River City Girls 2 (PS5)

Three years after the release of River City Girls (RCG), a game that I really enjoyed once I finally tried it out, WayForward released a direct sequel, simply titled River City Girls 2 (RCG2). The lead-up to it felt exciting, with some hype centered around the six playable characters and, later, the ability to play as Jimmy and Billy Lee from the Double Dragon series. There was even a Gallery Nucleus event that I attended where some of the people involved, including artist REM, talked about some of the choices they made for the game. However, my own enthusiasm waned as I had made the mistake of ordering the game from Limited Run (the version with the soundtrack), so I didn’t get around to finally playing it until recently due to other game releases and events coming up in the meantime. Now that I finally have, it feels bad for me to say that, in spite of the general improvements and positive reception the game received overall, it still felt like a letdown compared to the original in the places where it mattered.

Stubs - Samaritan

Samaritan (2022) starring Sylvester Stallone, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, Moisés Arias. Directed by Julius Avery. Screenplay by Bragi F. Schut. Based on Samaritan by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, Renzo Podesta. Produced by Sylvester Stallone, Braden Aftergood. Run time: 101 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

A spec script that no one wanted at the time, Samaritan, was turned into a comic book of the same name by its writer, Bragi Schut, at Mythos Comics, an indie publisher he started with Lewis Fenton. After putting out two issues, the story became known to Sylvester Stallone, of Rocky fame, who was looking for a project for an older actor. The original script was then acquired by MGM, in 2019, but as a result, the story became owned by them and by Stallone, and the comic book had to be shuttered after only two issues.

The production was co-produced by Stallone’s Balboa Productions, and began in Atlanta on February 26, 2020, only to be shut down on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It wouldn’t begin again until October 8, 2020. With a push back in production, the release date also had to be pushed back from November 20, 2020 to August 26, 2022. By then MGM had been purchased by Amazon. The release, which had been planned for theaters, ended up on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Sonic Frontiers (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Frontiers.

Following the divisive Sonic Forces (Forces) in 2017, Sonic Team started exploring options for advancing the design space for 3D Sonic games, as producer Takashi Iizuka felt that they had reached the limits of the design philosophy established by Sonic Adventure (SA1). Director Morio Kishimoto felt inspired to go in an open-world direction, allowing players a greater sense of freedom than the previous linear style would allow. As development on Sonic Frontiers (Frontiers) progressed, the team also brought on writer Ian Flynn due to his work on the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comics in an effort to bring out the emotional aspect of the story while downplaying the humor that had driven some prior games. Although the game would miss its intended 30th Anniversary launch, it would still receive an announcement in 2021, followed by a release in 2022, with mixed reception from critics but more enthusiastic response from fans.

While we did get this game shortly after it first came out on 11/8/2022, the existence of an update roadmap led to some waiting before actually playing it. Since Sega had already scheduled the final update for 9/28/2023, we considered that the “Play Date” (“the day you can actually bask in the glory of a working game”, per Mega64) and felt more confident once that day had finally come and gone. After playing through SA1 and Sonic Adventure 2 (SA2), Frontiers felt like a natural next step and while we enjoyed our time with it and appreciated how it advanced the Sonic design space, it still holds itself back from achieving its full potential.

It's almost like they're telling you when it will be fun.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

The music industry is no stranger to biopics, and I’ve even seen a few myself, but they tend to stretch or omit the truth in places for the sake of telling its own story (Bohemian Rhapsody comes to mind). Though I was not aware of the original Funny or Die sketch, the announcement of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Weird), based on parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic and a parody of such biopics no less, got me excited as a fan of his work. This excitement, however, was dampened by its exclusivity to the Roku platform, which I personally had a hard time figuring out and I didn’t want to sign up for something just to watch a single film. This excitement came back in full swing when I saw that Shout! Factory had announced a physical release, meaning I didn’t have to sign up for Roku to watch it. After watching the film upon receiving it as a Christmas present, I found it to be one of Weird Al’s funniest projects yet and an amazingly funny parody in general.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Note: This review contains spoilers for Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

While Dragon Ball remains a popular franchise, due in part to the franchise’s second wind in the wake of the success of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, the newer films had more of a focus on the characters Goku and Vegeta at the expense of just about everyone else. This would change with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (Super Hero), which released in 2022 to critical acclaim and became the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, as well as the first one independently distributed by Toei following the Disney/Fox merger. Apart from a switch to CG animation in place of traditional, the film would also focus on the relationship between Gohan and Piccolo and revisit the Red Ribbon Army as antagonists. Although we admittedly still haven’t seen the original Dragon Ball (DB), we still found ourselves enjoying the film and its welcome change in focus.

