Links And A Magical Consulting Detective.

So... it's been a while... I apologise for that, for some reason things got busy and when I did have the time for blogging, I had no inspiration. Current story of my life - 'I have time to write, yet I have no ideas/doubt my ideas... well damn, guess I'll just read all day.'
Anyway, I've decided to combine three blog posts into one, because I have time, and because I want to. My blog, my rules!
First things first, on Sunday, I finally bit the bullet and started uploading original fiction to Wattpad. I've been debating this for months, but have decided that it's a good idea to start uploading, because what have I got to lose? I've got ideas in my head, a novel series world to build, and the perfect place to start posting some short stories to hopefully gain some interest in my writing. So, I wrote my first 'worldbuilding' short story to my original novel series, and will hopefully continue to do so whenever I get the chance. If you want to check it out, the link is here. I've possibly not done everything I should have with posting it, but hey, I'm new, I'll work it out eventually. If anyone has some tips on how to use Wattpad though, please do drop me a message - I'm useless with new websites!
Another thing I've recently posted is my new vlog, this time about 'Beating Writers Block' which is a bit appropriate considering how blocked I've been lately. So I figured I'd make a vlog to a) lift my own block and b) help others with it too. I hope some of the tips in there help you guys out!
Finally on the links front, I've also set up an account on PeoplePerHour, where anybody can hire me (for a small fee) to proofread their work/write 'about me' pages, or anything like that. So if there's anything you need proofing, or written, come hire me.
Now that business is attended to, let's talk Magic Mike XXL and Mr Holmes. Two very different films, and two films I thoroughly enjoyed for completely different reasons.
I watched both yesterday back to back in the cinema with my best friend, because we love a bit of Sherlock Holmes (even though I'm die hard BBC and she's Elementary... I won't go into that, I'd be here forever) and we loved the first Magic Mike. So we thought, why not? Let's have a cinema day! And that's how we found ourselves in the cinema for six hours to watch two films of completely different genre.
I'll start first with Mr Holmes, because we saw that one first. To say that I wasn't expecting what I saw is an understatement. In my head, I expected Ian McKellin's version of Mr Holmes to be well, like my Sherlock Holmes, brash, bold, beautifully flawed. But instead, what we see is an old man, a very ill old man, trying to figure out one last case with the help of his housekeeper's son. At 93, Sherlock Holmes hasn't solved a case in thirty years, after one fateful case, yet he can't remember why it was his last case, just that it was. John wrote it down of course, as he did with all of their cases, but the ending to this particular one doesn't feel right to Mr Holmes. So he tries to remember and write it down himself, in between tending to his bees and recalling his trip to Japan for a Prickly Ash plant.
I won't tell you why he wants that particular tree, or what happens in the case, but I will say this. Mr Holmes is an incredibly sad film if you're a die hard Sherlock Holmes fan who loves the character. If you're like me, and have enough time on your hands to analyse whichever source material you love most (for me it's BBC all the way), coming to the conclusion that Sherlock Holmes is an incredibly lonely man, then this film was be just a tad bit devastating, and then some. The writers have admittedly messed with canon a lot, leading to only mentions and shots of John from the neck down, a two minute scene with Mycroft and a Mrs Hudson who never speaks. All of which makes Sherlock the centre of this film, instead of it being Sherlock-and-ensemble cast. In that sense, it was a new take on the original canon, yet at the same time, I want to condemn the writers for doing that, as I know in canon John retires with Sherlock in Sussex, Mrs Hudson does talk and while Mycroft is more in the shadows, he's still there, instead of leaving his poor brother to fend for himself in this big, dark world.
