I know by this point everyone expects any review of Jack and Jill to be a terribly scathing affair and there’s no doubt it deserves as much.

But there’s more to it than that. It’s not just a film about Adam Sandler in a woman suit and Al Pacino slumming it like successful career choices have gone out of fashion. No. It’s a film about missed opportunities, lost potential, no potential, past potential, wasted potential and of course poo jokes and fart jokes. And lots of pooing and farting. Sometimes together, sometimes not. It’s creative like that.

However whilst I would love to give the 97 minutes of wasted celluloid a good raking over with a few rounds from a shotgun, a can of petrol and some horribly puerile similes and metaphors (god there’s so much potential here for a good old rant) – which I will – it’s hard to do so when I’m so utterly bewildered. When cinema can be such a powerful force. When you have so much money and industry power at your disposal. When you obviously have at least a modicum of acting talent. Why not do something great with your time. Why make commercial refuse? Why make this?

The film as everyone by now is horribly aware is a prosthetics and tiaras affair (à la Big Momma’s House and the second half of Eddie Murphy’s career) in which Adam Sandler plays both of the titular roles. He firstly stars as a grumpy career oriented ad exec living a comfortable life in Los Angeles with his prim and proper wife (played by Katie Holmes). His second role in this tour de force is that of Jill, Jack’s loud, stupid twin sister who is much less successful and much less tactful. Then Al Pacino arrives and fancies her and everything takes a turn for the surreal.

Short of the unfunny rubbish, the rubbish unfunny stuff and that gently amusing joke about Pacino only ever receiving one Oscar (which is in the trailer incidentally so why not save yourself the time and the money) the film has so much more to offer in the way of disappointment. It’s not really even worth reviewing properly. it’s just terrible. Need you know more? I’m guessing you won’t be rushing out to watch it anytime soon.

I mean, what was going through the heads of everyone involved? Sandler has proven himself to be utterly terrible at picking roles and passable at delivering them time after time. However let’s not forget that he hasn’t always been so bad. In 2002 he starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love and was quite simply awesome. Ever since then with the possible exception of Reign Over Me he’s taken a career trajectory of diminishing critical returns. He received $7 million to star in Punch Drunk Love yet he routinely receives $20 million+ salaries to produce commercial silage devoid of any artistic merit whatsoever. He’s shown he can act and he’s shown that he has a huge amount of creative control and executive power when it comes to making films, so why oh why oh why is he so utterly lazy?

I mean just look at Jack and Jill on paper. A $80 million budget with which Sandler will dress as a woman and ‘klutz around’. Oh and Johnny Depp will have a cameo and Al Pacino will ruin his career. Sold. It just boggles my mind that these talented people squander their myriad opportunities to create something great on rubbish like this.

This time around Sandler is his usual passable self as Jack but as Jill he really starts to grate about two seconds after appearing on screen sporting a hairpiece and prosthetic bum combination that pretty much constitutes the artistic zenith of his performance. I can’t quite decide what’s less tasteful, her vaguely racist remarks to her adopted Indian nephew or the fact that she has unresolved incestuous feelings for her brother which she creepily airs at certain points in order to apparently elicit laughter. Stumbling all over the screen like a BNP sympathising, loose bowelled Norman Wisdom, she falls over here, offends an ethnic minority there and farts thither an hither. Did I mention there’s farting?

It’s not even funny in a bad way. It’s hard to put a film in the so bad it’s good category when all it does is make you sad. Adam Sandler has managed to make watching the self-immolation of Hollywood movie stars a boring and tedious act. Gone are the days when you could sit back and laugh watching Lindsay Lohan pole dancing her way into an early retirement. Gone are the days when watching Guy Ritchie’s ‘early noughties phase’ was a questionable viewing pleasure. Now we have Sandler – a man eternally alight with a million miscalculations – up in flames on a seemingly bi-monthly basis. However earning $20 million dollars to humiliate yourself before millions does have a certain ring to it.

One also has to wonder how much Pacino was getting paid to debase himself in the name of self-satire. That he does this through playing someone with an artistic integrity that Jack spends most of the film wearing down only makes his presence even more excruciating. It’s less Being Al Pacino and more Being an Idiot. And I thought Robert De Niro was going through a late career malaise…

Jack and Jill was released in UK cinemas on the 3rd of February.

*~~~~ (1/5)

Welcome to our new regular section in which members of the HeyUGuys family discuss a variety of topics concerning all things cinema.

