Downey's 'Sherlock': Less Gent, More Hero

Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law star in Guy Ritchie's sequel

(NEWSER) - You won't find much food for thought in the new Sherlock Holmes film, but is that any surprise? Instead, A Game of Shadows offers more zany action and amusing banter:

• "I could not entirely resist the idiotic allure of Game of Shadows," writes Andrew O'Hehir in Salon . The series "has loosed the most unhinged, unkempt and unclean version of Conan Doyle’s legendary detective ever seen." But "even at his dumbest," Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes is "semi-irresistible."

RDJ begs Hollywood to let Gibson work

(NEWSER) - Mel Gibson now has someone other than Jodie Foster in his corner: Robert Downey Jr. "Unless you are without sin—and if you are, you are in the wrong f***ing industry—you should forgive him and let him work," RDJ said of Gibson while accepting the American Cinematheque Award Friday night. "He taught me many things, and I will use the 'C' word—courage," Downey said. Gibson, his Air America co-star, was standing nearby, the New York Daily News notes. More»

Reasons to preserve Undershaw are elementary, say Holmes fans

(NEWSER) - Campaigners fighting to save the house where Arthur Conan Doyle wrote some of his most famous stories say they're dealing with a case of greedy developers—and snobbish officials. The Sherlock Holmes creator built his mansion, Undershaw, in the 1890s. It has fallen into disrepair in recent years and developers have won permission to gut the interior, including Doyle's study, and turn the building into apartments, the Independent reports. Famous guests at Undershaw included Virginia Woolf and Dracula creator Bram Stoker. More»

Gwyneth explains how she prepared for Country Strong

(NEWSER) - Gwyneth Paltrow drinks—"a lot," she told Chelsea Handler last night—but she still had no idea what it would be like to have a serious alcohol problem, as her character does in Country Strong. So what did she do? Easy: Emailed Robert Downey Jr. for advice. "I didn’t understand how you could do something so crazy one night and kind of wreck lives in your wake and then wake up and expect to be back to normal," she said. So she asked RDJ, who "wrote me the most amazing email and he helped me understand it." Click here for more about Country Strong's effect on her. More»

He's Mr. Peanut, but his friends call him Iron Man

(NEWSER) - Ever found yourself watching a commercial and thinking, Whose voice is that? The Daily Beast rounds up 15 commercials with very famous actors behind them. Click through a few in the gallery or click here for the complete list. (Sometimes celebs actually get in front of the camera to shill a product— click here for the most cringeworthy results.) More»