Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes (ROBERT DOWNEY JR) and crime solving partner Dr. Watson (JUDE LAW) return in this sequel to the 2009 film. This story sees our heroes uncovering the truth behind evil mastermind Professor Moriarty (JARED HARRIS) and his plans to start a world war.
The film has many highlights and the screenwriters add some interesting new characters to the franchise. Stephen Fry as Sherlock's brother is a good device to get an insight into Sherlock's past meanwhile gypsy Simza (played by the beautiful NOOMI RAPACE of Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame) brings a European touch to the film. Her character is however underused, and what could have been a fun asset is left to dwindle in the background.
Director Guy Ritchie brings his unique style to the sequel once more, amplifying the action, the humour and the slow motion. Some people hate an excessive amount of slow motion but Guy Ritchie is a rare director that seems to be able to pull off this over used effect. One scene where our heroes are running through the woods is actually incredibly intense. It's not only the action that is engaging but the physical comedy and visual gags employed in the film add great comedic interludes between the action.
The best thing about this film is the casting of the two leads, Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, they have great onscreen chemistry and have amazing banter throughout the film.
However it is the plot that is the weakest part of the film, while it is a clever mystery it is not as carefully constructed or visually explained like the first film. There are still plenty of twists to be enjoyed but they aren't as satisfyingly brilliant like the original was. There are some nicely executed emotional parts in the film, the crisis point was especially surprising.
The end of the film does leave the audience literally questioning what may come next for Sherlock Holmes, but my bet is that in two years time we shall see him on our screens solving another action packed mystery once again.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Director Steven Spielberg and Producer Peter Jackson bring to the big screen the beloved comic book character Tintin in glorious 3D motion capture. Jamie Bell is the young journalist/detective Tintin, who is thrust into a century old mystery when he buys a model ship known as the Unicorn, which sunk in the 17th century. Ivan Sakharine (Daniel Craig) desperately tires to buy the model Unicorn ship off Tintin for mysterious motives, Tintin however refuses to sell and instead begins to investigate the secrets surrounding the Unicorn. Along the way he befriends Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) ancestor to the Captain of the Unicorn.
This is one film that definitely has to be seen in 3D. The animation is beautiful and the action scenes are inventive, flawless and thrilling. There are plenty of hilarious slapstick in the film that is bound to get anyone laughing. The scene transitions are especially cool and while many audience members will not take note of them, film buffs with a keen eye are sure to find enjoyment from them. The voice acting is top notch, even Daniel Craig is impressive, something I had reservations about due to his crap-tastic accent in Defiance. My favorite part of the film was however Tintin's dog Snowy, an incredibly smart and loyal sidekick.  The main let down in this film is the lack of emotion in Act Three/the climax. Two particular characters should be very personally connected through a century old family feud, but there is no successful emotional payoff in the resolution of this fight. As the film title suggests, Tintin is the main character but the story turns out to be more about Captain Haddock. Tintin, especially in the crisis point dwindles in the background, which has a negative flow on the film.
This Tintin film is the first in a planned trilogy with Peter Jackson to direct the sequel. We all know that Peter Jackson is very capable of topping the first film in a franchise (ie. LOTR  sequels) so here's hoping that the Tintin sequel is even better.

The Ides of March

Press secretary Stephen Meyers, RYAN GOSLING, with campaign manager Paul Zara, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, are working together on a political campaign for who they hope will be the next president of the United States. Their boss, democratic Governor Mike Morris, GEORGE CLOONEY, has to first win the primary vote in the state of Ohio against fellow democratic Senator Pullman, MICHAEL MANTELL, so the presidential candidates can be decided. 
Stephen Meyers thinks he has the best job in the world and believes he is working for a great man, but this campaign trail will have him questioning the people he works with, his love for politics and what lengths he will take to keep at the top.
This is an intense political thriller directed by George Clooney himself. The story doesn't ride far from reality and one can easily imagine these secret meetings, dirty compromises and immoral actions happening within any political nation. The script is clever and at times even witty, making something so intricate as politics, fun and engaging for audiences.
Every actor brings their best to the film, Evan Rachel Wood as a campaign intern is especially good. But it is Ryan Gosling that steals the show, confirming he is the top actor of 2011.
If you want confirmation that the world is a happy place where people skip around rainbows and eat cupcakes, maybe don't watch this film. Everyone can be victim to lies, betrayal and greed, this film doesn't side step anything not even to reconfirm the possible existence of the great American dream.

