Action

This film - and it's central character of Harry Palmer, is almost like the flipside of cinema's other famous spy, James Bond. Despite the presence of many the production team who worked on the early Bonds - Ken Adam, Peter Hunt, 007 producer Harry Saltzman, and composer John Barry, in many ways this seemed like an antithesis to Ian Fleming's creation.

The film takes place in rainy London which looks decidedly dreary next to any of 007's exotic locations. The performances of the cast are very good, particularly Michael Caine as Palmer. Our main character is really a rather ordinary guy, and un-glamorous - indeed, when we first see him he is just waking himself up in his flat, and making coffee. In fact I often got the feeling that he didn't really want to be a spy anyway, as his job mainly appears to involve mundane paperwork.

While the overall tone of the film is darker and more serious than the Bond oeuvre. it has its own wry sense of humour which I liked. One memorable line is "Don't come slouching into my office like a pregnant camel!"

There is a feeling of paranoia and unease present in the film, not surprising since the plot concerns the mind control of British scientists, and the search for a traitor. Maybe this ties in with the general feeling of the time in politics as well, considering it was the Cold War. There's some clever suspense and plot twists which can be exciting, and held my interest too.

John Barry's music in the film is excellently atmospheric and suits the mood - in fact the main theme, to my mind recalled the previous year's title song to Goldfinger in places.

The Blu Ray transfer looked impressive for such an old film, even bringing out details like the textures on peoples' skin.

The only extras on offer here are a trailer for the film, and a Photo Gallery, and the main feature is presented with optional English subtitles for the hard of hearing. To be honest, I found the extras disappointing - a commentary or retrospective documentary would have been welcome, given the extra space on Blu Ray discs. In fact, there's a DVD release of this film which has a commentary track, making it's omission here even more puzzling.

In my view this is an interesting, and absorbing film which is certainly worth seeing, even if it may not be as light-hearted or fun as Bond.

If, like me you do not enjoy sport and have never experienced the rewarding buzz that others report getting from exercise, but nonetheless like to keep fit and flexible, then many of Leslie Sansone's DVDs are for you. I have tried numerous exercise DVDs over the years and find them time consuming and miserable experiences. Many are too much like hard work so my initial enthusiasm soon wanes and I feel that yet again I have wasted my money. Many DVDs are focused on being super fit and skinny, when all I want is general fitness and flexibility for health and to ensure that I age as gracefully as possible.

It is better to do less exercise but to keep it up and Leslie Sansone's ‘One and two mile walk Away the Pounds' DVDs are gentle, enjoyable and can easily be fitted into a busy life but most importantly I have found that I keep it up and actually look forward to doing it. I love walking so this DVD suits my temperament and as the steps are easy I was soon able to mute the sound and play my own music to inspire me and keep my tempo up.

Sansone clearly understands exercise and the body as she beautifully grades the steps and movements so that one slowly warms up. After the more energetic movements she always allows a little recovery time so it is easy to last the course. The DVD uses weights part way through but at all times one can adapt the intensity of the exercises and include weights or not, which means if you are unfit or particularly tired you can adjust the movements. Conversely it is easy to increase the intensity if you want to have more of a workout. At the end, when the muscles are warmed and at their most flexible, she concludes with a few stretching exercises which really do increase one's flexibility, balance and poise.

This is my all time favourite exercise DVD and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

In this film, the Wizard of Oz story by L Frank Baum is given a modern (well, 1970's) Motown makeover.

One problem with this, is by attempting to appeal to a new audience (at the time) any updating of the story means the film is rather "of its time" and conversely seems dated, whereas the famous 1939 MGM film was set in the 1900's and seemed timeless.

Adapted from the Tony award winning Broadway musical The Wiz which premiered in 1975, this nonetheless follows the template of the earlier film closely (though some details are closer to the original book than MGM's film was).

The Broadway musical was important because at the time it was one of the few lavish productions created by, and featuring a cast of African Americans.
The peerless 1939 version with Judy Garland is easily the much superior film, but this update is still feel-good fun and I enjoyed it.

Instead of being a young girl, Dorothy is now a grown up Kindergarten teacher (Diana Ross). She is celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. But like Judy Garland's Dorothy, she doesn't seem content with her life, even though she has a happy family. Her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry want her to take a job in a high school but Dorothy is happier teaching younger children.

One night, she is whisked away with her dog, Toto, in a snowstorm to a strange land called Oz and meets an array of peculiar characters, the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson) who wants a brain, Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) who wants a heart, Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross) who wants courage. Dorothy is told that her only way home to New York is to seek help from The Wiz (Richard Pryor).

