Sherlock Sunday:A horse brings murder to Baskerville Hall

Murder at the Baskervilles (aka "Silver Blaze") (1937)
Starring: Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming, Lyn Harding, John Turnbull Lawrence Grossmith and Arthur Goullett
Director: Thomas Bentley
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (Wontner and Fleming) are spending some quiet time in the country at the home of their old friend Sir Henry Baskerville (Grossmith) when an attempt to fix a race involving Sir Henry's prize horse Silver Blaze leads to a double murder.


Although this was Arthur Wontner's final outing as Sherlock Holmes--after a string of five films that caused critics of the day to describe him as the perfect screen Sherlock Holmes--I am choosing to make it the first of his films that I include in the Sherlock Sunday line-up, because of my love of continuity. Story-wise, it seems like it is best placed before the other Wontner Holmes films currently easily available, because it has him still actively employed as a detective and it describes his first direct clash with Professor Moriarty.

I can see Wontner's Holmes appeals to both fans and critics alike. He, moreso than any other actor in the role I've considered in a critical mindset, resembles the illustrations from the original printings in "Strand Magazine" and his Holmes is lively without being too aggressive and often sardonic without being excessively cruel to those he puts down. Best of all, from my perspective, although he is not shy about showing Watson how much smarter he is, he still treats him with the consideration due a friend and one never wonders why Watson bothers spending time with him. Wontner presents a charming Holmes that is somewhat low key when compared to the actors who followed him, but still entertaining. (And watching this Wontner film again makes me think that there must be another reason for why I didn't find Matt Frewer's Sherlock Holmes particularly engaging as the two portrayals are very similar.)

As for Watson, Ian Fleming provides a decent if unremarkable portrayal of Holmes' friend and biography. Both from the way the role is written and the way Fleming portrays Watson, it easy to understand why Holmes associates with him, which is a flaw in many on-screen interperations of the character. Watson even gets a moment in the sun when he is captured by Moriarty's men and remains brave in the face of certain death.

Speaking of Moriarty, who, like Sir Henry Baskerville has been added to the mix by the writers of this adaptation, I very much like the approach taken to him in his film. He and his main henchman, Colonel Moran, are set up like dark reflections of Holmes and Watson. Moriarty is to the underworld what Holmes is to the law-abiding citizen, a genius to whom they can appeal for help when all other avenues have been exhausted. It adds a great deal to the flavor of Moriarty and it makes it even clearer why the two men admired and hated each other so much and why it was so hard for one to defeat the other. (At least in concept. For a criminal mastermind, Moriarty is somewhat hamfisted and clumsy in this particular caper, although that can be excused by his own admission that fixing horse races is not his usual area of activity.)

All-in-all, this is a pleasant Holmes film. It's a little on the bland side, but I think fans of Holmes and 1930s mystery pictures will enjoy it. It's a shame that there does not appear to be a decent copy available on the DVD market. (I've come across three different versions, all equally faded and ragged... perhaps even taken from the same print?)





(I mentioned Matt Frewer's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes above. I invite you to check out my review of "A Royal Scandal" by clicking here and perhaps even leave a comment about why I might be wrong about Frewer as Sherlock Holmes.)

'Runaway Jury' is topnotch courtroom drama

Runaway Jury (2003)
Starring: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz
Director: Gary Felder
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Rankin Fitch (Hackman) is THE jury consultant--a man who, with a large team of investigators and specialists behind him can deliver just about any verdict his corporate clients want him to deliver, by making sure that whatever jury they want seated is seated, and by giving their attorneys the best possible coaching on his to manipulate those jurors once the trial has started. Fitch will also do whatever it takes to never lose. However, when he is hired by a gun manufacturer to handle a wrongful death suit in brough in New Orleans by Wendell Rohr (Hoffman), Fitch finds himself challenged by a mysterious blackmailer (Weisz) who is manipulating the jury from outside of the courtroom, and a juror (Cusack) whose mundane surface during jury selection was a cover for the cypher that is his true nature.


"Runaway Jury" is a highly watchable and greatly entertaining courtroom drama/thriller/mystery film. The cast of wall-to-wall great actors--with special recognition going to Hackman--and the shifting perceptions of who and what the various characters are as the film unfolds will keep those who enjoy this kind of film watching each twist with great anticipation.

The film also features a Big Secret and a Big Revelation at its climax, which, unlike so many other thrillers of recent vintage, actually works, and this despite the fact that it's quite far fetched. This could be due to the fact that it's based on a John Grisham novel, but it could also be to the credit of a well-written script. Whatever the reason, I wish there were more filmmakers who could pull this sort of movie these days.





For more about John Grisham's books and the movies based on them, visit John Grisham Online.

