Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

6/10

Starring

James Marsden

Ben Schwartz (voice)

Tika Sumpter

Jim Carrey

Directed by Jeff Fowler

Sonic the Hedgehog is not a bad movie to see, but it tries so hard to pull at the heartstrings that there was a time it almost got mine. Now Jim Carrey’s general knack of over acting was a plus in this movie, his put together of Doctor Robotnik just stands out well done. The design of Sonic stays true to game’s animation, which is a hurrah for the production team for listening to criticism. That said the movie’s plot lacked the needed excitement for a fantasy movie and it was so easy to guess your way through.

This is not the first time I am seeing Sonic on TV instead of on a game. I recall seeing the animation when I was much younger, there he was too confident and much like a bully to the bad guys. I liked his portrayal here more than I did back then.

This is the first live action film of this iconic gaming character created by Sega in 1991 and it is not bad.

The movie introduces us to the lead character Sonic who is an extraterrestrial blue hedgehog. In the world he lives in as a child he was born with supersonic speed and he lives under the care of an Owl who tells him to hide his powers. Sonic being young did not listen and when he was being hunted, the Owl gave him a bag of rings, which can open portals to new worlds and asked him to hide there. He was told to leave the moment he his discovered.

Sonic steps through the portal and finds himself on earth, Green Hills Montana to be precise. He lives there for years and starts to idolize the local sheriff (Tom Wachowski played by James Marsden). Everything was going great and the man he idolizes does not know he exist although Sonic follows him everywhere, even to his home.

One day, his loneliness got the best of him and he ran so fast that his powers got noticed. The government then hired Doctor Robotnik to find out the source. This is where their rivalry began. Which is what we see all through the games, Robotnik trying to catch Sonic and Sonic always getting the upper hand.

I recall many thinking the redesign of Sonic will cost almost an arm and a leg, but it cost around $5 million dollars, in addition to the already over $80 million production cost. The whole thing was worth it, if you saw the old trailer and this new one.

I see Sonic doing well in the box office, as it set the record for the biggest opening weekend, and with the way it ends, there are many paths towards a second part that the writers can take.

If you get the time to go see this movie, just allow yourself to see it as something done for a child and not for adults because the movie’s plot seems to be done to please children.

If you think too much of it, all you will see is plot holes and reasons for you to wish never to see another Sonic movie.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

  

7/10

  

Starring

Christian Bale

Matt Damon

Directed by James Mangold

Ford vs Ferrari is an outstanding movie. I do not have to waste time talking about the acting that comes with this movie, because with Matt Damon (as Carroll Shelby) and Christian Bale (as Ken Miles) you already know they will deliver top class performances. The movie has some fantastic shots, and the whole racing and making of a race car shows just how good work of directing and editing went into making this movie come alive.

The director James Mangold is one which I know from (to me the best film in the X-men series) Logan (2017).

The movie focuses on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari which led to Ford participating in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Which is a 24-hour car racing event in France, one of which Ferrari seems to be dominating.

The movie introduces us to Henry Ford II who is looking for something new and exciting that the company could get their teeth into. He was told to purchase Ferrari and get into the motor racing which will also boost sales.

The company sent a proposal to Ferrari, a deal which will make them owners of the company and keep Scuderia Ferrari on, but he will not have the final say in anything. Ferrari walks out on the deal and insults Henry Ford II. Ford then finds out that Ferrari used this as a gimmick to hike their price up and get a more financial lucrative deal with Fiat. Fiat also allows Scuderia Ferrari to retain his ownership of Ferrari.

Ford now upset gave his team the mandate to make a car that will beat Ferrari’s.

His team went to Shelby motors to meet with Carroll, who signed a deal with them to now work for them and build them a car. He then went on to Hire British racer Ken Miles. Miles is married with a son. He is also a war veteran with a hot temper and is struggling to keep his mechanic shop running.

Together they start to work on making Ford the car, and the movie is about how they went about doing it and the challenges they faced in doing it.

The movie is considered one of the best movies of 2019 and it also garnered many nominations for the job the movie did in telling that story. Some of the nominations include four Oscar nods, including Best Picture, and it on to win Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing. Christian Bale also got a nomination for his performance from the Golden Globes.

