Mr. Holmes (2015)

After watching the Argento classic last night, I decided that I wanted to dive into some type of mystery for my viewing pleasure tonight. In the end, I settled on the 2015 mystery, Mr. Holmes.

Plot/ An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes deals with early dementia as he tries to remember both his final case and a mysterious woman whose memory haunts him. He also befriends a fan, the young son of his housekeeper, who wants him to work again.

When I first saw this one on the shelves of Family Video, I had no idea what to expect, so I continually passed it up. That was a huge mistake, as this movie took me back to my youth when I really enjoyed reading the different books and catching an occasional classic on Saturday afternoons. Ian McKellen is amazing in this role and truly brings the character to life. In fact, all of the performances were solid, something that matched the outstanding cinematography, the layered script and storyline, and the make-up and effects were tremendous. Honestly, other than some small pacing issues, there was nothing that brought this one down. In the end, this is an exceptional film and a movie that any true fan of Sherlock Holmes will enjoy. If you haven’t seen it, definitely find it and give it a shot.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

I was quite amazed by the amount of Sherlock stuff I saw when purchasing my Underoos today. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite detectives, although I have found it difficult to immerse myself into a book the way I did in my youth. Speaking of my youth, here is a flick that captures Holmes early on: Young Sherlock Holmes from 1985.

Plot/ When assorted people start having inexplicable delusions that lead to their deaths, a teenage Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate.

Young Sherlock Holmes is one of those 1980s flicks that have stood the test of time rather well. Not for anyone who is a Holmes purist, this one does take some liberties with the young detectives life that differ from the source material. However, this one is a rather entertaining trip into the detective story and created an alternate reality for him to grow. The storyline is simple and clichéd, the pacing works, sound track amazing, and incredibly the early CGI effects work better than some of those seen today. Sure, the acting is uneven, the historic aspects unbelievable, and the characters never truly develop, but that does nothing to bring this one down. In the end, this movie is entertaining, interesting, and fun to watch with the family, especially if you want to bring the genius of Holmes to life for a new generation.