SHERLOCK: HOW DID HE DO IT? **Spoilers**




  It's late. After midnight so I don't have time to google and view ALL the comments about "How did Sherlock fake his suicide?" Someone may have come up with "solution" besides me but I really don't know.

I've been thinking and thinking about what one of the authors said in an interview about this show. He said that there was a clue in the movie; something Sherlock did that was "out of character" and was a clue to how Sherlock might have done it. He even said he was surprised that no one seemed to have caught it.

I've watched that episode (season 2, episode 3) over and over looking and listening for that one clue. I couldn't stop watching it until I found that clue! Although I doubt that will stop me watching it and all the Sherlock episodes. They are a work of genius and a work of art.

So, I finally heard THE clue. It was somewhat anticlimactic since the internet traffic with hundreds if not millions of people posting constantly. The furor seems to be over for now.

Here's what I think. Sherlock was so terribly rude to Kitty. He's usually indifferent or detached from people that he considers unimportant or not worthy of his attention. Here, in this scene, he is deliberately mean to her.

He says to her and her recording device, "You repel me."

So out of all the clues and red-herrings and other mysterious elements, this is THE clue I have been scouring the DVD to hear. I feel pretty confident that this is it.

It's a pun. Repel and rapell. Rock climbing--the way a person gets down from a very high cliff, a mountain, or building in this case. Using ropes and body harnesses..

Sherlock made sure John would only see the beginning of the fall. Then John hit his head on the pavement so he was dopey. The people around Sherlock made sure John didn't get to close, pulled his hand away when he was groping for a pulse.

Since it's obvious that Sherlock set this all up, that those surrounding him on the pavement were the homeless network (that "clue" was when he said the homeless network were easier to "bribe" than the police. I also think Molly arranged the paramedics to cart "the body" into the hospital.

That's it. Sherlock rapelled down from the roof after he took a free fall half the way, the half that John could witness. I don't know how, but he did.

The mystery now is, why was he so scared? He's afraid of heights? No, he jumped between buildings in the first episode. Was he was thinking he might really die? Maybe. He was definitely worried about that when he told Molly, "I think I'm going to die."  He hoped the people he was counting on were in place and ready to go into action when he jumped? Could he trust all of it to work? If so, did that thought make him doubt his arrogant attitude that he was so much smarter and capable than other people? Did that make him feel he was a fake? Whatever it was, it made him tremble, look scared, and fight off crying.

Only time will tell. One thing I do see is that Sherlock was worried about Moriarty killing him so he had to plan some sort of "death" for himself before Moriarty got the chance. He chose the roof of a hospital. How convenient.

That's my guess of the clue "everyone missed" that told "how he might have done it". I'm pretty confident that's what it was. The mechanics of how he actually repelled is still a mystery. It could be any explanation, any scenario. After all, it's fiction. It's fantasy at it's best. 

Oh, yeah. The dummy at the beginning of the episode was hanging from a rope. Aha. Hint? I think I saw a rope curled up on the roof  when Sherlock and John were having their phone call/suicide note. Are these more subtle clues?

What about the big red lettered graffiti on the wall behind Sherlock and John while they were escaping from police custody? Of course most viewers, if not all, caught a glimpse of them. They were I.O.U. I also noticed, though, in subsequent viewings, that the rest of that graffiti was a big pair of wings.

It's good to read a well-written mystery and it's great to watch a well-written movie. Thanks guys.

Over and out. Sandy Schairer

BURNING MAN--MATTHEW GOODE

I've been searching the Internet today trying to find information about Burning Man starring Matthew Goode. It's the only one of his movies I haven't seen.  

I've seen many links that say "see full movie online now for free". But, alas, these are come-on ads zapping me to streaming sites with free trials. Most of the time they offer other movies besides the one's they say they're offering. Or like that.

As far as I can tell, this movie is just not available in United States yet.

I earlier saw the DVD for sale on an Australian site but I was unable to find it again today. It was over $30. And just think of the postage from there to here.

Searching online lead me to a site saying: In theaters July 27, 2012 (limited) and on demand starting July 20 on DishTV and Comcast. But theaters where? Albuquerque? United States? Plus I don't do Dish or Cable so what else can I do but.

Part of the problems in googling is that there are a number of movies with the title Burning Man. Amazon has a couple for sale right now, none of which have Matthew Goode in them. Some choices include the Burning Man or "Zozobra" Festivals. Been there, done that. You can imagine the traffic jams in Santa Fe.

But these other burning men have nothing to do with my desire to see Matthew Goode role-ing around in a bundle of emotions complete with over-the-top acting-out behavior. Hoping the trailer is for-real.
 