Both a financial and commercial success, this is one movie you will watch and enjoy every little bit of it.

Birds of Prey (2020)

Birds of Prey (2020)

6/10

Starring

Margot Robbie

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Rosie Perez

Directed by Cathy Yan

I enjoyed the movie. Although, the script and screenplay are not fantastic as it took a while for the girl crew to find themselves and form. Then it further took a longer while before the movie became about Harley. Other than that, it was fun time at the movies which this R-rated DC film. The movie is better than Suicide Squad (2016), but not the best superhero movie out there or even in the DCEU.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) yeap, that is the name Warner Bros. is running with. The name maybe long, but it serves what the movie is supposed to be about. It is a superhero film based on the DC Comics’ team Birds of Prey. It is the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe. It is a sequel/follow-up to and a spin-off of Suicide Squad (2016) It stars Margot Robbie (who was wonderful) as Harley Quinn and she also co-produce the movie.

The movie has fantastic visuals and Cathy Yan the director on her second full length movie, had control and did a fine job in the way she allowed the movie’s storyline gently develop. She placed in between enough action so the viewer will not be bored, before the story itself births its main plot.

The plot starts with Harley and the Joker have broken up. Harley is messed up about it and is struggling to cope. She then decided to make a grand gesture of a middle finger to the world and her Ex, but in doing so she forgot all the people she had wronged in the past.

When she was Joker’s girl nobody dared to touch her, they all feared what the Joker will do. Now that she is by herself all hell broke loss on the revenge line.

Soon we get to see all the members of the proposed girl crew, each with their own either shown origin story or told origin story.

What led to each of them meeting each other was a young girl the gangster Roman Sionis/Black Mask wants. Roman sent everyone after her, including Harley. Huntress is on her own vendetta mission, which happens to cross paths with Roman, Canary at the time worked for Roman and Renee Montoya the detective was building a case against Roman, soon because of the girl all their paths cross.

What led to them bonding is for you to watch and find out, if you do watch the movie you will find it enjoyable.

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

7/10

Starring the voices of

Michael J. Fox

Don Ameche

Sally Fields

Directed by Duwayne Dunham

My childhood had a series of movies that were staple meals for every month and Homeward Bound was one of them. The story of a trio deciding to embark on a long journey home by themselves against all odds and being led only by their own senses. These trio were two dogs and a cat, the fun in the movie is their amazing journey which was filled with numerous adventures, wonderful discoveries and maturity.

The movie was the directorial debut of one-time movie editor Duwayne Dunham and credit goes to how he was able to whip this story around these animals, with less human presence. The movie had two stories running, one of a family trying to bond together and the other is of these animals trying to get back to their owners.

The director did a magnificent job of merging the two while the main focus is on the animals and not come out short in the part of connection between the movie and the viewer.

The movie plot is about the determination of a Golden Retriever named Shadow. This dog lives in a home with his owner Peter. He shares that home with a cat named Sassy whose owner is Peter’s junior sister Hope. Then the last born of the family Jamie owned the American Bulldog, Chance.

The family were going on a vacation and dropped the animals in a farm. Shadow not understanding why his owner was sad and leaving him felt he needed to find him after waiting for days for Peter’s return.

He runs away from the farm accompanied by Sassy and Chance, and they begin their journey home.

The movie is very much made for children, but an adult of any age can watch and still love this movie or even appreciate it more than a child.

The movie plot is based on a book titled The Incredible Journey (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford. Which was then loosely adapted by Walt Disney into a movie in 1963 titled The Incredible Journey. Before this adaptation of the movie.

I have not seen the 1953 version so I will not be commenting on the differences between the movie. But judging by the critic and audience rating for both on Rotten Tomatoes, I can see that both were well received with a similar score.

Whether the movie was a financial success for Disney I do not know, but what I do know is that Disney tried to milk this movie by making a second part. They went ahead and hired the same cast, but this journey was from San Francisco and the adventure was more and dangerous. Which is odd compared to that which they faced here. The second part did not have the same connection to the audience like this one did. It was dull and very much unfulfilling, will not be watching that movie again.

Go see this movie again, you will be glad you did.