Movie Review: Enola Holmes (2020) on Netflix

Enola Holmes (2020)
Netflix Streaming: Sep 24, 2020

Director: Harry Bradbeer

Producer: Millie Bobby Brown, Paige Brown, Alex Garcia, Ali Mendes, Mary Parent

Writer: Nancy Springer
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Fiona Shaw

Runtime: 2h 3m

Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence)
Genre: Mystery And Thriller

Production Co: PCMA Productions, Warner Bros., EH Productions, Legendary Entertainment

While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.

Charming! I watched Enola Holmes with my husband. It was an entertaining and family-friendly show. 

 

The movie is based on the young adult novel series by Nancy Springer. There are currently six books in the series.

Enola is Sherlock's sister. He left home (along with an older and not as smart brother) when she was very young. Enola is just as smart and gifted as Sherlock and her mother raised her with all the tools she would need to be her own person, which in 1882 London isn't something women were allowed to do. There is a strong theme of fighting for social change against those who would love to stick to traditional ways. There is an excellent scene between Sherlock and a woman shop owner (Susie Wokoma). She informs him he doesn't see what's wrong with the world because from his privileged POV life is great.

Millie Bobby Brown does an excellent job as Enola. I enjoyed the character breaking the fourth wall throughout the movie, often in The Office style. If you want to watch it for Henry Cavill you might be a bit disappointed. He pops up throughout the show but he is more of a side character--a very good looking side character ;)

If you want something light-hearted and sometimes silly to watch then give this one a try. 

4 "switch clothes with me" Sheep

SharonS

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular: Warlock Holmes Series by G.S. Denning + giveaway

What do you think of when someone mentions Sherlock Holmes? The epitome of fictional detectives? A series of stories so timely and so visionary that they revolutionized police-work, the world over? A deerstalker? A pipe? Benedict Cumberbatch’s perfect cheekbones?

You wouldn’t be wrong.

But in this season of fun-filled frights, let’s take a moment to reflect on one oft-overlooked aspect of the world’s favorite detective:

He’s really creepy.

No. Seriously. Just pleasantly-but-sometimes-right-to-the-edge-of-discomfortingly creepy.

Do you know where the modern tradition of Halloween takes its roots? Dartmoor. Arthur Conan Doyle repeatedly set his adventures out upon the moor in abandoned hallows filled with lethal peat-bogs, fog, reeds and wisp-light. Want to see Holmes and Watson chasing a seemingly-demonic hound across moonlit moor? Well then, it’s no wonder Hound of the Baskervilles is amongst the most popular of Doyle’s original 60 stories.

Now, if you want to see them chasing an actually-demonic hound across a moonlit moor, you’ll have to check out my second book: Hell-hound of the Baskervilles. And for those of you who just rolled their eyes at how easy it must have been for me to come up with that angle: yeah, that’s sort of my point. You don’t have to work hard to make Sherlock Holmes macabre. It’s there already.

One of the less-known stories is called The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire; it features a mother who’s been caught sucking blood out of the neck of her own infant. Even in 1898, not great parenting.

Or how about The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb? It features not just the aforementioned disembodied thumb, but also its owner, trapped in a room-sized hydraulic press, debating if he should stand up, or sit down or lie face up or… Well, just what exactly is the least-painful way to be slowly crushed to death? It’s ironic that the modern detective story is attributed to Edgar Alan Poe, because in moments such as these, Doyle absolutely equals Poe’s famous brand of dark introspection.

Or maybe you’d just like to see Sherlock murder a dog. Would that be nice? Dog murder, anyone?

Because that’s how he unravels his very first case, A Study in Scarlet. Yep. No lie. To figure out if the pills he’s recovered are poisonous, he steals his neighbor-girl’s dog and feeds it half of each pill.

Guess what? (1887 spoilers follow…) Totally poison. There is something uniquely Halloween-ish about a character who thinks that is acceptable behavior. Oh yeah, and half the people he meets seem to think the only way he could possibly know the things he knows is dark magic. They’re wrong.

He’s not magical. But he is probably sociopathic. And he’s definitely not on the ASPA’s top 10 list of great guys.

So if Halloween makes you think about goblins, vampires, demonic possession and soul-binding magic… Well, pick up a copy of my first book, A Study in Brimstone. It’s all in there.

But if you’ve got a little time to kill before All-Hallow’s Eve, and if you’ve got a mind for the classics, here’s what you do:

You pull your favorite chair up to next to a window on a rainy night. You get some fleece pants and a comfy blanket. You brew up a nice cup of tea. Light a couple candles. Then snuggle down and spend a little cozy murder time with the undisputed-number-one-original-king-of-creepy-daddy-detectives, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Warlock Holmes - A Study in Brimstone Book One

by G.S. Denning
May 17, 2016
Publisher: Titan Books
ASIN: B014BQVKUC
Sherlock Holmes is a genius … Warlock Holmes is something else …

Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius. Warlock Holmes is an idiot. A font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim.

Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only thing he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart companion.

Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety… and save him from a gruesome death every now and again.

Amazon

Warlock Holmes - The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles Book Two

by G.S. Denning

May 16, 2017
Publisher: Titan Books
ASIN: B01KRUN0IQ
Sherlock Holmes is a genius … Warlock Holmes is something else …

The game’s afoot once more as Holmes and Watson face off against Moriarty’s gang, the Pinkertons, flesh-eating horses, a parliament of imps, boredom, Surrey, a disappointing butler demon, a succubus, a wicked lord, an overly-Canadian lord, a tricycle-fight to the death and the dreaded Pumpcrow. Oh, and a hell hound, one assumes.