The performances are very good. Given the fact Michael Jackson is no longer with us, it is very sad and poignant looking at the prejudice and poor treatment he suffers at the hands of the crows, who are so horrible. They belittle him and tell him he won't succeed. It was almost like he had been conditioned to accept their cruel insults and put downs. The crows are unappealing characters.

With this sequence, I think the film introduces social commentary about racism in America and the way black people were seen and treated as inferior. Right up to the 1950's and 60's there were a series of laws in America called Jim Crow laws which oppressed black people and didn't treat them as being equals to white people.

Michael's performance is excellent and energetic, on his film debut, and he's a great dancer too. I could easily sense how lonely and sad he was being alone in the field but Dorothy helps him and sets him free. The Scarecrow comes out on top despite facing barriers and problems and tries to better himself.

Nipsey Russell gives a fine performance as the Tin Man who had been rusting away for so long, and seemed like an aging movie or pop star, when he talks about his creator who gave him "dashing good looks, razor sharp wit and irresistible attraction to the wrong women".

The costumes are very cheesy and camp, often looking like they came out of an old dressing-up box. Then again, maybe that's the point.

While there's nothing that reaches the iconic heights of Somewhere over the Rainbow - I do think that some of the songs in the movie are very catchy and aren't given enough credit - the Scarecrow's song You Can't Win, You Can't Break Even, the show-stopping, memorable bluesy/jazz number Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News, which is performed by the Wicked Witch Evilline (Mabel King) and the other cast members with impressive gusto and energy. And not forgetting the funky Ease on down the Road.

I think that a key to great musical songs is if you can remember or hum them afterwards, and these songs can certainly do that.

There are some interesting scenes and well staged songs, for example the subway that literally comes to life, the Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day song and the Emerald City sequences are highlights. The subway scene isn't really "fun-scary" but instead seems darker and nightmarish. I felt this way during the confrontation with Evilline too.

The Wizard is played by US comedian Richard Pryor and just like Frank Morgan's Wizard in the earlier movie, there is definitely something strange about him.

I think that there is something satirical about the character in this version, making this film feel a bit more grown up than The Wizard of Oz, in some respects. I think it is a darker film too because of the things that happen to Dorothy.

At times the characters in Oz seem more streetwise rather than childlike, in my view because of their dialogue and actions, and this ties in not only Dorothy being an adult, but also because of when the film was made. Also, it seems to me The Wizard of Oz was about the young Dorothy realising home was where her heart was, with a great contrast between the colourful Oz and Kansas, whereas in The Wiz, Dorothy has to figure out how to move on with her life so she can hope to make a difference.

Interestingly, the screenplay for the film was written by Joel Schumacher (Falling Down) and it was produced by Rob Cohen (the biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), this is striking, because their later films would be so different in style.

The only extra on the DVD is the theatrical trailer for the film. While it isn't a classic by any means and I prefer the more celebrated MGM musical, I still enjoyed this movie.

Enter the Dragon proved to be the last film which Bruce Lee fully completed before his death. It was his entry into Hollywood and was a huge international hit, a Hong Kong and Hollywood co-production featuring a mix of talent from both countries, and shot in Hong Kong directed by the American Robert Clouse, who would ultimately go on to direct Game of Death in 1978.

Thankfully, this is a much better film overall than Game of Death was and I think it's a classic. It shows Bruce at his best instead of exploiting him. It really made Bruce Lee and martial arts more widely known in the West. While it wasn't the first international martial arts hit, it still broke new ground. Enter was the first kung-fu film produced by a major Hollywood studio, made in association with Warner Brothers, Golden Harvest and Bruce Lee's own production company.

I really enjoy this film for many reasons, and while there are some brilliant fight scenes which I will discuss in due course, it's hard for me not to think of the James Bond film, Dr. No, as both stories are quite similar, with the criminal on a mysterious island base. Han even has an artificial hand.

Interestingly, Shih Kien spoke no English on set and his dialogue was overdubbed by the actor Keye Luke.

Enter the Dragon has the kind of plot that audiences of the time would recognise with the structure of a Hollywood movie.

Two other competitors on the island side with Bruce Lee - Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly), American fighters on the run from the mob and police.

Sporting a very 70's afro, Jim Kelly (who was a US karate champion) is a good fighter and his scenes are certainly impressive - however it is Bruce Lee himself who is the main attraction in my opinion.