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia

Gabrielle Vincent’s Ernest & Celestine books may be harder to come by now, but when I finally watched the 2012 animated adaptation, which got an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, years after it came out, I liked it enough to track down a former library copy of the first book due to a lack of modern availability. 10 years later, this film would receive a proper sequel, subtitled A Trip to Gibberitia, the idea of which had me excited. Although I had known about it for a while, I somehow missed its limited US theatrical run, but I would finally get to see it when GKIDS listed an English US Blu-ray release, and found to be just as enjoyable as the first film.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Though Bernard Waber may fly under many people’s radars as far as children’s book authors go, he is best known for the Lyle series, detailing the adventures of an anthropomorphic crocodile. I will admit I had not read the books when I was a kid, but I was still aware enough of them as I got older that a film adaptation of the first two books The House on East 88^th Street and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, taking the name from the second (Lyle), got me at least mildly curious about seeing it when it first came out. While I did not see it in a theater, I ultimately found an opportunity when it offered as an entertainment option on a flight, albeit in less-than-ideal conditions since I had to watch it through my phone, which also had some display issues with darker colors. Despite these circumstances, I ultimately enjoyed it overall, with the movie even getting me curious about reading the books.

Stubs - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) Starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel. Directed by Ryan Coogler. Screenplay by Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole. Based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Kevin Feige, Nate Moore. Run time: 161 minutes. Color. USA Superhero, Fantasy, MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be a fast-moving train as it continues to pump out films, Wakanda Forever being the 30th in 15 years. All of them have big budgets and make money but that doesn’t mean that they’re all good or all that memorable.

Since the last film, four years ago, there have been a lot of changes in Wakanda. With the unexpected death of Chadwick Bosman, the sequel had to incorporate that, or, either recast the lead. The former was the direction Marvel went.

Stubs - Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

 

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) Starring: Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, Ellen Thomas, Rose Williams, Jason Isaacs Directed by Anthony Fabian. Screenplay by Carroll Cartwright, Anthony Fabian, Keith Thompson, Olivia Hetreed. Based on Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico (1958). Produced by Anthony Fabian, Xavier Marchand, Guillaume Benski. UK-Hungary Run time: 115 minutes. Color. Drama, Comedy, Fantasy

Sometimes lost in this day and age of big budget special effects-laden movies are the ones that deal with stories of ordinary people. Such a film is Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, based on the novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. The book had been adapted three times prior, all for television. The first was as an episode of the anthology show Studio One in 1958. A German television adaptation, Ein Kleid von Dior, followed in 1982. In 1992, the story returned to American TV, with Angela Lansbury, Diana Rigg, and Omar Sharif.

God of War: Ragnarök

Note: This review contains spoilers for God of War (2018).

After God of War: Ascension milked the God of War series’ Greek mythology roots for all it was worth, the franchise went in a new direction and began exploring the realm of Norse mythology, seemingly inspired by creator David Jaffe’s original vision for God of War III, starting with God of War (2018). While this new chapter in the franchise was initially planned for at least three games, the increased development time and cost for AAA games led the Norse Era to be capped off at two games, concluding with God of War: Ragnarök (Ragnarök) in 2022. While I did not play this game at launch, I did play the PS5 version as soon as I could when I got it as a gift, as the game was high on my radar once it came out. While Ragnarök is an overall fantastic conclusion to the Norse Era that was worth the wait, the experience was still affected by the amount of content and some technical issues.

Stubs - The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan. Directed by Martin McDonagh. Screenplay by Martin McDonagh. Produced by Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh. Run time: 114 minutes. Color. Ireland, United Kingdom, United States. Drama

Every year when awards season rolls around, you may find yourself wondering what some of these films receiving accolades are all about. This is what happened with me and The Banshees of Inisherin. I had heard about the film but hadn’t thought about seeing it until the nominations came in for a myriad of awards on various awards shows. For me, the only film awards that count are the Academy Awards and this film racked up nine, including Best Picture, Best Director (Martin McDonagh), Best Actor (Colin Farrell), Best Supporting Actor (both Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan), Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon), Best Original Screenplay (Martin McDonagh), Best Film Editing (Mikkel E. G. Nielsen), and Best Original Score (Carter Burwell).

Martin McDonagh, a playwright turned filmmaker, first got my attention with the highly overrated, in my opinion, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), which like this film was nominated for the Academy Awards’ Best Picture, along with Acting nominations (Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson. Sam Rockwell), as well as Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Original Score. I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t all that blown away by that film, feeling that it was two acts looking for a third.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - All That Glitters is Gold

As the Shrek franchise dwindled in popularity back in the 2000s, a process that began with the poor reception to Shrek the Third, DreamWorks officially spun of the franchise to center more around Puss in Boots, an anthropomorphic cat parody of Zorro introduced in Shrek 2. Puss, notably voiced by Antonio Banderas, first received a theatrically-released spin-off, Puss in Boots, back in 2011, then a perhaps lesser-known Netflix series, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, which ran from 2015 to 2018. During Puss’ time in the spotlight, effectively taking over the franchise, DreamWorks had announced a Shrek 5, which has yet to see a proper release, let alone any solid news on its development.

