Day: December 19, 2011

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Four out of Five Stars

My husband and I braved the last-Sunday-before-Christmas-crowds at the Legends shopping center to watch this latest installment in the Sherlock Holmes universe.  Strangely, our theatre (the largest one at the Phoenix Theatre complex) was sparsely populated for the mid-afternoon matinee.  Be that as it may, we thoroughly enjoyed the film. The musical score grated less on the ears this time (more classical orchestration instead of the out-of-tune upright piano cacophony overused in the first movie). I can’t wait to re-watch this on DVD so I can pause it and examine certain scenes minutely. Even with my photographic memory, modern day editing gives viewers nanoseconds to absorb an incredible amount of relevant detail.  Despite the dreary gray British and French winter countryside, the cinematography was gorgeous, the highlight being the Swiss Alps.  The action frequently sported ultra-high-speed slow-motion sequences, punctuated with excellently choreographed audio.

Movie Review: A Dog Named Christmas

Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie: A Dog Named Christmas (2009)

Four out of Five Stars

I read the book this movie was based on last year for Christmas.  The author, Greg Kincaid, lives in Olathe, Kansas, just twenty or so miles south of my home via K-7.  But for some reason, the movie was not re-aired last year (or I completely missed it in the avalanche of Hallmark Channel Christmas movies that start in late November and don’t stop until nearly New Year’s).  This year, I caught the movie on my DVR when it aired on Saturday night.  My husband and I spent a very pleasant Sunday evening with the McCrays and their on-again-off-again adoption of a dog named Christmas.

Movie Review: The Accidental Spy

The Accidental Spy (2011)

Three out of Five Stars

My husband and I have separate Netflix queues (and have for years).  This DVD came in the mail Saturday so we popped it in the player for Saturday evening entertainment.  Who can resist a Jackie Chan action movie?  Not me.  The Turkish bath fight sequence brought a smile to my face.  The plot was hardly believable, but I really didn’t care.  It’s too much fun watching Jackie pretend to play the spy game.

Movie Review: Love’s Kitchen

Love’s Kitchen (2011)

Three out of Five Stars

While searching for new Netflix titles to add to my queue, I stumbled across this movie, available for immediate streaming.  My husband and I watch quite a few shows on the Food Network channel, so we thought it might be a good fit.  I had hoped it would be similar to 2007’s No Reservations which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Sadly, Love’s Kitchen fell a wee bit flat.   We laughed occasionally, but did not feel the romance at all.  I did, however, really want to taste that Trifle dessert that everyone in the movie thought was divine.