning a simple plot into a complicated case, full of enigmas and mysteries.

The story was well thought and it's really complicated (making this a good movie) but sometimes it's too messy and out of timing. For example, a sequence that's 7 minutes long could have been done in 2. It's not that we can't go through a long-length film, but some little things that made it a bit slow...

All the buzz around Sherlock Holmes created so many expectations on me and my friends that it didn't fascinate all of us. The first act is nothing more than a slow dramatic detective novel which, instead of being tiring, is just too messy. It got better on the 2nd part where all the action starts, the enigmas are solved and we recognize the true Holmes. ;D

There are great moments, like the fight scene (you'll know what I'm talking about) and the cast works really well. Robert Downey Jr. doesn't need to prove he's back on track again, with his great performance as Holmes; and as Watson, Jude Law has a chance to shine. Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong are also really good as Irene Adler (Holmes' affair) and Blackwood (respectively, of course).

We acknowledge that Guy Ritchie's film has a lot of qualities. Nominated for 2 Oscars, it was very well-done end entertaining... but if only the first act wasn't so slow. Still, it's sharp and exciting. Our rating is a solid 7.

>> iRaphael [7/10]

>> Zé B. [7/10]

IMDB link: HERE

ACADEMY AWARDS 2010

Hello, everybody!
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Here's a brand new post featuring the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards (a.k.a. Oscar 2010), the most important film cerimony of the year. Enjoy it!
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Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead with 9 nominations each, followed by Inglourious Basterds, with 8. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Up in the Air have 6 each, and Pixar's Up was nominated for 5 categories.
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But the most exciting dispute is between Avatar and The Hurt Locker, directed by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, respectively. It's the battle of the ex-spouses, since they divorced while the movies were in production.
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This year, the number of Best Picture nominees was raised to 10, including some unnexpected noms, like The Blind Side, District 9, An Education and A Serious Man. But I think (500) Days of Summer should be on the list...
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I have my bets about the winners, but I'll go straight to the point. Here is the official list, announced on February 2nd. Make your own bets, and comment on it!
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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BEST PICTURE

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTING

• Kathryn Bigelow > The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron > Avatar
• Lee Daniels > Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
• Jason Reitman > Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino > Inglourious Basterds

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR ON A LEADING ROLE

• Jeff Bridges > Crazy Heart
• George Clooney > Up in the Air
• Colin Firth > A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman > Invictus
• Jeremy Renner > The Hurt Locker

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS ON A LEADING ROLE

• Sandra Bullock > The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren > The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan > An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe > Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
• Meryl Streep > Julie & Julia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR ON A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Matt Damon > Invictus
• Woody Harrelson > The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer > The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci > The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz > Inglourious Basterds

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS ON A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Penélope Cruz > Nine
• Vera Farmiga > Up in the Air
• Maggie Gyllenhaal > Crazy Heart
• Anna Kendrick > Up in the Air
• Mo'Nique > Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Messenger
• A Serious Man
• Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• District 9
• An Education
• In the Loop
• Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
• Up in the Air

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Avatar
• Das Weisse Band - Eine Deutsche Kindergerchichte (The White Ribbon)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds

BEST EDITING

• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Avatar
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nine
• Sherlock Holmes
• The Young Victoria

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Secret of Kells
• Up

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Bright Star
• Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel)
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nine
• The Young Victoria

BEST MAKEUP

• Il Divo
• Star Trek
• The Young Victoria

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Avatar
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Hurt Locker
• Sherlock Holmes
• Up

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• Crazy Heart > "The Weary Kind"
• Faubourg 36 (Paris 36) > "Loin de Paname"
• Nine > "Take It All"
• The Princess and the Frog > "Almost There"
• The Princess and the Frog > "Down in New Orleans"

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Up

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Ajami > Israel
• Das Weisse Band - Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte (The White Ribbon) > Germany
• El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) > Argentina
• Un Prophète (A Prophet) > France
• La Teta Asustada (The Milk of Sorrow) > Peru

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Burma VJ: Reporter i et Lukket Land
• The Cove
• Food, Inc.
• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
• Which Way Home

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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So there you have it.
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Bye!

