Sherlock Series 3 Review

BBC's Sherlock is doing what most other shows only dream of. Becoming more popular as time goes on AND still being on the air to enjoy it. After a two year hiatus, the internet was on the verge of implosion. Series 3 only proves that the wait was so worth it. Before filming for series 3 even started there was already controversy. The Sherlock fandom is strong and amazing but is not without its trolls and for lack of a better word, nut jobs. There were fans actually threatening Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman's real life partner, when she was announced to play Watson's wife in the upcoming series. Whoever thought it was a good idea to hate on the real life partner of one of the stars of the show  they claim to be such a big fan of, there are no words for your stupidity. I digress. And stupidity it was because Abbington, an actress I unfortunately was unaware of before this, and her Mary Watson did what I thought was impossible, make the show even better. Series 3 was full of the usual wit and charm with a heaping dose of character development. And if there is one thing I am a huge fan of, it is character development. I know some viewers were a little put off by "The Sign of Three," where Sherlock has to give a best man speech at John's wedding because it was a bit more comedy and a bit less crime solving. I have one thing to say to those people, go find a movie with no plot or character development that just blows everything up. Sherlock may not be a normal human being but you don't go from someone who doesn't have friends to having a best friend and not change in some way. Moffat and Gatiss continue to show masterful writing skills and prove more than ever before with this latest series that they have created a show that can be delightfully clever, witty, and brilliantly dark all at the same time. After two episodes of lighter tones, episode three shows though Sherlock is certainly not the man that he was before he met Watson, he is far from becoming too normalized. If you have been living under a rock and have not watched Series 3 or any of Sherlock, you are truly missing out of one of the best written and acted shows in history. Forget the hype and ignore Tumblr, Sherlock is more than a cultural phenomenon. It is proof that TV can still be an intelligent art form.

Short Film Review: Little Favour

This short film packs a big punch. Its star is none other than the internet's favorite actor, Benedict Cumberbatch. This isn't Cumberbatch's first outing in a short film and hopefully it won't be his last. Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor and it is great to see him star in a role that is so different from many of his previous ones. No period costumes, australian accents, or long coats with popped collars in sight. But this short film is not carried by Benedict's name. It involves a solid, fast-paced story that hopefully will turn into a full length movie as Sunny March grows. Clocking in at just 22 mins and what feels like only 10, Little Favour brings you in and leaves you wanting more. Sunny March is run by Benedict and some of his buddies and with a great first outing, we can only look forward to more from them. Priced at only $2.99 for HD or $1.99 for SD in the iTunes store, don't miss out on this great short. Follow Sunny March on Twitter: @SunnyMarchLTD

The Fifth Estate. Why A Box Office Flop?

The numbers are in and The Fifth Estate did more than fail at the box office in it's opening weekend. It completely bombed. With names like Benedict Cumberbatch, David Thewlis, Dan Stevens, and Peter Capaldi as well as a lead character as interesting as Julian Assange, this movie looked promising. But in the end, The Fifth Estate makes a couple of mistakes that leads to it's box office failure.

Mistake number one is thinking there are more people that care or are interested in Wikileaks than there actually are. Wikileaks may still be up and running and some of it's major whistleblowers may still be in the news but for the most part, Wikileaks seems to be too far from the present to be important and too close to be something in history worth revisiting just yet. I knew what Wikileaks was but until I heard that Cumberbatch was going to be in this film, I had never heard of the man behind it. The subject matter, unfortunately, simply fails to have the mass appeal it needed to coincide with it's marketing campaign.

Mistake number two is that The Fifth Estate seems confused about who is it's real leading man is. Those who haven't seem the film would be like, duh, it's Cumberbatch as Assange. But after viewing the movie, I can tell you this is not the case. We see quite a bit of Assange but by the end of the film, he is still this distant man of mystery and intrigue that leaves the audience just curious enough to want more. But they never get it. The real leading man is Daniel Bruhl's character Daniel Burg. Most of the world of The Fifth Estate is viewed through Daniel's eyes. I guess this shouldn't be surprising considering the film's source material. But the mistake within this mistake is that if someone did come to watch this movie, they sure didn't come to see it because they care about Burg or his love life, which gets brought up far too much in this film. Burg may have played a role (though how much of one is a point of contention) in Wikileaks' history but Assange is the man who was dreaming up the idea behind Wikileaks for around a decade before he met Daniel Burg. The audience gets to view Assange not as a villain but from the point of view usually given to villains in movies. That is through the eye's of the man who is in either a subtle or blatant way made to be the hero, in this case it is subtly Burg. But without the real life Assange's support, The Fifth Estate could never be directly about him without too much guesswork.

The one thing that can't be said about this film is that any of the actor's performances played to it's failure. Cumberbatch becomes Assange and proves once again that he is more than just a momentary star but a true talent that is here to stay. Daniel Bruhl does a great job but is overshadowed by Cumberbatch's brilliance and Assange's intrigue. The supporting cast of well knowns deliver solid performances as well. If you are interested in seeing this movie at all, I encourage you to do so. In the end, it is still a good movie that should have been great but simply isn't.   I give it a 3/5.

Gravity Movie Review: If you are going to see this one, see it NOW!

Watching Gravity felt like watching the scene in Titanic where Rose is on the piece of wood and Jack is the water for the first time, except that it went on for two hours instead of four minutes. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The action starts only a few minutes into the film and the audience is left on the brink of a panic attack the whole time. But unfortunately, Gravity fails in the department of character development. Minimal information about a particular demon in Sandra Bullock’s characters past is given but apart from that the audience gets nothing. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat because I cared about her character but because I felt like I was the one stuck in space. Where this film fails in character development, it picks up in beauty. Gravity is a gorgeous film that should be reserved for 3D and Imax viewings. The audience feels as if they are the ones drifting in space, minus the zero gravity part. And personally, I can’t think of many scenarios more terrifying than the one presented in the film. The performances are good. Clooney is his usual charming self but this film is all about Bullock. Many will probably disagree with me on this one, but Gravity is not a movie I would choose to experience more than once. And maybe it is because it seemed to be more of an experience than a movie. I recommend that if you are going to see this one, you see it now. Gravity was made for the big screen and 3D. Don’t wait for this one on DVD because the best parts of this movie will be lost on your TV, no matter how big your screen is. Critics may be raving, but Gravity failed to get me excited about it with the trailers and never won me over during the film. Overall, a two and a half out of five is all I can give this movie.