'Disk Jockey' is a quirky gangster film

Disk Jockey (2005)
Starring: Devyan DuMon, Josh Fallon, and Kristin Busk
Director: Zachary Yoshioka
Steve's Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Dane (DuMon) and Frankie B (Fallon) a pair of hitmen who are as fast with their mouths as they are with their triggers, have spent the past six years attempting to track down a computer disk stolen by a former partner, a disk that is a complete record of all the murders they've committed. Just as it seems to be within their grasp, a mysterious trio of gun-toting women snatch it away. Will our murderous heroes prevail (particularly since they only have a 60-minute movie to do so in)?

"Disk Jockey" is a strange little gangster movie that moves with lightning-fast speed from action to goofy comedy to third-wall self-mockery and back again, in a completely unpredictable fashion. This random mix of elements gives the film a playful quality and makes for interesting viewing. The actors very clearly seem to be having while making the film is also transferred to those watching it.

The film is all the more fun to watch in that its leads are actually pretty competent actors. DuMon manages to both be funny and menacing as a hitman who likes to bake pastries in his off-hours, while Fallon shines as the film's third-wall narrator (causing the action to literally freeze in place when he turns to address the viewer) and an annoying "gangsta"-type character.


Another strong aspect of the film is that the director didn't feel the need to pad it to a particularly running length. It runs a very fast, barebones 60 minutes, and not a single second is wasted. I wish more low-budget directors would take this approach. (That said, I think the film might have benefited from a couple of real character development scenes.)

On the downside, there are times when the actors are having just a little too much fun and the film crosses moves well past the line between goofiness and stupidity, such as when one of the female assassins decides to climb some monkeybars while they are covertly sneaking into a house early in the film. The film (and the actors) are also just a little too playful in an extended fight sequence between our "heroes" and their female competitors; either more practice was needed on the part of the actors, or more care was needed to have been taken in filming the fights, because I've rarely seen stage fighting so badly presented on film. Even the most generous viewer won't be able to find the fight convincing, because it's obvious that none of the kicks or blows connect. Basically, it is so obvious that everyone is play-acting that it's impossible to get into the film at those points. (On the other hand, the gun violence is rather nicely done.)

My name is Jean Claude....

A regular name and face in these parts will be Jean Claude Van Damme, a favorite of mine among the action stars who flourished in the 1980s and 1990s (not to mention starring in one of the best movies of the decade just gone by, "JCVD").

Here's a novelty video featuring Van Damme unlike any other you're likely to see. It features a looped clip of the Muscles From Brussels as an extra in the 1984 film "Breakin'". (Beware... the tune is likely to get stuck in your head for several days.)





This bit of weirdness comes to us via Chuck Norris Ate My Baby.

A 1960s satire that remains relevant

The President's Analyst (1967)
Starring: James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden, and Joan Delany
Director: Theodore J. Flicker
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

When Dr. Sidney Shaefer (Coburn) is recruited to be the President of the United States' personal psycho-analyst, he is thrilled and honored. However, being the person the most powerful man in the world can confide in soon becomes too much pressure for Sidney to bear, and, while suffering from a nervous breakdown, he flees Washington, D.C.. This is when his real troubles begin, however, as every foreign intelligence agency in the world (including the Canadian Secret Service) want to capture him and force him to reveal the president's secrets.


"The President's Analyst" is a hilarious satire that skewers the internal politics of the American intelligence and law enforcement services, pokes fun at American society in general, and spoofs the ever-popular chase-thriller. Although some small portions of the film are dated--like the hippies that Shaefer hooks up with while on the run, the obvious spoof of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and the scene where the gun-toting liberal from New Jersey explains to Shaefer how he sponsored the "colored family" to move into the neighborhood--most of the comedy remains fresh and even relevant forty years after the film's initial release, marking it as a true classic.

In fact, given how Hollywood seems to be cranking out more and more remakes of movies that don't need to be remade, I'm surprised that we didn't seen a remake of "The President's Analyst" back when everyone in Hollywood was trying to show how George Bush was eeeevil. Perhaps this film is ultimately too politically neutral for the knuckleheads that run the film industry to see that they could have shot the script mostly as-is with just a few search-and-replaces to update it--maybe they can't see past the portrayal of "liberals" or the fact that CIA (sorry, CEA) agents are among the film's good guys? I'm glad no one has taken this classic and turned it into a steaming pile of "reimagined" crap, but I'm astonished it hasn't been done.

The witty, fast-paced script of "The President's Analyst" is delivered with great style by a cast of actors who all turn in a fine job. Coburn in is in fantastic form, with his usual winning smile coming across as hilariously maniacal while Shaefer is proving that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Cambridge and Darden also turn in funny performances as an American and a Russian spy with shared mutual respect and love of goofy disguises.

Anyone who likes a well-made farce should check out "The President's Analyst"... and should do so before the inevitable crappy remake shows up in theaters or on cable TV.