THE INVENTION OF LYING (part two)

Judging from its poster, The Invention of Lying (USA, 2009) may seem like an interesting film. After all, a world with no lies could bring us good laughs and interesting situations. Well, it can - but sadly, in this film it doesn't.

Mark Bellinson (Ricky Gervais) is a middleaged filmwriter who's in love with Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner), an attractive woman who doesn't care the least for him. Very usual and expected except for the fact that they live in a world where no one can tell a lie.

It's a regular society, just like ours, but without the lies. So instead of saying "no, baby, that dress doesn't make you fat" or "don't worry, it won't hurt", people say: "yes, this dress makes you look like a whale" and "yes, it will hurt like hell".

Nobody is capable of lying... until Mark finds himself available to trick a banker in order to get some extra money. So there it is: "he says something that isn't", in his own words. He starts using it to help others with their problems....

...Including his sick mother on her death band. When she's about to die, Mark tells her about this magic place that people go to when they die, where everyone has a mansion and everybody's happy. He also tells her about the Man in the Sky, who's always watching and protecting us. So he invents... religion!

It seemed like an interesting plot, but unfortunately The Invention of Lying wasn't as good as it could have been. I must say this is the first Ricky Gervais movie I watch, but I wasn't very fascinated about it. Gervais seemed desperate to say "I'm fat! I'm ugly!" - and I'm not exaggerating, the first half is full of derogatory jokes.

It was interesting to see that world, though. Especially the publicity ads, they were pretty funny. It's a good idea and there are some good moments, but the whole Man in the Sky thing took too much time and made things a bit slow.

The cast works relatively well: Garner is likeable and does her job well, even though her part was inglorious; and Jonah Hill has a comic appearance as a suicidal co-office worker. The only weak performance here was Rob Lowe, shallow and annoying.

I'm being very harsh, but overall The Invention of Lying was not bad. It was an average comedy that would have been better if they have focused more on the people and on that imaginary world. That would have been much better - I could see a spin-off show being made out of it.

I'll watch Gervais' previous feature Ghost Town soon. I've seen some reviews saying it was better than this one, but we'll see about that.

The final score: 6. Has a good idea and gives some good moments, but could have been better if they hadn't given so much time to the Man in the Sky plot. Watchable, but a little forgettable.

>> ZÉ B. [6/10]

IMDB link: HERE

RAZZIE AWARDS 2010

Hey, everybody!

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Who said all the awards reward the best movies/performances of the year? This one doesn't: the Razzie Awards, a discrete cerimony that choses the worst in cinema.

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The winners will be announced on March 6th. Red carpet, paparazzi? No! Nobody ever shows up to get the award. (You can kinda understand why...)

Here goes the Razzie list with the nominees for the worst of 2009. And this year, there's a bonus: a special category for the worst film/actor/actress of the decade. Enjoy!

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WORST PICTURE

• All About Steve
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Land of the Lost
• Old Dogs
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

WORST ACTOR

• All three Jonas Brothers > Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
• Will Ferrell > Land of the Lost
• Steve Martin > Pink Panther 2
• Eddie Murphy > Imagine That
• John Travolta > Old Dogs

WORST ACTRESS

• Beyoncé > Obsessed
• Sandra Bullock > All About Steve
• Miley Cyrus > Hannah Montana: The Movie
• Megan Fox > Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen OR Jennifer's Body
• Sarah Jessica Parker > Did You Hear About the Morgans?