We’ll pick a topic inspired by what’s happening in the world of film and invite our writers to voice their opinions, an invitation we extend to you. If you want to submit your own answer, or respond to an answer from one of our writers, then please do so.

This month sees the return of Kate Beckinsale as the gun-toting vampire warrior Selene in Underworld: Awakening. It’s a series which has managed to last for almost a decade now, despite a middling critical and audience response for each film (the domestic gross for previous instalment Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was the lowest out of the trilogy), yet that battle between those two warring tribes is back once more (it’s perhaps no surprise that the addition of 3D had been factored in this time around).

With this in mind, we asked our writers if there were any franchises out there which have more than outstayed their welcome, or alternatively, were there any films yet to be greenlighted for a sequel which could benefit from a continuation in the story.

Kelly Alyse

As much as they are ridiculous, predictable and far-fetched, I still find the Final Destination series very entertaining. The audience watching the films aren’t expecting ground-breaking performances, or storyline that will baffle them for hours after they leave the cinema – they are looking for something light-hearted, silly and fun. The film’s writers do a great job coming up with the different scenarios the teens can get themselves into, and each one comes packed with a gruesomely awesome punch.

One I believe should be put to rest is the Saw franchise. The first film was brilliantly thought out and truly intense to watch, but the films have slowly declined into a world of sadistic torture that’s pretty unbearable. Coming up with scenes that rip a person’s chest open or pull eyeballs out just isn’t entertaining.

I realise you could say the same about someone being burnt to death in a sun bed, but the difference between the two franchises is the fact that Final Destination is made to be laughed at. Saw is made to terrify and cause trauma. I know which one I’d rather watch…

Ones I’d watch time and time again are the Transformers, Paranormal Activity, X-Men and Iron Man franchises, even though I do class these films as guilty pleasures.

Tracy Ladd

Please, no more Transformers! I really hope this franchise has reached the end but with rumours about a 4th twirling about, I don’t think it’s dead yet. As cheesy and over-the-top as i

t was, I adored the first one. I just rewatched it recently and it still holds up pretty well. I did a complete 180 on the second one and had nothing but loathing for it. I went to see the third one to see if it was any better. While it was better than the second, it doesn’t compare to the first. Transformers needs to be put out to pasture.

Speak ill if you must, but I really dug The A-Team. Sure, it planted its foot firmly beyond the borders of ridiculous, but I didn’t care. I loved the action and thought the cast did a great job working off each other. I liked how the movie ended and wished that they continued on with at least a second one just to see where it went. Sadly, that won’t happen.

As much as I adored Pierce Brosnan in the Bond role in Goldeneye, his others were severely lacking and just seemed to get worse. Then Daniel Craig took over and Bond got dirty. The fact that the series went gritty is what drew me back in and even though Quantum of Solace wasn’t quite what Casino Royale was I’m still glad that this franchise is still kicking.

Kenji Lloyd

If I could pick one film to get a sequel it would be Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, hands down. The original is one of my all-time favourites, starring the likes of Gerard Butler, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Jeremy Piven, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, and of course, Toby Kebbell as the brilliant rocknrolla himself. At the end of the film, Ritchie threw in a genius nod announcing he’d be returning with a sequel, but sadly, it is yet to materialise.

After RocknRolla he directed Sherlock Holmes, (which exploded for him and Warner Bros.) and followed that with last year’s awesome Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and the third film has already been announced, which is great news. But as a lover of RocknRolla, I’m really hoping that Johnny, Archy, and the Wild Bunch will be back in The Real RocknRolla after that, because I can’t wait for Ritchie and his cast and crew to return to that world. Ritchie’s said he’s written a script, and that Joel Silver will pay for him to do it, so it’s just a matter of figuring out when. Whenever that is, it’s going to be amazing.

Adam Lowes

In all honesty, I think Bond should have been retired many years ago. No matter how many do-overs and reinvigorations, it’s a series which always follows that same ridged narrative path, with little in the way of surprises or any interesting deviations. As solid an actor as Pierce Brosnan was in the part, I wasn’t a fan of any of the films from the series he appeared in, and each successive adventure seemed to promise much, but in reality, the series grew increasingly preposterous and tiring.