I see on IMDb that Matthew's Burning Man received a number of nominations for FCCA (including nomination for Matthew as best actor) and three wins in Awgie--best film [writing] and FCCA for best editor & best musical score.

It received nothing but good reviews.

The movie opened in Australian theaters October 2011. No idea when it will be available here in America.
I have it on my Netflix "save" list.

I've watched all of Matt's other movies on DVD from Netflix. Even bought Leap Year and Imagine Me and You. They're not everyone's cup of tea (romantic comedy) but I slurped them up with milk and sugar.

Goode was so good in The Lookout. My Family and Other Animals was an enjoyable, delightful, funny movie. Even though he didn't have many scenes, Goode--as usual--did very well.

I was concerned that his remarks about Leap Year a couple years ago jinxed his opportunities for doing more American movies. I loved Leap Year but evidently Matthew didn't. (No further comment from me.)

Here is the list of his roles from IMDb that he's done, or will do, since he did Burning Man.

Belle (pre-production)
2012 The Poison Tree (TV mini-series) (filming)
2012 Birdsong (TV series) 

– Episode #1.2 (2012) … Captain Gray

– Episode #1.1 (2012) … Captain Gray

2012 Dancing on the Edge (TV series)  

MORIARTY DEAD?

Andew Scott as Moriarty in Sherlock

Is he really dead?  I HOPE not. It would be a terrible waste of a  a great villain.

Moriarty is the most delightful villain since TNG writers created the Borg.




As Moriarty told Sherlock during their tea party, “Every fairytale needs a good villain.”

And Andrew Scott was good. I just loved his eloquent dance in the Tower getting ready to “steal” the Crown Jewels’, his creepy singsong and utterly chilling voice that goes up an octave when he’s making threats, and his innocent looking evil smile when he’s telling Sherlock just what he what he plans to do him. 

Oh, no, he didn’t tell Sherlock what he was going to do to him during tea. He said “I already told you. You weren’t listening.” Then when?

My mind keeps going back to the beginning of episode one when Moriarty, instead of blowing Sherlock up he gets right up in his face and says, “I will BURN you. I will burn the HEART out of you. Was this a death threat or a threat to break Sherlock by getting to his “heart”?

I have a novel idea that hasn’t been considered (I think.) Moriarty isn’t the big bad villain we’ve been lead to think. I think he works for Irene Adler. I think SHE’s the big bad guy. (There are more than a few clues as to this theory.)

I know that’s an absurd theory but it proves the point that in a good suspense thriller mystery NOTHING is what it seems.  (And I've changed my theories about this episode  any times as my blog readers will attest.)

It was clear Sherlock was attracted to Irene. She’s obviously someone considers as smart as he which would be the only way a woman could get to him. She let’s him know she is attracted to him, too. Was Moriarty speaking for her when he says he will burn the HEART out of him?

Irene got to him so strongly that he actually had EMOTIONS in this episode!

After all she made her living in S&M and Moriarty claimed to be an actor.

Did Sherlock fake his suicide because he wanted to go undercover, way under, to continue detecting this mystery? Or another?

Sherlock is a work of art.

Moriarty as Andrew Scott

Will Moriarty and Andrew Scott be coming back for season 3?

It won't happen. Link about Andrew Scott as Moriarty, in case you're interested:
http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/sherlock/21117/what-villains-can-we-expect-in-sherlock-series-3

Link to Andrew Scott as everybody else (acting career).
He won the BAFTA award for best supporting actor but he obviously stole the show at the end.

Thanks Andrew. Be seein' ya. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/andrew-scott-a-pinup-who-is-hard-to-pin-down-6288320.html 

ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S SHERLOCK

I can't stop hitting a dead horse...or a "dead" Sherlock for that matter.

I tend to think the keys to the screenplay of the last episode of season 2, in which Moriarty shoots himself and Sherlock jumps to his death, can somehow be gleaned by knowing the stories of the elements in the story: Grimm's Fairy Tales and the stories in Doyle's tales of the most famous detective in history...sorry Hercule you're really dead in Agatha Christie's last book about Poirot.

Conan Doyle

I think the biography of Conan Doyle (is that his last name or is Conan his middle name?) may give us some insight into Sherlock the character. This information was, of course, available to the screenwriters of modern Sherlock. Hopefully they don't rely on Wickipedia like I do.

I'm not sure how to refer to Conan Doyle. Is Conan part of his last name or one of his middle names? Why do public people need to use middle names anyway unless someone else has the same name?  There is a modern athlete Conan Doyle. Oh. He was: "Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle  (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930...a Scottish physician and writer...he was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels."

