CD Giveaway - Sam Shrieve, "Bittersweet Lullabies"
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The current student at Berklee College of Music has a rock 'n' roll pedigree, but delivers a pleasing and diverse collection of soft pop on his debut record. Enter our contest for your chance to win!
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Prize Pack
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The second installment of the Twilight saga is hitting theaters, and we've got the stylish goodies you'll howl over!
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: April 4, 2006 Distributor: 20th Century Fox Director: · Gene Wilder Cast: · Gene Wilder · Madeline Kahn · Dom Deluise · Marty Feldman · Leo McKern Related Sites: ·IMDb: Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
Grade: B+
When crucial papers are stolen from Queen Victoria's trusted aide, the world turns to Sherlock Holmes to solve the case.
Unfortunately, he's not available. But Sherlock delegates the case to a lesser known S. Holmes -- his younger brother, Sigerson (Wilder). An inventor, a fencer, and a darned fine singer, Sigerson is nonetheless bitter about the fame heaped upon his older brother, "Sheer Luck" Holmes.
The game is afoot when retired police sergeant Orville Sacker (Marty Feldman) is sent to Sigerson to request help on behalf of Sherlock. Sacker has a unique gift -- he has "photographic hearing". That is, he can replay any conversation he's ever participated in, overheard, or lip-read, word for word; all it takes is a smack to the side of the head.
Jenny carries a wild story to Holmes and Sacker. L-R: Kahn, Wilder, Feldman
Of course, no case of this magnitude would be complete if it didn't center around a woman. And what a woman she is -- the magnificent Madeline Kahn plays a stage singer, Jenny Hill, who has been blackmailed into stealing the documents for an opera star (DeLuise) who has aspirations to make a ton of money from the person who desperately wants these documents: Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemy, Professor James Moriarty!
Wilder directs this slap-happy slapstick with all the verve and wit of Mel Brooks. Clever situations, bawdy sight gags, and just a touch of the non-sequitur make this the best comedy with the worst opera. You'll be laughing from start to finish, and humming the "Kangaroo Hop" long after.
The disc is double-sided, featuring both full-screen and widescreen versions of the film. The only other special feature is a nice one -- optional commentary by Gene Wilder himself. The only drawback is that he doesn't really speak that often, chiming in to comment on how much he liked a scene or how great a person was. I think the commentary track may have been a bit better if Wilder had someone else there with whom he could have carried on a conversation.
There are no real previews on this disc, but there are a trio of lengthy trailers for other Gene Wilder movies, including "Silver Streak", "Young Frankenstein", and "The World's Greatest Lover".
Setup allows for language selection of English in either mono or stereo. Spanish and French are available in mono only, and optional subtitles are available in English and Spanish.
