shyamksriram Reviews

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)

The first movie I ever saw ...

[9/10 · 28 January 2005]

All right I take that back. This may not have been the first movie I ever saw (I think that was either "Return of the Jedi" or "The Rescue Rangers"), but this was the first movie I remember enjoying thoroughly. This is the bonding film for my dad and I. He used to quote Madeline Kahn's lines all the time while we were growing up ("I have a little dimple on my cheek ..."). Like my impassioned review of Wonka for IMDb, I'm again very partial to the acting of Gene Wilder, who I believe is one of American's all-time comic gems. He was a master of body comedy. Just look at him when he finds Zero Mostel kissing a client in "The Producers." I love this movie because it is so absurd. I remember thinking that as a child, but watching it now, do I really understand. I guess a lot of people didn't "get it" because the movie was so unconventional. Wilder's acting as Sherlock (or as he puts it "Sheer-Luck") Holmes's younger brother is funny as hell, but Marty Feldman as a cross-eyed detective? Even better. And the other casting is fantastic too - Kahn, Leo McKern, Dom DeLuise and Roy Kinnear all act brilliantly.

This movie will always mean more to me than most people. However, I urge you to see it if you always wanted to or never even heard about it, because I believe you will definitely take something positive away from it.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

The greatest children's movie of all time

[10/10 · 28 January 2005]

My love affair with this movie started when I was just a child. I don't remember when I watched it for the first time, but I do know that I took it for granted for several years that this was the best children's movie I had ever seen ("Charlotte's Web" and several of the Muppet movies were up there too). Now, as an adult, I watch Wonka every few months and am simply amazed how timeless everything is about it. I know that the new Depp vehicle will be a better version of the book and Dahl's fantastic writing will come to life through Tim Burton, but I doubt if the new movie will ever take away from the magic of Gene Wilder; the acting by the five fantastic kids; and of course, the chocolate. My favorite scene has to be while Wilder is singing "Pure Imagination" in the Chocolate Room. It is timeless.