The makers managed to bring something interesting to the table for Casino Royale (it’s obvious ole’ Jason Bourne was somewhat of an influence), but ‘Quantum’ was a serious step backwards, and returned the franchise to that simplistic structure which Craig’s first outing deliberately tried to avoid. Even the idea of Bond extricating himself from the secret service and making it a personal vendetta was the basis for Licence to Kill nearly twenty years previous, highlighting the lack of originality after a promising return for the character.

No doubt Sam Mendes will be hoping to bring something fresh and exciting to the world of 007 once more, but even with the heavyweight cast he’s assembled (the addition of Javier Bardem alone is a very exciting prospect) he has his work cut out.

Click below for Indiana Jones, more Pooh and an intriguing idea concerning Inception…

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might be turning in his grave at the use of his work but if he had a sense of humour he might appreciate Guy Ritchie’s more contemporary, humorous interpretation of his British sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and certainly admire Robert Downey Jr’s eccentric turn as the infamous detective again.

What is certain is Ritchie gets to play out his love of Cockney bromance once more, while taking a European action-packed tour, Orient Express style this time around.

Holmes (Downey Jr) turns sulky schoolboy when his right-hand man, Dr Watson (Jude Law), decides to give up bachelorhood and get hitched, leaving his detecting days behind. After taking over his stag do, ‘Best Man’ Holmes sabotages the happy couple’s honeymoon to Brighton, after discovering his arch nemesis, the brilliant mathematician Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), has hatched a bombing plan to set off a war in Europe, in order to peddle his arms wares. With ample action set-pieces and Matrix-style manoeuvres, plus the help of tag-a-long gypsy beauty Simza (Noomi Rapace), who is searching for her long-lost brother, the ‘brothers-in-clues’ set off on one finale adventure.

Downey Jr and Law have perfected their quick-fire, dry exchange and camp rebuffs in the second film with the finesse and the ease of a comedy duo with years of live performance experience. Downey Jr’s portrayal of Holmes’s borderline insanity is heightened in this film by a touch of transsexual tomfoolery that is inoffensive and relevant to the plot. With the delightful addition of the witty gentleman’s gentleman, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s equally absurd, ‘naturist’ brother in the mix, there has never been such a display of English idiosyncrasy on-screen in a long time to revel in, and although Downey Jr is always a tonic, Fry steals the scenes they share with aplomb.

Ritchie ramps up the action tenfold, with full slow-mo, sharp-angled purpose to extract every Holmes clue and acute observation while turning parts into impressive cat-and-mouse, war chase scenes that fuel your enthusiasm and adrenaline. The waterfall finale that encompasses a meeting of brilliant minds over a deadly chess match is breathtakingly honed for full effect, leaving us – and even Conan Doyle – wondering on the actual fate of the UK’s most notorious fictional detective; this might leave some Sherlock Holmes fans perplexed, even perturbed.

However, the film has its flaws. First and foremost is its padded length that although punctuated by the impressive action sequences has a lot of lag to it. All the sharp dialogue and subsequent action suffers when it could have been a more succinct viewing experience. For example, the brief appearance of Holmes’s love, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), at the start is merely present for the benefit of giving Holmes’s mission a deep-felt purpose and to pour salt on the wound that his best pal, Watson, has found happiness in true love.

In addition, although Rapace as Simza is a mysterious beauty to have along on the ride, apart from being there to offload Watson’s trademark knitted scarf and to detect her brother’s presence – which she fails to, is sorely underused and underdeveloped and merely part of a gypsy resistance group that those with historical knowledge on the World Wars might find interesting as a persecuted people still in the news today. Even the snatched sideways glances between Simza and Watson are left lingering in the ether. Thankfully, the climax does make up for any tedious areas, with Downey Jr opposite Harris’s devilish and equally insane villainy in a wonderful sporting standoff of sheer intellectual prowess that befits Conan Doyle’s exceptional literature.

A Game of Shadows is pure period action drama with a delicious camp twist (cross-dressing aside) that demonstrates Downey Jr has made Holmes as much a part of his nature, as Captain Jack Sparrow is to Depp’s. This alone will keep fans more than occupied throughout Ritchie’s second sleuthing romp – inflated run-time aside.

***½~ (3.5/5)

After Steven Soderbergh exited The Man From U.N.C.L.E. last month due to budgetary and casting difficulties, Warner Bros. were naturally keen to fill the director’s chair with a big name in his place, and it looks like they’re making their move.

Deadline report that Guy Ritchie and his new production partner Lionel Wigram are in talks to board the project as producers, with Ritchie now intended to take Soderbergh’s role behind the camera too.

