Netflix Friday - Volume 102

 
Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Jude Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
 

Drama: Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a hot.
 

Comedy: Julie & Julia (2009)
Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell’s (Amy Adams) 2022 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book.
 

Animation: My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
 

Romance: The In Between (2022)
After surviving a car accident that took the life of her boyfriend (Kyle Allen), a teenage girl Joey King) believes he’s attempting to reconnect with her from the after world.
 

Horror: Choose or Die (2022)
After firing up a lost 80s survival horror game, a young decoder unleashes a hidden curse that tears reality apart, forcing her to make terrifying decisions and face deadly consequences.
 

Science Fiction: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
A soldier (Tom Cruise) fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
 

Crime: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Detective Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, who is carrying out a string of random crimes across Europe.
 

Thriller: Forgotten (2017)
When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping.
 

Documentary: Our Great National Parks (2022)
A five-part documentary series about the world’s most breathtaking national parks and the wildlife that live there.
 

Family: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
After discovering a small, blue, fast hedgehog, a small-town police officer (James Marsden) must help him defeat an evil genius (Jim Carrey) who want to do experiments on him.

Movie Review - Sonic the Hedgehog

Director: Jeff Fowler
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Family/ Comedy
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Neal McDonough, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub

Description: After discovering a small, blue, fast hedgehog (Ben Schwartz), a small-town police officer (James Marsden) must help him defeat an evil genius (Jim Carrey) who wants to do experiments on him.

Review: The lightning-fast game hero Sonic couldn’t escape Hollywood’s urge to make a film about everything. This is the first film about the blue hedgehog, released a bit later then planned. The reason was the reaction to the first trailer, where the audience complained about Sonic’s look. Was this a smart move? Very! Because that first trailer made this film look terrible and a possible flop, but “Sonic the Hedgehog” was surprisingly good.
In the prologue, Sonic explains to the viewers where he is from. It’s a quick telling about why he has been living on planet Earth for years now. He is a bit lonely, he fantasizes about having friends. When Sonic is playing baseball, again alone, he gets frustrated and causes a nation-wide power-out. And with this, he becomes the target of the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik, who wants nothing but to capture Sonic. Together with Sheriff Tom, Sonic tries to stop Robotnik and his deadly drones.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” is a family film. No heavy themes, straight-forward good guy/ bad guy story, simple entertainment, witty and fun. Jeff Fowler, making his directorial debut, ticks all the boxes when it comes to clichés and that’s okay here. The first film about Sonic is amusing and sometimes a movie doesn’t have to be more than that.
Fowler scores when he goes all-in during the action scenes. The director knows how to play with the supersonic powers of the titular character. Although often not the most original, it looks amazing.
Let’s talk about Jim Carrey, who plays Sonics rival Dr. Robotnik. It’s a cartoonish villain, so Carrey is the perfect choice. Over-the-top, weird, crazy, it has Carrey’s name written all over it. Ben Schwartz, voicing Sonic, is also a very good choice.
After so many bad video game to movie adaptations, I’m happy to say “Sonic the Hedgehog” isn’t one of them. I expected a silly, dumb cash-grab of a movie, that wasn’t good at all. Well, I was very surprised to get an actual good movie and a real fun time for the entire family. Stay after the credits, because there is a hint at a sequel (of course).

Rating: 3,5 / 5