Idris Elba

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • IMDb: link

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 offers your typical sequel with the return of all the core characters, a larger budget, more special effects, and the addition of new characters. The results are largely the same. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is likely to keep the attention of younger audiences, although the biggest audible pop in the screening I attended came during the mid-credit sequence, but other than the pretty visuals and the occasional fun action sequence there’s not much here for the rest of us for a film that clocks in at over two hours.

Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) returns seeking vengeance and power. With him this time is Knuckles (Idris Elba) in search of an ancient power known as the Master Emerald hidden by Sonic’s mentor Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks). Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) return to help Sonic who also gets a new friend in Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) who arrives to help Sonic save the emerald.

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The Top Ten Movies of 2021

/ / Top Tens & Lists

It’s that time again to look back on the year that was and celebrate the best in film. While there may not be a common theme working its way through the entire list, music will play a large role (although the musical remake you may most expect isn’t to be found as it’s one of many solid films that narrowly missed the cut). 2021 offered a number of good movies, a solid amount of very good films, perhaps the best concert film of all time, and one amazing piece of cinema to top our list. Without further ado, here are the best movies of 2021.

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The Harder They Fall

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Harder They Fall
  • IMDb: link

Although fictional, writer/director Jeymes Samuel‘s film is inspired by real outlaws, cowboys, and lawmen of color from the Wild West. The primary character of The Harder They Fall is Nat Love (Jonathan Majors). Tormented as a boy by outlaw Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), Love has grown into an outlaw who hunts and kills other outlaws while still seeking revenge for the massacre of his family.

With Majors and Elba, Samuel has the two pillars he needs to make the film work while surrounding each man with an assortment of strong characters played by the likes of Zazie Beetz, Edi Gathegi, Danielle Deadwyler, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, and Delroy Lindo. When circumstances allow the Buck Gang to free their leader, Rufus Buck returns to the western town of Redwood. This puts Nat Love, and his friends, and Rufus Buck, and his gang, on a collision course for an extended shoot-out on the Main Street of Redwood.

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The Suicide Squad

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Suicide Squad
  • IMDb: link

The Suicide Squad movie reviewWriter/director James Gunn‘s sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad is bonkers. If Legends of Tomorrow ever makes it to the big screen, I’d expect it would look something like this (with a far smaller body count, to be sure). Bringing back a handful of the stars from the first film, with some notable absences, the story this time follows a more straightforward Task Force X plot of the criminals turned black ops soldiers by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) sent overseas to a foreign country to cause some mayhem under the radar. Oh, and then the movie throws in Starro. Starro!? Did I mention this movie is bonkers?

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Hobbs & Shaw

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
  • IMDb: link

Hobbs & Shaw movie reviewThe Fast & Furious franchise has produced a series of films over the past two decades that range from fairly okay (Fast Five and Tokyo Drift) to largely forgettable (see everything else). Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw may not have a lot going for it but it does have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham who take their bickering to the next level when forced to work together on a joint CIA and MI6 assignment (despite neither one working for either agency).

The plot steals more than a little from M:I-2 when an agent (Vanessa Kirby) injects a deadly virus into herself rather than let it fall into the hands of terrorists. Hobbs is tapped to find the agent, who our suped-up super-villain (Idris Elba) and his super-secret villainous organization have framed for the theft and deaths of her team. Ryan Reynolds gets a fun, if largely unnecessary, cameo to bring the hero onboard. Shaw‘s motivations are far more personal.

The film offers plenty of chase sequences but far less muscle cars and heists than the usual Fast & Furious flick. In fact, other the the forced family theme shoved down the audience’s throat at every turn, Hobbs & Shaw feels like a rather purposeful departure from the franchise which spawned it.

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