Evidently he had a lot of time on his hands between patients.

This is the link to Wikipedia's site with Conan Doyle's bio.  Arthur Conan Doyle 

Of course any information on the internet is filtered through a writer's understanding. Historical facts tend to become popular mythology within two or three generations. And in the case of some stories we hear on news broadcasts it's much faster than that--say a day or two. So facts are some the the greatest fiction we'll ever run across.

In a nutshell, Doyle wrote for years, got tired of Sherlock and killed him off, or so he intended, in The Final Problem. Due to popular outcry he brought Sherlock back to life as if he'd been alive all the time. Sherlock was gone for 10 years, at least on paper.

The new Sherlock series is loosely based on the stories in the Conan Doyle series. For instance the titles are (slightly) different--Study in Pink vs. Study in Scarlet. I think viewers versed in English Literature who knows Conan Doyle stories well can follow the TV series along and see where the stories may have the same elements and where they differ. I myself didn't spend much time on English Lit in college.

I think there are also clues in the clues in the series. What good would a mystery be without clues? .

What would a good TV series be without a little, "What the hell was THAT about?" Not the element of surprise but more the element of bafflement.

So I don't want to go on and on about this. I would like to learn more about the Sherlock novels & short stories and get a little knowledge of Grimms' Fairy Tales (which in their day were pretty grim before Disney got hold of them.) There are several of their dark tales that might be a "basis" for the clash between Sherlock & Moriarty--if indeed the screenwriters even used a "basis".  I surmise they are way more well-versed in all literature and vastly more clever than I can even suspect.

One of the faked Cottlington Fairy Photo

Here's a little about Doyle and his conception of Moriarty (perhaps). It might help to know that in later life Doyle was a spiritualist (talking to the dead) and believed in the Cottington Fairies. He also believed Houdini was truly supernatural even thought Houdini tried to convince him otherwise.




Wikipedia:  "Death" of Sherlock Holmes

"In 1890 Conan Doyle studied ophthalmology in Vienna, and moved to London, first living in Montague Place and then in South Norwood. He set up a practice as an ophthalmologist. He wrote in his autobiography that not a single patient crossed his door. This gave him more time for writing, and in November 1891 he wrote to his mother: "I think of slaying Holmes... and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." His mother responded, "You won't! You can't! You mustn't!"

In December 1893, in order to dedicate more of his time to what he considered his more important works (his historical novels), Conan Doyle had Holmes and Professor Moriarty apparently plunge to their deaths together down the Reichenbach Falls in the story "The Final Problem". Public outcry, however, led him to bring the character back in 1901, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, though this was set at a time before the Reichenbach incident. In 1903, Conan Doyle published his first Holmes short story in ten years, "The Adventure of the Empty House", in which it was explained that only Moriarty had fallen; but since Holmes had other dangerous enemies—especially Colonel Sebastian Moran—he had arranged to also be perceived as dead. Holmes ultimately was featured in a total of 56 short stories and four Conan Doyle novels, and has since appeared in many novels and stories by other authors.

Jane Stanford compares some of Moriarty's characteristics to those of the Fenian John O'Connor Power. 'The Final Problem' was published the year the Second Home Rule Bill passed through the House of Commons. 'The Valley of Fear' was serialised in 1914, the year, Home Rule, The Government of Ireland Act (Sept.18) was placed on the Statute Book."


Final note: Didn't the TV show have Sherlock's brother say something to John (Watson) they didn't want a  repeat of  1922? Or was it 1962? You can look that up for yourself.

PS: I thought I wrote on one of the Sherlock blogs it was my opinion that this episode of Sherlock was acted expertly by Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and especially Andrew Scott. He was a deliciously evil villain and stole the show. He can't possibly be dead because we want to see more of him!!! Whose willing to bet me Moriarty shows up on "The Storyteller" TV series of Rich Brooks?

The Man Who Wasn't There

THIS MOVIE IS A WORK OF ART

I conjured up a movie on Netflix streaming last night and I wasn't sure I'd like it because of a few unimportant reasons.

One, it was done in black & white. Two, it had Billy Bob Thornton in it (heck, he WAS it) and three, I thought it would be just another boring thriller suspense mystery crime drama like I watch everyday. 

Then I saw it was a Coen brothers movie and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

The Coen brothers have a deeply disturbing sense of humor. That's my kinda guy.

This was a good movie. There was nothing about this movie that wasn't good. There is no way I'm going to say a word without it being a spoiler. You have to see this one and appreciate it for yourself.

It's a work of art.

