REVIEW: Post-Bromantic Attraction in Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows, Or: Holmes + Watson 4eva

Romance! Jealousy! Temptation! There’s an alluring new stranger vying for Sherlock Holmes’s attentions and affections in Guy Ritchie’s turn-of-the-century sleuthing sequel, A Game of Shadows, but it’s not the dark and beautiful gypsy woman at the center of Holmes’s latest mystery. For that matter, Holmes’s on-again, off-again ladyfriend Irene Adler doesn’t truly have his heart, either. It’s BFF and hetero life partner Dr. Watson who forms the tale’s real love triangle with Holmes — escalating the first film’s bromantic undercurrent of mutual admiration and “circumstantial homosexuality” to overt, unabashed man-love and dangerous attraction — with tantalizingly evil interloper Professor James Moriarty. Where 2009’s Sherlock Holmes introduced Robert Downey Jr.’s manic take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective hero with a fairly bland, small potatoes (if intentionally labyrinthine) plot and villain, only hinting at the ominous machinations of famed Holmes nemesis Moriarty (Jared Harris), A Game of Shadows ups the ante and continues where things left off. Months after solving the Blackwood case, Holmes has retreated back into manic-depressive seclusion in his squalid flat, consumed by a web of conspiracies he’s traced back to celebrated game theorist, lecturer, and criminal mastermind Moriarty; by no small coincidence, Watson (Jude Law) has been busy planning his wedding to Mary (Kelly Reilly), leaving Holmes in a lonely, formaldehyde-swilling, depressed-obsessive malaise. Holmes perks up when a terrorist bomb plot blamed on anarchists points to his new foe, who happens to have also recently disposed of his reluctant pawn Irene, her crafty services rendered unnecessary due to her pesky penchant for Holmes. That gets Sherlock’s goat, all right (and, gratefully, relieves us of Rachel McAdams, who never could keep up with RDJ’s jaunty pace — thank goodness for the capable, darting Noomi Rapace, who makes her English language debut) but that which tickles him so about Moriarty is almost purely intellectual — the challenge of facing off against rival as evil as he is moral, who can match him, and perhaps even best him, in a game of wits. Put it this way: With soul mate Watson off committing his nuptials to a woman, it’s Moriarty who stirs Holmes’s senses and seduces him back into action. The play between wild-eyed Downey and the serenely unsettling Harris crackles with a chemistry befitting Doyle’s iconic literary nemeses as Moriarty stays coolly one step ahead of our hero throughout the serviceable Euro-tripping plot. Kieran and Michele Mulroney’s script takes Holmes and Watson (not to mention periphery characters like Holmes’s brother Mycroft, played by a delightfully daft-dapper Stephen Fry) through gypsy camps, anarchist hideouts, the Paris Opera House, a German munitions factory, an international diplomatic summit, and the snowy Swiss Alps in the pursuit of Moriarty, who unveils his intentions bit by bit until the scope of his plans are revealed. Along the way, Holmes and Watson reconnect and rekindle their relationship. A train ambush on the night of Watson’s honeymoon gives Holmes the perfect opportunity to slyly take Mrs. Watson out of the equation — for her own safety, naturally — leading to the film’s most obvious series of post-bromantic scenes: Holmes, in drag, finagles intimate poses with Watson under the cover of a masculine, wall-smashing train shoot-out. Their love affair is no longer subtextual; Ritchie exploits it for laughs with a knowing nod as if to say yes, these men are in each others’ hearts. One of them is rouged up in a corset. What of it? After all, the times are a-changin’. Industrialism is emerging in the world. Why not depict progressivism where emotional politics are concerned? Even the action achieves a balance of muscular machismo and delicate elegance. A forest chase through the woods of Germany allows for Ritchie’s showiest new trick, exploiting multiple high-speed cameras to explode entire tree trunks in gorgeous showers around his fleeing actors. Steadicam-like rigs trained on Holmes and Co. as they race through the battle give a disorienting, panting urgency to the chaos. The professor has designs on profiteering from World War — a cynical plot to capitalize on man’s natural impulse for conflict, he explains — but even Moriarty can’t resist delaying his plans for a last-act game of chess with Holmes. Ritchie dusts off and builds on the gimmicky Sherlock-o-Vision he devised in the previous film, which utilized speed ramping and choreography to illustrate Holmes’s near pre-cognitive ability to preview his own fist fights; the twist here allows for a delicious, penetrating intimacy that takes the Holmes-Moriarty pas de deux to its climax. Doyle students may see the final act telegraphed from a league away and heave a heavy sigh, or peck at the franchise’s signature obligatory plot convolutions and self-satisfied cleverness. Action purists should be entertained enough by the slick spectacles Ritchie chains together, set against as handsome a historical London as you’re bound to get from the movies. But focus on the heart of Holmes and there’s a well of emotions, attraction, and longing roiling beneath the natty threads, Downey-isms, and faux Victorian panache on display. The women of Sherlock hold their own, for the most part, but this is a romance for men — at least, it’s one for Holmes and Watson and Moriarty, who each discover that the dread, or triumph, of a world-changing event is no match for the heart-pounding pull of finding, or losing, the one person in the world to whom you’re indelibly, inextricably tied. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

