Scott_Mercer741

I will preface this review with the fact that I was brought up on Nintendo and conditioned to hate the blue hedgehog in the famous console wars of the 1990's. I have now however matured slightly. The story is simple. Sonic, a space hedgehog, seeks refuge on planet earth when is surrogate owl mother sends him through a golden portal to save him from rabid space racoons (I think). He then goes on a journey of self discovery as he tries to integrate into 21st century life on Earth. At least until Jim Careys Dr Robotnik arrives to try and capture him.

This is a very easy watch and I did find myself enjoying what was on offer despite not having any nostalgia for the blue critter. Personally for me I am not sure Ben Schwartz who voices Sonic quite did it for me particularly in the chemistry with his onscreen surrogate human father played by James Marsden. The big winner here however is Jim Carrey who was clearly given free rein to go off piste and found myself getting drawn back in every time he appeared on screen and always created a smile. The narrative however lacks a little flow as it moves from set piece to set piece and I can't help but feel it might have benefitted from a little more polish. The emotional connection that it also tries to drag out of you for Sonic and James Marsdens policeman also feels unearned and doesn't quite stick the landing in the third act.

Whether you like this or not we are getting 3 more of these films I believe with added Idris Elba for the next instalment. As a brainless bit of fun after a long day this film is more than serviceable and will nicely pass the time. Just don't expect anything better than good.

In my humble opinion this might be one of Adam Sandlers best works especially before he embarked on his 1000 picture Netflix contract. We have here a simple story. Adam Sandler plays a young man with (we assume although not directly referenced) Aspergers who has an obsession with the proper maintenance and distribution of H2O to college football athletes. All seems lost when he is inexplicably fired and is forced to begin a voyage of discovery as he is proceeds to take on a new job as Waterboy for a rival football team coached by the exceedingly excellent Henry Winkler.

As with most Adam Sandler movies please check the brain at the door and don't take anything too seriously. If you can agree with those pre-requisites there is a lot to enjoy here. As said, Winkler shines here as the shell of a man Coach Kline haunted by his past and Cathy Bates is excellent as the over protective mother sheltering Bobby from the hostilities of the real world. The film is endlessly quotable and many things have continued to sustain a penetrance into the pop culture vernacular, "You can do it!" comes to mind. Roy Schneider and Clint Howard also pop in for their scene stealing cameos as in most Sandler movies.

Overall, the Waterboy stands the test of time and brought a smile to my face many years after first watching it with my Dad as we both laughed maniacally all those years ago. If I had a criticism, if anything, the narrative could have been slightly better strung together and might have benefitted from a slightly longer run time to make things a little more cohesive. As a commentary on the treatment of those with Aspergers, probably best not to think too hard about it. However, the laughs are plentiful and Sandlers performance gets you thoroughly invested in the plights of this troubled individual who is often the target for the big bullies with which he must work. A heart warming comedy that no doubt I will return to again and again.

"Now that's what I call high quality H20".

I don't think I've ever played a game like this before. The story and gameplay loop sucks you in from its opening few minutes. The events that unfold throughout your 8 or so hour adventure takes place in a single apartment over a course of 12 minutes. The setting; you play as a man having dinner with his wife and all seems serene until the night slowly spirals into chaos as a policeman abruptly interrupts and wreaks havoc. Then, boom! The day repeats. Timeloop.

The game is played from a single top down perspective and is essentially a point and click adventure. You click on things and direct the husband throughout his 12 minute evening choosing different dialogue options and choosing certain actions that cause the events to drastically change on each repeated time loop. The games goal is that your wife is being accused of murder and you must prove her innocence. The art style is pleasing enough and the sound design does the job. The voice talent hear is excellent with James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Defoe voicing the husband, wife and policeman respectively. Defoe here is a particular joy to listen to and stands out as the menacing mysterious policeman.

Unfortuantley what starts out with intrigue and mystery and a desire to press on quickly gets bogged down in tedium and frustration. You have to repeat dialogue loops over and over to progress. The story often hits a brick wall with regards progression and randomly trying different options to progress can become tiring. The game over stays its welcome by about 3 or so hours and doesn't serve to guide the player or have any system other than trial an error in some cases to advance things along. In the end after sinking 5 or so hours I had had enough and just used a guide to suss out the endings. There are multiple resolutions to this tale and the twist ending feels somewhat unearned and not as intelligent as it thinks it is.

All in all the premise here is exciting but its execution could have done with some refinement. An interesting game with some excellent performances that unfortunately out stays its welcome. Try it on game pass or pick it up in a sale.