Besides Bruce, the film does feature an impressive cast of Hong Kong stars, including Bolo Yeung as one of Han's guards. Bob Wall (who would later turn up in Game of Death) plays a fighter called O Hara, who fights Bruce at the tournament.

Also watch for appearances by Angela Mao Ying and a very young Sammo Hung, who Bruce faces off against in a tournament bout in the opening scene. It's striking to see how skinny Bruce looks in this scene (he had lost a lot of weight when this scene was shot, actually after the rest of filming was finished) next to Sammo.

The scene in the underground bunker (basically Bruce kicking six shades out of what amounts to almost a whole army of guards by himself) is outstanding, with lightning fast moves - this is a master at work, and our attention is always focused on him. The display of martial arts is terrific. He uses a staff to fight with and - in a brief demonstration, nunchaku again.

I also love the scene where Bruce fights about 100 people in Han's army which is amazing. He is so powerful, and thrilling to watch.

It's actually a real shame that Bruce doesn't fight in the film himself more, but as with his Hong Kong oeuvre, he choreographed all his own fights.

The famous "Hall of Mirrors" fight to the death with Han at the climax, is absolutely fantastic and the filmmakers must have worked very hard on this scene to make sure no equipment was visible. Bruce not only shows he could fight but could also use his brain to outwit an enemy. The mysterious, slightly spooky music and reflections in the mirror build tension.

The music in the film is good, but especially the main theme by Lalo Schifrin, surely one of the iconic themes of cinema. It's a mixture of Lee's familiar fighting yells, and Chinese instruments and then it changes to a funky bassline, maybe showing how the movie itself brings together Asian and Western culture, something that Bruce himself certainly wanted to do through his films.

It is interesting that in this film, as well as being an exciting thriller, Bruce brought gravitas and wanted to educate the audience in some way, by explaining about his philosophy of martial arts and Jeet Kune Do, in a scene with his master, the abbot played by Roy Chiao. This scene was originally missing from the theatrical release but has been restored since 1998.

Annoyingly however, Bruce is dubbed by journalist John Little doing an impersonation which does sound odd to me and definitely stands out.

Bruce did get to see the finished movie before he died, and I'm sure he dubbed the scene, so as to why his real voice wasn't used, sadly I don't know the answer.

There are some good extras on this Blu Ray which were previously on the 2 disc DVD edition of the film - a commentary by producer Paul Heller and writer Michael Allin, documentaries and trailers. The main documentary is called Curse of the Dragon and runs for almost 90 minutes, featuring some interviews with James Coburn, Chuck Norris and Kareem Abdul Jabbar among others, who knew and worked with Bruce.

I recommend not watching the trailers until you've seen the movie. I thought the 1080p transfer was decent, not spectacular but as good as it could be, considering the film is almost 40 years old and quite low budget, with an estimated cost of just $850,000.

Even though the story is a simple one, this is an iconic movie and it's so sad Bruce didn't get to make any more after this one. I'm sure he would have gone on to develop as an actor.

I think this is definitely Bruce Lee's best film, actually one of the best martial arts films ever made and I really enjoyed it.

It is a dark film with some amazing fights, and I think Bruce also shows his range as an actor, delivering a really intense performance, evoking both sympathy and anger.

In the film, Bruce plays the fictional character of Chen Zhen, a student of real life martial arts master Ho Yuan Jia at the Jing Wu martial arts school. In Mandarin, the film's title used in Hong Kong "Jing Wu Men" actually means "the gateway to excellence in martial arts".
The real Ho Yuan Jia only lived to 1910, but the action in the film is shifted to Shanghai of the 1930's in order to make the underlying story of the Jing Wu martial arts students facing prejudice from the occupying Japanese work. Also, some things that actually happened to Ho in real life (as an opening voiceover solemnly explains) now happen to Chen over the course of the movie.

Bruce actually choreographed all of his own fight scenes in the film, but out of respect for an elder, Han Ying Chieh rather than Bruce is given full choreography credit. You can tell who did which scenes as Han's scenes have a kind of "swingy-arm/leg" style (for example, in the scene where the students train outside in the yard) and Bruce's scenes are much more powerful and controlled.
Look closely and you'll see a few other familiar faces from Bruce's other films appear as students at the school, Maria Yi, James Tien and - in an un-credited appearance, a young Jackie Chan, who is clearly visible in the training scene.

There are so many brilliant scenes - two especially are significant in a cultural sense - the one in the Japanese dojo when he forces a student to eat the paper from the insulting "Sick Men of Asia" sign, that was given to Bruce's school as a "present" by the slimy interpreter, Wu (Wei Ping Ao) and snaps "We Chinese are not sick men".