In the meantime, Puss in Boots recently received a sequel, The Last Wish, in late 2022. Considering the 11-year gap, the announcement came as quite a surprise and I initially didn’t have much interest, as I hadn’t seen the previous film out of a lack of interest. Its very positive reception, however, convinced me otherwise and I finally saw a theatrical screening after it received an Oscar nomination for “Best Animated Feature”. As it turns out, not only does The Last Wish live up to the hype, it may have actually surpassed the quality of most of Disney and Pixar’s own output from the last few years.

Stubs - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022) Starring Dean Fleischer Camp, Lesley Stahl. Voices by Jenny Slate, Isabella Rossellini. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp. Screenplay by Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley. Based on Characters created by Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate. Produced by Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey, Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Terry Leonard Run time: 90 minutes. USA. Color. Stop-Motion, Animated, Comedy, Drama.

One of the surprises when the 2023 Academy Awards nominations for Best Animated Feature Film were announced may have been Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Compared to some of the other nominated films, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Turning Red and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Marcel was not as well-known.

The film, which took seven years to make, thanks in part to the stop-motion animation, is based on a trilogy of stop-motion animated mockumentary short films directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who co-wrote the script with Jenny Slate, that were initially released in 2010. Originally shown at the Telluride Film Festival in 2021, the film rights were purchased by A24 films and released in the U.S. on June 24, 2022. A darling of the festival circuit, the film made $6.3 million during its theatrical release.

Dean (Dean Fleischer Camp), a documentarian, and his subject Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate).

 

2022 - The Highlights (lionsroar)

Despite the idea that COVID was behind us, it still lingers like a cat waiting to pounce. As such, the reviewers here at Trophy Unlocked went to the theaters sparingly during the year. The films we decided to see in a theater were ones that we really wanted to see, at least at the time. Several were seen on steaming services or through digital platforms to avoid the risk. This is a smaller than usual sample size but here goes:

Best films of 2022:

Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have made a film that is bigger than it's budget. This is a time/space continuum adventure that takes mother/daughter relationships to a new dimension against the backdrop of immigrants trying to make their American Dream come true. The acting is as good as the special effects with Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu both deserving praise. The supporting cast, which includes Ke Huy Quan ("Shortround" from Indiana Jones), James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis is also very good. This is one movie that puts it all on the screen.

Bullet Train

I've been a fan of Brad Pitt's since his supporting role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and was curious to see what he did in this adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's novel Maria Beetle. There are so many colorful characters which only add to the enjoyment of the film. This was not a great cinematic triumph, but it was a lot of fun.

Top Gun: Maverick

I was not a big fan of the original film and wasn't necessarily looking forward to a sequel 36 years later. However, I did enjoy this film. Some of the hype is way over the top. Cool the jets, this is not the greatest film ever made, but this is a good summer film and I had a better time than I expected.

See How They Run

See How They Run is probably not going to make it on anyone's best lists for 2022, but this is a well-done comedy murder mystery with some very fine acting from the likes of Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and Adrien Brody. Made in the spirit of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, this was a fun film to watch.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

As a fan of the original series, I really enjoyed a return visit with the Downton Abbey household. Now we've moved to the late 20's and the brink of sound films in British films, as well as the exploration of the past life of family matriarch Violet Crowley. It's still up in the air if there will be a return visit, so you have to enjoy it while you can.

The biggest disappointments from 2022

Pinocchio remakes

I'm not a fan of remakes, especially when the original film has such resonance with audiences. Disney, which seems to own everyone's childhood memories, wants to remake every animated classic and finally got around to Pinocchio (1940). The result was the lackluster remake on Disney+ called Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks, who is making his first appearance on my disappointment list.

Guillermo del Toro's take, also out this year, and also made for a streaming service, Netflix, didn't really change my mind about remakes. While better overall than the Disney+ remake, del Toro's take somehow brings Mussolini's fascist regime into the mix. Since the book, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, predates Mussolini's black shirts rise to power by about 50 years, the director seems to be trying to make a political point in what's supposed to be a children's story.

Lightyear

I don't mean to be picking on Disney, but... While the idea of making the 1990's movie that would have inspired Andy from the original Toy Story to want the toy was intriguing, the execution was not. Perhaps in a slap at the poor quality of toys capturing character likenesses, this Buzz doesn't come close to looking like the toy Andy, and so many of us have since, wanted.

The story, rather than being a ripping adventure tale, seems to get caught up in celebrating modern diversity and, this is the tricky part, managing to contradict backstories set up in the Toy Story franchise at the same time. It's almost as if the creative team behind this never watched the original Toy Story or watched a film that kids would like.

