Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare

I used to read several children books back in the early 80´s at our local library. My mother had a library card so we could basically borrow as many books as we wanted. I remember in the year of 1983 when i was 6 years old i was sitting in the library reading the book known as Treasure Island from author Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the children´s book version and not have as many pages as the original book released in 1883. I loved reading about a pirate adventure and the images in the book looked good as well. This was the first time i encountered the story of Treasure Island and i would begin to read the original version of the book at the age 12 back in 1989. I remember that i really enjoyed reading the real book compared to the children´s version because there were so many more details and events compared to the shorter version for smaller children. Just 2 years later in 1991 legndary director Steven Spielberg released his film adaptation of the classic story of Peter Pan known as Hook, inspired by the 1911 novel titled Peter & Wendy, written by author J.M. Barrie. I did see this film in cinema but not until in the spring of 1992 when the Swedish premiere took place. Hook is a charming fantasty adventure that really feels like a Peter Pan movie. The cast is really good with legendary actors such as Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hopkins, Maggie Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow and Phil Collins among many others. Unfortunately the film became a big box office bomb at that time but i still enjoy the film Hook. It is a fun family film if you are in the right mood. In 2003 a new updated version of Peter Pan was released in cinemas worldwide from director P.J. Hogan ( director of the 1994 Australian romantic comedy classic Muriel´s Wedding ). I enjoyed the 2003 version of Peter Pan and i think the casting was great and there are some fun adventure scenes in this film adaptation. The character of Captain Hook in the 2003 film played by actor Jason Isaacs is especially enjoyable. I know that there was a Disney movie released in 2023 called Peter And Wendy, i have not seen this film though. However, i did decide to check out the horror film Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare that seemed to be doing something similar to the low budget slasher film Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey II ( a film i actually enjoyed ). Does the story of Peter Pan work well in a horror format or is this film just as bad as the original Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey film?

Fifteen years ago, Peter Pan ( Martin Portlock ), worked at a fantasy-themed circus where he performs as a mime for many children. After a show that night, Peter attempts to abduct thirteen-year-old James Hook ( Charity Kase ) in his house. James mother, Roxanne Hook ( Kierston Wareing ) fights Peter and mutilates his face, but is overpowered and murdered while Peter abducts James. In the present day, Wendy Darling ( Megan Placito ) lives in a complex family dynamic with her younger brothers John Darling ( Campbell Wallace ) and Michael Darling ( Peter DeSouza Feighoney ), and their mother Mary Darling ( Teresa Banham ). On Michael´s birthday, Wendy gives him a ride to school and promise to pick him up later. However, she gets distracted while talking to her boyfriend, and does not notice Michael leave on his bike. While Michael rides through the woods he gets abducted by Peter Pan. Michael´s family get a phone call from Peter who promise them that he will take Michael to Neverland, where all the other children goes.

Ever since i saw the poster of Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare i was curious to see how on Earth they would do a different take on the classic character Peter Pan. Considering how bad Piglet was as well as Popye´s Revenge ( two films who are also based on famous children book and comic  book characters ) i knew there might be a chance that this film would not be good either. I will be honest and say though i actually enjoy this film for a number of reasons. I have to say i really appreciate seeing a completely different take on the Peter Pan character. This is the serial killer version of Peter Pan which makes this a completely different version than we are used to see. The way he kills his victims is a fun slasher surprise plus this is not the flying Peter Pan you might remember from the Steven Spielberg film Hook, this is basically the mentally disturbed version where he doesn´t play ordinary games. This film have some really brutal kills and they are all made with practical make up effects. As some of my readers might know after all of these years i really love horror films that uses practical make up effects, simply because it actually makes the horror scenes more effective. Seeing the character Peter Pan slash bodies open in different way is of course a jolly good time. Actor Martin Portlock as Peter Pan deliver an acting performance that´s actually better than i expected and i especially love the scenes where he goes completely nuts and hunt his victims. I do enjoy the acting performance of actress Kit Green as Tinker Bell and her scenes with Martin Portlock are effective from a horror perspective. Actress Megan Placito also surprised me with a very physical performance that matches the film. The horror scenes in general of Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare works well and i appreciate that this film doesn´t go in the traditional Peter Pan pattern and try a different approach. To be honest this is my favourite of the British independent horror films recently compared to Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey franchise, Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare is a gory enjoyable slasher horror film that will please fans of this genre. Director Scott Chambers manage to deliver a horror film that actually refreshing and different, and that is something you don´t see everyday. I picked up a physical copy of this film and so should you if you enjoy fun slasher horror films.

