Tag: Martin Freeman

Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville

Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville

by Mark Gatiss; dir. Paul McGuigan (BBC, 2012)

TV poster: “Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville” by Mark Gatiss; dir. Paul McGuigan (BBC, 2012)

Gatiss takes Sherlock’s modernisation to a new level. The script is a bit raw on this occasion, yet nonetheless constitutes a masterful adaptation of what in Conan Doyle’s original is an atmospheric but undemanding story. Martin Freeman once again adds subtle touches.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

by Douglas Adams (Pan, 1984); audiobook read by Martin Freeman (Macmillan, 2012)

Adams_So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

The ideas, as ever, are ingenious, and Adams is at the top of his game in reuniting Arthur Dent with the erstwhile-destroyed Planet Earth. The story, however, such as it is, hitchhikes half-heartedly while secretly yearning to become a Dirk Gently novel.

 

 

Mostly Harmless

Mostly Harmless

by Douglas Adams (William Heinemann, 1992); audiobook read by Martin Freeman (Bolinda, 2006)

Adams_Mostly Harmless

An ingeniously plotted novel—by far the most coherent of the Hitchhiker’s books—and one in which Adams at last paid attention to characterisation; but the effect is spoiled somewhat by an incongruous (if by then expected) jokiness in the prose style.

 

 

Sherlock, Series 3

Sherlock, Series 3

by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (BBC, 2014)

Sherlock 03

Having cherry-picked the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, Gatiss and Moffat in series three give themselves even more latitude for creative adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s material, scripting three adventures that rely very much on the telling. Freeman and Cumberbatch remain resplendent.

 

42 Word Review: Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe and Everything

by Douglas Adams (MacMillan Audio, 2006) [First published by Pan, 1982]

read by Martin Freeman

Adams_Life the Universe and Everything

Reprising the vast zaniness and existential satire of the original Hitchhiker’s duology, Adams ups his trademark discursiveness, redoubles his protagonists’ fecklessness and yet achieves an oddly cohesive transcendence (while Martin Freeman’s delivery makes a virtue of Adams’ sometimes facetious approach to prose).

 

42 Word Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies dir. Peter Jackson

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

dir. Peter Jackson (2014)

Jackson_Battle of the Five Armies

Alternatively: There, a Feature-Length Fight Melange, and Back Again. Peter Jackson’s Gollum-esque craving to don the ring and turn New Zealand once again into Middle-earth gives Howard Shore’s impassioned score first billing while short-changing Martin Freeman. Too many armies, not enough hobbit.