Elvis

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was a pivotal figure in bringing what had been considered Black music to whites in this country and around the world. And perhaps, therefore, deserves a film that is more based in reality than the musical fantasy Baz Luhrman created. While one hopes that the film would bring Elvis' music to a new audience I'm not sure it accomplishes that, concentrating so much on the time after Elvis's rise, which is probably the most interesting part of his career and made him the King. The film is not helped by Tom Hanks' uneven portrayal as the evil Col. Tom Parker.

Adult Swim Yule Log

If you celebrate Christmas during the holiday season, there’s a chance that you’ve had a “Yule Log” video running in the background while opening presents. Sometimes a major or paid network will provide one of their own, such as the defunct Hub Network once broadcasting a short “Yule Log” of their own with appearances from then-current animated Hasbro characters. This year, [adult swim] threw their hat into the ring with a 90-minute special simply titled Adult Swim Yule Log. Considering the block’s history of broadcasting subversive content, it’s natural to expect some sort of twist on the holiday tradition. If that’s the case for you, rest assured that your suspicions are correct.

Little Inferno: Ho Ho Holiday (DLC)

When Little Inferno first came out in 2012, I had a fun time, and on another playthrough 10 years later, I thought it still held up pretty well. Around the time of my second playthrough, a 10-year anniversary celebration was held by developer Tomorrow Corporation, which among other things included a brand new DLC campaign, Ho Ho Holiday, although I admit I did not realize the DLC existed until about a few weeks later. After playing $5 for said DLC, I found the price of admission to be worth it, though only really for fans of the original game.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

I’m not the first to admit to losing interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following the ending of Phase 3, thanks to the seeming lack of an obvious end goal and the overwhelming amount of content Marvel Studios expects fans to keep up with. As a result, I’ve ended up being very selective with what I watch going forward, no longer caring as much about continuity, though I haven’t really enjoyed whatever I chose to watch from Phase 4 aside from Spider-Man: No Way Home. As a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy sub-series, I did have an interest in two projects that were announced for the MCU, those being the recently-released The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Holiday Special) and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the former being billed as the conclusion to Phase 4. Although I wasn’t able to watch the former right away when it released on Disney+, due to being away on a Thanksgiving trip at the time, I did watch it as soon as I got back and overall found it to be one of the few things actually worth watching from Phase 4.

Stubs - See How They Run

See How They Run (2022) Starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson and David Oyelowo. Directed by Tom George. Screenplay by Mark Chappell. Produced by Damian Jones, Gina Carter. Run time: 98 minutes. UK/US Color. Mystery. Comedy.

“If you’ve seen one murder mystery, you’ve seen them all,” or that’s what they’d want you to believe. See How They Run, which opened in September, tells one set against the long-running Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which at the time the film opens, in 1953, has just run for 100 performances. (For a reality check, the play, which opened on October 6, 1952, is still running nearly 70 years later. And, by the way, the play has never been made into an English-language film, as that has to wait for the play's run to end.)

Endling - Extinction is Forever

Around the same time as Spirit of the North, another game that caught my interest featuring a playable fox protagonist was Endling - Extinction is Forever, mainly due to the art style and the concept of having to play as a mother fox caring for her cubs and any of their deaths is permanent. I was interested enough that I played a demo for the game through Steam to get a better idea of the concept, albeit with some fumbling around as I grasped what exactly to do. Once the game actually came out, I opted for a physical PS4 copy, which I received as a gift, using my experience from the demo to ensure that I would make it to the end with every cub alive. After managing to accomplish this goal during my initial playthrough, I felt that the game was ultimately worth the wait.

Stubs - Elvis

Elvis (2022) Starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, Jeremy Doner. Produced by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, Schuyler Weiss Run time: 159 minutes. Color. Australia/United States Biographical Musical Drama

The story of Elvis Presley told through the eyes of Col. Tom Parker, Elvis is a biography seen through the eyes of Baz Luhrmann.

For those of you who may not know, Elvis Presley, or as he’s also known, the “King of Rock and Roll” was the biggest singing act in the world after Frank Sinatra and before The Beatles. He had a string of number one hits beginning with “Heartbreak Hotel” and including such songs as “Love Me Tender", "Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”. His last hit, “Burning Love”, hit #2 in 1972. He made a ton of movies and recorded gospel as well as country albums.

And, if you watch the Luhrmann retelling you might or might not learn any of that. The film seems to tell the story like a stone skipping across the water, hitting on certain moments, like young Elvis’ exposure to the Blues and Gospel, but skips over things like the 30 movies Elvis made. We see him being embarrassed by Steve Allen on that comedian’s variety hour but not his appearance on Ed Sullivan’s, which was the sign you had really made it in America. We see him on the Louisiana Hay Ride, a traveling show, singing ”That’s All Right” but not him being discovered by producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records.