Another one which really stands out is the scene where he struck a literal blow against racism by kicking the prohibitive "No Dogs and Chinese Allowed" sign to pieces. When the film played in theatres in Hong Kong, the local audience were said to have stood up and cheered.
In 1972, some people were still old enough to remember the terrible injustice and racism by the Japanese during their occupation of China. Bruce was standing up for the Chinese people and fighting back.

Like many other films of the period, it has a nationalistic slant, and the Japanese in Fist of Fury are portrayed as nasty as possible, but despite this, this film, and indeed Bruce, became extremely popular in Japan. Even some of the music cues use Japanese instruments.

Interestingly, the nunchaku (perhaps Bruce's most famous weapon, which he is seen using for the first time in a film here) is not Chinese but comes from Okinawa (though some say it was originally used as a rice flail in South East Asia).

It's so difficult to choose a stand out scene as my favourite - Bruce desperately scrabbling at the earth that falls on top of his master's coffin, screaming "Master.... master!" refusing to believe he's dead, and the one where he takes on a dojo of Japanese karate students singlehandedly, showing an excellent use of brutal, unarmed combat.

I love the fight with the Japanese master (Riki Hashimoto) at the film's climax.

Jackie Chan actually doubled for him in the part when Bruce kicks him through the window.

Bruce disguises himself a number of times in the film, as an old man and newspaper vendor to fool the Japanese school. This knack for dressing up was referenced in a later film, Game of Death. In a way there is a balancing act going on here - Bruce had to be disguised but at the same time, not disguised so well that the audience didn't recognise him!

I watched the film in Mandarin, which was the original language when the film was released in 1972. Though Bruce spoke Cantonese on set, the rest of the cast spoke Mandarin which was the accepted language for films at that time.

Bruce shows he can really act in this film, as well as showing astonishing power and rage when fighting, he also shows a different side, tenderness and even vulnerability in scenes with a fellow student, whom he is in love with, played by the beautiful Nora Miao. This is the only film in which Bruce ever kissed a girl.

The way those scenes are shot is intriguing, we see tight close ups of their eyes and the pair sitting back to back as they talk, but not looking directly at one another.
Bruce is very focused on his goal of getting revenge for his master's death, almost driven to the end of his rope, and only his girlfriend is able to find a weak point in his armour.

While I said earlier that the nature of good and evil in the film is quite clear with the Japanese being the obvious villains, Bruce has to accept punishment for his deeds too. In the 1970's and 1980's, Hong Kong cinema demanded that if the hero killed anyone, they must be shown being arrested or punished. Even though both sets of characters commit murder, Bruce's character is shown in a much braver and nobler light, as the closing theme song intones.

The music in the film is impressive - particularly the repeated use of the main title theme which really adds to the atmosphere. In different situations, this music can be upright and stirring, yet also touching and romantic when played in its instrumental variation.

This 2 disc Platinum Edition of Fist of Fury has some excellent extras, including an entertaining commentary track by Bey Logan, featurettes (in one, Bey revisits one of the film's locations), interviews with some of the cast, and Hong Kong and UK trailers. The DVD transfer (at the time of release) was made from a new HD master, which has much better colours than the previous Collector's Edition release and looks much sharper.

This is a very important film in the martial arts genre which I love, and essential viewing for fans of Hong Kong cinema in my opinion.

What would prove to be Bruce Lee's last film is a patchy affair, with only a handful of good scenes. This is because between 1972 (when Bruce shot initial scenes) and the eventual release in 1978, not only had Bruce left production to make Enter The Dragon (in 1973) for Warner Brothers, but the proposed storyline Bruce had in mind underwent drastic changes resulting in a film that is mostly an exploitative mess. The film had already been pre-sold to the Japanese market on the basis of existing footage, so the makers had to come up with a complete Game of Death somehow.

Because Bruce was no longer alive, filming was completed using a variety of doubles, including Yuen Biao (for the more acrobatic stunts) and Korean actor Kim Tae Jung. The film also uses shots from some of Bruce's older films.
In Bruce's original storyline, a martial artist (Bruce) was to fight his way to the top of a pagoda, each floor guarded by a master of a different martial arts style. However, the complete film bears little resemblance to this.

Kim Tae Jung is certainly a decent screen fighter in his scenes, but he doesn't have the super fast speed or sheer power of Bruce.

