I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Jill Brumer

Showing posts with label Jill Brumer. Show all posts

“Those Shots Must Have Told Him that the Game was Up.” [HOUN]

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 Editor's note: this is another review in our continuing series from our contributors. If you would like to contribute to the site, please <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/p/about-me.html">click here</a>. It has been three years since the original Guy Ritchie reboot of the Sherlock Holmes film franchise. At the time, Holmes hadn't been seen on the big screen in years, and excitement for this new take on the classic character was huge. We were promised a faster, rougher Holmes from the director of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000093FLA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000093FLA%22">Snatch</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007ELEP/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00007ELEP">Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels</a>, and that’s exactly what we got. The best part? It was fun, if not exactly true to the original characters and tales as told by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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 <a href="http://sherlockholmes2.warnerbros.com/">Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows</a> opened this weekend to a substantially different reception. While the original film brought in over $60 million it’s first weekend, GAME barely topped out at $40 million. Were we all just tired of waiting three years to see more of Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes? Or have we seen all that Ritchie had to offer and just don’t feel the need to pay to see any more? Part of this reviewer’s personal apathy towards seeing the film was the fact that, yes, I enjoyed seeing the original <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OQCV6A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001OQCV6A">Sherlock Holmes</a> for Christmas in 2009, but that’s before the BBC television series, Sherlock, had aired. Seeing Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman embody the fully-modernized Holmes and Watson in Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat’s three episode series is everything you hoped the big-budget Ritchie film would be: clever, exciting, and extremely well done. If Sherlock didn’t exist as a series, then maybe, just maybe, GAME wouldn’t have disappointed quite as much as it did. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows finds Watson (the handsomely-mustachioed Jude Law) about to marry, and Holmes teetering on the edge of psychosis. Is Holmes manic, has he lost his edge? the film seems to ask. The film never misses a moment of making Holmes seem, well, incredibly ridiculous—whether he is downing a glass of formaldehyde rather than brandy, or trotting along on a tiny pony while everyone else rushes by on their full-sized horses. If the filmmaker’s objective was to make Holmes look downright silly, rather than classically brilliant, or even heroic, then consider this movie a success. The film is much more an action film than a well-written mystery, centering around the machinations of Holmes’ latest obsession, Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris, whom Americans will recognize from the AMC series <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YABIQ6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000YABIQ6">Mad Men</a>). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the climax happens at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, which is not an incredibly exciting plot point to anyone who knows anything about the canon of Holmes stories. That being said, there were some very beautiful shots in the film. The scene with Holmes, Watson, and their gypsy companion, played by Noomi Rapace, running through the woods while under heavy artillery fire leaps to mind. My viewing companion (not a Holmes aficionado) enjoyed the film very much, so I believe it stands on its own as an enjoyable time at the movies. I can’t help my reservations at recommending the film, though. Any movie that sets out to make the Great Detective seem silly overall is doing the legacy quite an injustice. Word is that the green light has been given to a third film as well, so we’ll just have to endure more action-packed ridiculousness from the Ritchie group. All of this Hollywood Holmes stuff just leaves me wondering, ‘When does the BBC “Sherlock” air in the US?’ This reviewer is ready to see some really taut storytelling and acting as befits the great Sherlock Holmes. </div>
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Jill Brumer is a small business owner, college drama professor, and all around creative type who has lived all over the States. She has her father to thank for purchasing her first Sherlock Holmes story when she was twelve years old- the fascination has never stopped!--

“Those Shots Must Have Told Him that the Game was Up.” [HOUN]

Editor's note : this is another review in our continuing series from our contributors. If you would like to contribute to the site, pl...

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by Scott Monty

The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game — The Copper Beeches

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“your good man should have no want of drink” [COPP]</h4>
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[Guest post by Jill Brumer] 
 
The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game is back, fresh with a brand-new installment. This time, we drink along to “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” a truly terrifying tale for all the characters involved, but especially tough for the women who reside in the building of the title. 
 
Lucky for us, dear reader, we have the inestimable Violet Hunter to lead us through the story, and to prove that smart women really are something to be reckoned with, even in Victorian times. In fact, in honor of Miss Hunter and how plucky she is, we will be raising a glass not only for the original rules of The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game (which can be found here: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/sherlock-holmes-in-national/sherlck-holmes-fans-21-up-the-sherlock-holmes-drinking-game-has-arrived">The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game</a>), but also every time Violet Hunter does something awesome. 
 
For the drink itself, I wanted to stir up something special, because it’s not everyday we meet a female character in the Canon who can hold her own like Violet Hunter can. And also, it needed to be coppered-colored (of course). Here’s what I’ve come up with:</div>
<ul>
<li>3 parts scotch whiskey</li>
<li>1 part violet liqueur</li>
</ul>
 
Now, yes, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_de_violette">violet liqueur</a> can be hard to come by (although with the amount of flavored spirits nowadays, it shouldn’t give you too much trouble). If you are feeling slightly adventurous like our friend Miss Hunter, and you have access to actual real violets, I say try making your own! There are a lot of great tutorials out there for making flavored liqueurs, but my old stand-by is to put my ingredient (in this case, violets) in a jar with vodka and let it sit for a few weeks in the dark. Strain it and enjoy your very own, personally-made flavored liqueur! 
 
