Hmm, Sherlock Holmes, I’ve always had great expectations over novel based movies and most of the time they disappoint me. Everybody told me to watch this movie like it is some kind of “must watch” movie, but it turned out that the maximum I could give for the movie was a mere 6.5/10.

Before I start my review, I must say that I am not a fan of Sherlock Holmes, I have not read any of the books before, I only knew the title existed before and I am only giving honest review based on what I perceive the movie. One of the reason why I am giving 6.5 (instead of 7.8 at imdb) is because of the “something is missing” feeling I got after the movie.

Storyline

I learned that the storyline of the Sherlock Holmes movie has nothing to do with any of its novels. The characters were just simply taken out from the book and they invented their own storyline. In fact, the current Sherlock Holmes does not even take a magnifying glass anymore. That’s all right, given that if the storyline is interesting, which is not, so to speak.

The flow of the story is rubbish. It starts out with some action then it went all (quite) monotonous for probably one and a half hour then shot all the way to its climax and ends with another baddie coming into the picture. Typical movie, I nearly fell asleep.

However, as bad as the storyline could be, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) did a pretty good job in wrapping up the movie. Whatever that needs to be explained was explained.

Action

I am quite astonished by the fact that they came up with this very creative idea of analyzing which body points to attack, they tell you the flow of attack and how traumatized the person would be before an attack. It is like a walk through on a series of attacks, then followed by the real deal.

The magic tricks, or should I say science tricks used by the Lord Blackwood was also pretty cool. But the “Wow factor” isn’t there, probably due to the explanation given had made the magic tricks look uncool.

Humour

Throughout the movie, there were a lot of jokes … cold jokes to be exact. I laughed at a few, but most of them I just couldn’t be bothered to care. It does give us the idea that the characters are witty, but not all of the jokes are laughable.

However, do pay attention to the few that are laughable.

Actors

I have mixed feelings over whether or not Robert Downey Jr. is the right person to act Sherlock Holmes. I agree that Robert is a superb actor; his act in Iron Man is flawless. However, his British accent is down the drain. Robert’s an American, so having him to speak in British accent is like asking a bird to quack.

His role as Sherlock Holmes is perfect and he had shown the wittiness of Sherlock Holmes, but had failed terribly at his British accent.

In a Nutshell

Movie wise, it is just another 2009 movie, not as spectacular as District 9 or Avatar. It does contain its own creativity though and gets you to wonder how the magic was done. But it is just not good enough. Not to mention the movie cannot live without Robert Downey Jr. If you put him out of the picture, the movie fails entirely. On the other hand, if you put him in the picture, his British accent sucks, which is another factor why I rated the movie so low.

Choice wise, if you think your cinema does not have subtitles, spending regular ticket price on such a movie is a waste of money. If you think you can understand all kinds of accent, you might also want to think twice because the movie is not that good. If I were given the chance again, I would choose to save the money instead.

My point is, Sherlock Holmes 2009 is not a movie worth watching in the cinema.

Avatar, a pre-Christmas movie that was filmed with newly developed technology that simulates human sight has become (in my opinion) the best Christmas gift for many movie goers. Every time I exit the cinema I have a number in mind that quantifies the movie as a whole. And it has been a very long time since I last rate a movie this high.

This is the first time I am writing movie review for my website, I will do my utmost best to make it interesting and limit spoilers. As you can see, a high 8.5 from me, imdb.com rated it a whooping 8.9 which I think is a tad overrated, so why 8.5 and not 8.9?

Computer Graphics

Let’s start first with CG since this movie is made purposely on the sole purpose of delivering a remarkable and “a higher level” of realism. The 3D technology used in this film is a step further than any other 3D movies I have watched before. The depth of field effect is very much focused in this film, making the movie extremely realistic.

Artwork & Creativity

I highly object that fact that the alien, also called the Na’Vi is very creative human imagination. Mainly because they look exactly like human and even express their love like humans too (I will explain more about this in a moment)!

However, the design of Pandora, the home planet of the Na’Vis is a work of mesmeric art. It is such an eye candy that you feel the urge to enter their world while watching the movie.

Jake following Neytiri in the woods

The woods lights up every steps the Na’Vis passes through at night. The flora and faunas are also a piece of art.

Curious Jake Sully

The creatures from Pandora is pretty similar to what we have on earth such as wolves (Nantang), tiger wannabe (Thanator), rhinos (Hammerhead Titanothere), huge ass birds (Banshee and Toruk). They are pretty unique in a way that each one of them expresses the nature of Pandora in some way unexplainable in words. The really imaginative part was that Na’Vis have the power to bond with any beasts in Pandora through some sort of a plug and play device through their hair.

Neytiri on Thanator

James Cameron (script writer) has also done a superb job when introducing us to the Na’Vi’s culture. There isn’t a better way to express alien’s culture.

The young adult Na'Vis earning their Banshees

Storyline

Before I went into the cinema I have read and heard many comments regarding the “recognizable” storyline in Avatar. After 3 hours, I must say that the storyline is nowhere near recognizable in any other productions. There are many hidden surprises within the movie.

Unlike Transformers II, Avatar has no room for irrelevant and lame jokes (I can’t see no dog humping on Neytiri’s legs). Every part of the 2 hours 40 minutes movie is interesting and viewers are kept engrossed on the entire film. Although the storyline is not as intriguing as District 9, it still contains all the elements of a good storyline.

The epic war at the end was also very carefully panned out. You get this feeling that everything will turn out all right, but it is just very tricky to guess what’s coming next, the plot tantalizes viewer with lots of unexpected outcomes.

The overwhelming human force

Neytiri was excessively fierce at many instances too.

Emotions & Feel

As you can expect from James Cameron’s films, the emotional wow factor is there. Paired with Zoë Saldaña’s awesome act, you can feel the sorrow as Neytiri found out that his father died when the hometree came crashing down.

If you’re a guy you could even feel the confusion over Neytiri’s sudden change of emotion when she found out that Jake did not tell her about the incoming human invasion. Seriously I did not expect her to get angry so easily.

Jake’s patriotic speech after the biologist’s death was also very emotional. I had to keep myself together so that tears do not obstruct my view of the screen.

Jake giving a patriotic speech after landing on his Toruk

Setbacks

I may have rate this movie exceptionally high, but this does not mean that there are no let-downs at all. I have mentioned earlier how the Na’Vis express their love like human beings through kissing as well. I mean, how unoriginal can this be?

I always have this idea that aliens express love in some other way, like hold their tails together instead of holding hands or kiss in some way we human beings can’t imagine. Heck, the make out we had in Avatar was exactly a human being’s make out. That’s like watching a male gorilla smooch a female gorilla, give me a break.

Another would be the sound of the missile blasts on Na’Vis’ hometree. The blasts sounded like the bashing of empty steel containers, similar to the sounds that a child would produce when he imagines himself as a drummer.

Na'Vi's Hometree

Conclusion

The setbacks can be ignored, I am writing them for the sake of expressing my own views that’s all. I felt the “something is wrong” or “this is too fake” feeling in many movies I have watched before. In Avatar, well lets just say these only occurs at the smooching part. The rest of the show was practically awesome.

Avatar is definitely a “must watch” movie especially if there is a 3D cinema near you! If you are planning on watching DVD on your little 15 inch laptop, think again because you don’t want to watch 2009′s best movie on a little screen.