The pair have worked together on both of Ritchie’s last two projects, Sherlock Holmes and its (just-about-to-be-released) sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and are now setting up their own production company, with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. set to be the first project for the new shingle.

The film already has a script in place from Soderbergh’s recently frequent collaborator, Scott Z. Burns (Contagion), so hopefully Ritchie can get moving on this pretty soon. Casting has been a problem so far, with George Clooney originally intended for the role. When back injuries ruled him out, given the action necessitated by the script, quite a few names surfaced as his replacement, noticeably with a younger skew, including Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Joel Edgerton, Michael Fassbender, and most recently, Channing Tatum.

Whether Ritchie and Wigram’s casting list will be starting from scratch or will begin with some of these names remains to be seen, but I’m definitely looking forward to hearing about who’ll be taking the leads on this. Production was originally scheduled to begin in the spring, and though there’s no word yet if that’s still the case, I’m hoping the change in direction won’t cause any delays.

Though Ritchie’s involvement as director isn’t yet set in stone, I’m hoping that it’s only a matter of time before the deal is made for him to also take the helm on this alongside producing, because I think he’d do a great job of it. I’m a huge Ritchie fan – aren’t we all? – and I’d love to see him take on this sixties-set action/thriller. I’m also still waiting for the day when we get news on the long-awaited RocknRolla sequel, but I have a feeling that’s more of an ‘if’ than a ‘when’. Time will tell.

Either way, Warner Bros. are clearly firmly demonstrating with this move that they’ve got a lot of faith in the project, and hopefully we’ll be able to bring you more news on the producers’ talks soon; with any luck, that news will include Ritchie making a deal to direct too.

Ritchie’s latest film, Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows, will be hitting the big screen next Friday, on 16th December, and that’s definitely something to look forward to too. It’s going to be immense.

This evening, London plays host to the European Premiere of Guy Ritchie’s new movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which stars Robert Downey Jr​, Jude Law​, Noomi Rapace​, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry​ and Eddie Marsan​. Many of the main cast will be there including Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, Director Guy Ritchie and Producer Joel Silver but if you can’t be there in person, fear not as we have the live stream of the event for you right here!

The lovely Edith Bowman will be hosting the event and interviewing the stars as they arrive. They’ll also be a gypsy band performing to open the evening who are featured in the movie. It’s amazing what you can learn while they’re doing the live sync test!

The stars should be arriving on the carpet from 17:45 so go and get a cuppa and come back to watch it all as it unfolds! Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is in UK cinemas 16th December. While you’re waiting, you can see our extensive Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows coverage including trailers and posters here.

Twelve days separate us from catching up with Guy Ritchie’s latest fidgeting with Conan Doyle’s greatest creation with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows unleashed into cinemas.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return as Messrs. Holmes and Watson for another round of quick wits and fisticuffs, with a few new cast members along for the ride. Jared Harris enters as Professor Moriarty while Stephen Fry lends himself rather well to the role of the elder Holmes brother Mycroft with Noomi Rapace cast as a gypsy fortune teller who is dragged into the mysterious game of shadows.

Collider have nine clips from the film and present them here as one large chunk. Highlights include out first decent looks at Moriarty and Mycroft as well as Rachel McAdams returning as Irene Adler.

Here’s your eight minutes of Shadowy Games,

And the latest Photoshoppery has Holmes and Watson drawing guns while a train journey goes awry. I think that’s enough posters now, don’t you? As always, Click=big.

It seems the Korean Warner Bros. Marketing department have decided that going with the scary looking posters are the way forward as we have one here of Rachel McAdams from her new movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I think the word ‘scary’ is the most apt. Not sure what happened in Photoshop but anyway, here we are!

Sherlock Holmes is the second movie in the franchise directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Eddie Marsan. From what we’ve heard, McAdams only has a small cameo in this sequel but I guess time will tell. It’s set for release on Boxing Day, 26th December here in the UK and we can’t wait to see it!

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson​, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty​ (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

We’re hoping to have lots of Sherlock fun in the run up to release so keep your eyes peeled.

Click the poster below to enlarge.

Source: Cine1

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes has a second cinematic outing in a few weeks time with leads Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law returning to lead us through the titular Game of Shadows.

