The Birth of a NEW Movie Club?

Once upon a time, three friends and I had a "movie" club. I was living in Phoenix and the three of us (Eric, August and Marti) would go to the movies every weekend, usually Saturday matinees though we were flexible as sometimes we did it on Sundays. I distinctly remember seeing The Mummy (loved it), Tomb Raider (hated it) and loads of other movies. It was just cool knowing every weekend we could see whatever movie was opening, seeing it at 11am or so meant we still had the rest of the weekend to do our other tasks/errands.

I sort of recreated that up in Manchester, with a larger circle of friends and we'd see movies on Saturday evenings most of the time. But since moving back down south I haven't been to the movies once, until today! My friend Sarah and I finally met after having to reschedule after I was ill a few weeks ago, our plan to see Sherlock Holmes in Bournemouth (click on the movie poster if you want to see the trailer). I enjoyed it so much that I may see if I can start my third movie club (membership guidelines apply) but it would be on Sundays, if I were to do it.

We were seeing it at the Odeon cinema in Bournemouth where 15 years ago or more I went to more than a few movies during my "first life" here. And I can report they've done nothing to remodel or freshen the decor since that time. And the seat cushions were definitely no better. Not so great. But as the trailers started, I whispered to Sarah that we pick our favorite trailer and go see that movie next. Before going onto Sherlock Holmes, here were the previews (click on their names to view the trailers if you are curious):

The A-Team - I giggled a few times during the trailer but Liam Neeson as Murdoch? REALLY? I had trouble getting past his bad American accent (and bad hair and make up come to think of it) in Taken, so he may be a deal-breaker for me.
Prince of Persia - Jake Gyllenhaal with long hair. Yuck. Action looked pretty awesome. Unless totally panned by critics, this might be my first choice of the list to see.
Iron Man 2 - Mickey Rourke looks amazing as the bad guy. But I wasn't hugely impressed with the first film so I'm on the fence on the sequel.
Robin Hood - I swear, if you had just shown me the video without the audio, I'd have said I was watching scenes from Gladiator. Except more trees. But at least I know Gladiator was awesome and it's the same director as well, so maybe it'll be good? This was Sarah's choice to see next.
Clash of the Titans - Trailer showed no dialogue, no story, only huge action scenes which makes me think the movie is just kinda crappy.

Sherlock Holmes, according to Rotten Tomatoes has a 69% on the Tomatometer. I'd heard it had good action, fun performances, was a bit spastic and there was that supposed homo-erotic subtext between Holmes and Watson. And I suppose I can now think about the movie and identify all of those things, but during the film I was just in pure enjoyment. If you've ever watched The Mentalist, Monk or Psych, you'll enjoy how Holmes solves all the mysteries (small and large). Set in 19th century London, I was struck by how vividly the city was portrayed. It seemed so real, it felt as if you were right there in the boom of the industrial revolution and Victorian era. However, at the end of the movie when they're in the sewers of the Houses of Parliament to suddenly pop up at Tower Bridge (under construction), I turned to Sarah and said, "ummm, they're not exactly next to each other in real life!" to which she giggled and agreed. You have to get on the tube, take a bus or walk over a good 90 minutes to get from one to the other!

I will also tell you the only thing that niggled at me is how the villain struck me as Stanley Tucci but yet his voice was different. And this villain was kind of sexy, in a Imotep-in-The-Mummy-sexy. I could've sworn it was him and I was distracted on occasion thinking "but how did they alter his voice?" It wasn't until credits rolled that I read it wasn't Stanley Tucci at all, but it was Mark Strong. I was way off! I remember being as adamant that the actor who played Mouse in The Matrix was a kid I had gone to elementary school with in Canada named Keiran. And I made my boyfriend wait until every credit had rolled...and alas, it wasn't him...unless he changed his name....but the likelihood is that I am just not as good at recognizing actors as I would like to think.
Overall, I definitely recommend it and would suggest you see it while in theaters or on a big TV at home once it's on DVD. Good times!