WORST SCREEN COUPLE

• Any two (or more) Jonas Brothers > Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
• Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper > All About Steve
• Will Ferrell & any co-star, creature or comic-reff > Land of the Lost
• Shia LaBeouf & Megan Fox OR any Transformer > Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson OR Taylor Whatz-His-Fang > The Twilight Saga: New Moon

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Candice Bergen > Bride Wars
• Ali Larter > Obsessed
• Sienna Miller > G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Kelly Preston > Old Dogs
• Julie White > Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Billy Ray Cyrus > Hannah Montana: The Movie
• Hugh Hefner > Miss March
• Robert Pattinson > The Twilight Saga: New Moon
• Jorma Taccone > Land of the Lost
• Marlon Wayans > G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL

• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Land of the Lost
• Pink Panther 2
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon

WORST DIRECTOR

• Michael Bay > Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Walt Becker > Old Dogs
• Brad Silberling > Land of the Lost
• Stephen Sommers > G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Phil Traill > All About Steve

WORST SCREENPLAY

• All About Steve
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Land of the Lost
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon

WORST PICTURE OF THE DECADE

• Battlefield Earth (2000) > Winner of 8 Razzies
• Freddy Got Fingered (2001) > Winner of 5 Razzies
• Gigli (2003) > Winner of 7 Razzies
• I Know Who Killed Me (2007) > Winner of 8 Razzies
• Swept Away (2002) > Winner of 5 Razzies

WORST ACTOR OF THE DECADE

• Ben Affleck > Winner of 2 Razzies
• Eddie Murphy > Winner of 3 Razzies
• Mike Myers > Winner of 2 Razzies
• Rob Schneider > Winner of 1 Razzie
• John Travolta > Winner of 3 Razzies

WORST ACTRESS OF THE DECADE

• Mariah Carey > Biggest individual vote getter for worst actress
• Paris Hilton > Winner of 4 Razzies
• Lindsay Lohan > Winner of 3 Razzies
• Jennifer Lopez > Winner of 2 Razzies
• Madonna > Winner of 4 Razzies

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So there you have it.

Thanks, bye!

NINE

Be a singer! Be a lover! Pick the flower now before the chance is past! Be Italian! Be Italian! Live today as if it may... become... your last!

Those are the lyrics for "Be Italian", played by Fergie on Nine (USA/Italy, 2009), the new musical flick by Rob Marshall. And I'll tell you straight away: it's the best number of the film.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Guido Contini, an Italian filmmaker who's preparing to shoot a new film. After a series of flops, everyone is waiting for his new (and pretensious-titled) film: Italia. The only problem is... Contini doesn't have a screenplay - or any idea at all for the film!

Struggling to conciliate his personal life and his work, he takes some time away to think about all the women who have shaped his life and personality, from childhood to maturity, starting from his mother (Sophia Loren) and his costume designer Lilli (Judi Dench).

Unfaithful to his his wife Luisa (Marion Cotillard, in great performance), Contini has a public affair with Carla (Penélope Cruz, very good as well). He keeps promising he'll be loyal to his wife - but he can't help feeling attracted to the star for his new flick Claudia (Nicole Kidman) and to American Vogue reporter Stephanie (Kate Hudson).

Okay, the plot is not very strong, but overall Nine doesn't deserve all the bashing it's been getting. Taking place in Italy on the 1960s, Contini's story is built with some interesting music numbers and good art direction.

Personally, I liked "Take It All", performed by Marion Cotillard in a moment of anger and sensuality; and "Cinema Italiano", by Kate Hudson, because it perfectly shows how Contini is ego centric and self centered. (Not to say it had a nice beat, apart from the other - slow - songs.)

But the big award goes to "Be Italian", by Fergie. As the female voice of The Black Eyed Peas, she finally has a chance to release all her musical strength in a more theatrical number. Her song is not only very nice to watch, but also the best number in the entire film.

It was very well done artistically and technically, but it's not a film for everyone. The proof is the undeniable box-office flop. But I liked it, I thought it was nice entertainment for two hours. Not the best of the year, but still enjoyable.

Nine was nominated for 4 Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Cruz), Best Original Song ("Take It All"), Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. Few are the winning chances but... we'll see about that.

It was well done and they gave some thought to the details, although it is not brilliant. The cast works well and the music numbers are enjoyable. My final rating is 7.

>> ZÉ B. [7/10]

>> iRaphael [7/10]

IMDB link: HERE