Why Isn't Sherlock Holmes a Better Movie?

Review in a Hurry: Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are effortlessly charming as a more action-oriented Holmes and Watson than we're used to. They belong in a better movie than the one Guy Ritchie has actually made.

The Bigger Picture: For the first half hour or so of this new big-screen adventure featuring the literary world's most famous detective, all seems to be going right. Hans Zimmer's score is so perfect you'll think it has always been Holmes' theme, Downey's take on Sherlock as annoyingly obsessive-compulsive is a perfectly valid interpretation and a Satanic cult scenario, featuring a seemingly supernatural scoundrel by the name of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) is awesomely gothic.

Yes, director Ritchie arguably overemphasizes the martial artist/bare-knuckle boxer side of Holmes—not to mention a decidedly modern set of six-pack abs—but does so in an entertaining fashion, and technically doesn't violate literary canon by doing so.

But the gaggle of credited screenwriters, one of whom boasts a producer credit on the infamous Vanilla Ice vehicle Cool As Ice, are no match for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. They give a pretty good set-up, though: Dr. Watson is on the verge of getting married and leaving his semi-dsyfunctional partnership with the supersleuth behind. But he can't resists the lure of one last case with Holmes, especially since, in his capacity as a surgeon, he's already involved. After declaring the executed Lord Blackwood dead, he learns that the villain has apparently risen from the grave to commit new murders.

Meanwhile, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), well-known to Holmes fans as the only woman capable of outwitting their generally misogynist hero, returns to town with an agenda of her own, in the service of a mysterious malefactor who strongly resembles DC Comics' Gentleman Ghost. This puts her in conflict with both Holmes and Blackwood—or perhaps in a position to play both sides.

It's a story with more potential than your typical big-event, action-hero movie, but unfortunately the way it plays out is less than satisfactory. Practically every scene resolves the dilemmas of the previous one by suddenly introducing brand-new characters and the discovery of yet another hitherto unknown potion that caused whatever mysterious thing it was that happened last.

At one point, Blackwood even utilizes a death trap straight out of the Saw movies! (No kidding—you'll know it when you see it).

Not to mention, the danger of turning Holmes into a master of ass kicking in addition to being a genius somehow takes the suspense out of things. The only person who seems to be a danger to him is himself, and this is probably the principal reason Downey was given the role.

There's nothing wrong with this Holmes that a good story couldn't fix, and plenty of those already exist; chances are few of the moviegoers this is aimed at are intimately familiar with the original Doyle books, so why not actually adapt one properly?

Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus a Happy Flash of Heath

Review in a Hurry: Of course, you're waiting to know if Heath Ledger is any good in his final role—and don't worry, he is. But more importantly, director Terry Gilliam is back in fine fantasy form, after a series of critical and commercial failures, with this tale of an immortal showman (Christopher Plummer) who engages in a series of wagers with the devil (Tom Waits).

The Bigger Picture: Though it's usually a good thing when a director tries to learn new things, Gilliam's recent attempts at reinventing himself just weren't working. There was the aborted Don Quixote movie that he never finished, the Weinstein-tampered Brothers Grimm and the inventive-but-unlikable Tideland.

Now, however, he's gone back to what worked before—a dark fairy tale that simultaneously reflects upon the harshness of reality. It's a little bit Fisher King and a lot like Baron Munchausen, all of which is good news for the faithful.

Though set in the modern world, the story follows the eternally aged doctor and his acting troupe as they put on a show wherever their wagon stops. Central to the show is a magic mirror, which initially appears to be sort of a taboo thing that only obnoxious baddies and the uninformed take dubious advantage of, but ultimately it does seem that it's in fact the main highlight of the show. Enter the mirror, and you enter a world derived from your own personality, though this world is still mostly governed by the subconscious of Parnassus.

"Mostly" in that the devil is also in there somewhere, and at a certain point the participant may be given a choice of easy temptation or harder road to enlightenment. The former, of course, results in the soul going to Satan. The latter, mostly, in what appears to be a safe return for a usually happy participant who makes a cash donation out of sheer joy.

