Movies you're looking forward to!

[DJChameleon]

I'm down for Beatlejuice goodness. I don't care if it's good or not just more of that franchise is good.

[.]

I don't know if it's just me but the trailer for the new Beetlejuice feels a little off. I hope I'm wrong as I want the movie to be good but the trailer just feels weird or forced. Could just be me.

[Guybrush]

I don't know if it's just me but the trailer for the new Beetlejuice feels a little off. I hope I'm wrong as I want the movie to be good but the trailer just feels weird or forced. Could just be me.

Nah, I felt it 😄 hard to put my finger on it. Maybe it's Lydia Deetz wearing the exact same clothes at age 50+ or just an uncanny valley effect?

[.]

Could be. Also her dialogue with her daughter was cringe fest at best: "don't say his name 3 times or he'll come back" and then the daughter does it anyway. I'm very 50/50 on it atm.

[DJChameleon]

I like the concept but I have my doubts he will land the plane and end it in a good way.

[SGR]

@Lexi Darling I haven't even seen the previous two Sonic movies, but you best believe I'm seeing this one, as someone who's first Sonic game was SA2.

They're definitely leaning into the nostalgia pandering too. Lifted the theme of "Live and Learn", gave Shadow his motorcycle, brought back Maria and Gerald Robotnik (no Amy or Rouge though curiously). Maria better clearly be shot in the film for lore consistency and tone-setting, or I'll stage a walkout.  And Shadow and Sonic better go super at the end to take down some kind of doomsday plot by Gerald.

And this should be the credits theme

I don't ask for much, I swear.

[Lexi Darling]

@Lexi Darling I haven't even seen the previous two Sonic movies, but you best believe I'm seeing this one, as someone who's first Sonic game was SA2.

They're definitely leaning into the nostalgia pandering too. Lifted the theme of "Live and Learn", gave Shadow his motorcycle, brought back Maria and Gerald Robotnik (no Amy or Rouge though curiously). Maria better clearly be shot in the film for lore consistency and tone-setting, or I'll stage a walkout.  And Shadow and Sonic better go super at the end to take down some kind of doomsday plot by Gerald.

And this should be the credits theme

I don't ask for much, I swear.

I liked the first one! Never saw the second. I'll probably see this eventually, I love SA2 too, definitely some heavy early teens nostalgia for me. I loved Shadow because he had a cool black and red color scheme and jet shoes and was a brooding emo just like me, haha.

I hope they stick to the lore too, if I don't get my giant mutant cyborg lizard thing in glorious modern CGI, I'll walk out right there with you. 

[DJChameleon]

I saw both of them and I'm hyped for the 3rd installment.

I had to see the second one because I'm a big Knuckles fan. Out of the first three Sonic games the second is my fave but the third is a close second and it introduced me to Knuckles.

[SGR]

I liked the first one! Never saw the second. I'll probably see this eventually, I love SA2 too, definitely some heavy early teens nostalgia for me. I loved Shadow because he had a cool black and red color scheme and jet shoes and was a brooding emo just like me, haha.

I hope they stick to the lore too, if I don't get my giant mutant cyborg lizard thing in glorious modern CGI, I'll walk out right there with you. 

I think the reason the Sonic/Shadow dynamic stuck so much with me as a kid is because the game really leaned into the Shonen elements of Sonic (I believe the creator of Sonic is quoted somewhere as saying that Dragon Ball Z was a big influence on him, hence "Super Sonic" being very similar to Super Saiyan. 7 Dragon Balls, 7 Chaos Emeralds, etc). I was watching Dragon Ball Z and Naruto at the time, so the dynamic was a familiar one to me - Goku/Vegeta, Naruto/Sasuke and then Sonic/Shadow. I ate that shit up as a kid lol.

I fully anticipate that they'll write the Biolizard out of the script, but If I'm wrong, and Sonic and Shadow fly into space in their Super forms to kick its ass while "Live and Learn" is blasting, I'll feel like a kid again. Speaking of, and maybe I've mentioned this before, but I'm constantly surprised with how popular Sonic remains with kids without, in my opinion, a large amount of recent great video games to back it up. The last truly great original Sonic game in my opinion was Sonic Unleashed, and that came out 16 years ago. 

