Sonic The Hedgehog: The Hero We Need!

Sonic The Hedgehog is an action-adventure comedy film based off the beloved 90’s videogame figure. The plot follows Sonic after he flees his home world and takes up residency on Earth, there he meets Donut Lord (James Marsden), who accidentally tranquilisers him causing him to lose his rings, which Sonic needs to travel between worlds. While all of this is happening the US, government calls in a specialist to check out all the strange goings on, Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who them seeks out Sonic to capture him and use him for his own odds and ends.

Can I just say that as someone who grew up playing Sonic in the early 2000’s this film is a triumph they nail Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Robotnik and the world, more over that post credits scene when they introduce Tails had me giddy with excitement. I am actively looking forward to a Sega shared universe and if all of the entries to the universe are as good as this, we might finally have something to rival the MCU.

My only complaint about this film is that occasionally it focused a bit too much on it’s human characters, while Marsden did a good job the same can’t be said for his in-film wife Maddie/ The Pretzel Lady (Tika Sumpter), who added nothing and was incredibly underdeveloped, the scenes that focused on her and her sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), dragged on and on and took away from the overall enjoyment of the film. The joke of Rachel not liking Donut Lord/Mike is used for all it is worth and it is never once funny.

However, Carrey’s turn as Robotnik more than makes up for the lack of comedy and he is phenomenal and hilarious. I didn’t realise until I was sat watching this film how much I had missed seeing Jim Carrey on the big screen, as he was a favourite of mine when I was growing up. Carrey brings some real menace to Robotnik, but also makes him super over the top in the best way, he perfectly walks that line between scary and funny.

Sonic himself looks great and reminds me of the Sonic from my youth, Ben Schwartz does a great job voicing him, he brings a lot of energy to the character and also makes him warm and likeable; there are elements of the latest iteration of Paddington mixed in the there I am sure.

Overall, there is a lot to love about this film, it is not only a great videogame movie, but also the perfect start to a wider universe. Loved it! If you’re a fan of Sonic or, a newcomer to the character I guarantee you will have a good time with this film.

Pros.

Setting up the world.

I missed Jim Carrey.

The post credits scene.

Sonic himself.

Cons.

Any scene with Maddie or her sister.

4.5/5

Birds Of Prey: Margot Robbie’s Vanity Project

Birds of Prey is a superhero film based on the DC characters of the same name directed by Cathy Yan. It serves as sequel to Suicide Squad and is set in the DC Universe. The plot of this film is that following her break-up from the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), set out to find out who she is and live her own life, she then gets targeted by a local drug lord and gets mixed up with a wide assortment of characters.

Why did you do this DC? You were on such a streak recently, but then this film came out; which may be the weakest film in the DCEU, but hey I like Batman Vs Superman and Suicide Squad so what do I know.

My issues with this film are on a fundamental level, firstly this isn’t a Birds of Prey film, it’s a Harley Quinn film that is using that name. Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) are in the film for maybe 30 minutes in total and are shockingly underused. This film is all about Harley Quinn and it isn’t afraid to show it. Adding to that Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), a future Bat-girl is also in this film and she may be played by one of the most annoying child actors ever; but that is low hanging fruit, so I won’t rag on it too much.

This film is clearly heavily inspired by the New 52 run on Harley Quinn, which I loved, it has a lot of tonal similarities, but where the comic works the film doesn’t. I don’t know if it is issues in translating it over, but it just seems like it is trying to hard. The random asides, musical and otherwise and the jumping around in time for no real reason, reek to me of them trying too hard to make it edgy and random. Robbie is clearly doing her best Deadpool impression as well. I think the fact that this film doesn’t have Poison Ivy in it, to act as a new love interest for Harley is one hell of a missed opportunity.

The thing I dislike the most about this film is its message which is as aggressive as a punch to the throat. We have two incredibly on the nose scenes in this film, we have on scene where Harley is almost taken advantage of, why include this in your Harley Quinn superhero film as it just sticks out? As well as another scene of Black Canary singing ‘it’s a man’s world’ and it is like I get it film I get your point can you please stop ramming it down my throat it is off putting; showing once again that Hollywood doesn’t understand the meaning of subtly. Moreover, later in the film we have a scene where Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), forces a woman to strip, which once again feels out of place and he hasn’t shown any behaviour before that suggests he would do that kind of evil deed rather than just having her killed. All of these scenes are incredibly jarring and take you out of the experience and make it feel as though you’re being lectured to.