The music and score, however, is excellent and very classy. The title music sounds like it came from a James Bond movie (John Barry composed the music for the film, after all). Even the title sequence itself, with images of the cast appearing on playing cards, dominoes and chess pieces feels rather Bond-like. I liked the repeated use of the score, it added to the atmosphere of the film.
But as a whole the film doesn't feel like a Hong Kong martial arts movie because of its story and structure, its' much more like an international film.

I didn't find the acting very strong. Despite being an Oscar winner (apparently), Dean Jagger doesn't look convincing at all playing the mob boss Dr. Land, looking much too old. Colleen Camp looks nice but is hardly stretched in the role of Billy Lo's girlfriend Ann, a local singer. Maybe I'm more critical of ropey acting here as the film is in English, and Hong Kong cinema shows a different style of acting.

The film can be rather tasteless in places, particularly in a scene showing a supposed "fake" funeral of Billy Lo (Bruce/Kim Tae Jung) - the filmmakers actually used footage of the real Bruce Lee's actual funeral. With newspapers declaring "Billy Lo Is Dead" and mourners lining the streets, this unfortunately mirrors exactly what happened in real life with Bruce Lee's death. I feel this is in very poor taste and insensitive to the Lee family.

Having said that, beneath the mediocrity and rather naff acting, there is still some excitement to be had. My favourite scene not involving the real Bruce, is the fight in the locker room between Kim Tae Jung and karate champion Bob Wall. This is a fantastic fight, and very well choreographed by Sammo Hung. Apparently, when director Robert Clouse was finished shooting for the day, Sammo was allowed to come back and shoot the action to his standard, which is why he shares directing credit on the Asian prints of Game of Death.

Another couple of scenes are quite interesting, in which the Billy Lo character disguises himself first with a beard and dark glasses, and then as an old man to stay one step ahead of the mafia. In one of his earlier films, Fist of Fury (1972), Bruce Lee disguises himself as an old man and a telephone repair man when he tries to find out who killed his master.

The last act of Game of Death is definitely the best, in which we see Bruce's original vision for the film and his scenes (originally shot in 1972) are brilliant and worth waiting for.

On one floor of the pagoda, we see the real Bruce Lee (in the famous yellow tracksuit) fight his student Dan Inosanto in an amazing one-on-one nanchuku fight, Korean Grandmaster Ji Han Jae on the ascending floor (who was using Korean martial arts), and then finally above him, Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

As well as being another of Bruce's own students, he was a former basketball player and towered over Bruce at 7' 2". In the film, Kareem plays a fighter who has no specific style of his own (similar to Bruce's own philosophy of Jeet Kune Do). This fight is amazing, if a bit unusual. Bruce had to think "outside the box" to defeat a much larger, taller opponent, and it's surprising how he does it!

This section of footage shows, to my mind, how Game of Death would have been a far better film had Bruce been alive. I loved the real Bruce's scenes. It's just such a shame that most of the rest of the film is quite poor.
As the credits roll, Colleen Camp sings Will This Be the song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow? (also composed by John Barry), over a montage of clips of Bruce in action from earlier classic films. I have to say, the juxtaposition of melancholy music, and images showing him in his prime felt tinged with sadness and tragedy. There will never be another Bruce Lee.

There are lots of extras on this 2 disc DVD set - the main extra on the first disc is a commentary by Hong Kong cinema writer Bey Logan, which is an interesting, and at times even funny listen.

The second has interviews with cast members and people involved with the film, theatrical trailers (the Cantonese and American trailers) and promo spots for other Bruce Lee films, but the most interesting extra is a feature called "Game of Death Revisited".

It's a 40 minute edit of the pagoda fight sequence, put together in the way Bruce intended (according to his original script notes). It has scenes not shown in the 1978 version of the movie - the fights are longer, with extra dialogue (Bey Logan doing an uncanny impression of the Little Dragon), and characters, and this footage was thought lost for over 20 years in the Golden Harvest vaults. It's great to watch and gives new insight into what the film might have been like. I love the rock version of the Game of Death theme.

At the end of China`s warring states, the Kingdom of Qin is the most ambitious and ruthless of the seven states. Its` King is the target of assassins from all over China. Of all the would be assassins, Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) and Sky (Donnie Yen) are the most dangerous. When Nameless (Jet Li) kills all three of them, he is offered a chance to meet the King. Nameless explains how he used their personal relationships to expose and attack their weaknesses, but - in a similar scenario to Akira Kurosawa`s Rashomon (1950) the King tells a different version of the same story....

