Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)  Action

Directors: Guy Ritchie

Writers: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney

Stars:

 Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Jared Harris
THE BUZZ: Aside from the hokey supernatural stuff and the underutilization of Rachel McAdams, I thought Guy Ritchie did a bang-up job in delivering the world of Arthur Conan Doyle to present-day fans and newbies alike (you can imagine that the presence of RDJ was a gateway into all things Holmes for many of the people that made the first movie a runaway worldwide hit). Reportedly the story will involve the Holmes Bros. and Watson chasing Prof. Moriarty across Europe; I cann't wait to see what "Mad Men"'s Jared Harris brings to the sequel (he was the surprise - and quite fitting - pick to play Holmes's chief nemesis) as well as Noomi Rapace in her first major post-Lisbeth role.


Underworld Awakening (2012)  Action

Directors: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein

Writers: Len Wiseman (screenplay), John Hlavin

Stars:

 Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy and India Eisley
THE BUZZ: We feel as though Len Wiseman should have returned to the director's chair, but he earned the potentially dubious honor of handling the Colin Farrell-starring Total Recall remake at Sony, so the call went out to Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, the Swedish duo whose thriller Shelter is being held captive by The Weinstein Company (for good reason, we hear). Distributor Screen Gems, home of the more successful Resident Evil series, will undoubtedly milk this vampire/werewolf saga for every last silver coin. Something tells us newcomer India Eisley is being groomed to potentially take over the franchise since it's reported that she's playing Selene's daughter here. She's the Jeremy Renner to Kate Beckinsale's Tom Cruise?