Sonic the Hedgehog

First created by Sega in 1991.
Now a movie by Paramount in 2020.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a fun film.
The movie is a great adaptation of the video game series.

Story itself isn't very unique and new.
But it tells itself well and knows how to have fun.

Ben Schwartz provides the voice of an energetic and enjoyable Sonic.
Jim Carrey is perfect as Robotnik and channels his 90s energy.

Sonic's design is very accurate, owing to the reception of the first trailer.
Though he doesn't always feel like he's actually there due to the CGI.

A lot of good jokes, especially those referencing the franchise's past, work well.
But other jokes are trying to be too modern, don't work, and Carrey can try too hard.

Really well done action scenes and set pieces show of Sonic's abilities and Robotnik's intellect.
Though certain choices made by certain characters, especially Sonic, don't always make sense.

It ends without any huge questions to answer for a sequel.
Though it does leave a few doors open for followups.

This video game based film proves that there is a way to make these movies work.
While a few worked before, Sonic the Hedgehog is not afraid to tackle its past.

Over all: 79%
2020 top list so far:
1. The Gentlemen
2. Birds of Prey
3. Bad Boys for Life
4. Sonic the Hedgehog

Birds of Prey

After having played Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie not only returns for Birds of Prey but she also helped produce it with her own production company due to her love of playing the character and convincing Warner Bros to make an all women comic book film that's directed by an Asian woman with small credits and is rated R. For the most part, all of that really works with this dark comedic take on the genre similar to the Deadpool films and a bit with Joker. After the Joker breaks up with Harley, she doesn't take it well until finally deciding to put her life together and make sure everyone in Gotham knows. This unfortunately leads to many criminals in the city to go after her due to past grievances as she doesn't have Joker's protection anymore. Through this, she ends up in the middle of Black Mask's plot to obtain a rare diamond that eventually culminates in Harley meeting several women who all have something to do with Mask. Huntress wants to kill him and his men for the death of her family, Renee Montoya is a detective wanting to build a case against Mask, and Dinah Lance wants to get out of his abusive service. All four work together to keep a young Cassandra Cain safe after she steals the diamond and swallows it to hide it. Cathy Yan's direction is full of quick moments and montages while also putting the camera in unique positions, thus giving us a very unique look different from the rest of the DCEU. The cast is incredible, with Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee-Smollett Bell, Rosie Perez, and Ella Jay Basco all providing a fun and exiting chemistry between each other. All the while Ewan McGregor plays up his charm to portray such a fun and engaging villain who is convincing at making you scared whenever his anger rises. Though the writing isn't very unique, and constant flashbacks happening either too much and then not as much, it is full of so much energy and very wild and fun moments with references to the comics while not giving us a standard superhero film like one would expect. Due to having one of the John Wick directors working on the action scenes, a lot of the set pieces aren't just so well shot and choreographed but very creative due to the different fighting styles each character employs. Of course, Birds of Prey still has issues that plague it throughout such as the fact that despite being set in Gotham, Batman is only mentioned once and never explained why he never makes an appearance. While Basco's performance is great, one problem is that this is the first live action adaptation of Cain, a unique character who only communicates through body movement and is considered one of DC's most capable fighters, and turning her into an average teen who needs to be rescued feels like they just gave her the name for the recognition. There's also its R rating, since some of the excessive violence and swearing feels like it's trying too hard to show how serious the DCEU can be as well as trying to copy Joker's success. Birds of Prey may not be a direct sequel to Suicide Squad, but it succeeds where that previous entry failed with much more engaging and fun characters, well done action scenes, and though it has several issues it still makes you want to see more of Robbie as Harley. Over all: 92%
2020 top list so far:
1. The Gentlemen
2. Birds of Prey
3. Bad Boys for Life

Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys

As my first comic centering on Spider-Man, whereas past stories I had featured him in either a supporting role or small cameo, Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys showcases powerful moments in the hero's life. Collecting issues 88-92 and 121-122 from the first volume of Amazing Spider-Man in the '70s, it focuses on the lead up to and eventual death Captain George Stacy due to a fight between the web slinger and Doctor Octopus, the fallout that paints Spider-Man as a murderer and strains Peter Parker's relationship with Stacy's daughter Gwen, and then later the return of the Green Goblin, the kidnapping and eventual death of Gwen, and the final fight between the two enemies. What makes this collection unique is that the events from these issues is what lead to the end of the lighter Silver Age of Comics to the more serious Bronze Age. The death of both of the Stacys was treated in a very serious way that really affected Spider-Man, whether as a hero or in his regular life. Stan Lee and Gerry Conway's writing does such a great job at balancing the dark pathos with the fun super heroics, though their over-relying on Spider-Man talking or thinking about every situation takes you out of it at times since they don't let the artwork speak for itself. Much of the dialogue is well written, though certain conversations between characters can either feel too sappy or too serious. The artwork and coloring is well done, with good amount of detail such as with the backgrounds or even the fight scenes. With the last two issues having a different penciller and colorist than the earlier ones, you can tell how different 121-122 are compared to 88-92 due to having a darker palette. This is best shown with more detail to shadows in people's faces and the more noticeable anger in Parker's face. Though a huge flaw throughout all issues is that when he wears the mask, Spider-Man's mask doesn't emote how he is feeling and gives the same look despite whatever happens. Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys is a collection of very powerful but very tragic moments in the hero's life and you can tell that everyone involved put their all into it. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2018
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #6
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1
7. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2
8. Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys
9. Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1
10. Deadpool Kills Deadpool
11. DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #1
12. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
13. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1
14. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018
15. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR
16. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
17. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1
18. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018
19. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1
20. Batman/The Flash: The Button
21. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
22. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
23. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
24. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
25. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
26. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
27. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
28. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
29. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
30. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
31. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
32. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
33. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1
34. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
35. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8