SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Film Review
Jeff Fowler, 2020
73 / 100
Review by Matthew Isenberg
BACKGROUND
“Confidence: a fool’s substitute for intelligence!”
That could about sum up this movie, honestly. It’s a funny and accurate line from a hilarious and spot-on performance by the legendary Jim Carrey, but it’s from a movie that is more confident than smart. Granted, you don’t expect depth or philosophy from a movie based on a video game about a blue, Flash-like hedgehog, but still. It was almost completely aimed at kids, which is surprising, considering the game has been around since 1991. This is not the kind of movie that most Millennials would rave over. It’s actually confusing who the target audience was, because it’s based on a Millennial-generation game, but its main character does a Fortnite dance. Twice. I’m Generation Z, and it made me cringe, so I can’t imagine how the 20- and 30-year-olds reacted.
THE FILMMAKER
Jeff Fowler was born in Normal, Illinois. So.
Just kidding, I don't want to be mean (although that really is where he was born). His other credits include the visual effects for Where the Wild Things Are and the directing of a 2004 short film Gopher Broke. I would guess that this is a project he made happen, likely out of his love for the game (his age matches up), because I see no reason for him to get selected for this, as his career was nothing to speak of. I don’t say that as an offense, I say it as an honest fact. His stuff wasn’t bad, he just had none. I’m impressed he was able to work on this big project. Good for him. Mostly.
THE FILM
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG is a road trip movie about a hedgehog that can run at the speed of light and must battle an evil scientist.
That has to be SONIC’s biggest flaw: forcing the protagonist, who can run as fast or faster than Quicksilver, to ride in a truck for just about the entire film, and for no evident reason but to involve James Marsden’s mostly worthless character. It’s a pretty fun movie with a few really funny moments (“Excusez-moi monsieur!”) and it’s sometimes a ride worth taking, but the biggest kink in the machine is that it is a ride. It causes the movie to drag so much and fall into road trip movie clichés stolen from better movies. The entire movie could have taken about 5 minutes, since Sonic could easily have run to San Francisco, gotten the rings, and gone home in about 20 seconds or less. The filmmakers' excuse for him riding with Marsden is that Sonic doesn't know how to get to San Francisco, but he could've used a map. OR A RING, WHICH HE ACCIDENTALLY USED TO GET THEM THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Maybe I should go ahead and put what I counted off:
- Unnecessarily making a road trip the plot. -16 points
- The humor is inconsistent, drifting between 8-year-olds and middle-aged. It kind of tries to be like a Disney movie where it's "got something for everyone", but it doesn't do it well. -6
- Sonic recovers from being demolished by Robotnik just by Marsden saying he was his friend? I mean, it's an often-sentimental movie, but that was absolutely schmaltzy. -3
- The Fortnite dances. I have to, but it's minor, so I'll count off accordingly. -2
I don't want anyone's takeaway to be that I don't like this film (in fact, I could've taken off a lot more for the road trip thing since it is the entire plot). I do like the movie, and any movie I give more than a 70 to is one I label at least "good". SONIC has some enjoyable and funny moments, like Sonic trying to beat his record at the beginning, but it's also filled with clichés and some ridiculous plot points, even for a video game movie. In fact, it has most of the flaws of a video game movie, just like Detective Pikachu and Tomb Raider, neither of which are terrible movies, though both are deeply flawed.
All in all, fans of the game will have plenty to like about this movie, especially the redesigned Sonic that the VFX team changed from the nightmare it used to be, but fans of movies will have plenty to pick apart. I can't praise Jim Carrey's performance enough, though; it's spot-on and absolutely hilarious. He's the shining point of the movie, and his transformation at the end excites me for a future performance from him as the infamous Doctor Eggman.
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12 ANGRY MEN Film Review
Sidney Lumet, 1957
100 / 100
Review by Matthew Isenberg
BACKGROUND
“We want to hear your arguments.”