The chief stake between Parnassus and Ol' Scratch is the soul of the good Doc's teenage daughter, who is about to come of age. Yet this devil isn't in it for the cheap victory—he, like Parnassus, is addicted to the eternal game and keeps offering double-or-nothing game changers. In this case, the first one to win five souls via the mirror will be the winner.

Thrown into the mix, with unclear allegiances, is amnesiac Tony (Ledger), saved from an apparent suicide by Parnassus' troupe, and who may have already picked a side, or be playing both against each other. The storytelling device that allows him and others to change appearance inside the mirror may have been engineered simply to salvage things after the actor's death, but fill-ins Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Law make it work, largely because they all pull off irreverent impersonations of their late friend.

There's a lot of set-up to take in, and for a while, it feels like the film will never get going. Dr. Parnassus' attempts to reveal his own backstory are constantly, frustratingly interrupted when all we want is to get them out of the way so the plot can really start. It wouldn't be surprising if Gilliam found this kind of tease hilarious. But the payoff is a fractured fairy tale from the cinematic master of the same, and whatever its flaws, getting Gilliam even remotely back in this game is a big plus.

Avatar is All Kinds of Awesome

Review in a Hurry: Believe the hype. James Cameron's decade-in-the-making sci-fi dream project is an immersive epic unlike any other. Yes, the story's pretty simple, but with so much else to take in, anything more complicated might have been tough to follow.

The Bigger Picture: Never count Cameron out. He may not be the actual king of the world, but in the realm of sci-fi action, he doesn't just rule, he reigns.

One-upping the kind of otherworldly landscapes George Lucas created for the Star Wars prequels, Avatar takes us to Pandora, a jungle-covered moon orbiting a gas giant, where human corporate interests seek out the rather stupidly named mineral "unobtainium." Hazards are plenty—the atmosphere isn't breathable by humans, all manner of six-legged beasts roam the forests and skies and the local humanoids, nine-foot-tall blue cat people called the Na'vi, are none too happy about their territory being encroached upon.

To that end, the Avatar program creates hybrid human-Na'vi bodies that people can download their consciousness into and better interact with the planet and its locals. But when one of the scientists trained for the program is murdered by a petty criminal, his less intellectual, battle-scarred twin brother Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), being the only DNA match for the expensive Avatar body, takes his place.

Though the science team, led by cigarette-puffing Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), have issues with Jake's general recklessness in his new skin, the Na'vi are impressed to finally meet a warrior, even one who's not quite of their caliber. Under the supervision of the chief's daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), he learns their ways more intimately than any previous human—and gets particularly intimate with Neytiri herself.

This poses a dilemma, however, since Jake's actual assignment from the beginning has been to spy on the tribe on behalf of the Marines assigned to the mining project. With his loyalties torn between love and duty...well, you can guess the rest, and probably already have from the trailers.

Now, forget what you think you've seen via online videos or even theatrical 2D trailers—the visuals are realistic, fantastic and not remotely like Delgo, as early armchair pundits have been claiming (trust us, we actually sat through Delgo). Practically every Cameron sci-fi film has pushed the envelope of visual effects, and Avatar does so more than ever, from the vertiginous platform-game-style leaps across floating islands to a psychedelic night jungle that lights up underfoot like the sidewalk beneath Michael Jackson in "Billie Jean."

But it would be (mostly) for naught if the actors didn't compel, and thankfully, they do. As usual, Cameron casts based on the characters, not star power.

Box Office Top 5 for the Weekend

1. Avatar
In director James Cameron's latest sci-fi epic, a reluctant human hero fights to save the alien world he has learned to call home.

2. Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr. stars as the legendary London detective, investigating a mysterious nemesis who threatens all of England.

3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are back for another dose of mischief and musical mayhem... and this time, they've got company.

4. It's Complicated
Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin star as an amicably divorced couple who unexpectedly find themselves drawn into a renewed romance.

5. Up in the Air
George Clooney is a corporate downsizer whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he meets the frequent-flyer of his dreams.