To conclude no wonder this film underperformed it tries too hard, misses a huge character opportunity and has as much subtly as a brick to the face.

Pros.

The Birds of Prey barring Harley are cool, it’s a shame they are barely developed.

Cons.

Robbie is trying to be Deadpool see the police evidence locker cocaine scene to see what I mean, it’s obvious.

Cassandra Cain is ridiculously annoying every time she is on screen.

The constant lectures.

The over the top randomness of it all.

1/5.

Reviewed by Luke

Aladdin: Disney If You’re Listening Please Stop!

Aladdin is a musical romantic adventure film directed by Guy Ritchie. The plot follows a young street urchin called Aladdin (Mena Massoud), who finds a magical lamp that when rubbed produces a Genie (Will Smith), that then offers him 3 wishes. We all know the classic story.

This is yet another one of Disney’s live action remakes that they seem hell bent on making, even though the animated films are still perfectly good and more importantly no one asked for these new films. Personally, I think of the Disney live action remake trend this is probably the best, Will Smith is entertaining and it is a good date movie, it is very romantic at times.

That said let me get into why this film shouldn’t exist. First things first the very existence of this film is an implied slight to the animation, I know in Western countries there is that underlying belief that animation and animated films are for kids, which simply isn’t true, but even still this film is vastly inferior to the animated original in almost every way.

The characters lack any kind of warmth, the characters in the animated film are funny and endearing, you care about them and want them to be happy; here they’re just eh, I have literally never thought about them again since I left the cinema. Massoud is fine, so are the rest of the cast, but therein lies the problem they’re just fine, they’re trying to be as good as the animated original’s voice cast were and they come up short.

What’s more there is a general cheapness to the film, it is clearly an aesthetic choice to make the film look gritty, but I didn’t like it, it made the film look too washed out and serves to reinforce the lack of fun in this film. What’s more there is a lot of things in this film that date it, that in 5 years’ time people will be like that was such a 2010’s film, which in a way makes it bound to that time period and that isn’t a good thing. The thing that dates it of course is the new song for the film, which is incredibly on the nose and proves that Hollywood doesn’t understand the meaning of the word subtly and instead has to ram political messages into every single film; political messages if done right can be effective, but all this served to make me do was cringe.

My final reason for why you shouldn’t waste your money seeing this is because very little is new. As was the common complaint of The Lion King, which was shot for shot the same, there is little new material in this film, there are a few extra Will Smith Genie scenes and a new song, but everything else is pretty much beat for beat the same. I wouldn’t mind paying to see these live action remakes if they actually did something new, but they don’t, it is just a tired rehash and one I can’t support.

Pros.

It is romantic.

If you wanted a less fun version of the original film, you will be in luck.

Cons.

The cheap, gritty look to it.

The new song was bad cringe.

It is just paying to watch the same thing again.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Vikings Season 6 Part 1: Ragnarok

Vikings season 6 is a historical drama series created by Michael Hirst. As with many other seasons of this show it is split into 2 parts, so this review will just be of the first half of the season. The plot for this part of the series revolves around Bjorn’s (Alexander Ludwig), reign over Kattegat as well as Ivar’s (Alex Hogh Anderson), adventures in Rus and his plans to retake his homeland.

Most seasons of Vikings follow the same pattern: the first part of the season will end on a sad note and then the second half will see the characters set it right and fix the sadness. That formula is very true here, the ending of this first half is beyond depressing, Bjorn dies, the Vikings are defeated, and the Rus take Scandinavia, this coupled with them killing off Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), earlier in the season, makes for a bleak start to season 6.

However, that said I admire them for their choices this season. I think killing off main characters like Lagertha and Bjorn is an inspired choice, it keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen in the second half of the season, as well as pushes other characters to the front of the narrative; who is the series going to focus on now that Bjorn is dead?

My main issue with this season is that it feels long and drawn out. Clearly these episodes are building towards the invasion by the Rus, but we don’t actually get to see this until half an hour into the final episode. This means we have 9 episodes of build up and there is something interesting stuff in them like the King’s Moot, and Lagertha defending her village, but everything else just feels like padding; it gets really stretched out.

What’s more when you finally get the big battle scene at the end, it is underwhelming. Compared to other battle scenes on the show before this one is a let-down, it keeps cutting between shots of Bjorn and Ivar having a conversation and shots of Bjorn staring out angrily to sea, which really take you out of the tense adrenaline fueled atmosphere of the battle sequence.

