Sonic The Hedgehog

A definitive kids movie with questionable appeal for adults.

Sonic The Hedgehog is one of those movies that doesn't really know who it is aimed at. The bulk of the plot and jokes are aimed at kids when the property itself is not very well known to the audience. Then there are adult jokes that are so thinly veiled that you could walk right through them. Ben Schwartz plays the titular Sonic and does a wonderful job imitating a child alien, as he played the man child Jean Ralphio on Parks and Rec. James Marsden plays the wholesome police officer who feels like a big fish in a small town. He gets roped into protecting Sonic from the almost too obviously evil Dr. Robotnic played by Jim Carrey who is at his absolute most Jim Carrey ever seen. He is so eccentric that it often times removes you from the film with his absurdity. While the film is often over the top with its child based comedy it is a respectable take on the need for family and the need to belong. 

The controversy around Sonic's teeth was heavily overblown but the studio listened and changed the film for the better. The downside might be that the production budget ballooned and it may not make back as much of the return. The studio is depending on Sonic being a success as there are two obvious set ups for sequels that might not happen and in my view are not necessary. Sonic wraps up the story line in a nice little bow until those zingers and does not require a sequel. It can only go down from here and Sonic unfortunately doesn't start out extremely high.

A solid kids flick that will not sit perfectly with Sonic die hard fans, it earns a C+ from the Holmes Review.

Bombshell

A strange and puzzling take on the Fox News scandal of Roger Aisles. At times it doesn't know if it trying to make Megyn Kelly a hero or a villain in her taking down of Roger Aisles for Sexual Harassment. There are definitely women that the film takes aim at, in particular Judge Jeanine who still defends Aisles to this day. It attempts to bring Gretchen Carlson to the forefront of the movement where she rightfully belongs but then falls into the trap that followed actual events where bombshell Kelly became the big hero who took him down. Charlize Theron puts in a wonderful performance for her role as Megyn Kelly and at times makes us wonder if she really cared about the women. But most of the time it feels like she is more interested in self preservation and how she is perceived than whether she is doing the right thing. Her husband puts up more righteous indignation about what is happening to them than she does. As one thinks about it, it almost feels like mansplaining in a film designed to show the problems with the old boy mentality. Margot Robbie plays a character who is a conglomerate of 3 different women's accounts of their dealings with Aisles and Fox News. She is the audiences first hand account of the harassment that women experienced at the hands of Fox that turns her from a dopey eyed party line toting to a disenfranchised cynic. They also randomly place a closeted lesbian democrat in the Fox news room played by Kate McKinnon. If this was an attempt to make it look like there are problematic people on both sides of the isle, it lands flat because this character is obviously made up. Nicole Kidman also puts in an interesting performance as Gretchen Carlson where they cannot seem to decide if she is a conniving opportunist or a genuine whistle-blower. The one aspect that it does get across that is by no way subtle is what the news is selling to the viewers and what the viewers want. Sex. It is interesting to look at what the film is trying to say. It almost comes across as if it doesn't matter in the #metoo era what happens because the viewers will feign interest but want sex sold to them at any cost. 

This film is a jumble of a messy plot and good performances. It is interesting to see what happened with the downfall of a media mogul but there are too many issues with the messaging. This makes it a C- disappointment.

Jojo Rabbit

Who would have thought that a movie about World War II Germany at the end of the war could be so darn funny. Taika Waititi is able to take the dark and disturbing topic of antisemitism into comedy with it's absurdity. Waititi even plays the main man Hitler himself as the imaginary friend of Jojo Rabbit (Roman Griffin Davis). Davis plays a sympathetic young boy indoctrinated by the Nazi propaganda. He eventually discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a 18 year old Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home. Jojo must grapple with the idea of someone he hates living in his house and how he can deal with it. His best answer is to write a book and interview the girl. Through this process he learns and grows wrestling with the differences and similarities between Elsa and himself. There are sporadic comedic appearances from Yorki (Archie Yates), Jojo's best friend who is an absolute delight to watch. His comedic timing is fantastic and his normalizing responses to the craziness that surrounds Jojo is fascinating. Another stand out performance is Sam Rockwell who plays Captain Klenzendorf, a one-eyed war veteran who is slowly disconnecting from the Propaganda and seeing it for what it truly is. Rockwell is a true highlight of the film and his play of of Alfie Allen, fresh off of Game of Thrones. Their sparing and care for each other is a welcome relief for all the hateful antisemitism, even if it is in parody, in the film.

Scarlett Johnasson. Wow. If there ever was a perfect example of what is wrong with the Academy Awards, she is it. She has almost the least amount of screen time and yet she is the one who gets the nomination. Thomasin McKenzy puts on a masterful performance as a lost in a world of hate Jewish girl while Johanson plays a happy mother trying to keep the cruelties of the world from her son. Don't get me wrong, ScarJo is not bad in this film, she is just not great. And for the amount of time she is on screen, it is not even close to worth an Oscar nod. McKenzy on the other hand does a wonderful job showing a wide range of emotions and depth. Where is her nod? And that is just to say in the same movie. There are many other performances in other films this year that are far better than Johnasson is here. The Oscars really need to reexamine themselves if they want to be relevant in the future because Johansson already has black marks to her name and if they continue nominating performances like hers over other truly masterful ones, no one is going to care if you get an Oscar or not.

Easily a B+ film with only minor detraction's from regrettable performances like Rebel Wilson. 