[SGR]

I saw both of them and I'm hyped for the 3rd installment.

I had to see the second one because I'm a big Knuckles fan. Out of the first three Sonic games the second is my fave but the third is a close second and it introduced me to Knuckles.

Yeah, I gotta watch the first two before I see the third one. From what I've seen, the second movie really nailed Knuckles' original character - honor, integrity, discipline, courage, but also easily duped by Eggman. In the games, he eventually became written like a hotheaded idiot who served largely as a comedic foil, and that was never his original character to me. I thought Idris Elba was the perfect voice casting for him too.

I probably like Sonic 3 more than Sonic 2 overall. The final boss fight of Sonic 2 is just ridiculous - two phases, first the Mecha Sonic and then the Death Egg Robot and you have to beat them both with no rings (i.e. without taking a single hit) - it's bruuutal.

Sonic 3's biggest offense to me is that stupid fucking barrel in the Casino zone. Anyone who's played through the game knows the one I'm talking about. The mechanic used to bypass it is never explained - and it's only required to be used in that single instance throughout the whole game. I honestly wouldn't want to know the amount of hours I wasted as a kid stuck on that stupid thing, trying to figure it out. 

[Lexi Darling]

@SGR You ever play Sonic Mania? That game was great and a real treat for fans of the  Genesis Sonics, though I suppose a heavily retro styled game targeted at that market probably wouldn't have as much of an effect on younger fans so I feel you.

Sonic 2 was the first one I played, but I like 3 more too. Bigger levels with more branching paths, and with the Knuckles expansion (or as I call it, analog DLC, haha) it's the quintessential Sonic experience imo. I really like Sonic CD as well, and I was lucky enough that my neighbor actually had a Sega CD as a kid, I never knew anyone else who did.

Sonic was a big reason I first started using the internet too, I mostly used it to browse Sonic fan sites when I first came online around 1996-97.

[SGR]

@SGR You ever play Sonic Mania? That game was great and a real treat for fans of the  Genesis Sonics, though I suppose a heavily retro styled game targeted at that market probably wouldn't have as much of an effect on younger fans so I feel you.

Sonic 2 was the first one I played, but I like 3 more too. Bigger levels with more branching paths, and with the Knuckles expansion (or as I call it, analog DLC, haha) it's the quintessential Sonic experience imo. I really like Sonic CD as well, and I was lucky enough that my neighbor actually had a Sega CD as a kid, I never knew anyone else who did.

Sonic was a big reason I first started using the internet too, I mostly used it to browse Sonic fan sites when I first came online around 1996-97.

I did play Sonic Mania and I thought it was great, but I purposefully excluded it from my assessment with 'last truly great original Sonic game' - as great as Mania was, it owes a lot to the original three Sonic games, including level theming and mechanics. Couldn't escape the feeling playing the game of "I've played this before", despite how much I enjoyed it. I also, similarly, excluded Generations from my assessment which I also thought was great, because it primarily featured remakes of levels throughout the series - despite how much fun I had with the game. Seeing Speed Highway and City Escape reimagined in glorious HD was unforgettable though - I'm definitely picking up the Shadow x Sonic Generations later this year.

I agree about Sonic 3 - it's about as cinematic as a 16-bit game can be. The way the game opens with what appears to be a standard level, only for it to transform into Sonic escaping a giant forest fire set by Eggman is just peak. Many other moments like that throughout the game too. I've played through Sonic CD once before in a collection - I know it's a fan favorite but it didn't blow me away, I think I just had a difficult time understanding how the time traveling mechanics worked. Maybe I need to give it another chance. That being said, the intro to that game makes a case for being one of the most awesome video game intros ever. The animation, the music, the vocal harmony, the energy - I think it's emblematic of how effortlessly cool Sonic used to be. Sure, maybe it's a '90s cool', but it's still cool to me! 

[Shhon]

Sep 5, 2024


US Release Date: September 27, 2024
Starring: Harper Steele, Will Ferrell
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Synopsis: When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition.

[DJChameleon]

Another possible good one from A24.