Now that we’re getting closer to the summer movie season, there are more big movies being released each week. With that being said, I don’t have time to do a full-fledged review for each film that comes out, so I thought it would be fun to do a movie review roundup of some of the bigger releases that have come out over the last few weeks. First up: “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is the sequel to 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” and stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Idris Elba and Ben Schwartz as the voices of Knuckles and Sonic respectively. Now, I’m not well versed in the history of Sonic, as I’ve rarely played the games, read the books, or watched any of the TV shows. With that in mind, I was very pleasantly surprised with the first movie, as it was fun, enjoyable and definitely one of the better video game movies ever made. Going into this movie, I hoped it would continue that trend of being a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy, and I’m happy to say it did.

“Sonic 2” is an entertaining enough movie that leans into more of the Sonic lore by introducing characters like Tails and Knuckles and having story beats that take direct inspiration from the games. The story is fairly straightforward with Sonic and Tails trying to stop Dr. Robotnik, played by Carrey, and Knuckles from getting the Master Emerald that could cause considerable damage for Earth and other planets. 

Carrey continues to be the highlight of both of these films, as he brings the energy and physical comedy straight out of his performances in the 90’s and early 2000’s. He understands what film he’s in and looks like he’s having a blast in this role. Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba are great in their voice work and bring a lot of energy and necessary emotion to the characters. 

The main problem with this film is that it feels obligated to include human characters into the story. There is a whole subplot in this film at a wedding that feels completely unnecessary and drags down the pacing of the movie considerably. If the film focused a bit more on just being a Sonic movie and not feeling like it had to include humans as much, it would make for a much tighter film. Overall, this sequel is a fun adventure with some exciting action sequences and decent jokes that fans of the Sonic franchise should be mostly pleased with. Grade: B-

Next up is the third film in the Harry Potter prequel series: “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.” To preface this review, I absolutely love the Harry Potter series and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the first Fantastic Beasts film. The second Fantastic Beasts film, “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” was very disappointing and felt like a jumbled mess. As far as this new film goes… it’s a little bit of an improvement over the last one, so that’s good I guess. 

The main area that “The Secrets of Dumbledore” improves on is that it’s a bit more focused than the last film in its storytelling. There is a more clearly-defined plot in this movie, even if it meanders for the first two-thirds of the film. The first two acts feel sort of inconsequential and like filler events that just sort of happen until the third act kicks in. 

The other area of improvement is the casting of Gellert Grindelwald. Now it’s been a weird situation with this character as we’ve had three different actors play him in one way or another, but I think we’ve finally reached a point with Mads Mikkelsen where it seems they’ve found the right guy for the part. The whole situation with Johnny Depp is a whole other story, but I never thought that he was great in the role and am glad to see Mikkelsen step in and deliver a really good performance. Most importantly, Mikkelsen had good chemistry with Jude Law, who continues to shine as Albus Dumbledore and is involved in the best scenes of this film.

This film, and the Fantastic Beasts franchise in general, has an identity crisis. On one hand, it wants to be about the fun adventures with the fantastic beasts, and on the other it wants to focus on the dark and epic story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald. The two different storylines have a hard time meshing together and make the franchise feel a little disjointed. As I said before, this newest film is a bit more focused, has a more compelling villain, and some great visual effects, but still suffers from too many side characters and subplots. As a big fan of this universe, there was just enough to keep me entertained, but still left me a bit disappointed and wanting more. Grade: B-

Now when you read the headline about the multiverse, you may have thought I was referring to a little movie called “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Well, you’d be wrong because to cap off this trilogy of reviews, I’m going to cover the newest A24 film: “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” This movie has been on my radar for a few months now, as it looked so bizarre and interesting. I can confirm that it is indeed both of those things while also being so much more. 

The film stars Michelle Yeoh as a woman that’s dealing with business and family problems who then gets exposed to a brand new world all around her. That’s all I really want to give away about this film because it was so much fun discovering what this movie was about as I was in the theater. It’s a film that’s so refreshingly original and creative, while also having a surprising amount of emotion and commentary about how we live our lives, the choices we make, and how we love the people around us. 

The film blends various genres together perfectly with so many genuinely surprising and hilarious moments throughout. I can’t recommend this movie enough, as it’s weird, strange and will at least deliver an interesting movie-going experience even if it’s not your cup of tea. This is one of the best films of the year so far, and it’s absolutely worth your time. Grade: A