Overall, this first half of the season suffers from some pacing issues and the tenth episode battle is a little anticlimactic, but mostly I will commend this half of the series from some incredibly bold story decisions and for giving beloved characters a fitting end.

Pros.

Killing of characters.

Nice endings for beloved characters.

Sets up for a great second half.

Cons.

Pacing issues.

Anti-Climatic battles.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Avengers Endgame: The MCU Reigns Supreme

Avengers Endgame is a marvel superhero film that serves as the culmination to the Infinity Saga and previous 23 films of the MCU. The plot of the film follows our defeated heroes after half of their numbers were decimated by Thanos (Josh Brolin), in the infamous snap, the heroes have to find away to undo the damage done and bring back their fallen friends.

First of the bat I just want to say that it is possible to watch this film without having seen the previous films, or even Infinity War which acted as a part 1 to this film. However, it will be a lot easier to follow and will mean a whole lot more to you if you have seen the previous instalments.

As a film that brings together everything that the MCU has been building towards for years this film is a triumph. Characters that have been with us since the beginning are wrapped up in the most pleasing and emotionally satisfying way and new characters are introduced and remind us of the bright future the MCU has.

The one issue this film has is that it is too good of an ending. By that I mean this feels like the end of the MCU and when you realise that it isn’t it takes away from it a little bit, as well as reducing the importance of upcoming films. If the franchise had ended with Robert Downy Jr’s Iron Man saying, “I am Iron Man” and saving the universe as he dies, it would have beautifully book ended the series, but sadly it kept going.

I think this film achieves something very few other films have, or ever will, and that is have a huge supporting cast that gives each one of their characters a chance to shine. Whether you like Thor (Chris Hemsworth), or Spider-man (Tom Holland), each character is moved forward in a meaningful way and given fantastic development.

The villains bar Thanos are crucially underdeveloped, which is an issue that has afflicted a lot of MCU films over the years, they’re defeated far too easily and don’t actually feel like a threat to the heroes. Thanos however, is a great villain as he isn’t just the evil for evils sake kind of villain, he thinks that what he wants to do will make the universe a better place which adds a great sense of moral ambiguity to this character.

Overall, for better or for worse this film has had a huge impact on the film landscape and beautifully shows what the MCU was building to, it would have worked well as an ending, but we will just have to wait and see how they follow it up.

Pros.

A beautiful culmination.

“I Am Iron Man”.

Wrapping up characters in a great way.

Cons.

Cheap villains.

It makes the upcoming films feel less important.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Current State Of Star Trek: There Is Hope Out There

Star Trek is an iconic science fiction brand that has existed for decades, generation after generation have boldly gone where no man has gone before. Over the years we have had many different series and films based on this legendary franchise. What I want to talk about is where the franchise is in 2020 and does the future look bright?

I remember growing up, my dad used to love Star Trek and science fictions shows like it, but it was never for me I preferred things like The Lord Of The Rings, a different type of fantasy. However, as I got older, I started enjoying the series as well. I have seen all 3 of the Bad Robot era Star Trek films and personally I liked them all; even Into Darkness which was controversial to say the least. I have been eagerly awaiting a 4^th film, but it doesn’t look like we are going to get one; at least anytime soon. The Noah Hawley film has gone through a lot of behind the scenes problems, including losing both Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth, so it looks like it is burning in development hell. Then the Tarantino film seems like a throw away idea, if Tarantino sticks to his planned 10 films that would make this Star Trek film his last and I just can’t see that.

So, if we shift our focus to the TV side of things horizons look brighter. Star Trek Discovery was the first of the modern TV series, now Discovery has had its fair share of problems, including story issues and making episodes overly political and personally I found it very hard to watch, but there is hope there. A lot of the more classic elements work well in this series and I hear that the second season of the show works a lot better. However, it is the other Star Trek series that I think is deserving of praise that series is Picard. This show revisits Patrick Stewarts’ Jean Luc from earlier TV efforts, as of the time of writing this series has only had 3 episodes out, but so far, I am hooked, and I would love to see more content like this.

Overall, Star Trek as a brand needs a firm hand, it needs to decide on what it wants it future to look like, once it has done that then it can decide how to proceed. Personally, I think they will end up rebooting the films as the Pine timeline has too many issues with it at this point, while also keeping the TV side of things alive to fill in the blanks in the universe as well as satiate audiences’ hunger for more from this universe, or at least that is what I would recommend.