12 ANGRY MEN was director Sidney Lumet’s very first film and, after a career of 46 films, it remains his highest-rated. It was nominated for 3 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes. It has a 96% on Metacritic, a 97% audience score, and a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I don’t remember how I first found this film, but I had wanted to see it for a long time and I finally found it used for $4 and bought it. For me, the best kinds of films are ones that you think will be mediocre and end up on your top 10 list. My favorite stories are when I can’t predict the ending, and my favorite films are those I can’t predict how much I’ll enjoy. As you’ll probably noticed, I’ll say that about quite a few of the films I’ve reviewed, and 12 ANGRY MEN happens to be the best of them, leaping from being a film I thought I may or may not enjoy to being my favorite film of all time.
THE FILMMAKER
Sidney Lumet’s 12 ANGRY MEN is the best debut film I’ve ever seen. He only had a $340,000 budget and still made a film filled with that era’s high-caliber actors like Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. Most directors have a much larger budget; to give you a point of reference, Christopher Nolan’s Memento had a budget of $9 million. Lumet did wonders with his relatively small budget, creating the best, most exhilarating, and most realistic courtroom drama in history. It would probably still be my favorite even if it wasn’t so wildly impressive (which it is).
THE FILM
12 ANGRY MEN follows a jury discussing whether or not a man is guilty of murder.
12 ANGRY MEN, in its entirety, takes place in a single room. There is a total of about 20-30 seconds of the 96min runtime that doesn’t. Films like this often have the potential to become claustrophobic, dull, tedious, but 12 ANGRY MEN is exhilarating, even though nothing “happens”, action-wise. The film is realistic and accurate in its portrayal of the various kinds of characters it contains, and even touches on relevant issues like prejudice and the rejection/distortion of facts. Every single actor gives a vehement performance, and the direction is perfect, including a few single-take shots to add even more audience engagement (as if we weren’t already drawn in, sweating). Lumet allows a few laughs, too; true, deeply funny moments, such as when an awfully mean man verbally backs himself into a corner.
Every moment works, every type of person embodied contributes something different to the plot and conversation, every comment made forwards the discussion in an interesting way. The resolution is perfect, and the overall execution is unflawed and probably unmatched. I heard that the remake is good, but I doubt I’ll ever watch it because it is impossible to improve upon something that is, in my opinion, utterly faultless.
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PARADOXOLOGY Album Review
Elevation Worship, 2019
93 / 100
Review by Matthew Isenberg
BACKGROUND
“What more could I ask for?”
PARADOXOLOGY is Christian band Elevation Worship’s 14th album and only their 3rd studio album (the other two are conversions of an album to different versions, as well). PARADOXOLOGY is a reimagining of their previous live album Hallelujah Here Below, focusing on a few of that album’s tracks and adding a new one, “With You”.
THE BAND
I’ve followed Elevation Church/Worship since 2016, when I heard their music at church camp. Steven Furtick is my favorite preacher and Chris Brown is my favorite worship leader. I’m part of an amazing Elevation small group. All this makes it difficult for me to say anything bad about their music, even when I try to be objective. That’s not the case with PARADOXOLOGY. Elevation Worship is a great band, but they have had their mixed albums before. In fact, Hallelujah Here Below itself had some mediocre points, while still being a great album. With PARADOXOLOGY, though, it is hard to find fault. Elevation Worship threw out their previous live sound for a relaxed, synth-heavy session of worshipful splendor. The band’s project is astounding just through listening, but they also chose to make an entire “experience” and post it to YouTube, where the audience can be blessed through their ears and eyes. They went above and beyond for this album.
