Filed under: Movies | Tags: Jude Law, Movies, Robert Downey, Sherlock Holmes
I have been anxiously awaiting Sherlock Holmes for months. I was not disappointed. Guy Ritchie directing Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law is a girl’s dream. Downey’s performance as Holmes is beguiling: he is trouble, we know it and we like him anyway. Law plays the academic Watson, which makes him less alluring, but still charming.
While the film may not win any awards for stellar performances, it is great fun with intrigue, action and mystery. Definitely a enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Go see it.
I can’t wait for this movie. It looks fantastic. And, I love Robert Downey, Jr.
Filed under: Movies | Tags: Catherine Keener, Jamie Foxx, Jr., Los Angeles, Movies, newspaper, Robert Downey, Soloist
The Soloist is the true story of LA Times writer Steve Lopez’s chance encounter with the talented, yet homeless, musician Nathaniel Ayers. The story sheds light on the heartbreaking and scary homeless population in Los Angeles, but it also gives hope that sometimes good things can happen from bad situations. Robert Downey, Jr. convincingly performs the role of a natually curious newspaperman who struggles committing himself to anything but his story. Jamie Foxx as the homeless and mentally-impaired Julliard drop-out is hard to watch, only because your heart breaks for him. While the story is ultimately uplifting, it is simultaneously depressing. The film experience is comparable to that of The Pursuit of Happyness: we just don’t like to see people in a situation that we could just as easily find ourselves in one day.
Music plays a significant role in this film. Nathaniel Ayers is particularly fond of Beethoven, and it is this music that floats throughout the movie. In one particular scene, however, the music overpowers the film: Ayers and Lopez are attending rehearsal for the Los Angeles Orchestra and what I can only assume is an effort to display the impact of the music on Ayers for the movie-going audience, we are treated to a light show. The lights dance to the beats of the music. This particular interruption takes away from the movie and continues much too long. It seems unnecessary. In a later scene, Lopez is explaining to his ex-wife and editor, played by Catherine Keener, the experience of listening to the music with Ayers. In his explanation, we understand the power of the music much better than the light display attempted to portray.
The Soloist tells us that one person can make a difference in another’s life with curiousity, the power of the written word and a little persistence.
