Why, it's elementary

Hi.

December 16th. It is coming. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will be in theaters! I cannot even start to explain how excited I am for this movie to come out.

But before I delve into my raving rants on how much I adore Sherlock Holmes, I would like to thank all of the people who have been reading my blog till now. It means a lot to me that I already have 4 official followers and 700 page views! So I'd like to thank you all for your time and for reading my random thoughts and musings on some of the most odd-ball subjects ^_^.

And now, shall we return to the subject at hand? I do believe I will proceed in such a manner. But before I do, a song to inspire you through this post: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=rpBHn6RfY0k&feature=channel_video_title (I suggest you listen to it as you read, and when I say suggest, I mean that you absolutely must ^_^)

To better understand my vast interest in Sherlock Holmes, we must return to the point in my life I first was exposed to the awesomeness that is Holmes. I do believe it was on an episode of Wishbone. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Wishbone was a show geared to encourage reading. The plot followed a boy and his dog, Wishbone. As the story of the boy's life unfolded, the dog would recall books that seemed to run parallel to the boy's life. And so the audience would be given a summary of the entire book, with Wishbone as one of the main characters - essentially encouraging young people to read the entirety of the stories presented in the show. I swear I can still recall the theme song...

What's the story Wishbone? Do you think it's worth a look. It kind of seems familiar, like a story from a book. Shake a leg now Wishbone; let's wag another tail. Sniffing down adventure with Wishbone on the trail. Come on Wishbone. What's the story Wishbone... 

Regardless, it was through Wishbone that I first saw a brief synopsis of the story, The Hound of Baskervilles (a dog, so then 'the Hound', get it? ^_^). From then, I began reading the few stories I found in my school libraries. Then, at a certain book sale, I uncovered a gem: the full published works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: the complete set of all the Holmes stories. I do remember getting lost in the intricate plots, and the insanity that was essentially Holmes. I even remember hating the times when he would get mixed up into opium dens or bouts of substance abuse. Never forget the ever present Watson either. Granted he takes much of a backseat in the later portion of the stories, simply due to the fact that he no longer shares a bachelor pad with Holmes. Therefore, Holmes only spirals further out of control (it's just plain sad really).

I think what fascinates me most about these stories is just the plain genius of Holmes. I always find myself flipping back to earlier pages in each mystery just to see how Doyle hinted at clues before we, the readers, realized their vital nature and significance to the case. Of course some of my favorite mysteries involve the smooth criminals who have bested Holmes, and by criminals, I really mean the infamous Miss Irene Adler. The way she draws Holmes in is just quite devious. She's a woman after my own heart: suave, sexy, and man can she get what she wants. Like I said, a woman I'd love to be.

The best part about my interest in Sherlock Holmes, is that it spurred an interest in other detective stories, such as Hecule Poirot, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. All these mysteries draw many points of inspiration from Sherlock, which really goes to show you just how amazing the brains behind Holmes is. One author who comes quite close to him is the creator of Poirot. Poirot is one hell of a detective, though a less brooding and more fashion-wise one. However, Holmes most definitely remains my number one genius detective.

How do I get my Holmes fix now? Well, even though my memories of the book are slightly vague, I still have them on my iPod and I've have been hooked into the British series, Sherlock, and the Warner Bros' movie, Sherlock Holmes, released in 2009.

Sherlock, the TV series, is an adaption of the private detective's stories in the modern world. The first season consisted of 3 episodes (long ones however). All three episodes involved mysteries instigated by the "unknown" Professor Moriarty, culminating in a cliff hanger scene in which Holmes shoots Moriarty in an attempt to save Watson... Unfortunately for us, the second series is set to be released in mid 2012. So I am left to wait till then.

And now we come to the real reason for the post, the original movie that inspired my insane interest and heart-pounding anticipation of a second movie. I remember sitting in the theater and watching the scenes unfold. It was simply amazing. What I enjoyed was the variation in the presentation of the story. Unlike the stories written by Doyle, we were given a glimpse into the thought processes of Holmes here and there, in the exact moment of the thought. And the casting for the movie, Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock, Jude Law as Watson, and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, just made the movie that much more vivid and thrilling (I'll just say that Robert Downey Jr rose in the ranks of the handful of actors I find appealing ^_^). And of course no movie is complete without a hair-raising and highly entertaining soundtrack. From the quirky music that accompanies Sherlock where he goes, to the mischievous melodies that follow Irene Adler, to the thundering music that has you on the edge of your seat, Hans Zimmer has definitely captured the spirit of the movie.

So now I am waiting with bated breath for the sequel, A Game of Shadows, to be released in less than two weeks. Even without seeing the trailers for the movie I have been so excited that I just want it to be out right now. Though I usually never see a movie more than once in theaters,I have already decided that I will be seeing the movie at least twice: once with my friends here and once again when I return home after finals.


To the anticipation of a mind blowing sequel, and part 2 of the track you have been listening to (or at least should have been listening to):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPM2QnJczQ0&feature=relmfu

And in the case you did enjoy the music, here are a few others that may just interest you too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJwLGXfajuc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-d5irupurA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvCHBNNxsUQ


P.S.: Please let me know if having music to listen works! Otherwise I shall abandon it and forever more rein the desire to provide your reading with a soundtrack. ^_^ Really though, comment and let me know!