Rating: DDD

Y2K

If you happen to be a big movie fan ( no matter what country you live in ) then you might have seen at least a couple of films released by distribution company known as A24. They have a long list of quality films where i could easily pick some of the films you simply need to see. For example i feel that more people should see the 2019 psychological horror film known as Saint Maud. Directed by Rose Glass ( who later directed the great romantic thriller Love Lies Bleeding ) this film tells the story of newly-converted religious private carer Katie ( brillant played by actress Morfydd Clark, also really good in the British folk lore horror film Starve Acre ) who is assigned to take care of Amanda ( Jennifer Ehle ), a former dancer who is terminally ill with stage four lymphoma. At first you might think Katie is a sweet private palliative care nurse but there is something seriously wrong with her. This film is really effective from a psychological perspective where the acting performance from actress Morfydd Clark really stands out. Unfortunately the film flopped during the pandemic but i highly recommend buying a physical copy of Saint Maud or at least rent it on VOD. I should also mention that the cinematography from Ben Fordesman is really beautiful in this film. Another A24 film you should check out was released quite many years ago and we find ourselves in the year of 2015. I am especially thinking about the American comedy-drama known as Mississipi Grind from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. This is a very well made film that really show how destructive it can be having a gambling addiction. The acting performances from both Ben Mendelshohn and Ryan Reynolds are both really good as they travel across the country playing poker and other gambling games. If you cant find Mississipi Grind streaming it´s cheap to buy on DVD, definetely worth checking out. Last year A24 released a horror film called Y2K, a film inspired by the millenium events since the year of 1999 was seen as very special as we moved into the 2000´s. I remember back then how afraid people were about what would happen when the year 2000 started, will the computers stop working? Nothing happened really but it´s fun this film tries to capture this time period. The film flopped at the box office but did become a streaming hit instead. Is this a horror film worth checking out or is Y2K just as boring as Popeye´s Revenge ( a film i reviewed last month ) ?

In 1999, best friends Eli ( Jaeden Martell ), Danny ( Julian Dennison ) and Garrett ( Kyle Mooney ) discuss plans for New Years Eve while their parents are out. Eli have a crush on his classmate Laura ( Rachel Zegler ) but he´s too nervous to talk to her even though his best friend Danny try to talk him into making a move on her. Eli and Danny decide to crash a party, stealing alcohol that´s locked inside to prepare themselves to party at the last night of 1999. When midnight strikes nothing will ever be the same again.

I have some things to say about this film and it´s not all positive. But we might as well get into what i did feel works with Y2K and i definetely feel that they captured the time period right of the year 1999. I was 22 years old at this time so i do remember a lot of things so i could definetely recognize the clothing style, the music we used to listen to ( for me i used to listen to the Limp Bizkit album Significant Other in 1999 ) during this year and of course the legendary VHS rental stores that were a big part of our young years. I also feel that some of the characters feel like they behaved like teenagers back in 1999, the way some of them talked and how cool it was do chat rooms back then. There is a funny dance scene at a house party of the Sisqó classic Thong Song where the character Danny goes all in at his dance moves. Speaking of characters i do like the chemistry between best friends Eli and Danny, played by actors Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison. That was some of the positive and we have to talk about what doesn´t work with Y2K. This is supposed to take place during the end of 1999 and you would want to feel like it really is the end of the 90´s and the millenium crisis. That´s one thing this film fails to capture and i feel that is a big missed oppurtunity. If you are going to capture the end of the 90´s correctly as it was you should have gone all in like it was, how hysterical some people were worried about the millenium. The horror elements in this film are not as effective as i were hoping they would be. Sure, we get people killed by machines and i do like the idea. But it worked much better in the 1986 sci fi horror classic Maximum Overdrive to be honest and that film actually knew how to make machines come to life in a cool way compared to Y2K. Since this is supposed to be a sci fi horror comedy i feel that the combination doesn´t work all the way through. It´s not a terrible film, there are a couple of charming moments ( such as Fred Durst showing up ) and i like the concecpt of the plot. Unfortunately it´s the horror elements that feel too weak for Y2K to function. If you grew up in the 90´s you might want to check it out just for nostalgic reasons. Director Kyle Mooney have made a film that may please some fans of the 90´s, i just wish he could have used more effective ingredients than what we got.

