Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Excellent Movie for Those Who Really Know Tolkien

I saw Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last night.  (We saw it in "IMAX" -- I'm not sure what people think that adds to the movie-watching experience, but...there it is.) I thought the movie was wonderful.

I know. I'm supposed to be disappointed that it wasn't exactly like the book. That's how we lit. nerds and those "fan-boys" are supposed to, as my brother-in-law recently pointed out in conversation, assert our ownership of the material. It is also very (nauseatingly) fashionable to be hard on "prequels" or follow-ups to beloved movies. George Lucas knows this all too well.

Well, I was not disappointed that the movie was different than the book. Jackson and his team did what they needed to do. Remember, please, that this is a statement made by a guy who credits Tolkien and his work with changing his life. Tolkien's works set me on a path I walk until this day.

Sherlock: How Did I Miss This?

Disney's Basil of Baker Street

First: yes, I know -- I am really late on this; two seasons behind, in fact. Anyway, I heard about this BBC series a few weeks ago and then I found out it was available on Netflix. I finally watched it last night.

To say I was excited is an understatement. I was giddy. I was silly with joy. (I think I told my wife that my happiness compared to that of our wedding day. I certainly would never have said it surpassed it.) I'm a huge fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. In my not-so-humble opinion, the series, Sherlock, is wonderful.

The dynamic, as I have always seen it between Holmes and Watson in the original stories, is perfectly captured by both Martin Freeman (Watson) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes). And Holmes doesn't have that off-putting, unwholesome weirdness that Jeremy Brett gave him. (I know -- people loved him, but all I could think was that I would definitely keep the Baker Street Irregulars from spending time alone in 221B with Brett's Holmes.) I always thought that if one crossed Basil Rathbone with Disney's Basil of Baker Street, one would have the perfect Holmes. That's Cumberbatch.