It’s no exaggeration to say Steven Spielberg is one of the busiest men in the entertainment industry. As of this writing, he has 21 projects listed as “in development” on IMDB, and it seems as if one in every five new shows debuting on major broadcast networks bears his name.

Case in point: this month, he has two feature films hitting theaters within days of each other. The Adventures of Tintin has been making a splash at the worldwide box office and is a spectacular adaptation of Herge’s classic comics. War Horse is another adaptation, this time of a British book (and ensuing stage play) that has taken the United Kingdom by storm over the past decade. Eschewing the action/adventure genre in favor of a more traditional drama, Spielberg tells the tale of a boy and his horse separated by the hellish landscape of World War I and fighting against all odds to be reunited.

Thanks to a more compelling villain, better pacing, and more action, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a big improvement over the first film in this series. With more serious end of the year fare taking over the box office for the remainder of the year, the latest adventure of the world’s most famous detective provides a solid mystery, great banter, and the same loveable characters that made the first film in this series so entertaining.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson is one of the most fascinating elements in this franchise. It’s not breaking new ground or anything – Holmes takes issue with Watson’s new bride-to-be, realizing it could be the end of their adventures together – but this subplot is so well-handled that it feels fresh. Much of the conflict goes unspoken between the two friends, each coming to grips with the inevitability that one day; their partnership will come to an end. This kind of communication could be interpreted as homoeroticism by some, but I choose to read it just as two friends who have worked together through countless adventures and have a detailed understanding of the other’s methods. Holmes legitimately cares for Watson far more than he lets on, as revealed in his first meeting with Moriarty in which he asks for Watson and his new bride to be excluded from their deadly game of wits. Watson cares as well, evidenced in the story he writes about his friend. It’s a Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday dynamic, and one that is rarely explored as interestingly on screen.