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Don't ruin my childhood, what most people would be asking the director not to do when going to see a movie about Mr. Rogers. But as it turns out, a movie with big shoes to fill manages to catch the nostalgia of those watching and not harm the legacy. Mr. Rogers doesn't even turn out to be the main character in the film. It turns from the biographical film one would expect to a character study of a writer dealing with personal issues who is doing a piece on Rogers. Tom Hanks perfectly encapsulates the characteristics and mannerisms of Fred Rogers, making it sometimes hard to remember they are not the same person, While it is Hanks' first academy award nomination in 20 years, it is most deserved for his bringing Rogers back to life. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood plays out almost like an hour and a half episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, even beginning with Rogers' traditional 'Hello Neighbor' and then talking about our writer Lloyd Vogel and how he is hurting, on the inside and out. The film then progresses through a snapshot of Vogel's life as he deals with his issues with this father and how he turns from a cynic to an idealist. He must come to terms with his father and the issues of being his own child's parent. All with the help of seeing the true optimism and genuineness of Fred Rogers and his show. If there was one complaint for the film it would be that Andrea Vogel, Lloyd's wife, is incredibly unsupportive of his grievances towards his father. I understand that it was necessary to push the character forward but the things that were done to him as a child seemed deeper than what his wife was showing.

That would be the one and only issue as Tom Hanks just steals the scene whenever he is on screen and mesmerizes with his ability to conduct the spirit of Mr. Rogers into the audience. It is easily an A film with only a little room to grow for that A+.

Godzilla: King of Monsters

Lets hope the Monster verse that Warner Brothers is trying to create has gone the way of the Dark Universe and died. It was a cool idea with strong entries like Godzilla and Kong: Scull Island but it appears they have completely run out of ideas. To murder over half of the population on earth and then blow past it like nothing happened is a new level of Hollywood apathy. The heavy handedness of the environmental impact of the film is also a massive detriment. It is very difficult for the audience to empathize with the main billed cast of Millie Bobby Brown, fresh off of her Stranger Things high, when she is confusingly aligned with both the villains and heroes of the film.

We are in a world where dozens of Monsters have been found and are currently being studied by the hidden Monarch government agency until eco-terrorist Charles Dance steals a method of waking them all up at once. Which is what happens and millions if not billions die as these Monstrosities are wreak havoc on the world. We follow Kyle Chandler as he is trying to find the device that woke all the problems as well as his daughter (Brown) and his ex-wife (Vera Farmiga). Ken Watanabe does his absolute best to bring some gravitas to the film that desperately needs it but even he can't elevate this disappointment. The minor consolation prizes are that we get to see Mothra and King Ghidorah,  although when you have a universe with Titans and monsters what else do you need? Aliens. Ridiculous and very hard to swallow. And when it  is all said and done there all goes back to normal with drastically less people around. But we just won't talk about that. 

Godzilla: King of Monsters earns a dismal D, only saved from an F by the Godzilla nostalgia and Watanabe acting his but off in a film that does not deserve it.

Ad Astra

 Slow burns are sometimes produce the best food for thought. Brad Pitt solidifies his position in acting as one of  the best in the business. He should be nominated for an Academy Award for this film and not Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.  Ad Astra takes aim at the common feeling of being left behind by both loved ones and life. Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut who followed in his father's giant footsteps ind order to make sense of the of the world. He shuts himself down both emotionally and physically, he is divorced and his resting heart rate never goes above 80, even in life or death situations. McBride is tasked with finding his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who left on the Lima project to find intelligent life outside our known galaxy. On the trip McBride must come to grips with the fact that his father left him when he was 8 years old and he may not like what he finds on the Lima station. It is a journey of self discovery, reminiscent of 2001: Space Odyssey with challenges arising throughout that you would expect to have show up later but in a satisfying way, they don't. Donald Sutherland makes a satisfying cameo as a person from McBride Sr. past to aid Roy on his journey. More of this calm, reserved, sparse Sutherland please. Ad Astra looks at how barriers we put up in life to survive actually might be suffocating the very life out of us, begging the question, are you truly still living?Some will find this film boring and pretentious but that is what is often said of out past space epics. Think of Interstellar, Gravity and 2001: Space Odyssey. Ad Astra definitely needs to be considered in with these epics for truly analyzing the human experience by reaching for the stars. 

An easy grade of an A for this fantastic film. The ending really can hit you hard.

Knives Out

Rian Johnson continues to show the world why his is a fantastic director and that the Last Jedi and Looper where not flukes. With the thought and ingenuity that when into this film, it is a real wonder that they were able to pull it off so masterfully. It is a true whodunnit that will have you guessing until the very end. I often try to figure out or guess the outcome of films before they happen as my namesake will suggest and even I, the great Sherlock Holmes was off the mark. And what this film does that even my own films have failed to do in the past is set up the ending with quite obvious hints to the perpetrator that if the audience is truly looking for they can see. It does not take a genius of high IQ to pick up on small minuscule details that are not even shown to the audience. And that is what truly makes a good mystery film. Is it believable and upon second viewing the audience can see how the crime was committed in real time vs the reveal in the end.

 Daniel Craig puts in a truly phenomenal and hilarious performance as Beniot Blanc, a private investigator who is mysteriously hired to investigate the suicide of a famous mystery writer. It is wonderful to see him play off of Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon and Chris Evans as the spiteful children/grandchildren looking for their inheritance. It is a true wonder to see him interact with the coming out party for Ana De Armas who plays the dutiful nurse caught up in the family drama. De Armas has been relatively unknown until now and should not be forgotten again. She easily takes center stage in the film and uses her compatriots to elevate her status. Usually with such a stacked cast, the least known actor is relegated to looking foolish or out of their league. This is not the case in Knives out and De Armas even puts a few of her colleagues to shame. Knives out delivers on all fronts and could not have been a better response to all the Star Wars haters that were calling for Johnson's head.

This easily earns an A+ and I would consider it one of the best films of the year.