HOLMES & WATSON Solve a Mystery on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray/DVD and Digital from writer/director Ethan Cohen and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings together HOLMES & WATSON.

In the year 1881, Sherlock Holmes (Will Ferrell) and Dr. Watson (John C. Reilly) becomes friends from childhood to adulthood. Working on the criminal trial of nemesis Professor James Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), Holmes believes that the man on trial is a doppelganger. Inspector Lestrade (Rob Brydon) isn't happy when the fake Moriarty is set free.

But Holmes and Watson can't stand around and babble about it because they need to go to Buckingham Palace where a party given by Queen Victoria (Pam Ferris) is happening. The two men lock eyes with Dr. Grace Hart (Rebecca Hall) and her companion Millie (Lauren Lapkus) but that is interrupted by a body falling out of the Queen's cake. Adding to that a threat on the Queen's life has the Big Ben ticking down.

Now Watson works with Dr. Hart on the autopsy while Holmes stays outside with Millie - all four are having unusual feelings towards each other. Snapping back quickly, Holmes realizes that he must go to his brother Mycroft (Hugh Laurie) to get a little help and is told that he should look at someone close to him.

Trusting his brother leads Holmes to make a major mistake that he needs to correct because the pieces have fallen into place and there is no way Holmes will finish the case without his best friend Dr. Watson.

Ferrell as Sherlock Holmes is totally ridiculous yet he lands his lines in such a way that I had to think about what he was saying. His thought process is fast paced and has math in a way which is not my strong suit! That being said, only Ferrell could bring such a twistedness to a beloved icon of mystery solving. It also shows that Ferrell sees humor in the sense that no one is safe!

Reilly as Dr. Watson is really a twisted character who has an unusual and emotional heaviness towards Holmes and the Queen. That being said, the minute he walks in to take a selfie with her majesty, mayhem ensues and I couldn't imagine any other two actors that could pull it off.

Hall as Dr. Hart has a GHOST moment with Reilly's Dr. Watson that was so comically disturbing that I can't imagine they did it in one take. I personally would have cracked up repeatedly. Her character is strong and deals with the men trying to handle the fact that she is a doctor.

Fiennes as Moriarty is just as bad as he wants to be. I love Fiennes so whether the character he plays is good, bad or indifferent - I'm all in. Lapkus as Millie will never, ever, ever make me forget why I don't like onions. She is a straight faced character that I basically waited every time she was on screen for her to crack. Well done young lady, well done.

Ferris as Queen Victoria brings a presence that I thought was so cool. She carried herself with the grace of a Queen but took the slapstick and made it her own.

Other cast includes Steve Coogan as Gustav Klinger, Hugh Laurie as Mycroft Holmes, Bella Ramsey as Flotsam, Scarlet Grace as Pickle, Noah Jupe as Doxy, Braun Strowman as Brawn and Kelly Macdonald as Rose Hudson. Look out for a familiar Billy Zane that made me laugh.

Sony Pictures Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

The Bluray Exclusives include Line-O-Rama: Laugh Out Loud Outtakes with the Cast, Deleted & Extended Scenes, Will & John: Together Again, Seriously Absurd: A Look a the Cast, and Mrs. Hudson's Men: Exclusive Testimonials with Mrs. Hudson's Suitors.

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FINAL WORD: HOLMES & WATSON is a comedy that only Ferrell and Reilly could pull off. It is nice to see them together again as they seem to have a comedy chemistry. Starting off with TALLEDEGA NIGHTS: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby to STEP-BROTHERS, it is clear that these two men enjoy bringing laughs to fans.

There is a lot of adult humor, slapstick, twists, turns and silliness that make HOLMES & WATSON everything that these two actors do together. I can't imagine there wasn't a fun day on the set with these two. I will admit there were moments where I had to rewind things in my head as the story does twist a lot so be ready for that or just don't and laugh.

In the end - they are weapons of mass deduction!

HBO’s CRASHING is Looking for the Nearest Sofa!

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray this week from the mind of Pete Holmes and HBO Home Entertainment is the comedy series CRASHING: The Complete First Season.