'X Factor's' Rachel Crow on her behalf account Elimination, Breakdown: 'It Certainly Hurt Bad'

Director Steven Spielberg stood a submit Oscar champion Christian Bale's starring role in Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War, which opened up Sunday mid-day in Beijing.our editor recommendsZhang Yimou Being Honored at Asia Off-shoreline Screen AwardsChina Chooses Zhang Yimou's Christian Bale starrer 'Flowers of War' for Oscar Language Submission TheHollywood Reporter formerly reported Spielberg's role in acover story with Bale and Zhang, However, Spielberg's director friend joined more detail the way the recommendations came to exist. "I asked for Steven Spielberg, who's a pal, to determine the British script and recommend stars," Zhang mentioned inside a press conference carrying out a premiere. Among people suggestions was Bale, who had starred becoming an adult actor in Spielberg's own turn pointing in China, 1987's Empire in the Sun,also with various novel set throughout Japan's World War Ii occupation of eastern China. STORY: The Flowers of War: Film Review Spielberg then advised Bale to make use of Zhang. "He passed [Zhang] Yimou instructions to provide in my experience, plus it mentioned, 'do it.'" Getting a financial budget of $100 million, the film is regarded as the pricey obtainable in China, around a year ago's top domestic box office artist, Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock, made. Even though, Zhang blown off any suggestion it put greater commercial pressure on him for your film to complete. "Company company directors shouldn't think about this stuff. It prevents you from developing a good movie," Zhang mentioned. STORY: An Auteur + This Actor = Game Changer The Two-time Oscar-nominated director similarly dodged an problem about whether Flowers was an attempt to finally win that trophy. "Winning an Oscar wasn't the goal. We just preferred to produce good art creating a good film," he mentioned. "I don't really know the Oscar process much, so that it's around luck." Zhang, who also directed the opening occasions in the 2008 Olympic games, is representing China again with Flowers since the country's official entry to find the best Language Film award. Bale plays John Burns, a u . s . states drifter who finds themselves inside the then-Chinese capital in 1937, similar to the Nanjing Massacre -- which saw entering Japanese troops rape and murder thousands of Chinese regular people -- will get on-going. Several youthful hookers take refuge in the chapel near to the brothel where they work, and Burns, wearing clerical robes, offers them defense from the burglars. Flowers' female lead, newcomer Ni Ni, put herself on the limb when asked for if she felt a steamy scene between her character and Bale's was necessary, just like Ang Lee's Lust, Caution -- that have its sex moments removed and acquired a couple-year industry stop for actress Tang Wei. "I love Tang Wei but she's a great actress, very beautiful, which i've many userful stuff here from her," Ni mentioned. The film is positioned to start wide in China on 12 ,. 16, a restricted U.S. release on 12 ,. 23. Related Subjects Worldwide Asia Christian Bale Zhang Yimou

AMC Acquires Off-Network Rights Of CSI: Miami, Enhancing Series Renewal Chances

It becomes an odd pairing — Don Draper and Horatio Caine is going to be on one network! Within the to start with-network acquisition, AMC, home of Mad Males, Breaking Bad as well as the Walking Dead, has acquired the off-network rights to CBS’ veteran procedural CSI: Miami. The sale with CBS Television Distribution, mentioned being worth 100s of vast amounts, covers the current 10 seasons of CSI: Miami additionally to Seasons 11 and 12 if produced. (Today’s deal certainly increases the probability of the show ongoing on CBS beyond the current tenth season). Aside from Seasons 11 and 12, which AMC would get exclusively, the pact is non-exclusive. A&E, that have been the exclusive cable home of CSI: Miami, is constantly on the air the show from 6 AM-4 PM. AMC will get fringe and primetime rights getting a 4 PM-6 AM window. The drama starring David Caruso could make its debut on AMC on Jan. 2 at 5 PM and may air inside the hour Monday through Friday. CSI: Miami is part of the greatly popular CSI franchise and most likely probably the most seen series in the world. Just like a procedural, it is also highly repeatable, that's key for cable systems trying to find techniques to enhance their lineups. Becoming an hourlong, CSI: Maimi may even give AMC flexibility organizing-wise. Up to now, the network happen to be capable of complement its original series simply with movies which are harder to schedule because of their different length. Still, CSI: Miami, a meat-and-potato procedural that has never been nominated for major honours, seems being an odd companion to AMC’s choice of acclaimed originals. In addition, it's interesting that within the evolution, AMC requires a direction opposite for the conventional one. Most cable network start with off-network product and progressively expand into originals. AMC established itself just like a strong original series player prior to going into off-network purchases.