All-star cast presents 'Death on the Nile'

Death on the Nile (1978)
Starring: Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, Olivia Hussey, Simon MacCorkindal, Maggie Smith, Jane Birkin,Angela Lansbury, Jack Warden, Bette Davis, David Niven, and George Kennedy
Director: John Guillermin
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

When the very rich and very obnoxious Louise Bourget (Birken) is murdered while on her honeymoon cruise on the River Nile, master detective Hercule Poirot (Ustinov) must pick through a ship full of clues (and suspects, each with solid motives for murdering Louise). But what are the motives for the other murder that soon follows? Is is even connected to the first? Will the great detective finally be stumped?


"Death of the Nile" is one of the very best Agatha Christie adaptations to ever be filmed. It's beautifully filmed, with an all-star cast who are all excellent in the roles--with Ustinov as Poirot and Mia Farrow as a one-time best friend of the victim, now turned stalker of her and her husband (MacCorkindale) giving particularly fine performances.

The film is also noteworthy for its shocking violence. It's not that the movie is gory, but it's the fact that nearly every violent act comes without warning and is bound to make the viewer jump, even if you're intimately familiar with the novel upon which the film is based.

It's a film worth checking out by anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.

Double Feature: Tales of Jimmy the Tulip

The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Starring: Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, Roseanna Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan and Kevin Pollack
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

When Oz (Perry), a hapless nice-guy dentist caught in a loveless marriage to an uber-bitch wife (Arquette), befriends his new next door neighbor Jimmy (Willis), his life is transformed overnight. Suddenly, he is surrounded by killers, femme fatales, and revenge-hungry Hungarian gangsters.


"The Whole Nine Yards" is a movie that's part screwball comedy, part romantic comedy, part heist story, part crime drama, and a whole lot of hilarity. It's a movie full of likable characters with a charming air about it that reminded me of a number of comedies or light-hearted mysteries from the 1930s and 1940s (such as "Slightly Honorable", "Half a Sinner", "His Girl Friday", and "Bringing Up Baby", even if the stakes and body count are far higher here than in any of those movies). Matthew Perry's performance in particular reminded me of the hapless,clumsy heroes featured in those sorts of movies. I can't think of anyone who has been able to be goofy and do pratfall after pratfall yet still maintain a sort of dignity like Perry does in this film since Cary Grant.

The fun of this movie is found partly in its twisting and turning story--which sees two major, very well executed major reversals of audience expectations without losing even a tiny of momentum of as it keeps building toward not one but two dramatic and well-done endings--but also in its cast of charming characters presented by perfectly cast actors.

Bruce Willis gives perhaps the most versatile and surprising performance in the entire movie. He plays Jimmy the Tulip, a self-centered, greedy contract killer and Willis projects exactly the sort of menace that you'd expect such a character to exude. At the same time--literally, in more than one scene--he also projects a level of charm and likability that makes you wish he was your next door neighbor. Amanda Peet's character is much the same; she plays the most likable and lovable sociopath I've ever seen in any movie. Their casual, jovial approach to the business of murder is offset by the calm grace of Natasha Henstridge who plays a classic femme fatale. (And, of course, Matthew Perry's Everyman character provies a solid foundation for the other performances, as he stumbles and pratfalls his way through the ever-thickening and deadly plot while giving voice to the sense of horror and outrage the audience should be feeling if they weren't so busy laughing.)

This a very cool comedy that features a stellar cast at their best. I recommend it highly. (And I think I may have to reevaluate my opinion of Matthew Perry. I'd only ever seen him before in the two or three episodes of "Friends" I'd tried to sit through. He's obviously far more talented than anything that was on display there.)



The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
Starring: Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollack, Natasha Henstridge, and Tasha Smith
Director: Howard Deutch
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Two years after successfully hoodwinking organized crime and authorities to let murderous lovebirds Jimmy and Jill (Willis and Peet), the past comes back to haunt nebbish dentist Oz (Perry) and his gun moll wife (Henstridge) when she is kidnapped by Hungarian gangsters in search of revenge. Oz turns to Jimmy for help, making a bad situation worse and starting a series of events that grow increasingly strange and evermore deadly.


"The Whole Ten Yards" is a clumsily named sequel to one of the best mob comedies ever filmed. It's also so clumsily executed that it will be hard to follow if you haven't seen the film it's a sequel to, "The Whole Nine Yards", because it assumes complete knowledge of the main characters and the events that brought them together in the first place.

Unfortunately, if you saw "The Whole Nine Yards", all you'll take a way from this movie is disappointment. The jokes are mostly lame, the charming sides of Perry, Willis' and Peet's characters that made the first movie so enjoyable is nowhere to be seen here--and even Perry's physical comedy and spittakes seem tired and forced here. Worse, the suspense that mixed easily with the comedy in the original film has been replaced with badly mounted attempts at absurd humor. (Perhaps these differences are the mark of a film helmed by a talented director versus one that isn't?)

Rating a very low 4, "The Whole Ten Yards" is a great disappointment considering the excellence of the film it follows and the great cast that reprised their parts that has nothing of what made the first movie worth watching (including Amanda Peet's naked breasts).