Pete (Pete Holmes) is a Christian comedian who is trying to make his way onto the comedy circuit. Married to Jessica (Lauren Lapkus), Pete is happy with his life and where it is all going. Off to hand out flyers for his time on stage at the club, Pete comes home to find Jessica is bed with art teacher Lief (George Basil).

That’s when Jessica tells him she wants a different life and is moving to Florida with Lief. Pete goes on a comedy bender and meets Artie Lange who lets Pete spend a few nights crashing on his couch. When Lange goes on the road he takes Pete with him as a protector to keep from going on a drug or alcohol bender.

When that goes haywire, Pete meets T.J. Miller who gives Pete a day or two crashing on his couch. But when Pete learns he has to go save his belongings from Jessica’s yard sale, T.J. is along for the ride for sure. Lief tries to make amends with Pete by helping him retrieve comedy notebooks.

When the annual parent dinner comes around, Pete begs Jessica to go with him. She is surprised that he hasn’t told his parents of their divorce but feels the need to help him through it. Unfortunately, when Pete’s Mom begins on Jessica, all hades breaks loose.

Pete calls into Lange’s podcast and his guest Sarah Silverman encourages him to come and join the show. He arrives and begins sharing his messed up relationships and how it is being a Christian and a comic with Silverman. Later that night she sees Pete handing out flyers and invites him to come crash at her place.

Being cool with him, Silverman offers to help Pete get a ‘warm-up’ job with the Rachel Ray Show that goes amazingly well. Happy to have a job doing something fun, he has a new pep in his step. Of course after meeting Liefs wife and a few drinks, things go a little awry and so does the job.

Finally, Pete and Lange goes to the party of a friend back home at his church. After going through some serious talk with the pastor, he sees Jessica who seems to be having a crisis of faith of her own. This isn’t your ordinary baptism and Lange decides that perhaps he is missing something about it all.

This is the life of the ones who make us laugh!

Holmes as Pete is a seriously confused but hilarious guy who just wants to succeed at comedy. It’s hard to do when there isn’t any money and only so many couches you can crash on. Yet he manages to go from place to place meeting some hilarious individuals in their own comic right along the way. He is charming, sweet and in some sense innocent and that’s how he stumbles onto so many sofas. There is a part of this character that any soft hearted person would want to protect but then again he’s to fun to watch just how he is. Wonderfully done Pete!

Lapkus as Jessica also looks so sweet and innocent, that is until Lief comes out of the bathroom to Pete’s surprise. She wants something different and since she can’t get it from Pete, she’s happy to sell everything and start over again. Basil as Lief is a guy who just seems to not get it, or he does but is trying to take the Zen attitude and be buddy-buddy with Pete. He certainly made me laugh a few times.

The appearances of Arte Lange, T.J. Miller, Sarah Silverman are just fantastic because they see something in Pete and yet it feels like they weren’t acting at all. 

HBO Home Entertainment has an extensive array of critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking programs found on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD. They have provided viewers with some of the most amazing programs with huge fan bases that include the shows True Blood, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, True Detectives, The Wire, Entourage and Game of Thrones. Launched in 1984, HBO is world wide in viewed entertainment in more than 70 territories around the world! For more of what they have to offer please visit www.hbo.com.

The Bluray includes the episodes Artie Lange, The Road, Yard Sale, Barking, Parents, Warm-Up, Julie and The Baptism. CRASHING includes the bonus content of Guest Star Fan Club – Pete Holmes talks about his experience working with Lange, Miller, Buress and Silverman, Comedy Extras – the stylings of Miller, Nancheria, and Holmes performing scenes from Season One, About Crashing – the hilarious lowdown on CRASHING with Pete Holmes and executive producer Judd Apatow, The Art of Crashing – What it takes to make it in the comedy business from Pete Holmes and his cohorts.

CRASHING: The Complete First Season is truly a good time with a few tugs at the heartstrings along for the ride. Pete Holmes does a fantastic job of bringing a mixture of laughter and life to the series. If you haven’t seen enough, check out the Bluray as his first ever HBO stand-up comedy special Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds is included.

Want a chance to experience Pete Holmes and the HBO series CRASHING for yourself? Well, we can help with that as we have a giveaway happening. Please visit http://moviemaven.homestead.com to find out how you can win!

In the end – God help him!