Yahoo have a nice new featurette which has Ritchie and his leads waxing lyrical about the film and what a lot of fun it was, and last year’s film managed to enjoy itself without seeming too indulgent. While the detecting duo have already shown their hand there are a few new faces in the mix, not least Jared Harris as Moriarty and Noomi Rapace who joins in the hijinks.

Feast your eyes on this synopsis before diving in.

“Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

The film is out next month and if it does well then we can expect another case from the team, as it’s certain that Warners enticed Ritchie with a boatload of cash to take another turn with Holmes and Watson and it’s not done his career any harm, has it?

We’ve been getting a pretty great look so far at Guy Ritchie’s upcoming sequel to his brilliant first Sherlock Holmes film, entitled Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and it’s all looking likely that he’ll be repeating the great success he found with the first film.

If you’ve missed it, you can catch up on the full trailer here, which landed last month, and most recently the three TV spots that surfaced just a few days ago.

We’ve now got six brilliant new character posters to share with you, courtesy of ComingSoon.net, which follow in the same footsteps visually as the first two sets of posters we saw back in July and last month.

The film will of course see the return of Robert Downey, Jr. in the titular role, with Jude Law naturally reprising his role as Watson, Rachel McAdams returning for a small reprisal of Irene Adler, and Eddie Marsan returning as Inspector Lestrade, and they’ll be joined by Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty, Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft, and Noomi Rapace as the gypsy woman Sim, whose full name on the posters is revealed as Simza.

“Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

A Game of Shadows is due to hit cinemas on 16th December, just over a month away, which is a date I can’t wait for. Expect this to be awesome. Until then, here are the great new character posters to enjoy; two each for Moriarty and Simza, and one each for Watson and Holmes. As usual, click to enlarge.

More Holmes to welcome in the week, and there’s the requsite fast paced fists and quick wits on show here in Guy Ritchie’s sequel which has own favourite literary detective duo coming face to face with Professor Moriarty in the titular shadowy game.

Stephen Fry and Noomi Rapace are two of the new faces in the film and there is a surprising amount to live up to as the first film was so well received that this follow up was fast tracked into production and we have only a few short weeks until the film flies into cinemas on the 16th of December.

The Movie Box (via ComingSoon) have a trio of tasty TV spots to tease and tantalise.

Wow. These sequels are getting greenlit, lined up and into pre-production faster and faster. I remember a time (he wistfully notes) when you used to have to wait and see if a film was both good and commercially successful before you started cracking on with sequels. Those times are long gone. With Marvel setting the pace with their fearless timetable for Thor, Iron Man, Spidey and Avengers sequels, WB are getting in on the act, clearly having decided that they are happy enough with what they have seen of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock sequel to give the go ahead to more.

Certainly the trailer we’ve seen for Sherlock 2 looks impressive enough, with plenty of style, quips, intrigue and bombast and equally certainly, WB must be convinced that they have more on their hands than just 2.5 minutes of good trailer material. Drew Pearce, creator of UK superhero satire series No Heroics and currently scribbling away on Iron Man 3, has been tasked with the script for the threequel, which THR rightly note follows the formula with the greenlighting of SH2 and the appointing of Michele and Kieran Mulroney as writers before part 1 had yet seen the light of day, back in late 2009.

Given how most studios handle their key properties, it seems likely that RDJ and Jude Law will both be tied into three picture deals. RDJ in particular is looking like becoming utterly absorbed with franchises (Iron Man, Avengers and Holmes) though it is hoped that he will be able to find time for other projects as well. As excellent as his work is on those franchises and as much as he is entitled to make his money from those while the opportunity is there, it would be a shame to not see him in less conventional material like Zodiac, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and A Scanner Darkly.

As for Drew Pearce, he is rising and rising and rightly so. Sherlock Holmes will be his first departure from his comfort zone of superheroes and their ilk since his work on the 2006 TV series Lip Service, but one would think that a good writer is a good writer and no doubt Pearce will turn his hand as confidently and capably to Holmes as to anything else.

Source: THR.

I recently revisited The Cannonball Run, for the first time since my teens. It has not aged well. I had remembered greatly enjoying its excitement, fast cars, squealing tyres and a self-mocking Roger Moore, but that all seemed to have mysteriously evaporated, leaving me with a bland and lifeless film.