Rating: DD

Night Call

There was a time in the early 2000´s i used to watch certain French films in cinema between the years of 2000 up until the year of 2016. I still watch French ( and Belgian films as well ) but usually rent the films on VOD or buy some physical releases. I will be honest and say that sometimes French films can be far more better than American films when it comes to acting, telling a powerful story and how professional the film looks. One genre especially where i feel French films have proven to be really good is the genre known as action. A true French action classic is without a doubt the 2000 psychological thriller action film The Crimson Rivers with French actors Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell. A well made film with great performances and the murder invstigations are effectively constructed. I reccommend this film if you enjoy crime films in general and i know there is a sequel released in 2004. Jean Reno returned to the sequel as his character Commissaire Pierre Niemans. I have not seen the sequel so far but it´s on my future watch list. If you want to watch a great French film on streaming i would recommend you to watch the French action thriller Netflix film known as The Stronghold ( BAC Nord ) directed by Cédric Jimenez ( director of the really good French crime action thriller The Connection, a must watch). This film tells the story of three Marseille cops, Grég Cerva ( Gilles Lellouche ), Antoine ( Francois Civil ) and Yass ( Karim Leklou ) who are fighting against drug gangs every day in the city with the highest crime rate of France. It takes a little while before The Stronghold really kicks in with the action scenes, but when it does you get some intensive police action. A well made film from director Cédric Jimenez and definetely worth a watch on Netflix. Last year i remember seeing a poster of a French / Belgian action thriller Night Call. I later found out that this is the directorial full feature debut film for director Michiel Blanchart and i did find the plot to look interesting for this film. I also noticed that Belgian actor Jonas Bloquet is in this film who i recognized from the horror films The Nun and the sequel The Nun II. Is the action thriller Night Call one of the better French movies in recent years or should you avoid this one and watch The Stronghold on Netflix instead?

Mady Bala ( Jonathan Feltre ) is a student by day and during night he works as a professional locksmith, always helping anyone who needs his assistance. While sitting in his work car he gets a phone call from a woman who says her name Claire ( Natacha Krief ). She needs help to get inside her apartement. Mady travel to her adress and help her in, but she doesn´t have any cash on her so need to get money from the cash machine. While she is there she calls Mady to get out while he is waiting in her apartment, apparently this is not her place after all. A large man attacks Mady and it all ends with the man dying. A group of men arrive to the apartment looking for a bag, finding the dead man. Mady is captured and being interrogated by a criminal gang, why was he in this apartent? No one have seen this locksmith before and they see no other way out, they have to take him out. Mady have no time to wait and have to try and escape.