DREAM CATCHER

The title of this movie fooled me twice. I read the Stephen King book and my impression was “icky.” (It’s the book King mentioned in his autobiographical book On Writing, as being the story his wife referred to as “The Shit Weasels.” Yeah, that’d a perfect title too.)




The first time I saw Dreamcatcher was at the theater when it was new. I don’t know why I thought it would be better than the book. Maybe I didn’t even realize it was the same Dreamcatcher as the book. It’s just a cool title.



The movie was better than the book. For one reason it was shorter and less complicated. The long scenes from the book were condensed in the movie for maximum shock purposes.



Years later I joined Netflix. I saw the Dreamcatcher DVD was available. Thinking it was a paranormal story about Native American lore, I sent for it.



Surprise! It was the same movie based on the Stephen King book of the same name.



This time the movie was definitely better.



One—the screen was smaller and it the gross scenes weren’t right-up-in-my face like it was in on the theater big screen.



Two—I paid more attention to the movie and understood it better.



Three—I enjoyed the actors and characters more this time around.



Four—One of the main characters was played by Damian Lewis, the British actor I’ve come to appreciate from shows like the short detective series Life, BBC mini-series The Forsyte Saga, a romantic comedy (sort of) like Assassin in Love and one movie about a nut case that I can’t remember the title and couldn’t watch all the way through anyway. He’s not handsome and nor spectacular actor but he’s good enough for me. (Of course he’s an alpha male type which you don’t see very often in real life. As a Zen ex-con detective in Life he does these long looks into peoples eyes like he can see into their souls. Melted my heart. He has a British accent and does a perfect American accent. He uses both of these accents in a remarkable way in Dreamcatcher. All while in an extremely involved fast scene. (Damien has red hair too and blue eyes—two of my favorite qualities in an actor, heck in men and women.)



Five—well, after thinking about Damien Lewis, I’ve forgotten what # 5 is.



I do like watching closely to see Stephen King in a cameo appearance in the movie like Alfred Hitchcock in his. It’s exciting to find him and disappointing when I don’t. So look fast so you don’t miss him.



Dreamcatcher is not necessarily a drama nor a horror movie, a thriller, a fantasy. It’s in a category of its own. Stephen King stories usually are. You can decide. If it’s too icky for you, close your eyes don’t skip the movie just because the sight of a little blood makes you sick.



Stephen King fans will want to rent this one even if they’ve seen it already. It follows the book in case you don’t like movies based on books that have no remote connection to the original story.



People who haven’t see it yet, don’t be fooled by the title. Remember it’s not about that little round thingy they hang over a baby’s bed to keep bad dreams away. It’s not about a dream and it doesn’t keep bad things away.

BURNING MAN with Matthew Goode

I see only one DVD available on the internet of this Australian movie.

It's $38.

I've heard it's well done and good. And I love Matthew Goode (as an actor).

But do I love him enough to pay $38 for a DVD with shipping from Australia?
What would other Matthew Goode fans do?

BARTON FINK

I just finished watching Barton Fink award winning, low-grossing film (only $6million).



I got it from NetFlix and I swear I don’t remember renting it and putting it on the top of my queue.

But there you go...


Since it was about a writer with writer’s block, and I’m a writer (sort of), I might have thought this movie was about writer's block. LOL. I wanted to see a funny movie about writing...i.e., "funny haha". As it was, it was "funny strange".

Even so...


It was a bit more bizarre than I expected. I also expected a surprise ending that would make everything okay if not actually tie up the loose ends or even giving us a hint as to why it was so strange.

Sure enough, though, it WAS a shocking surprise. Shock #1: seeing it just end instead of drawing to a close. #2: noticing at the end that the Coen brothers wrote the script. That was a big surprise for me. 

If you've ever seen a Coen brothers movie you know what I'm talking about. (Now that I think of it, #2 wasn't such a surprise at all. I should have guessed.) 

I wish I'd known it was written by the Coen brothers before I fired up my DVD player.

But what do I know...

There are lots and lots of words posted on the internet about Barton Fink. I suspect if you took the time to read a bunch of them it would take you longer than actually watching the movie.


The crap written about all the symbology is about as enlightening as the symbology crap written about Mulholland Drive. Viewers with half a brain can actually find their own symbols. Forget about obscure literary and historical allusions because if you have to hunt for them, or have someone tell you about them, well, that's just not what watching movies should be about.


If you like weird and/or Coen brother's movies, you will like Barton Fink for sure. 

The acting was very good. (And sort of like the clown show at the circus--you don't know whether to laugh or to be frightened.)

But seriously, if you read all the reviews and deconstructions about it, skip the movie. If you want to watch the movie, skip all the internet things written about it.

So...

That's that.