Now, on to the tale! 
 
Number of Drinks Taken: 13 
<ol>
<li>Take one drink for Violet entering 221B Baker Street.</li>
<li>Take one drink for Holmes and Watson dashing off in a cab (this time a trap, going out to meet Miss Hunter).</li>
<li>Take one drink for Holmes letting the villain go free (but not without tussling with the giant dog, first, of course).</li>
<li>Take ten drinks for Violet Hunter being incredibly smart, willing and able throughout the entire piece, and also for Holmes to take notice of her abilities, which is really something. Gems include concealing a piece of glass in her handkerchief so she could see through the window behind her; her investigation of the extra wing in the house, and, something that makes me smile, Holmes telling her “I should not ask it of you if I did not think you a quite exceptional woman.” </li>
</ol>
 
Cheers to that! 
 
Bonus: if you enjoy the women of the Canon - particularly the flowery Violets, you might like to pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Violets-Vitriol-Essays-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/1553100611?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Violets & Vitriol</a><img border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1553100611" />. 
 
 
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Editor's note: Jill Brumer is a small business owner, college drama professor, and all around creative type who has lived all over the States. She has her father to thank for purchasing her first Sherlock Holmes story when she was twelve years old- the fascination has never stopped! NB: I Hear of Sherlock neither advocates nor discourages the consumption of alcohol. Please behave responsibly and take heed of all local laws and ordinances. Know your limits and don't overimbibe. 
 
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The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game — The Copper Beeches

“your good man should have no want of drink” [COPP] [Guest post by Jill Brumer] The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game is back, fresh w...

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by Scott Monty

"As Cool as Ice" [ABBE]

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is tea, correct? </td></tr>
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Hello thirsty friends-- and welcome to the latest entry in the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game! I am excited to be bringing this intensely researched treatise (i.e., enormously fun drinking game) to you this week at our new home on the internet! 
 
 
As the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game is new to The Baker Street Blog, let me take a moment and run down the rules so all of you who are of age can play along. They are as follows: 
 
<ol>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes makes an amazing deduction</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes speaks badly about the police</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes lets a perpetrator go free</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes chastises Watson for not 'observing'</li>
<li>Take one drink every time someone rushes into the rooms at 221B</li>
<li>Take one drink every time Holmes and/or Watson dash off in a hansom cab</li>
</ol>
 
You can also check out the beginning of the Game and my first nine entries to The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game <a href="http://www.examiner.com/sherlock-holmes-in-national/sherlck-holmes-fans-21-up-the-sherlock-holmes-drinking-game-has-arrived">by clicking here</a>. 
 
We're so excited to be sipping a cocktail in our new home here at the Baker Street Blog, so get ready for an epic and delicious time! This week's tale is "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Coronet-Sherlock-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003IHVZV0?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003IHVZV0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />," a work of love, deception, jewels, and royal heads of state. In honor of the snowy location of the story, assemble the following: 
 
Beryl Coronet Cocktail 
2 parts vodka 
1 clementine slice 
2 cranberries 
Ginger ale 
Shaved ice 
 
Muddle the fruit and shake with the vodka. Pour over shaved ice (the snow!) and add a splash of ginger ale. Top with three cranberries (one for each of the missing beryls). You are now ready to enjoy your Beryl Coronet cocktail! 
 
We'll be following The <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/03/the-sherlock-holmes-drinking-game.html">Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game rules</a> as always, but this tale needs a little added extra. For "The Beryl Coronet," take a drink every time the word 'beryl' or 'coronet' is mentioned. Ready? Off we go! 
 
Number of Drinks Taken: 32 
 
<ul>
<li>Take one drink for Alexander Holder dashing in to 221B.</li>
<li>Take one drink for Holmes and his amazing deduction ("And he is a man with a wooden leg?")</li>
<li>Take one drink for the attempted thief getting away from Holmes in the end.</li>
<li>Take 29 drinks for the word beryl or coronet being used in this short story.</li>
</ul>
 
Sober up from that and plan to meet me back here next time as I continue to drink my way through the Canon. After all, it's no fun to be drinking alone! 
 
Editor's note: This is Jill Brumer's first post for the site. Jill Brumer is a small business owner, college drama professor, and all around creative type who has lived all over the States. She has her father to thank for purchasing her first Sherlock Holmes story when she was twelve years old- the fascination has never stopped! 
 
NB: the Baker Street Blog does not advocate the consumption of alcohol. Please behave responsibly and take heed of all local laws and ordinances. Know your limits and don't overimbibe. 
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