Making a film in general takes a lot of work and your very first full feature film is of course something you will always remember as the director. If you make your very first film to turn out to be good then chances are you will be noticed around the world. When it comes to Night Call this is actually better than i expected. Not that i had very high expectations from the beginning but this film have a lot of redeeming qualities. Not only does this film look really good with many beautiful night scenes over the city, but the acting in this film is one of the true highlights from several characters. You can actually sense that some of the actors really went all in for their characters and that´s exactly what you want in a criminal action thriller such as this. When the characters give strong physical performances with hard hitting dialogue, it feels like we are inside the underground criminal world where there are no rules except getting the job done, no matter what it takes. I feel that the character of Mady ( played really well by actor Jonathan Feltre ) is a great match as the main character in Night Call. How do you react when someone tricked you as a locksmith to get inside an apartment to find out they used you? Worst of it all is of course is that Mady kill another person while hes protecting his own life. He have never killed a person before, how do you go on after something like that happens? There are several questions Mady struggle with and it´s not getting any easier as criminals chase him around the city. Thankfully Mady is a professional locksmith and this is something he will be able to use his knowledge of, especially in one specific scene in this film. The violence and the high speed of the film Night Call is a very effective combination, it´s very difficult to get sleepy by this film as intensive as certain moments are in specific scenes. Director Michiel Blanchart deliver a really effective action thriller and show that he knows this genre really well, even though this is his full feature directorial debut film. This is a must see for everyone who loves criminal thrillers and i am already looking forward to future films of Michiel Blanchart. Night Call is definetely one of my personal favourite thrillers of this year.

Rating: DDDD

We Kill Them All

A perfect season to make especially thriller films a bit more complicated is when the film takes place during winter time. The weather is rough, if you get stuck out there in the wilderness without the right clothes you could freeze to death. You may also die because you may get ill because of the terrible weather, let´s say you may have a heart problem or other health issues. Then you also have wild animals out there who may attack you, especially in wild nature locations such as in Alaska. Speaking of Alaska and the bad weather there are several films that takes on these subjects combined. One film that comes to my mind instantly is the survival thriller film known as The Grey from director Joe Carnahan ( director of the really well made neo-noir crime thriller Narc from 2002, one of my personal favourite Jason Patric films with legendary actor Ray Liotta ). The Grey tells the story of a group of oil-men workers travelling by plane in Alaska during rough weather and the plane crash. The men who survives try and make the best out of the situation by using what´s left of the airplane but have something far more dangerous to worry about. A pack of grey wolves have found their location and they are hungry for flesh. Sharpshooter John Ottoway ( Liam Neeson ) and the surviving men realise they must change location to be able to survive. But how do you survive out there with no cabin in near sight and the grey wolves coming after you? The Grey is a very well made survival thriller with great acting performances and the cinematography from Masanobu Takayanagi ( who also did the cinemaography for the really well made martial arts sports drama film Warrior from director Gavin O´Connor ) looks really beautiful. I would argue that this is one of the better Liam Neeson films in his film career if we are talking about the films from the early 2000´s up until the late 2020´s. Worth checking out on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on any other streaming service where you can find The Grey. I try to check for thrillers that takes place during winter now and then since i feel these films can be interesting in this category. Doesn´t have to be survival thriller just being a winter film may caught my attention. And here we have one example of a film i discovered on VOD and that is the winter thriller known as We Kill Them All. I love the movie title, it sounds like something i would wear on a tshirt if Jehovas Witnesses keep knocking on my door. Is this a solid winter thriller worth a watch or is We Kill Them All as forgettable as the American news show The Culture War with Tim Pool?

Megan Hughes ( Chloe McClay ) is travelling with her girlfriend Lane Davis ( Emma Newton ) to a secluded hotel resort, that´s owned by her criminal father Lee Hughes ( Kent Allen ) to spend time with her father and introduce her girlfriend as well. But that all changes when Meghan arrives when she founds out her father´s dark past have come to haunt him with a criminal gang run by Jimmy Montague ( Leo Fafard ) ending his life. Out in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness Megan have no other option but trying to survive.

