Sherlock Holmes

It's been a long time since I read any Arthur Conan Doyle, I know, but I don't remember Sherlock Holmes being quite so much of an action hero (though I am glad that it looks like they've kept him a bit crazy and possibly even kept the drug addiction)

Can Jack Black redeem himself from Nacho Libre?

I hope this upcoming movie is good. The thing that makes me the most excited about it right now is its website. See if you can figure out which movies are spoofed in the layout (one of them I can't figure out yet). To see a different layout, click "You Name It, We Shoot It" in the top left corner.

Is there plagarism in art?

In academic writing, you have to make sure you credit your sources, even when you're doing it with permission. So I'm always confused when I see a remake that doesn't flag the fact that it's not actually an original.

Case in point? No Reservations, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart, is coming out this summer, but nowhere on their website or trailer is the fact that it is simply a remake of the excellent German film Bella Martha. From the trailer, the new movie looks like it's going to be practically a scene-by-scene remake, too: just different actors and a different language.

I hope that at least they don't screw it up -- the original was delicate, precise, and nuanced (like Martha, in a way). I can see the Americanization pushing too hard and being too corny, too sugary, too-- well, overseasoned. Sorry, I couldn't resist using food metaphors.

TMNT

For one reason or another, there was a lot of normal childhood that I missed out on. For example, I didn't grow up watching cartoons on Saturday, or watching Nickelodeon most afternoons. It took me until college to see a Brat Pack movie or a single episode of SNL. That said, I did get some pop culture of the late 80s/early 90s. And, I might argue sentimentally, I got the best part. And now I get to relive it. Totally awesome, dude.