War Horse

This is obviously not Steven Spielberg's first war movie, it is however the first war movie he tells through the eyes of a horse. The story follows the friendship between farm boy, Albert and an unlikely work horse, Joey. This friendship is put to the test when Joey is sold to the British Calvary with the onset of World War One. The story follows Joey and his new owners throughout the course of the war.
This is an epic and emotional journey in vain of old classic Hollywood films. The horses of course steal the limelight and the human stories come second to the struggles that these great animals have to face. There is something so powerful watching these horses onscreen performing with such emotion and personality; the audience knows exactly what these horses are thinking. 
The film is slightly lengthy and the middle story may be too long but this length is important to validate the conclusion of the story. The cinematography is beautiful evoking images of Hollywood classics, for instance the colours of the end of the film are reminiscent to a scene in Gone With The Wind.
This may not be the greatest war movie that Spielberg has directed but it does have just as much heart and emotion. Like every character in the film touched by Joey's personality, you too will find it hard to not fall in love with this amazing beast. 

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

The Twilight Saga is back with its fourth installment of the final novel in the series, Breaking Dawn. The film has split the action up into two and the first part has just hit cinemas while audiences will have to wait twelve months to see the last. 
The story jumps straight into the wedding preparation leading quickly onto the the wedding itself where we finally see Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) tie the knot. Werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) turns up and seems to have finally come to turns with Bella's fate: of becoming a vampire. Then Bella and Edward shoot off to their honeymoon to finally consummate their marriage in a very PG/M rated, yet satisfying sex scene.
Of course when dealing with vampire and human sex, who worries about protection? Well our two leads don't and soon Bella is vomiting from morning sickness. The cross vamp/human baby inside of Bella appears to grow at an alarmingly fast rate and drains the life out of the mother. But Bella wants to keep the baby, even if it kills her.
Jacob learns of the child and the werewolf pack in fear of the unknown decide to kill the unborn child and in turn kill Bella. However Jacob pulls apart from the pact and joins forces with the Cullen Vamps to protect Bella at any cost.
This film is exactly what we have come to expect from the series, a shamelessly romantic/borderline melodramatic cinema experience. There are some beautiful moments in the film and because it has been split into two it doesn't have to rush through the developments and explain everything with dialogue, but instead it contains some more action driven scenes. The wedding reception speeches are genuinely funny and had the entire audience laughing, while the film also wasn't afraid to poke fun at itself when talking about possible baby names.  There are some intense moments as well and are handled well from the director (Bill Condon) and cast. Kristen Stewart looks amazingly disgusting during the pregnancy and is skinner than any bulimic runway model. The eventual child birth itself is also one of the emotional highlights of the film. But for me, I absolutely loved how they brought to life a certain transformation scene. (There was of course the amazing forest wedding-but with a very awkward cameo).
The screenplay closely follows the original source, which unfortunately is its downfall. The novels rely so much on sense of smell and reading people's minds, among other powers, however this is something that the film series has never been good at conveying (though in this film they attempt to). So unfortunately the film still has a lot of exposition and cheesy dialogue to make sense of what is happening. The final climax builds up wonderfully (though the lighting is terrible) but is destroyed by exposition.
Thankfully the film does have Kristen Stewart to help ground the dialogue meanwhile the on/off screen romance with RPatz results in an electrifying chemistry between the pair. It is however Tay Tay that can't seem to pull off the melodrama, that and he pulled the short straw for fluffy dialogue. 
The film is actually better than I thought it would be and at the end of the day (night) I thoroughly enjoyed myself, which is something I can't say for most of the other garbage Hollywood has released this year.

PS. Stay for the credits.

Contagion

Contagion is the latest film to explore the world spread epidemic of a deadly contagious disease. This film unlike many before it, handles the themes incredibly realistic and successfully uses correct scientific terms without having to dumb things down for the audience.
The film begins on 'Day 2' of the epidemic with Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) arriving home to Minneapolis after a business trip to Hong Kong. She arrives home with a fever and a bad cough. She soon seizures and dies. Beth's husband Mitch (Matt Damon) is completely shocked but unwilling to allow any futher damage happen to his family.
Meanwhile The Untied States Centre for Disease Control led by Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), with the aid of Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) and research scientist Dr Ally Hoxtall (Jennifer Ehle), work together to identify the disease in hope of controlling it.
World Health Organisation Officer Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) travels to Hong Kong to uncover the truth behind Beth's initial contact with the disease.
There is also blogger and wannabee journalist Alan, (Jude Law) who is determined to undermine the US governments handling of the epidemic.
Contagion is a multi-protagonist 'mosaic' film and handles the characterisation of its several protagonists beautifully. The film seamlessly crosses between intelligent science and the related human emotions of such an international epidemic.
The performance of the ensemble cast is perfect and further lifts the films verisimilitude. The film presents the topic in a chilling truth while never delving into melodramatics. Director Steven Soderbergh, is successful in creating an ultra realistic intelligent medical thriller. This is easily one of the best Hollywood films of the year.

The Three Musketeers

New re-imagining of a very classic tale, The Three Musketeers once again lights up our screens.