If you are looking for a winter thriller similar to The Grey with Liam Neeson i can tell you right now that We Kill Them All is not as good as that film. I would say that this is more of a simple winter thriller that reminds me of a Lifetime movie except with more guns and more physical violence. This film also reminded me of thrillers such as the 2007 horror thriller Vacancy from director Nimród Antal, except this would be the low budget version of Vacancy with a diffrent plot and completely different characters. So let´s get into what i enjoy about We Kill Them All and i have to say the resort hotel is quite impressive. This is the perfect location to make a thriller during winter time considering the weather conditions, and i also feel that this location is perfect since this resort is supposed to be far away from any town so you have no one to ask for help. When it comes to the characters we do have a few that stands out and my personal favourite is the criminal boss known as Jimmy Montague ( played by actor Leo Fafard, who fans of the B movie world knows as the actor who plays Wolfcop in both films ). Jimmy is the kind of character you remember seeing in 80´s and 90´s gangster films. He doesn´t care about anyone but himself and will do what it takes to make money, that included killing anyone if he have to. The second character i feel works well is the large criminal known as Roman Burke ( played by actor Michasha Amstrong who i remember from the horror film Underworld: Evolution ). Roman is a ruthless mean criminal and this is the kind of guy you need to start chaos. Female actors Chloe McClay and Emma Newton gives performances that matches their characters. Anything i feel could have been improved? Considering the limited buget and this is not supposed to be a very intensive thriller i feel that We Kill Them All have enough qualities to appreciate rather than finding any negative details. It´s a throwback to TV thrillers we used to watch in the 90´s that looks good and works as a basic thriller. Director Jeremy Drummond have directed Christmas movies in the past but i think he proves with We Kill Them All we need him to make more thrillers such as this one. A simple but enjoyable film for TV audiences who appreciate a classic thriller formula.

Rating: DDD

30 Years Anniversary Review Of Just Cause

Usually when we talk about movies we mostly think about who directed the film or perhaps the cast of the film as well. But it´s not often you hear who the producer is / producers behind the film. If you know how the making of a film works you know that a producer is very important. For example did you know that the 1988 film Dead Ringers from legendary director David Cronenberg have Marc Boyman as on of the producers, who also produced David Cronenberg´s 1986 horror classic The Fly? So this is clearly a nice teamwork from both of these gentlemen considering both of these films should be seen. It is possible you might recognize Marc Boyman in one of the episodes of Mr. T TV series known as T and T, where he played the character known as Lorne. Speaking of producers and let´s stick to the year of 1988, some of you might remember the very dramatic and powerful drama film known as Gorillas In The Mist from director Michael Apted ( who also directed the 1992 film Thunderheart with Val Kilmer, a film worth checking out ). One of the producers of Gorillas In The Mist is known as Arne Glimcher. If you don´t recognize the name you might if i mention that he directed the 1992 music drama film The Mambo Kings. When ever i am asked about a really good drama film i highly recommend Gorillas In The Mist for a number of reasons. First of all because of the fantastic performance from actress Sigourney Weaver playing Dian Fossey, who was an American primatologist and conservationist. Sigourney really took her role very seriously and you can tell in this film, where you get to understand how passionate Dian Fossey were in studying mountain gorillas and later protect them from hunters. The cinematography from John Seale ( who also did the cinematography for the 1986 thriller classic The Hitcher ) looks really good in this film and the jungle locations matches very well with the plot. Not only is this a very dramatic and powerful story regarding how much Diana really struggled to save gorillas, but this film also show the price she had to pay for standing up against evil people. This is a must watch on DVD, blu ray or on streamimg. Speaking of Arne Glimcher in the year of 1995 he released his film Just Cause. a crime thriller based on the novel by the same name from author John Katzenbach. I watched this film in cinema back in the 90´s and rented it on VHS as well. Since this film turn 30 years old this year i decided to make a 30 years anniversary review to revisit the film and see how it feel about it today on DVD. Is this still a solid criminal thriller or have Just Cause lost some of that cinema magic over these 30 years since this film was released?

Paul Armstrong ( Sean Connery ), a liberal Harvard professor and former lawyer opposed to capital punishment, during one of his lectures an elerly woman named Evangeline Ferguson ( Ruby Dee ) give Paul a letter where she explain that her grandson Bobby Earl Ferguson ( Blair Underwood ) is convicted of raping and brutally murdering a young white girl named Joanie Shriver ( Barbara Jean Kane ) eight years prior. Evangeline tell Paul how badly her grandson was mentally and physically abused by two police detectives to get a forced confession. All she ask is that Paul take a look at this case and see if he might be able to help her grandson. At first Paul isn´t sure until his wife Laurie Prentiss Armstrong ( Kate Capshaw ) read the letter Paul was given and she convince him to take this case.