Social TV: VH1 Introduces New Basketball Spouses Cast People Via Live Stream

Basketball Spouses VH1 eschewed the prototypical "cast announcement" blast for something a little more unconventional Thursday - the network switched it right into a live-streamed experience, unveiling next season's Basketball Spouses stars, as well as urged audiences to sign up along the way. Browse the relaxation of present day news From 11 a.m. to three p.m., fans who updated to the live stream got a "behind the curtain" glimpse in to the promo photo-aim for the approaching season, because it was happening, instantly. By watching, additionally they caught an initial take a look at new cast people, plus interviews with coming back fan faves likeEvelyn Lozada and Suzie Ketcham. Camera deck hands caught set designers preparing the background objects, the ladies getting their head of hair making-up done, or even a couple of candid (although awkward) on-air silences between host Liz Black and also the ladies. 9 social show integrations we are liking at this time Throughout the stream, cast people taunted story lines for that approaching season, talked about personal style, and compensated fans with awards like jewellery and makeup for tweeting their way throughout the live feed. Have you stay tuned towards the live stream? Are you currently searching toward Basketball Spouses, which premieres in Feb?

National Board of Review Backs Oscar Contenders Needing a Big Boost (Analysis)

Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesSeth Grahame-Smith, left, with David Katzenberg Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunterauthor Seth Grahame-Smith's new book Unholy Night for approximately $2 million. Grahame-Smith will write the script.our editor recommendsJohnny Depp's 'Dark Shadows' Photos Draw Comparisons to Michael Jackson, Willy Wonka Unholy Night retells the birth of Jesus as an adventure story centered on the three kings in the nativity story who travel to Bethlehem to witness his birth. In Grahame-Smith's version, the three kings are thieves on the run who are forced to help Mary and Jesus escape to Egypt. Along the way they battle magical biblical creatures and encounter figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist. Grand Central will publish the book on April 10, 2012. Grahame-Smith pioneered the current trend of literary mash-ups with the surprise 2009 bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. He followed that up with this year's hit Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Grahame-Smith wrote the screenplay for the movie version of Abraham Lincoln due in June 2012. He also wrote the screenplay for the Tim Burton-directed remake of the TV show Dark Shadows, which is set to be released in May 2012 and created the MTV show The Hard Times of RJ Berger. Grahame-Smith will also produce the film with partner David Katzenberg through their KatzSmith Productions shingle in conjunction with David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford's Heyman Films. KatzSmith recently acquired the rights to produce the movie version of the hit Young Adult novel The Scorpio Races. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 10 Biggest Book-to-Big Screen Adaptations of the Last 25 Years Seth Grahame-Smith

Preventing the lower-side of Westside wealth

It's difficult enough to handle illusions of fame. People of Hollywood's royalty, however, are haunted by another of life's most desirable and ultimately destructive mistresses: super-wealth.You'll be able to characterize money to become similar to alcohol or drugs. When it's used from time to time too as with relatively conservative portions or doses, the final results might be enhancing and beneficial. But just like any substance abuse, since the use becomes continual and excessive, it may be progressively more tough to restore a person baseline.Put yet another way, it's difficult to identify the primary distinction between "only a littleInch and "a little more.Inch Before extended "an excellent dealInch becomes normal, as well as the thought of not getting becomes unacceptable, impossible and sometimes terrifying.Many individuals set a set limit for consuming: three ales or two servings of wine daily, which could it be. There's however no warning label on money those of wealth still get one step to another, adding for their possessions and growing their comfortableness without regard for the effect in the constant purchasing round the satisfaction and character of the people as well as the family.The super-wealthy can invariably desire the passion their materialism has depleted but, without a sense of value, satisfaction remains elusive.Materialism is very subtle and contagious. As with every disease, hosts might be affected in another way also to different levels. A husband saddened while using demands of repair off wealth can out of the blue be around the different playing area than their very own wife. The wife may accelerate her trading, activities and interests, and before extended they may hardly recognize one another.Children might be difficult to harness. Left unmanaged, children, even adult children, typically drink the Kool-Aid considerably faster with less regard in addition to recognition in the effects. Some parents on L.A.'s Westside safeguard their offspring by ongoing to help keep these questions gilded cage. That is safe for your child and safer for your parent -- prior to the unskilled youthful adult tries to fly.The bottom line is, being good at running the gauntlet of materialism, the help of discipline and self-denial ought to be at this kind of self-actualized level that this kind of person would hardly have use for the investment.Short of feeling sorry for your fortune and fame of Hollywood's ordained elite, possibly we might observe that their original desire for theatrical expression requested those to imbibe the toxic cocktail of super-wealth, which now removes anything normal utilizing their lives. It's a large cost to pay for money.Richard C. W might be the writer of "Fables of Fortune: What Wealthy People Have You Wouldn't Want.Inch It may be purchased at internet.fablesoffortune.com.SHOWBIZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT REPORTHelping hands lifts bizzers Segal can get kudo as biz manager No boom, no bust Preventing the lower-side of Westside wealth Social media money trail Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com