Monday, November 08, 2010

Desplat does Harry Potter

The Harry Potter film franchise, in my opinion, has died its slow death. I was so angry at the last film, I vowed to not see the next films in the theater. In fact, I may wait until the second part gets to DVD before even watching the first part. Along with its death came the murder of its soundtrack. Half-Blood Prince was simply so awful, no offense to Nicolas Hooper, I did not even buy it. That is saying a lot for a girl who buys soundtracks like they were cookies.

All of that being said, I decided to listen to Alexandre Desplat's tour and was proven once again that film music is my love. Desplat added wonder back into the score. He added deep, dark tones that brought forth emotion. The score is not riddled with themes but I feel a sense of hope again. Maybe the score can even convince me to actually go and see the movie.

Sherlock!

I love when I find show gems. This one comes in the form of PBS Masterpiece Classic a part of the PBS Masterpiece series, aired three 90 minute episodes of this stellar series on Sundays and has it available for online viewing in its entirety. 
"Sherlock" is a modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick John Watson. One would think that bringing Sherlock into modern day would kill the effect of Holmes, the genius investigator. After all, who needs Holmes when computers and CSI do all the work. But the series uses this to its advantage and the flash of technology we see in the show is so understated and brief that we are still enamored when Holmes does his thing. And boy, does he do his thing and do it well. Benedict Cumberbatch has charisma in spades and his Sherlock is fast, superior, and fun. The final episode of the three was a great study into his mind and emotions highlighting the amazing relationship of Sherlock and Watson, played by Martin Freeman. Simply put, the extraordinary duo completely make the show and I am reminded of the better years of the re-envisioning of "Doctor Who".

"Sherlock" is slated to air new episodes in the Fall of 2011 and it will be really hard to wait that long.