The thing that made thrillers from the 90´s was not only the casting but especially the characters in several classic thrillers from this time period. When it comes to Just Cause this film also have some really good characters included, but what i especially appreciate with a film such as this is the twists and turns this film takes. Who is really guilty? Who really did murder that young little girl? Is there enough evidence to tell the real truth? Just Cause manage to feel like a matching 90´s ciminal thriller that have the classic ingredients of racism, pedophelia and murder all mixed together in a smoothly told plot. I think most people wouldn´t be surprised if i said that legendary actor Sean Connery absolutely deliver in his brilliant acting ability as the character Paul Armstrong. Just the way Sean give his dialogue and it feels like you don´t want to stop listnening, he had a very unique way to make a powerful impact through his characters. It feels like the character of Paul Armstrong could be inspired by a former lawyer in real life, or perhaps Sean just wanted to make his character feel realistic so you could sense that he took this role seriously. The acting performance that really stands out in this film is legendary actor Ed Harris as the mentally disturbed serial killer Blair Sullivan. This is definetely one of my personal favourite acting performances i have seen Ed Harris do and i have watched a lot of his work for more than 35 years. I love the way Ed tries to portrait this seriously disturbing man by using certain facial expressions, anger and mix it together with bible verses. There is especially one magic scene where Blair feels like hes losing power where Paul knows that he has to remain control and don´t let Sullivan believe he can manipulate him. Legendary actor Laurence Fishburne as the rough but honest Detective Tanny is a perfect match for this character while actor Blair Underwood deliver as well as the convict Bobby Earl. The investigations through the whole film is told effectively and it´s easy to follow along without getting lost in criminal facts. Even though this is a great thriller with great performances i still feel that the 1995 thriller Seven is still my personal favourite if i had to choose of thrillers relased this specific year. With that said Just Cause still manage to stand on it´s own and is definetely worth a watch from director Arne Glimcher. A 90´s classic thriller in the amazing filmography of Sean Connery.

Rating: DDD

Sonic The Hedgehog 3

During the year of 1994 i used to play a lot of different video games. I owned a lot of games on my Amiga 500 computer but also had quite a lot of video games on Nintendo 8-bit home video console as well. I used to go over to my school friend Anders home because he owned both Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive ( or Sega Genesis as it´s called as well ) and his parents bought a lot of games. For example it was in their home i tried the video game adaptation of Bram Stoker´s Dracula on Super Nintendo, clearly inspired by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola´s 1992 horror film. I still remember the game and how cool i thought it was back then. If we would play this game today i think a lot of young people would probably not think it looks cool considering the game graphics. I still have good memories from the hours we spent playing this game. On the Sega Megadrive i got to try a lot of different cool games such as Castlevania: Bloodines, Cliffhanger ( based on the Sylvester Stallone film of the same name ) wich is pretty much a kung fu game while you play the character Ranger Gabriel from the film. This was also the very first time i played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 ( i actually never played the original game or the sequel at that time simply because i was much more interested in martial art games, action games and sci fi games ). In general i thought Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was an ok game, nothing wrong about the game graphics but it just wasn´t my type of game. So on the Sega Genesis i would rather play Double Dragon 3 than Sonic The Hedgehog 3 to be honest. I didn´t really play any other Sonic games after this one, even though many more were releasd. For many years i heard rumours on a live movie adaptation of Sonic The Hedgehog and i wasn´t really interested to be honest. But in 2020 we did get a film adaptation released by director Jeff Fowler and i ended up watching the film. Actually better than i expected and legendary comedian / actor Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik really was the perfect casting choice for this role. In 2022 we got the sequel Sonic The Hedgehog 2, also directed by Jeff Fowler and this turned out to be a charming surprise. I did not see the sequel in cinema either so picked up a physical copy instead. So here we are with the third film in this franchise that i picked up in physical media and the question is, does this sequel deliver even more entertainment compared to the previous films or is this the worst film in this franchise?