There`s no denying a lot of care was put into this film, it is amazingly shot and beautiful to watch (what do you expect when Wong Kar Wai`s cinematographer Chris Doyle is at the helm?). I liked the clever use of the colour scheme (green/red/white/blue) that was used by Zhang Yimou to emphasise different things.

An all star cast was assembled for this film - and everyone performs well in their own ways I think. Tony Leung and Maggie especially are excellent, turning in a performance which draws comparisons with the Wong Kar Wai movie In The Mood For Love (2000). Playing the role of Broken Swords servant Moon, Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Road Home) is gorgeous, though her turn perhaps reminded me of Jen Yu in Crouching Tiger too much, as if she`d phoned her performance in. Donnie Yen`s part is sadly also little more than an extended cameo, though his fight in the rain with Nameless (Jet Li) is very impressive.

Of course, comparisons are bound to be drawn between CTHD and this film - Maggie`s/Zhang Ziyi`s forest fight reminded me of the sword duel of the earlier CTHD, as did the balletic walking on water or flying through the air. To top it off, the composer Tan Dun wrote a score for Hero that is not too dissimilar to the one in CTHD (particularly at the beginning and end with the drums and violins).

If I have any complaints at all, I would have liked to have seen more character development and backstory. I also wasn't sure about the way the tyrannical King is portrayed as simply a misunderstood man, ignoring what he was really like in Ancient Chinese history and what he did to his people. This doesn't show the whole picture.

Plot gripes nothwithstanding, bear in mind that what we have here is essentially a Producer`s Cut of the film, assembled by American company Miramax and missing about 20 minutes from Zhang Yimou`s original vision. One can only hope the rumored Extended Edition of the film gets a release on DVD in Hong Kong or the US someday.

Overall though, I think this is an outstanding piece of cinema.

I feel this is an overlooked gem, and I've only just seen it for the first time -and loved it! It's got everything! Great sets; amazing make up; an all-star cast; intriguing plot; Danny Elfman music... what more could anyone ask for?
Beatty has managed to capture the old ‘40's comics perfectly and the movie oozes class and charm from every scene. Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino deserve special mention as both manage to deliver career highs (Hoffman, miraculously so as he only communicates through barely legible mumbles.. hence his name!) and even Madonna is damn fine!

This is one of the best comic adaptations, since Superman: The Movie (the others seem to lose something in translation to me) and definitely deserves to be given a second chance. More people need to see this film just for it's entertainment value!!

I loved this film, which surprised me! I'm not Guy Richie's biggest fan -actually hated Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels - so was extremely sceptical when I heard that he was directing the new Sherlock Holmes film - but it just goes to show what happens when the story's right and the actors are spot on.

And weren't they just!! Robert Downey Jr was superb! Perfectly cast as Holmes and it was refreshing to see Watson played as more of a clued in & active participant -rather than a fumbling oaf as in previous regenerations - which was down to Jude Law.

In some ways, they've reduced Holmes down to a Victorian version of James Bond - and I should be really incensed at that. But the trouble is they've done such a damn fine job!!! Holmes is ever the enigma -here we see a man who can not function without Watson, and the relationship between the two is so hazy and although it's never stressed or hinted, there's a frisson between the two that is unmistakable (the phrase, like an old married couple, springs to mind.)

The action and fight scenes are well staged and nicely break up the film without being too distracting or erroneous. There are also lots of in-jokes for those people that have actually read some of the books, without being at the expense of those who haven't.

In short, I couldn't find anything about this film that I didn't like. There will be a sequel - one that the arch-fiend Moriatey will no doubt appear in. And I must admit... I can't wait!!

This is a cracking film - fast paced and thought provoking. It's treading a similar path to the 1983 film Brainstorm, but here the technology is a means to move the story along rather than the focus of the film.

It's the coming of the new millennium and society is teetering on the brink of social upheaval. The death of an influential rapper and a serial killer on the loose threaten to tip the balance into anarchy. This is where Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) walks his line, peddling the detritus of other peoples lives whilst seeming to rise above it all. He deals in artificial dreams via digital recordings of real life, packaged up and edited in the form of "clips" but when the serial killer begins targeting Lenny he realises that there is more at stake than just his life and sanity.

This is an intelligent and ballsy film that knows how to keep its finger on the pulse, and the acting by Fiennes and Angela Bassett is superb. Lenny is a pathetic loser, a bottom feeder making a living out of peddling other peoples discarded experiences, but Fiennes is able to bring out the humanity in him and by the end of the film we see a strong and clearly defined character that could even be quantified as a hero.