Yet, despite this, I did enjoy the film greatly. Having only seen modern BBC Sherlock and Robert Downey Jnr's versions (don't sue me Sherlockian purists) until the long awaited Victorian Christmas Special comes out, it was great to see this great character as Arthur Conan Doyle intended, just quite a few years older, and without his usual team behind him. Ian McKellin did not disappoint as Sherlock Holmes either, something I never doubted he would for a second. There was not one minute of Gandalf The Grey or Magneto reflected in his performance, I almost completely forgot he was also those characters. Ian really was Sherlock Holmes, and dare I say it, more believable than Robert Downey Jnr. Maybe because he was English and subtle in his deductions, maybe because I wasn't expecting him to turn into Iron Man at any given moment, either way, I thoroughly enjoyed Ian's performance as Sherlock Holmes.
So, while the film is incredibly sad for people who believe Sherlock Holmes to be a very isolated character in their own canon, and also had me begging to see a little bit of Sherlock's interactions with John Watson, I did enjoy it. Little Roger was a joy to watch, and the way they treat Sherlock's illness is heartbreaking and beautifully written. The little tie-ins to the canon are perfect (seeing Phil Davis - the killer in BBC's A Study In Pink was a lovely little touch to the BBC's most famous production of the stories) and the film did just enough to make it stand out against the masses of other adaptions. Well done Mr Holmes!
Magic Mike on the other hand, was a whole different ballgame. Whole different genre, whole different universe to Mr Holmes. Obviously set in the present, Magic Mike XXL focuses back on ex-stripper Mike, taking one last trip to Myrtle Beach with his old stripper gang to take part in the stripper convention. The entire crew have decided to pack in stripping and get normal jobs, and so have decided to go out on a high together, having one last dance together before they say goodbye to dancing and hello to the 9-5 grind (no pun intended).
Again, I won't give away too much, but the plot surprised me again, as the first one did too. When I walked in to both Magic Mike films, I was expecting a whole lot of hot naked men, lots of dancing and not much plot (not that I was complaining) but instead I got hot men with depth and differing personalities, a bit of stripping and a real plot line. This is not about a group of men who don't want anything but to strip for their entire lives, this is a group of men who love stripping, but want real jobs, real girlfriends, and to follow their passions.
What surprised me even more, was just how respectful this film was to women. I really was not expecting this film to be so respectful to women, instead I was expecting us females to be used as basically props to hold up every male character. And while there aren't that many, given big parts, there are a few who jump in and out, all of whom aren't treated like props. They have thoughts and feelings, are witty and have desires. A group of middle aged women are not treated as throw-away women who are 'past their prime' they're treated with respect by Mike and his friends. They are told repeatedly that they deserve love and respect, that they deserve to be romanced and taken to cloud 9 by their man. Another female character does not back down to Mike once, instead puts him through his paces, and when she MCs for him and his team, she never stops telling the girls around them that they are queens and goddesses, that they are beautiful and deserve the attention these strippers are given them.
Hell, even the girls in the dances at the end aren't all stick thin models either. At least two plus sized women are given huge amounts of attention by our strippers, WOC were given huge amounts of attention, so many body types were included. I never expected that, it's subtle, but it's there, and I loved that about Magic Mike XXL.
The actual story line of the film is a good one too, the dialogue is witty again, and gives each character their own depth and personality. They're all given an opportunity to explore what they want their act to be, what they're going to do after their weekend of fun is over. It's bittersweet to watch, and more compelling than I thought. I expected pretty faces and no personality, I got pretty faces and personalities to match.
So while I wanted a tad bit more stripping (a girl does have needs) what I got was a film about beautiful men with real personalities, diverse amounts of women, and a whole lot of laughs. The Twilight and Matrix send ups were a fantastic surprise, Matt Bomer singing had me nearly falling out of my chair in surprise, and the end stripping scene more than made up for the lack throughout the rest of the film.
If you made me choose between Magic Mike XXL and Mr Holmes, I physically couldn't do it, I loved both equally for entirely different reasons. Mr Holmes was poignant and intriguing, Magic Mike was funny and a whole lot more inclusive than first thought. I'd recommend seeing both films, though just maybe not back to back, it's a culture shock to see both within the same day!