Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) - 3/5

This movie is not great but it’s far from terrible, and suffers from the age-old curse of heavy-handed trailers. The humor is consistently chuckle-worthy, very different from the cringey schlock spooned out by the advertisements. Jim Carrey is captivating as Dr. Robotnik, returning to his over-the-top, career-defining roots to play the quintessential cartoonish villain. Obviously the Sonic character design overhaul was imperative, but their best kept secret was that they had good writers to back up the visuals. It’s solidly family friendly, providing kids a color-saturated, hyperactive, pop-culture junkie to watch zipping around while dropping enough nods to the source material to amuse SEGA-generation parents.

Closest comparison: It’s like Spaced Invaders (1990) by way of the live action Pete’s Dragon (2016).

Setting: Fantasy
Plot: Road Trip
Tone: Family Comedy

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - 5/5

This is a movie that starts off fairly normal, gets weird and surreal in the middle, and then somehow manages to resolve in a surprisingly simple and straightforward ending. Jim Carrey is at his best and delivers an amazing, moving performance, and Kate Winslet has a lot of chemistry with him. Since many of the special effects were achieved in-camera and with precision editing, it still holds up after 14 years. Like all good sci-fi, it manages to be simultaneously high-concept and personally relatable. It’s a modern classic for good reason, and a must-see film fans.

Closest Comparison: It’s like Requiem for a Dream, but with hopeful realism in place of gritty despair.

Setting: Modern
Tone: Drama
Plot: Sci-fi

The Dead Pool (1988) - 2/5

Not to be confused with Deadpool (2016), this fifth and final installment in the Dirty Harry series is lackluster at best. It forgets to be exciting and instead muddles through the plot just to get to the end. A few simple action scenes and lots of tired hard-boiled detective beats make this movie old hat, even for the era in which it was made. The most fun aspect of it is seeing Liam Neeson and Jim Carrey in bit parts before they were as famous as they are today. On the whole, though, it only amounts to the last gasp of better films.