In 1974, a meteorite containing the alien hedgehog Shadow crash lands in Oklahoma and is seized by the U.S. military. Shadow´s power is experimented on by Professor Gerald Robotnik ( Jim Carrey ) at a Guardian Units Of Nation ( G.U.N ) research facility under thee supervision of  Captain Walters ( Tom Butler ); Shadow also develops a close friendship with Maria Robotnik ( Alyla Browne ), Gerald´s granddaughter. One night, as Gerald, Maria and Shadow try to escape the facility to prevent Shadow from being taken away. Maria is accidently killed in an explosion. Walters shuts down the facility, imprisons Gerald, and places Shadow in suspended animation. Fifty years laterr, in 2024, an unknown individual hacks into G.U.N. prison facility´s system off the coast of Japan and release a vengeful Shadow. In Green Hills, Montana, Sonic celebrates the anniversary of his arrival on Earth with Tails, Knuckles, and their adoptive parents Tom ( James Marden ) and Maddie Wachowski ( Tika Sumpter ). Their celebration ends when G.U.N Director Rockwell ( Krysten Ritter ) arrive to recruit Sonic and his friends to apprehend Shadow in Tokyo.

If you have read my movie review blog for many years you may have noticed that i never reviewed any of the previous Sonic The Hedgehog films in the past. Even though i enjoyed each film i just didn´t end up writing any reviews, simply because i picked other films instead to review. Considering that Sonic The Hedghehog 3 was the very first game i tried of the Sonic games i figured this would be a perfect timing to review the third film. Let me start of by saying if you are not a fan of the previous films then this sequel will definetely not change your mind. It has a similar tone when it comes to the style of the previous films, and lots of speed scenes combined with family friendly action scenes. To the positive i would definetely say that the CGI effects of Sonny and his friends do look good. Especially in the most effective action scenes and i feel that this film manage to find the right balance of humour and violence combined, but still make it family friendly enough to be entertaining for all ages. Sonic The Hedgehog character is charming as always with sarcastic dialogue. His friends Tails and Knuckles also bring some charming moments as well with their different personalities. The biggest surprise of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is definetely Shadow The Hedgehog ( voice done by actor Keanu Reeves ) and his scenes fighting against Sonic and his friends. You do kind of feel sorry for Shadow when you find out his background story that might explain why he looks so angry. Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnick is exactly as you might expect, crazy and a funny performance that i appreciate. James Marsden ( who i always rememember from the X-Men franchise as Cyclops ) matches well with his character Tom. I have to mention Criminal Minds actor Shemar Moore, he is more charming than i expected in his role as Randall. In general i would say that Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is a great choice if you want to be entertained by a simple, but well made family film. It may not be perfect or bring anything ground breaking to the table but will definetely be appreciated by fans of the character Sonic. Director Jeff Fowler knows how to make video games come to life in cinemas and he understands how you transform videogames into a movie fomat. A great choice this summer if you want to be entertained on physical media and i recommend the previous films as well.