Luke

Captain Marvel: Hire Better Writers!

Captain Marvel is a Marvel Comics Superhero film directed by Anne Boden and Ryan Fleck. The plot revolves around air force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), who loses her memory and gains a new identity as Kree Solider Vers. Once Vers ends up back on Earth her two identities clash together causing the creation of Captain Marvel

A lot has been said about this film, but fear not, I won’t get into that side of it, I will analyse this for what it is, a film, not the political message some people think it is. When I first saw this film, I fell asleep in the cinema, however, that is not an indictment on the film, as I was massively sleep deprived. I rewatched this film recently and found it to be quite an enjoyable experience, it is good as far as dumb fun popcorn film can be.

First things first I thought Larson was serviceable as Danvers, her performance had moments of goodness scattered in there, however I think the writing was criminally weak and lead to her not being all that likeable in her own film. I think if you look at how she was written in Endgame you can see how the writing was to blame as her character is much much better there.

I love what this film does in terms of world building it sets up Krees and Skrulls in the MCU, hopefully leading to a Secret Invasion storyline. What’s more the ending that see the Skrulls turn out to be the good guys, nicely flips the narrative of the film and was genuinely surprising. Moreover, Ben Mendelsohn is fantastic in this film, once again proving that he should be cast in more films, he is a great scene chewing villain and is also hilarious.

I thought a lot of the side characters were underdone and might as well have not been included, Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury doesn’t need to be in this film as his buddy cop relationship with Carol doesn’t really work and I for one would have liked to see him not be in it and then let his time be used giving Carol more development/ personality. Likewise, Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg is necessary in that he is Carol’s ultimate antagonist, but he to feels underdeveloped.

Overall, I think the crimes of this film are because of the weak writing, I think Brie Larson and Captain Marvel the character can be done well, see Endgame, and hopefully we will see more of that in the future with a new and better writing team. There is potential here. Takeaway for Marvel/Disney hire better writers.

Pros.

The Kree Skrull War.

Brie Larson.

The potential for the future.

Cons.

The underdeveloped characters.

The weak writing.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Mandalorian: A New Hope For Star Wars

The Mandalorian is a space western TV show set in the Star Wars universe created by Jon Favreau. The series follows a Mandalorian known as Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), who is a bounty hunter and mercenary for hire, one day Din is hired to bring a package to the last remnant of the Empire, but once he learns what the cargo is, a baby, he changes his mind and the rest of the series is Din trying to protect the baby.

First off, my feelings towards Star Wars especially newer Star Wars have been well documented, For the most part I don’t care for it; sure, Rogue One and Solo were okay, but the main instalment films weren’t for me. On the TV side of things, I loved Star Wars The Clone Wars, but I could never get into Rebels, so it was a mixed bag for me. So, I went into this show with relatively low expectations and I am pleased to say I was actually blown away.

This series has real heart and you do end up caring a lot about the characters. The relationship between Mando and the character that the internet has dubbed ‘Baby Yoda’ is not only adorable, but also heart-warming. It is so nice to see it develop over the course of the series. Not only that but this series actually has supporting characters that are not only impactful on the overall story but are also well written. Said characters come in the form of a Resistance shock trooper named Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and a droid called IG-11 (Taika Waititi). Cara starts off as a minor character who grows into a huge part of the team by the end, she is kickass and easily has some of the best action moments on the show, but she also has great chemistry with Mando which I would like to see explored more down the line. IG-11 starts off the series as a villain who is intent on killing ‘Baby Yoda’, but then gets reprogrammed to be a good guy. To that, the moment when IG-11 sacrifices himself so the heroes can get away had me feeling emotions I hadn’t felt since T2.

Overall, despite the poor quality of modern Star Wars there is something special about this show, maybe it is because they have given us characters that you can actually care about, or maybe it’s because it is just so damn cool it’s hard to say, one thing I will say is I can’t wait for season 2 in October.

Pros.

Great characters/dynamics.

Baby Yoda.

Great stakes both in terms of action and emotions.

A fantastic ending.

