Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows [Blu-Ray]

The immediate reaction one has to this Sherlock franchise is that no one involved in the making of it could've come near to reading a single page of the Conan Doyle stories. This is not a matter of literary sour grapes as in, "Oh, but the book was better," or "How dare they turn Holmes into a James Bond action hero!" Actually, much of that action-hero stuff is fun and acceptable in a re-imagining of classic material. No, the problem lies in the fact that the stories had something else other than charm and fun. They were damn good stories. With mysteries that kept you interested right until the final page, where Holmes makes all leaps and bounds of logic to reveal that what seemed impossible was only almost impossible. As Holmes has said, "Once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The truth about this Game of Shadows and its predecessor is that neither has a story worthy of its hero. The story is not only often improbable, it is often simply impossible to follow.

The Movie:

Now, I must admit that A Game of Shadows does do a better job of spitting out a story. The first film may well have been in written in Pig Latin for all the sense it made moving from scene to scene. This one flows much better in its attempts to mix elements of The Final Problem with gypsies, naked Mycrofts, and political assassinations. Downey Jr. and Jude Law are both well settled in their roles and, in fact, are the primary reason to see the film. They have fun with the characters in a His Girl Friday kind of way, with Holmes acting as a Walter Burns to Watson's Hildy Johnson. Watson hesitantly looks forward to settling down with his bride-to-be (Kelly Reilly) while Holmes tries to convince him that marriage is like purgatory and the only real life is one of excitement and danger.

Somewhere between these scenes of character comedy is a plot involving Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris). It seems that the "Napoleon of Crime" has lit the fuse on a dastardly plot to start a world war by assassinating the leader of a world power at a peace conference in Switzerland. It's up to Holmes and Watson to stop him, with the aid of a gypsy fortune teller played blandly by the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Noomi Rapace. Downey Jr. and Jared Harris play well off each other, with Harris in particular giving a very strong and detailed performance as Moriarty. Rarely has this stock villain role seemed more three-dimensional. When the film was over I felt I understood Moriarty better than I ever had before.

Overall, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a major improvement over the previous entry. It's a fast-moving, confident piece of entertainment, well played by its cast and with a great, tongue -in-cheek score by Hans Zimmer.

The Disc:

The Blu-Ray of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 2.4:1 aspect ratio), accompanied by English, French and Spanish audio tracks, and includes Blu-ray, DVD and Ultraviolet versions of the film, as well as a free interactive movie app. Thanks, Warners, but I don't really get excited about movie apps, Ultraviolets, or spare DVDs of the same movie. I now have a coaster I can use when watching the film on a hot summer day. The upside is that the image and sound quality is fantastic.

Warner?s Maximum Movie Mode includes the standard array of behind-the-scenes footage and "focus point" featurettes, none of which are particularly informative but have the usual self-congratulatory air that everyone involved was brilliant and nothing you could be doing in your life could be any cooler than to be working on a movie like Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. But then again, if you are like me, sitting here typing this in the dark, then that's probably true.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows [Blu-Ray] DetailsDistributor: Warner Bros. Home EntertainmentStarring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Rachel McAdams, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan Produced by: Joel Silver, Lionel Wigham, Susan Downey, Dan LinWritten by: Michelle Mulrooney and Kiernan Mulrooney

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EXCLUSIVE: Shadows & Lies Blu-ray Photo Gallery

May 12, 2011 by Brian Gallagher

We have an exclusive photo gallery for the upcoming thriller Shadows & Lies, which will be released on Blu-ray and DVD June 7th. We also have the DVD trailer and the full press release, which you can check out below.

Millennium Entertainment proudly announces the DVD, Blu-ray and digital release of Shadows & Lies, a New York crime drama starring Academy Award nominee James Franco (127 Hours). Written and directed by esteemed New York University film professor, Jay Anania, the film is available on DVD (including a free digital copy) and Blu-Ray at an SRP of $28.98, as well as digitally for $14.99 (Standard Definition download) and $19.99 (High Definition download). Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) also stars as the crime boss who ensnares Franco's William Vincent. At first, William is hesitant to take on new work, but when he meets the boss' #1 call girl, Ann (Julianne Nicholson, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), he's in for more than just the money. When things between William and Ann get too intense, and the boss banishes him from New York. How will William get back to the life he misses and the woman he loves?

The talented James Franco stars in Shadows & Lies as William Vincent, a quiet and mysterious criminal. When he falls for a New York gangster's (Lucas) favorite call girl (Nicholson), Vincent is forced to flee the city, threatened with death if he should ever return. But after four years in exile, Vincent secretly returns intent on rescuing the woman he loves from her dangerous fate.

Format - DVD, Blu-Ray and DigitalRunning Time - 100 minutesRated - RPre-Book Date - May 3, 2011Street Date - June 7, 2011Sound: 5.1 Dolby Digital SurroundSRP: $28.98 (DVD), $28.98 (Blu-Ray), $14.99 (SD Download), $19.99 (HD Download)Aspect ratio: 16 X 9 2.35 Anamorphic WidescreenFeatures: Free Digital Copy of the film with DVD and Blu-Ray Purchase, EnglishSDH & Spanish Subtitles and Previews

Shadows & Lies comes to theaters June 7th, 2011 and stars James Franco, Julianne Nicholson, Josh Lucas, Martin Donovan, Ty Anania, Louis Anania, Emily Tremaine, Julienne Hanzelka Kim. The film is directed by Jay Anania.

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