THE ALBUM
Let me just start this section by saying that PARADOXOLOGY is my favorite Elevation album; that way you can expect how much I’m going to praise it. It’s not perfect, but I've never heard a perfect album in my life, and I must say that this is the closest that Elevation Worship has come to “perfect” thus far. Nearly every reimagined track improves on the original in great ways, especially “Faithful”, which makes the song beautifully acoustic like it deserves, and “Won’t Stop Now”, which shortens it and allows Jonsal to lead it over more relaxed synth. I was going to list the album’s strong points, but honestly its strong points are practically every track, especially “With You” and the title track. Other reimaginings I’ve heard have been pretty mixed, but on PARADOXOLOGY, no track is underwhelming. There are a few things I will point out, though:
- The bridge of “Here Again” has heavy auto-tune, which I’ve never loved, and even with it, the singing sounds off-key in much of the bridge. It significantly took away from the song and saddened me because, up until that point, I was enjoying the reimagining even more than the original (and I think the original is perfect). -3 points
- “Worthy” was still as repetitive as the original and it got a bit tiresome early on. -4
- This isn’t a complaint, but I think Steffany Gretzinger (who was amazing on this) should’ve stopped singing after the final “hallelujah” and let the choir’s echo fade out with the instruments. I think it would’ve sounded a lot better and more goosebump-y. It was sad, also, that Anna Sailors Pinkham wasn’t on this at all because she’s my favorite female vocalist on E.W. (though Jordan Holliday has to be my favorite female vocalist of Elevation as a whole).
Basically, I’m saying my few complaints are very minor, even with “Here Again”. This album is just so amazing, and I like it exponentially more than Hallelujah Here Below (which was also very good). They really outdid themselves with this album. I honestly don’t know how they could top it. I’m hopeful, though.
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THE BOOK THIEF Book Review
Markus Zusak, 2005
100 / 100
Review by Matthew Isenberg
BACKGROUND
“It kills me sometimes, how people die.”
THE BOOK THIEF won three awards: the Kathleen Mitchell Award; the National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature award; and the Indies’ Choice Book Award for Children’s Literature. It has 4.4 / 5 on Goodreads and 4.5 / 5 on Barnes & Noble. It was adapted into a movie in 2013 that received mixed reviews.
THE AUTHOR
Markus Zusak has written only 9 books so far, and THE BOOK THIEF is by far his highest-praised and most-beloved, and only his 5th. He is still writing.
I’ve read two books by Zusak and have given both a perfect score (I am the Messenger is the other). I bought another of his without even reading about it just because it was written by him, and I’m working on getting through it currently. I remember freaking out when I found a signed copy of THE BOOK THIEF at a used bookstore (though it was basically brand new) for only $8. I already owned an ex-library version of the book, but I didn’t hesitate in replacing it with the signed one. I’ve read so many books (close to 300, if not more) and love so many that it’s hard to pick an actual favorite; I just have a top 10 that aren’t in order, and THE BOOK THIEF is most definitely in it. I’d put his other book in there, too, but I want to be fair to all the other authors I love (haha, humor).
THE BOOK
THE BOOK THIEF centers around a young girl living in Nazi Germany who steals books to prevent them from being burned.
I found this book back when I had time to binge-read multiple a week, which was around 2012 or 2013. Right then, THE BOOK THIEF surpassed every book I’d read and became my favorite and it’s never fallen out of my top 5. The movie was the reason I read it, I think; like, I heard about the movie and saw it was based on a book, so I read it. I read it first, of course, and the movie infuriated me. Firstly, it removed the narrator, which completely shuffles the story, and the movie’s writing was wildly weaker than the book’s. I can’t imagine that Zusak was satisfied with the movie, considering how much most of his readers hated it. Most young adult book-to-film adaptations seem to flop, like Percy Jackson and Divergent, with only rare exceptions like the first two Hunger Games and the highly-rated The Hate U Give.
In other words, THE BOOK THIEF is a must-read and the movie is absolutely skippable. It pushes the limits of being in the Y.A. genre because it’s very mature, has much darkness in it as it represents WWII, and has quite a bit of German (and sometimes English) cussing. I would say it’s good for ages 16 and up because of the content and readability. It’s been a couple years since I read it and my memory isn’t perfect, but I can’t remember a single reason to take off points. It’s a masterpiece of historical fiction, overflowing with creativity, humor, emotions, affection, and powerful examinations of the human race.
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