Rating: DDD

Babygirl

Aound autumn of 1988 i was at a birthday party at the home of friends of my family known as The Robertsson Family. They lived in a pretty big house quite far above the city known as Uddevalla ( my hometown ) and we would spend time together many times, especially during certain weekends. The Robertsson Family had 3 children, André, Marcus and David. At the time i was 11 years old and while the adults sat downstairs, me and the other kids of the family watched movies on VHS. I remember Marcus running into his room getting a VHS tape of a film called 9 1/2 Weeks and this was supposed to be some kind of erotic film that Marcus have heard about. We watched the film but being as young as we were we only wanted to see the erotic scenes to be honest. So i remember Marcus trying to find certain scenes rewinding the VHS tape forwards and backwards and i honestly had no idea what the film was about. This was the very first time i witnessed certain scenes of 9 1/2 Weeks and i didn´t really remember anything else other than how hot actress Kim Basinger was. Fast forward to the year of 1992 and i noticed in the TV magazine that Swedish TV channel TV3 was showing 9 1/2 Weeks on a Saturday. Since i was a Mickey Rourke fan at this time ( especially for the action comedy Harley Davidsson And The Marlboro Man ) i had to record the film 9 1/2 Weeks and watch the film completely from start to finish. I remember thinking that it was alright for what it was, but still nowhere near as good as the Mickey Rourke classics Year Of The Dragon or Angel Heart with Robert De Niro. I have watched this film again a couple of years ago and i would pretty much say the same today, it´s ok but not much more. I think it was more shocking for that time period in the 80´s and we are so used to sexual content in modern cinema films so there are plenty of more erotic films to choose between. I personally think that when it comes to erotic films then i would definetely say the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct worked much better than 9 1/2 Weeks, this film have a more powerful story and a great plot as well. And how can you aviod not mentioning how hot actress Sharon Stone is in this film? Another really good film from legendary director Paul Verhoeven and a film you should see. Last year there was quite a buzz on film festivals regarding actress Nicole Kidman´s erotic thriller Babygirl where some people were surprised over the sexual scenes especially. I enjoy a lot of Nicole Kidman´s films in the past ( especially Stanley Kubrick´s last film Eyes Wide Shut and the brilliant 2001 horror film The Others ) so of course i had to give this film a chance. Is Babygirl another proof of how brilliant Nicole Kidman really is as an actress or does this film not deliver as much as i was hoping for?

Romy Mathis ( Nicolee Kidman ), the CEO of a robotic process automation company in New York and she is very fustrated with her private sex life with her husband Jacob Mathis ( Antonio Banderas ), a theatre director. All the years they have been together she had to fake having orgasms and it turns out she have never experienced a real one with her husband. While on the way to work one day, she is almost mauled by a dog until a young man stops and calms it down. That young man, Samuel ( Harris Dickinson ) turns out to be an intern at Romy´s company and picks Romy as his "mentor" through the company´s mentorship program. As they spend more time together a wild sexual affair begins. Romy knows if this gets out in public it could destroy her life completely, but can she resist her wild urges?

I know some might say that Fifty Shades Of Grey were hot erotic films, and they might be for those who are not used to see something similar. I can tell you right now that Babygirl beats all of the Fifty Shades films when it comes to capturing the feeling of sexual power, being in control over someone and finding a sexual tone that matches the characters in certain dominant scenes. The most fascinating parts of Babygirl is where do we draw the line to what sexual needs we might need? Is it ok to cross certain boundaries just to please yourself or is this perhaps a sign that this can become more destructive than actually do something positive? There are several issues i feel this film manage to balance very professional, especially when it comes to the subject of sex and how important this might be for some people to be able to function in their lives. There is also the story of a very respected, successfull mother who seems to have it all, a beautuful family, a beautiful home, but still something is missing in her life? I love that this film uses songs from the 80´s such as INXS classic Never Tear Us Apart and the George Michael classic Father Figure, almost as if they wanted us to be reminded of erotic films of the 80´s while reminding us how magical the 80´s really was. I have to say that lead actress Nicole Kidman have no problem showing how incredible she is using both facial expressions, dialogue and body language in her powerful performance as the character Romy. Antonio Banderas as her husband Jacob is another perfect example of how he knows to express himself with his unique acting skills. The cinematography by Jasper Wolf ( who also did the cinematogaphy for the powerful Dutch drama film Instinct, worth checking out ) looks really good in this film. To the negative detail of this film i simply have to mention actor Harris Dickinson ( who you might have seen in the great wrestling drama film The Iron Claw ). He is not terrible by any means but compared to Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas in their scenes he have a long way to go until he can reach their level of acting. If it wasn´t for the less strong performance of Harris Dickinson i might have given this film a higher rating but this is still a solid film and worth a watch. Director Halina Reijn deliver a smooth erotic thriller drama that not only feels very sexual but looks great as well. Babygirl knows what audience it was made for and i am definetely a part of that audience.

Rating: DDD