Two new films in town this Christmas weekend: Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Alvin and the Chipmunks" The Squeakquel. Continuing is the blockbuster Avatar.
Sherlock Holmes
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, and Kelly Reilly.
The British have had a first look at Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie's reimagining of their country's most famous and beloved fictional detective, played -- egad, Watson! -- by an American, Robert Downey Jr. The verdict of film critic Marc Lee in the Telegraph: "It is undeniably a rollicking romp, an all-action blockbuster," he writes. "Doubts about the casting of Downey in the title role are dispelled from the start. He is engaging and convincing within the role (the accent is spot-on), although whether this is a character Conan Doyle might have recognized is another matter." David Hayle in the London Times referred to the many "delicious scenes" in the film, while the trade publication Screen Daily forecast that the movie, which had its premiere in London Monday night and will open in the U.S. next week, "seems poised to become a sizable hit." An altogether different verdict is delivered by Catherine Shoard in the Guardian, who calls the movie a "high-end hack work." As for Downey, who plays Holmes, and Jude Law, who plays his sidekick Dr. Watson, "they're both a pain: the former a cartoon with darting eyes rather than a brain, the latter just a blank."
RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Starring Jason Lee, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, Justin Long, and Justin Long.
One of the most surprising blockbusters of all time was the original Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, which grossed more than $217 million in the U.S. The sequel (or "squeakquel" as its called in the title, is not likely to perform as well, although several critics are advising box-office followers to expect the unexpected. Not that they can find much to praise about the film; most of their reviews sound as if they wish they could be writing about something else. Comments Claudia Puig in USA Today; "For anyone over age 8, the arrival of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel may not be the most welcome news." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle brought his four year old along to the screening, who, he says, "laughed pretty much nonstop throughout." However, he writes, "despite its success as a babysitter for preschoolers, it's a not a very good film." Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News says the "movie's plot is a hodgepodge of standard kid-film elements." Tongue firmly placed in cheek, Betsy Sharkey comments in the Los Angeles Times: "Perhaps not since The Godfather: Part II have we seen a sequel come along that more than matches the mastery of the film that came before it -- all the pathos, the brio, the epic sweep ... the cheese balls" Actually Sharkey's is one of the few positive reviews of the movie. "The script includes enough clever moments to help put The Squeakquel in solid family entertainment territory," she concludes. And Michael Sullivan in the Washington Post pays the movie this left-handed compliment: "Call it a Christmas miracle, albeit a minor one: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel isn't entirely awful."
RATING: PG for some mild rude humor.
Avatar
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang, and Matt Gerald.
Jake Sully is a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where a corporate consortium is mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis. Because Pandora's atmosphere is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human "drivers" have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora... the Na'vi. Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na'vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake's life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake's relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na'vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world.
RATING: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.
Visit the Anacortes Cinemas Web site for showtimes.