Action movies

Sherlock Holmes
    A new take on an old theme.  Robert Downey Jr. is Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law is Watson. 
   Lord Blackwood murders women and is caught.  He tells Holmes that "Death is only the beginning."  (Shades of the Mummy!) 
   The problem is he doesn't stay dead.  He's seen afterwards, quite alive thank you.  A new character shows up, Irene Adler.  Holmes is very leery about her.  I think he has great affection for her, but she's outsmarted him twice and she tends toward thievery. 
    Holmes has other problems.  Watson plans on moving out and getting married.  Holmes doesn't take that well.  Watson stays to help him with this case, but the tension between them grows.  It's a far fetched plot that gets more down to earth as you learn more.  You certainly have to stay awake to watch this or you'll miss quite a bit!  You can't just watch the action, you have to observe the scenery to get even more information.
    I adored this.  Finally, Watson is more than just a sidekick.  You see just how much Holmes needs him.  Holmes is more than a little erratic and is very self-destructive.  He needs Watson for stability, for his very sanity if truth be told. 
    I always hated the old Sherlock movies.  Watson was a real pain to watch in them.  In this one, there wasn't a single "Elementary, my dear Watson."  Thank you, thank you!!  That was annoying!  This is going to be added to my library very soon.

Remo Williams: the Adventure Begins
1985
This is based on the Destroyer series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.  The movie is campy but very funny and very watchable.
    Remo (Fred Ward) is chosen by a super secret organization to become an assassin.  He doesn't get a choice about it.  Either join or die. 
    His first assassination is a little Korean guy.  This is a hilarious part, since this is his future trainer.   Chiun (Joel Gray) takes him down without effort.  Chiun has a lot of unflattering things to say about Remo's abilities, but he agrees to teach him. 
    Remo is less than thrilled.  He's forced to eat wholesome food, like rice.  He's also expected to master his fears.  Since he's afraid of heights, Chiun makes him jog on top of buildings.  Along the ledges.  Remo improves greatly, but he's not happy.
    A feisty young woman is investigating Grove Industries.  One of their guns blew up in a young grunt's face.  Her search irritates Grove, who orders her termination.  Remo keeps getting in their way.  She gets very annoyed with Remo, since she doesn't realize someone is trying to kill her.
    It's campy, it's silly, it's loads of fun.  This I enjoyed from start to finish.  The tongue in cheek humor, the clashes between Chiun and Remo, the fast pace, it's a truly delightful blend that works very well.  I loved it when I first saw it and it didn't lose anything the second time around.