TV Review: Elementary Episode # 17 - Possibility Two

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

Gerald Lydon (Dennis Boutsikaris) is the victim of a medical condition that is genetic in nature. He does not have that in the family and believes that he has been the victim of a deliberate infliction. He tries to hire Holmes to figure out the guilty party.

Holmes refuses to take his case and is bribed with a rare species of bee. Shortly, Lydon is taken into custody for the murder of his driver, Crabtree (Steven Hauck).

The plot thickens with the death of a scientist, Natasha Kademan (Jennifer Lim). Natasha is killed soon after she arranges to meet Holmes to share sensitive information that might help solve the mystery.

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In the customary subplot, Holmes has started mentoring Joan in the skills of detection. He lets her do the deductions on crime scenes and advises her to carry evidence bags all the time.

He also assigns the laundry work to her and keeps the fridge cleaning duties to himself. This is another tactic to hone her observation skills.

In the Canon, Holmes never teaches Watson the methods of deduction. This aspect is unique to Elementary. Unfortunately, this development does not seem to be a good omen for the show. As good it is to see Holmes and Watson in a mentor-student relationship, things seem to be headed in an altogether different direction. Holmes seems jealous of Joan’s intimacy with her college professor.

Lucy Liu as Joan Watson

The mystery itself was quite convoluted.

I did enjoy the scenes at the dry cleaning service. They were genuinely funny.

The scene where Holmes texted Gregson and Bell while they were interrogating a suspect, instantly reminded me of the press briefing scene in BBC Sherlock’s “A Study in Scarlet”, where Cumberbatch’s Holmes texts Lestrade and everyone else in the room.

The scene did have one redeeming feature - Holmes quotes Benjamin Franklin: “You may delay, but time will not”.

Jennifer Lim as Natasha Kademan

Canonical references

1. Someone named Musgrave has recommended Gerald Lydon to contact Holmes – Reference to Holmes’ college mate from The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: “Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself, and I had some slight acquaintance with him.”
2. Holmes receives a bee as a bribe from a prospective client - In the story His Last Bow, Sherlock mentions he is writing a book on Bee Keeping entitled “Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen”.
3. Holmes teaching Single stick fighting to Joan - Watson mentions about Holmes in A Study in Scarlet: “Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.” Holmes himself states in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client:  “I’m a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know.”
4. Holmes is seen speaking Norwegian language – Reference to this line spoken by Holmes in The Adventure of the Empty House: “You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend.”
5. Holmes is seen listening to a French song (“La Vieille Chanteuse” by Claire Diterzi) – Reference to this line stated by Holmes in The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: “But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and may have come with my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist.”

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes

Elementary is proving to be a very average adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I do not find anything outstanding in this show.

The show seems more like a character-driven drama than a show based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. I am guessing that the show will score very well with audience who are yet to familiarize themselves with the Sherlock Holmes Canon.

I do give credit to the show for the Canonical nods that pop up now and then. Even this aspect of the show is becoming stagnant. The Bee Canonical Nod has been used in a number of episodes and the Single stick has also made a couple of appearances.

It is becoming increasingly tedious to sit through the episodes. That is something that rarely happens with an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes stories.

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Movie Review: Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained has won 2 Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz) and Best Original Screenplay (Quentin Tarantino).

My heartiest Congratulations to Christoph and Quentin on their success.

Django Unchained is my favorite Quentin Tarantino movie since Pulp Fiction. Inglourious Basterds was Quentin's revisionist take on World War II and this movie takes an unflinching look at black slavery.

The movie is set in the 19^th century and opens with shots of Django (Jamie Foxx) being led along with other slaves in chains. Like previous Tarantino movies, the opening credits are done in the genre style - in this case, Spaghetti Western. The song accompanying the stylish credits is sung by Luis Bacalov and sets the tone for the movie.

Django is soon set free by Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Shultz is a German bounty hunter and needs Django’s help to identify the Brittle brothers. After netting the trio, Schultz agrees to help Django get his wife, Broomhilda von Schaft (Kerry Washington) and trains him.

Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained

Broomhilda is being held by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young and sadistic plantation owner. Calvin’s right hand man is Stephen (Samuel L Jackson).

Schultz devises a plan to free Broomhilda. He introduces Django as an expert on Mandingo fighting and offers an insanely large amount of money to Calvin in exchange for his top fighters. Schultz’s actual intention is to acquire Broomhilda as part of the bargain, by showing his affinity for her knowledge of German language.

The observant Stephen catches Broomilda stealing glances at Django and confronts her. Broomhilda does her best to convince Stephen otherwise. The astute Stephen does not buy her arguments and promptly and discreetly informs Calvin of the situation.

Kerry Washington as Broomhilda von Schaft

The enraged Calvin finishes the business transaction at gunpoint. He gloats over the fact that he was not deceived by Schultz’s plan and forces Schultz to acknowledge that fact through a simple handshake. Schultz has already witnessed the brutal death of a slave and refuses to (literally) shake hands with the devil.

The resulting showdown is pure entertainment in Tarantino style.

Both Waltz and Tarantino richly deserve their Oscars. Waltz is just amazing as Schultz. Schultz has a very dramatic style of presenting himself and just as accurate with his shooting. Tarantino has done some of his best writing for Colonol Hans Landa and Dr King Schultz. It comes as no surprise that Waltz scored Oscar wins for portraying both these characters.

Christoph Waltz gives an Oscar winning performance

Leonardo DiCaprio gives the second best performance as the villainous Calvin Clandie. DiCaprio’s natural good looks combined with his French goatee and red clothings make Calvin one handsome devil. DiCaprio has delivered one strong performance after another in a variety of roles and Calvin is yet another feather in his cap.

Leo did some research and came up with the idea of using the skull in the pivotal dinner scene. He is reported to be highly interested in the Victorian era and looks very much at home, smoking his pipe.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie

Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington and Samuel L Jackson give great performances as well. 

Samuel Jackson in particular is excellent as the cunning and sharp Stephen who has some tricks up his sleeve.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L Jackson in Django Unchained

There are a number of supporting performances. Jonah Hill and Quentin himself appear in brief cameos. The bag head scene featuring Jonah is pretty funny and is classic Tarantino.

There a lot of beautiful outdoor shots and full credit to Robert Richardson for the amazing cinematography.

Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained

The costumes, makeup, the sets and the music are all top-notch.

As expected, the dialogues crackle with wit and energy. Tarantino loves to write long chatty scenes and Django has a bunch of them. Still, the movie is consistently entertaining thanks to Quentin’s sharp writing and even sharper screenplay.

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The shootout scenes are just spectacular and will leave a smile on your face. This is Tarantino doing what he does best: a genre movie that can stand on its own and simultaneously is an homage to the genre.

Quentin Tarantino

A must watch for fans of Spaghetti Westerns and Quentin Tarantino.

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