It could therefore be argued that this makes it all the more ripe and fitting for a reboot – an older film, not nearly as good as anyone remembered and not an inviolable treasure, held sacredly in cinema goers hearts. News of a remake is therefore initially welcomed, though eventually feared on examining the small print, for the plan seems to be for US car-giant General Motors to stump up a load of the budget in return for some utterly obvious product placement. For those who don’t remember the original, or its not-too-bad sequel, lots of cars and their drivers head across the US in a coast to coast race for a big money (and kudos heavy) prize. Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Jackie Chan, Dom DeLouise and Peter Fonda all took part, though there seems to be some legitimate concern that a film about speeding across the US might land the film-makers in trouble with more litigious types, all of which may result in the film being shot in Germany, where there are a number of relatively speed limit-free autobahns.

Shawn Levy (Night At The Museum, Real Steel) had expressed some interest in the project, wishing to work with Ben Stiller, however Guy Ritchie has apparently emerged as the front-runner, perhaps with the successful blending of comedy and action he has achieved for Sherlock Holmes proving to be a significant factor. Although GM are over 1/3 owned by the US and Canadian governments, they would be looking to get themselves a high-profile showcase for their new models in return for the cash they will invest in the production budget.

Morgan Spurlock will no doubt be choking on his Big Mac as he hears about this, but what can you say? It is, if nothing else, a sign of the times.

Source: Vulture.

Our friends over at MSN have just launched the first Full Length trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. We’ve had a teaser before but this one gives us a lot more footage and storyline.

Guy Ritchie returns to direct this movie after the success of the 2009 movie with a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry, Gilles Lellouche. We can expect to see it in UK cinemas 16th December. Scroll down for the brand new trailer.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder–a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty. Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction–all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history. Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returns to direct “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The sequel also reunites producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman serves as executive producer, with Steve Clark-Hall co-producing. Jared Harris (TV’s “Mad Men,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) joins the cast as the notorious Professor Moriarty. Also joining the cast, in her first English-speaking role, is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who gained international attention in the Swedish film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Stephen Fry (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) plays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother. Additional cast members returning from the first film include Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade; Kelly Reilly as Watson’s bride, Mary Morstan; and Geraldine James as Holmes’s long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.

We’re getting closer to our next appointment with Messrs. Holmes and Watson on the 16th of December and what better way to celebrate the oncoming consultation than by allowing our eyes to feast on two new posters?

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. return as the slueth and his sidekick with a host of new friends to play with. Not least we finally get to see Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty and Stephen Fry as the older Holmes brother but there’s a fine addition to the cast in Noomi Rapace who dashed through exploding forests with our two leads in the trailers and images we’ve seen so far.

As you can see in the posters Paris and London are represented, and unless those are two very large steam trains in the background we can assume a couple of parliamentary explosions as part of Guy Ritchie’s Game of Shadows.

Here are your posters, but first bow your heads in the direction of Yahoo, for twas they who bequeathed.

In the past few months, we’ve seen some brilliant things from Guy Ritchie’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes, entitled Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

We got the first trailer for the film back in July, along with some terrific posters introducing and re-introducing us to the new and returning characters alike, and most recently some great stills that included a shot of Holmes and Moriarty head-to-head in a game of chess.

The only thing that was missing from all of this was Rachel McAdams. In the first film, McAdams played the lead female role of Irene Adler, and she was terrific. When Ritchie announced the sequel, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not McAdams’ character would be returning, and for a long time it was thought that she wouldn’t be when Noomi Rapace was announced as the film’s female lead.

Thankfully, however, McAdams was finally confirmed for A Game of Shadows, in cameo capacity, back in February, and we’ve now got the first photos from the set, courtesy of Just Jared via ComicBookMovie.com, that show her looking wonderful opposite Robert Downey, Jr.’s Holmes, who is himself dressed up in one of his excellent disguises.

“Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty —and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade, points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.

Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim, a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.”

Along with Downey, Jr. and McAdams, the film will see the return of Jude Law as Watson, and will introduce Stephen Fry and Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother; Noomi Rapace as Sim, a mysterious Gypsy woman; and Jared Harris and the notorious Professor Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Thrones comes out on 16^th December, and I personally can’t wait to see how the sequel turns out. I’m a big fan of everything Ritchie does, and with less than three months to go now, it’s not too long before we get to see how the sequel unfolds. Without further ado, here are the great new set photos revealing Rachel McAdams’ return. As usual, click to enlarge.

Last month saw a brilliant early drive to promote the forthcoming sequel to Guy Ritchie’s 2009 Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. We got some awesome posters for the film, followed by a few new images, and then finally the excellent first trailer for the film.