Amazon

Warlock Holmes - My Grave Ritual Book Three

by G.S. Denning
May 15, 2018
Publisher: Titan Books
ASIN: B075WCS6WZ
Sherlock Holmes is a genius … Warlock Holmes is something else …

As they blunder towards doom, Warlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson find themselves inconvenienced by a variety of eldritch beings. Christmas brings a goose that doesn't let being cooked slow it down; they meet an electricity demon, discover why being a redhead is even tricker than one might imagine, and Holmes attempts an Irish accent. And, naturally, Moriarty is hanging around... in some form or other.

Amazon

About the Author:

Website-FB-Twitter
Instagram
G.S. Denning furiously studied reading and math until he could play Dungeons and Dragons. His love of DandD expanded to a passion for all things in the sci-fi and fantasy realm, particularly when spliced with comedy - Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Monty Python, Red Dwarf, Black Adder, Whose Line is it Anyway, Dr. Who, and the holiest of holies: The Princess Bride.

He learned his story-telling skills on the improv stage as a member of Orlando Theatersports, Seattle Theatersports, Jet City Improv, and as a Disney Performer at Epcot. G.S. also worked for Nintendo and Wizards of the Coast.

Finally, after realizing that humanity had not used the pun Warlock Holmes yet, he sat down to begin his first novel series: a dark-comic retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes stories. G.S. Lives in Las Vegas with The Best Wife and The Best Children.

Giveaway

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Comic Review: I, Holmes issue #1 (of 3) from Alterna Comics

I, Holmes issue #1 (of 3)

Writer: Michael Lent

Pencils, ink, colors: Dan Parsons

Graphic design, cover: Marc Rene

Lettering: Marshall Dillon

Intro: David Rambo
Peter Simeti (Publisher)

Brendan Wright (Editorial Consultant)
GENRES: Urban Crime/Suspense, Action/Adventure, Leading Ladies

Release: Aug 31, 2016 on Comixology

Publisher: Alterna

A Fresh Take and New Addition to the Sherlock Holmes Canon 123 Years After the First Sherlock Holmes Story was Published.


ISSUE SUMMARY
Everyone has a secret. Her secret can get her killed, and she doesn't even know what it is.

SERIES SUMMARY
Fighting to survive in a world of danger and intrigue is nothing new to I Rose, but after discovering that she's the great granddaughter of world famous detective Sherlock Holmes, I realizes that life is about to become anything but elementary.

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The idea of a young woman Sherlock Holmes intrigued me. Then I saw the cover, with a black unicorn head, and thought I need to give this comic a look. And it is off to a great start. 

The first issue opens on Halloween night 2009. An unknown narrator fills the reader in on our lead I. Rose's life (yeah, her first name is I, part of the mystery). We meet her court appointed university sponsor Annie Stow, your stereotypical sorority girl. I, had a rough upbringing and currently lives in a group home on the bad side of town. Then there is her a**hole parole officer. I is a product of her upbringing in the system (read: not a people person); pair this with her obvious intelligence and you have the makings of a kick ass heroine with no time for bulls**t.

At the end of issue one, we get a glimpse of an unknown person (gonna call him the evil villain of the story) and his possible evil plans.

The artwork is sharp with harsh shading, which fits the gritty tone of the story.

I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out and what I's story is.

4.5 "mysterious" Sheep

SharonS

*Art for #1 by Dan Parsons (2014 Inkwell Award) STAR WARS, GAME OF THRONES, LORD OF THE RINGS (Dark Horse), EMPIRE OF THE WOLF (Alterna)
*Art for #2 and #3 by Marc Rene THE MACHINE STOPS (Alterna)
*Written by Michael Lent THE MACHINE STOPS (Alterna), BRIMSTONE (Zenescope), PREY (Marvel), ON THIN ICE (Hyperion/Disney)
*Cover #1 and Graphic Design by Marc Rene THE MACHINE STOPS
*Back Cover #1 by Dan Parsons
*Introduction by David Rambo EMPIRE (ABC), REVOLUTION (NBC), CSI (CBS)

About the Writer
Michael Lent was honored as a ‘Google Author’ in 2007. His writing and production expertise spans films, fiction and nonfiction books, biographies, graphic novels, animation, video games, and reality television. He adapted Stephen King in 2011 and EM Forster in 2014, as well as recorded 70,000+ reads on Quora.com for 2016. In 2013, his graphic novels and comics were invited into the permanent collection of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at the Ohio State University.

Media Enquiries: Please contact Michael Lent at michaellent1@me.com

Alterna Comics

http://www.alternacomics.com/

Founded in 2006 by current president and publisher Peter Simeti, Alterna Comics titles are distributed worldwide in print and digital formats and in several languages. Alterna is home to the New York Times Best-Selling Graphic Books zombie war series "FUBAR" as well as the psychological horror thriller "THE CHAIR" which has been adapted to film for release in late 2016.  One of the leading independent publishers of creator-owned comics, Alterna currently publishes over 60 critically-acclaimed titles in the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero genres.

Alterna Comics titles are distributed to the comic market by Diamond Comics Distributors and to the book and ebook market by IPG (Independent Publishers Group).