Yet Another Movie Sequel: Sherlock Holmes 2

Yes please.

Well, as long as we’re talking about movie sequels, the movie sequel news of the week is, of course, Sherlock Holmes 2. Besides Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, who made the first movie extremely good-looking, there are a host of other actors getting tacked on to the project, suggesting that this could be the go-to Christmas movie blockbuster of Aught-Eleven (I guess it’s not really aught-anything, but it sounds nice), with the release date set as December 16, 2011. And of course, Robert Downey Jr. is always fun to look at.

Actor Profile: David Tennant

Personal Life

Tennant was born on April 18, 1971 in some area of Scotland. Actually, he was born David McDonald, but decided to choose “Tennant” instead (Brandon as a surname was his first choice. Just a small nugget of information.) Since the age of 3, he decided he wanted to be an actor. A natural thespian, Tennant performs on both the stage and the big (and smaller) screen, as he is an accomplished television star and an up-and-coming big screen actor. These skills were acquired when he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He is unmarried, but is currently dating Georgia Moffett (who played Tennant’s character’s daughter in Doctor Who. Kinda creepy...). Tennant also has two siblings, a brother, Blair, and a sister, Karen. 

Upcoming Film: The Hobbit

Rockin'? I think yes.

Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings, is one of the biggest successes in the history of film, both commercially and critically. His three-part masterpiece, including the Best Picture-winning Return of the King, will live forever as possibly the greatest movie trilogy of all time. At the very least, it will forever retain that spot in the hearts of nerds like me. Keeping that in mind, it seems hard to believe that a movie version of The Hobbit, Tolkien’s prequel (well, okay. It’s not actually a prequel) to The Lord of the Rings, would be difficult to get off the ground. And yet, that’s just what’s happening.

Upcoming Film: Avatar 2

ANOTHER blue people movie?!

To a deafening lack of surprise, James Cameron announced the start of filming on an as-yet-untitled movie that is being referred to simply as “Avatar 2.” Cameron has said he doesn’t particularly like the “Avatar 2” title since, as he says “he’s not an avatar anymore, is he?” True. Well, then, what will the point of the movie be, you may ask? Well, besides making absurd buckets of money, Cameron said he intends to focus on the oceans of his created planet of Pandora, as well as on the spirituality of his created race, the Na’vi. Of course, this being James “go big or go home” Cameron, there will be much, much more than that, in eye-watering CGI.

It's BAAAAACKKKK!!!! Presenting: The Open Thread

So, the Open Thread has returned after a one week absence.

Let us know how you all are doing this week!

Be sure to check out the posts that happened since the last Open Thread (a lot of stuff...):

• Oscar Watch, Pt. 1.5
• Movie Review: The American
• Guest Review: The American
• Winter is Coming...Err, Next Spring, That Is
• MTSBM: The Lay of Leithian
• Upcoming Film: The Dark Tower
• Upcoming Film: Monsters

Oscar Watch, Pt. 1.5

Sorry for all the delays. This thing called "college" is a bit more time consuming than I wanted to priorly consider. 

However, the Oscar Watch posts are back!

This post is an extension of the First Installment. 

The Second in the series of films to watch for during the Oscar season should arrive in the not-so-distant future. Hopefully...

Let's go!

As always, viewer discretion is advised for watching the trailers.

Movie Review: The American

Sadly, he only rocks the Connery beard
for the first scene or two.

Most thriller pieces fall into one of two categories: the more action packed version, focusing on using lots of showy gunfire, fights, car chases; and the more psychological one, focusing on examining one character. The first one is fast paced, high adrenaline stuff that if done well both excites and entertains, but often the action takes away too much from the story it is trying to tell. But under no conditions should you go to The American expecting this type of movie, because while it is certainly a thriller, it falls decisively into the second thriller category, perhaps you would call it a psychological thriller, and here character development and plot structure are key. This explains the sedate pace and brooding tone, instead of flash-bang action.