Now we can see Robert Downey, Jr. on the cover of the latest issue of Empire, along with three great new images from the film, and it’s all adding to the anticipation of its December the 16th release.

Downey, Jr. and Jude Law will of course be returning in their roles of Sherlock Holmes and Watson respectively, after being received pretty damn well in the first film, which earned more than half a billion dollars at the box office. After some rumoured speculation either way, it looks like Rachel McAdams will also be reprising her role as Irene Adler, though Noomi Rapace will be the film’s lead female. Stephen Fry has also joined the cast as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft Holmes, and Jared Harris will be playing Professor Moriarty, Holmes’ notorious adversary.

Downey, Jr. has said of the films,

“Last time we were, I think, treated very kindly, considering that the movie had enough really good, bright, sweet parts and it kinda held up. However, it wasn’t exactly the most innovative or clever act three of any movie. But we’re all confident that, this time, for the bones of the story, we couldn’t work it out any better than we have.”

That suggests that they’re confident the sequel will be even better than the original, and if what we’ve been seeing for the film so far is anything to judge by, they should be finding a lot of success with A Game of Shadows.

We get a nice look at Harris as Moriarty in the third of the three new pictures, engaged in a game of chess with Holmes, and the pair both look the part in their tuxedoes, complete with white gloves. We also get a look at Rapace as the gypsy woman, Sim, and a picture of Ritchie, Downey, Jr., and Law behind the scenes, and either they’re all somehow enchanted by the awesomeness of a storage crate, or (slightly more likely) there’s a monitor in the back of the crate. Either way, December really can’t come fast enough. Without further ado, here’s the new Empire cover, followed by the three new images for the film.

As usual, click to enlarge.

The recent marketing push for Guy Ritchie’s next sojourn to Baker Street has been leading up to this – our first proper look at Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

With the trademark quick witted banter and slow motion action scenes the second film has Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris and Stephen Fry joining the cast with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law doing their best to take on one of literature’s most famous double acts.

Certainly the first film was enjoyed by many people and this sequel takes place a year after the first and is partly based on Conan Doyle’s short The Final Problem, which as Holmes scholars will know, involves a trip to Switzerland and a visit to the Reichenbach Falls, giving a fairly obvious hint as to how this one will end.

Due out December 16th in the UK. Apple have just put up the trailer so get clicking…

Or head on over to Apple to watch it HD.

Yesterday we were privy to the first posters for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes sequel, subtitled A Game of Shadows, and in rampant expectation of the first trailer there are more images and a sneak peek at some footage from the film for us to pour over should the mood take us.

Yahoo Movies have a couple of new images from the film, and they obviously don’t give tons away and we’re still no nearer to seeing Stephen Fry in his role as Mycroft Homes, but I’m guessing he’ll be secreted in the trailer which is due out tonight.

It does look like more of the same from Messrs Ritchie, Downey Jr. and Law, but I think we’re all hoping newcomers Noomi Rapace and Jared Harris will bring something new to the series.

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes surprised a lot of people and did business enough to set the sequel train on its tracks with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law joined by a few new faces.

Notably one of these new posters shows off Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty, whose presence was partially glimpsed in the first film, while the second has the slightly odd figure of Noomi Rapace as Sim, looking a touch menacing behind the moustached Dr. Watson.

The first film was enjoyable and benefited from Mark Strong and Eddie Marsan, who will be returning as Inspector Lestrade along with Stephen Fry who is cast as Holmes’ brother Mycroft.

A decent cast with a neat and unusual double act taking on the famous pair should make for a fun film. Christmas 2011 is when the Game of Shadows will be afoot.

Give your thanks to Johnny Yahoo for these.

Now that we have a title for the second Sherlock Holmes film from Guy Ritchie it seems only polite to follow up with a couple of pics from the film, and they are corkers.

And before we go on there’s a Greta Gerwig-like absence of two of the new main draws to the film, namely Jared Harris and Stephen Fry as Moriarty and Mycroft Holmes respectively, but we’ll have to console ourselves with the double act of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as (not your father’s) Holmes and Watson.

The second image may contain a slight spoiler – depends how you feel about knowing a plot point which may be entirely inconsequential, it’s up to you.

We’ve nearly a whole year until the Game of Shadows is afoot, so expect to be caught under a marketing blitz in the autumn.

Hurrah to ShockYa for finding these.