It made me excited for season 2.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Spider-Man Far From Home: Gone Yet Not Forgotten

Spider-man Far From Home is a Marvel Superhero film directed by John Watts. The plot of this film follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland), and his friends as they go on a European vacation after the world-changing events of Avengers Endgame. In this film Peter considers his place in the world after the death of his hero Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr) and ponders if it’s time to just be a regular kid and give up being the friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

I have to admit I was one of the few people who wasn’t taken with Spider-man Homecoming or Tom Holland’s portrayal of the character. Maybe it was because I grew up during the Raimi era, but Homecoming did little for me and I believe Peter was better used in the Avengers film he appeared in. However, I liked Holland and his portrayal a hell of a lot more this time around, I truly think he has grown into the character over time.

Holland manages to capture the emotion of the character really well ,excelling in the film’s dramatic moments, him dealing with his grief over the death of Tony is a truly moving thing to see. What’s more, I liked how Holland plays the character in the sections of the film that see Peter just being a regular teenager and whenever it is him and his friends interacting on screen it is a joy to see.

The soundtrack of the film really helps with this, Watts is definitely drawing on 80’s Teenager movies like Ferris Buller’s Day Off and other works of John Hughes and it shows 100% in the soundtrack. It feels like this film could easily have come out in that time period and that really enhances the film for me.

The wider connections to the MCU are fantastic and it is nice to see Peter fight classic Spider-man villains like Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the dynamic the two characters have is electric. The end credits stingers for this film leave the franchise in a really interesting place and I can’t wait to see where they will take the character from here.

My one issue with this film is that they continue to make Spider-man and Peter Parker feel like Iron Man Jr, I understand the father son dynamic between the two is important for Peter’s arc, but to have Tony so involved in his story makes him feel like he has less free agency of his own and is rather Iron Man’s side kick and I don’t like this for the character, hopefully Spider-man 3 goes another way with it.

Overall, a very solid film, a strong step up from a lukewarm first entry, both Watts and Holland feel more in their respective groves this time around. They need to watch out and make sure to not turn Peter Parker into Iron Man Jr, as that was my main cause of concern when watching this film.

Pros.

Watts is better.

Holland is better.

Gyllenhaal is incapable of giving a bad performance.

The end set-up.

Cons.

Iron Man Jr?

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Current State Of Doctor Who: Please Someone Put It Out Of It’s Misery!

*Bonus Content

Doctor Who is a British institution it has been so far decades, but what I want to talk about today is how the series has been since it’s 2005 revival, the steady decline. I have watched Doctor Who since I was a kid, I loved Eccleston and Tennant’s Eras, I stuck around during the Smith years, I skipped Capaldi and I came back for Whittaker.

For me what makes Who Who is off world adventures, unique and memorable aliens, and story lines and characters you care about, these I would stay are the staples of good Doctor Who that feature in most iterations of the show. However, New Who seems to have an identity crisis it is so hellbent on being new and different that it is hemorrhaging viewers like it’s going out of style.

Remember what I said a few lines up about what makes good Who? Well let’s look at some of the recent episodes of Doctor Who and see if they stack up. Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor seems to have a fear of going off world as most of the episodes of these newer series are set on Earth, that shouldn’t be a bad thing in and of itself as there are plenty of cool things they could do with it, but oh my they don’t.

Then you have memorable aliens, New Who seems to like to have most of it’s villains be humans, so it can make overt and blatant political points, but to it’s credit when they do have new alien villains they do work well such as in the Nicola Tessla episode. Although something that New Who seems to do, most likely to play on audiences’ nostalgia is bring back classic monsters and I’m sorry but it is just cheap. You can’t have your cake and eat it; they want so badly to be new and fresh and yet they still play up the nostalgia to get people to stick out the new series. What’s more when they do bring these classic monsters back, they ruin them, here’s looking at you Dalek New Year’s Special.

Finally we have characters and storylines that you care about, now I have no issue with Whittaker’s portrayal for the most part, I think she can shine when the writing is good, but the issue here is that it very rarely is and this leads to the new Doctor having a sycophantic personality. Moreover, the companions are fine, but there are too many of them, this stops anyone of them from getting meaningful development outside of tropes and clichés. In terms of storylines, we might have one good storyline such as ‘Fugitive of the Jadoon’, followed by a never-ending wave of trash like ‘Praxeus’. The writing is horrific and often far too on the nose, yes before you say it I know Doctor Who has always been a political show, but it was done in a subtle way, now it has become a weekly lecture about the evils of humanity and how we are terrible and for me that just isn’t fun.

So across my criteria current year Doctor Who is a failure.

I hope the BBC end this before the ratings drop much lower, current Who is already an embarrassment of what it used to be, but surely it can’t get any worse.

I will be back to do a review of the new season when it ends!

Luke