Enola Holmes 2 (2022) - Movie Review

Following up on 2020’s rousing Netflix success with the first Enola Holmes, this sequel builds on a lot of what that take on the Holmes detective formula so fresh and exciting: A different perspective on that same kind of analytical genius, with a warmer heart and a need to ask questions about the roles of women in the Victorian era. And through that building, this manages to… well, it might take a rewatch of both films to be absolutely certain, but there’s an argument to be made about this doing even better than the first film.

Enola Holmes (2020) - Movie Review

Time to close out our look at Jack Thorne’s screenwriting work for 2020, and quite frankly, this really could go either way. It could be another serving of bland nothing that feels like a shadow of a much better story, or it could be a solid, if uneven, breath of fresh air within its own genre. At either rate, I’m fully expecting every other aspect of production to be overclocked to make up for the weakness within the script. Well, nothing of the sort shows up here. It seems I have left the best for last by sheer happenstance, as this is easily Thorne’s most fully-formed script of the year.

Holmes And Watson (2018) - Movie Review

Supreme confidence + extreme incompetence. This relatively simple formula is in the DNA of an awful lot of comedy, where the humour is generated from characters who think they are far smarter than they actually are. It’s a form of stylistic hubris that many comedians owe the bulk of their legacies to, including the fabled pairing of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. However, while this is an equation that has yielded much success in the past, it’s also potentially tricky in the same way that most intentionally dumb comedies are: There has to be a distinction being a film that knows how stupid it is, and a film that is just plain stupid. Because much like the characters that bank on this style, there are few things more laughable than people with disproportionate egos. Except, of course, when the filmmakers themselves seem to share that trait.

Sherlock Gnomes (2018) - Movie Review

Gnomeo & Juliet is an absolute mess. While aided somewhat by its genuinely solid animation and a pretty choice voice cast, it feels like a Murphy’s Law situation where literally every bad decision possible was made around them. From the insanely ill-fitted soundtrack to the egregious puns to the incredibly snide attitude it carried towards its source material, it can easily stand as one of the worst family films I’ve ever sat through, if not one of the worst full stop. Because money is the root of all things unnecessary, and the original made plenty of bank at the box office, we for some reason have been given a sequel. While I struggle to figure what precisely this film is at its core, it is still a marked improvement in all the important regards.

Mr. Holmes (2015) - Movie Review

Time to look at another legendary British character that, for one reason or another, has taken a stronghold in the cultural mindset. Sure, he may not be as influential as the tuxedoed ladykiller 007, but put on a deerstalker, a pipe and say the word “elementary” and you’ll doubtless find someone who will immediately point to the Baker Street resident Sherlock Holmes. However, instead of all of the elements attached to a character like James Bond, Holmes only has a few specific calling cards to his name: His connection to his dear Watson (god, Tumblr has given that phrase a whole meaning since Moffatt took over), the Baker Street Irregulars that serve as his eyes and ears and, of course, his coldly analytical approach that has given him a reputation for being one of the more intelligent fictional minds. Well, time to see if he is still just as entertaining when that same brilliant mind has been dulled by the effects of ageing.