James Holmes

The new Sherlock Holmes movie is set for a Christmas release in the US and any where from a December 24th to an April 3rd depending on what part of the world you live in. The movie, simply titled Sherlock Holmes, stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson.

There have been over 200 movies made featuring the infamous detective since he first appeared in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tale, "A Tangled Skein", in 1887. While most have been based on stories written by Conan Doyle, there have been a number that used his characters, but created new stories for the movies. Such is the case with the latest movie, while inspired by the classic tales, it is a story that gives us a vigorous new portrayal of Conan Doyle's renowned characters.

Acclaimed director, Guy Ritchie has brought to life the as of yet unpublished story penned by Lionel Wigram. Wigram and Ritchie present a Sherlock Holmes never seen before. He is much more physically active than his predecessors and is a master at boxing, martial arts and sword play.

Set in London in the year 1891, the movie has Detective Sherlock Holmes and his resolute partner Dr. Watson engaging in a battle of wits and brawn with Lord Blackwood a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England. Blackwood is a dark robbed Satan worshiper responsible for the brutal deaths of at least 5 women with more demonic sacrifices on the horizon.

Rachel McAdams stars as Irene Adler, the only woman Holmes says has ever bested him and with whom he maintains a tempestuous relationship. The mysterious nemesis, Lord Blackwood, is played by Michael Strong.

Other cast members include: James Fox as Sir Thomas, Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan Watson's love interest, Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade, and Hans Matheson as Lord Coward. Bronagh Gallagher as the Palm Reader, Geraldine James as Mrs. Hudson, William Hope as John Standish, William Houston as Constable Clark, Robert Maillet as Dredger, Robert Stone as the Prizefighter, Joe Egan as Big Joe, David Garrick as McMurdo, James A. Stephens as Captain Philips and Terry Taplin as the Groundskeeper.

The second Guy Ritchie directed Sherlock Holmes movie doesn't hit cinema screens until December, but Warner Brothers have already confirmed that there will be a third movie from the same team. Warner Bros has set Drew Pearce to write Sherlock Holmes 3, continuing the Guy Ritchie-directed series that stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

The first in the Guy Ritchie Holmes series was a huge success and seemed to please most film fans, but it received mixed reactions from traditionalist Holmes fans who see this new Holmes as too far from Doyle's original character. I enjoyed the movie myself, but I did feel that it more resembled a steam punk influenced Victorian action movie than a Holmes adventure. However the studio, at least, didn't bow down to political correctness and it was refreshing to see Holmes with his trademark pipe, unlike the BBC series, Sherlock which has the detective on nicotine patches. I applaud the makers of the movie in keeping the pipe, especially in these days of tobacco hysteria. At least they didn't make the mistake of the current producers of the James Bond movies. They've taken away Bond's dick and look what's happened to the world's favourite spy! James Bland, anyone! The current screen Bond is indistinguishable from any other screen hero, but at least Holmes in all his incarnations has managed to retain something of the unique character which made him such a success in the first place.

Because the BBC series is superbly entertaining and the pairing of Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson, works well, that the series is set in contemporary times doesn't really matter - after all several of the Basil Rathbone Holmes movies were contemporary. But at the end of the day the series isn't really Sherlock Holmes, just as Guy Ritchie's movies, entertaining in themselves, are not really Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes though continues to go on and on and as well as the new movie this December and a second series of Sherlock early next year, the great detective is kept alive in print by new authors taking up the pen left by Doyle and continuing to add to the remarkable evergreen character. Holmes has been presented at one time or another as a boy, a woman and even a dog, fox and mouse. As well as everything else between - I once read a short story in which Sherlock Holmes was a motor car and his assistant was the loyal, Datsun.

So does it really matter how characters like Sherlock Holmes are presented? The variations on the characters and themes may not please the purists, but they might just encourage new readers to try the original canon - and that can only be a good thing.

Before the world was treated to the many 'flavors' presented by motion pictures, people had other brilliant ideas to entertain themselves. They exercised their imaginations through reading all sorts of books and related forms of written literature.

Detective fiction was one genre which had a strong following ever since its informal debut many years ago. Children and adults alike would stay up all night reading, captivated by the thrill and suspense associated with detective books. The excitement usually clings to a reader even if he or she isn't actually reading the story; oftentimes people would not hesitate to pick up a detective book and finish it just to know how the story ends.

