Sonic: Did You Even Try?

You know what I walked out of Sonic feeling? Exhausted. It was exhausting to sit through a movie – even one that is, by today’s standards, pretty short – that was nothing but a build up that put all of its effort into redesigning its main character before the film was released. Don’t get me wrong, we all appreciate the fact that Sonic is no longer the little demon-troll that was originally released to us, but I have to say if this movie spent as much time on its story as it did on making sure its main character was no longer horrifying, this might have been a movie worth watching. I will admit to not knowing much, if anything, about the extended lore of Sonic – I played maybe one game in my youth on my Gameboy Advance – but creating a video game movie doesn’t necessarily rely on knowledge of the actual game. It’s about creating the world of the game, the feeling of it, and making it accessible to people who don’t necessarily have the background. And for a movie that is about a blue hedgehog that can run faster than the speed of light, I find it incredible that it somehow managed to be predictable, boring, and just plain underwhelming.

Game Night, Fun Night

There’s not a lot that we ask of our comedy films these days – as an audience, we want to have fun, and we want to be entertained. Most comedy can do that in short bursts, but one of the things comedy has been lacking (as of late) is one of the most important components of really enjoying the movie – restraint. Most movies are willing to try anything and everything to make their audience let loose at least a giggle, no matter how gross, raunchy, or controversial. Sometimes a lack of restraint can work – sometimes everything is funny because of how it is delivered, no matter how tasteless the actual joke is. In the case of Game Night, however, restraint is why the comedy works. The cast works together wonderfully and the jokes hit the way they should, not because they are wild and shoot for whatever they think will be funny, but because they are planned, coordinated, and know exactly when to stop themselves, keeping jokes both funny and tasteful. Game Night is a good night, a fun night, and definitely one that could inspire some game nights of your own.

The Big Sick is Sugar-Spun Sweetness

*Warning: Potential Spoilers*

The Big Sick is one of the many, many, many movies to have fallen victim to poor marketing choices, but it almost does the film a favor. The film was shown to audiences as a very fun romantic comedy, with an emphasis on the comedy since the lead actor Kumail Nanjiani is a well known stand-up comedian. While the film definitely is funny, and the romance between Nanjiani and costar Zoe Kazan is an adorably sweet one, the actual story gets deep in a way that I certainly was not expecting when I bought my tickets. A part of me assumed that it would be like any stand-up comedy show, just maybe with a story added to it (almost like a musical based around a band’s CD like “Tommy” or “Across the Universe”), but some well-rounded performances and the honesty of the humor that there was kept the story sweet enough that it could be a rom-com, but also deep enough that you don’t feel that the story is completely cliche and unoriginal.

Deadpool: Snarky, Slur-Filled, and Sinfully Delightful

*Warning: Potential Spoilers*

It is one thing for a superhero film to be enjoyable and funny. It is quite another thing for a superhero film to not be about a superhero, but rather a filthy-mouthed and vengeful mercenary, as well as being so explicitly funny that all children under the age of sixteen should be barred at the door. It doesn’t matter that this is a Marvel film (though there will be no Avenging in this universe, Deadpool is more closely tied with the X-Men, which you’ll realize when they toss out the forbidden “M word”), Deadpool is a superhero for adults, one that is not about good versus evil or right versus wrong (basically everyone is wrong in this movie). Deadpool is an enjoyable, sarcastic and crass man in a black and red suit with katanas and for the hour and forty-eight minutes that he has to charm you, he never pulls a punch or tries to convince you he’s the one to root for. He’s just there to amuse you. And for those of you, like me, who are not particularly familiar with the X-Men universe, don’t worry too much- all you really need to know is that the X-Men live/train at Charles Xavier’s school for gifted kids and that Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.