What gives detective books its flair? Simply put, they give the readers a good mental image of the actual scene and its events, while having them think at the same time. The unpredictability of good detective fiction has always been a quality that readers keep coming back for.

Stories which are classified as detective fiction usually start off with a description of a particular crime or mystery. As the reader turns the pages of the detective book he or she will be led to many bizarre or uncommon circumstances. This places more emphasis on the need to find a solution or and explanation to why the introduced event happened. The protagonist is usually a detective whose degree of experience can vary. A "foil", or an accident-prone/less competent male or female is usually introduced as the detective's assistant. Together, these key characters would decipher all sorts of clues, analyze situations, and piece them all together.

This process of collecting data takes up most of the plot. It is up to the creativity of the author to keep the reader hooked to the logical path of clues. A twist is usually added here and there to serve as distractions in a good number of ways. They can divert the reader's attention away from critical details. Better yet, they can lead the reader to think that they have it all figured out, until another logical twist is introduced, much to their surprise. Through it all, the detective feels all sorts of emotions and tries all sorts of methods to figure things out. Deductive reasoning is one very common method used by protagonists in many detective books.

The solution of the crime usually serves as the ultimate climax of the detective fiction stories. Here, the foil's more conventional level of intelligence is used by the author to explain the elaborate solution to the crime in words the reader would understand easier. The whole experience of reading a detective fiction story is truly breathtaking.

Edgar Allan Poe is credited to author the very first detective fiction story in 1841. Entitled "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", it starred C. Auguste Dupin, the very first detective. The fame of this short story eventually led to two 'sequels' which featured the same detective. One of these stories, "The Mystery or Marie Roget", is intriguing for expressing Poe's fictionalized point of view regarding a real-life crime, the murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers.

More importantly, that detective fiction story served as inspiration for many authors to create and innovate in the genre. One of these authors could have been a certain Scottish doctor and writer, whose innovative skills with the pen have earned him knighthood in the United Kingdom. In other words, one of these authors could have been Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, revolutionary author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Ask a person you know to tell you the first word he thinks about when you say 'Sherlock Holmes', and expect him to say 'detective', or something close to that. Sherlock Holmes stands out among the many various protagonists in the genre as being the most famous detective. His antics in every story that Conan Doyle wrote about him demonstrate his sheer brilliance in data gathering and analysis. This character, often pictured as a sophisticated gentleman wearing a deerstalker cap while smoking a pipe, is also depicted as a master of disguise. The depth of his character is seen in his well-elaborated emotions throughout every detective fiction story he is featured in. To him, life needed stronger thrills, and this led to his resistance to feel love, which he believed was a hindrance beneath his concerns.

Sherlock Holmes is known for the line, "Elementary, my dear Watson". Many will be surprised to learn that this line was never directly uttered by Holmes. However, he does refer to less-insightful attempts in information analysis as "Elementary", and he frequently refers to his confidante, Dr. John H. Watson, as "my dear Watson".

John Hamish Watson was a doctor who served as Sherlock Holmes' "biographer" in a majority of stories. He 'narrated' all but 4 of Conan Doyle's pieces of detective fiction related to Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson serves as Holmes' foil in the sense that he has a more conventional point of view over things. He shares the sentiments and opinions of an ordinary man. This state of mind usually clashes with Holmes' more logical and analytical way of thinking. One educates, while the other maintains balance. This relation between the two diverse minds has been a symbolic situation expressed in many of Holmes' stories.

Together, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson take on all sorts of crimes and mysteries to solve, meeting and dealing with many diverse characters along the way. Holmes is shown to demonstrate his superior skills in investigation over local officers of the law, including those working for Scotland Yard. Holmes also had an arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty, who was featured in a good number of Conan Doyle's works. Finally, there is Irene Adler, the one woman whom Holmes showed the most appreciation and attraction for.

There are nearly sixty pieces of literary work written by Conan Doyle which featured Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Of all these stories, it is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and the "The Red-Headed League" that are arguably the favorites of many 'Sherlock Enthusiasts'.

The stories of Sherlock Holmes have undoubtedly lured many to the sophisticated genre of detective fiction. There are many competent writers who followed the approaches of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with their own unique qualities related to the suspense and thrill brought on by detective fiction. Nowadays, early detective books are still good reading, but they are also collectors' items too. Their significance during an earlier era and the quality of the stories make them highly prized by enthusiasts.