First Trailer for SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

The first trailer for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie has been released and well...it's actually a movie. The film, based on the video game franchise first released in 1991 and originally conceived by Sega to replace Alex Kidd to compete with Nintendo's Mario as their main mascot, the game went on to become uber-successful spawning many sequels and helping define Sega as one of the leading video game companies during the golden 16-bit era. Like other video games of this heyday, Sonic has crossed many platforms and animated series, comic books, and no doubt countless other media adaptations, but never has the character had its own feature film production...until now. In a move that feels like it's being made twenty or maybe even twenty-five years too late, Paramount has decided to follow suit per Warner Bros. new Pokemon movie and give birth to beloved video game character in the real world where they look like real animals and function as members of our present society. Enough about how everything about this film seems to be working against it though, as the screenplay from Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (a duo with nothing but what seem to National Lampoon knock-offs on their resume) is being directed by Jeff Fowler (making his feature debut after having served in the visual effect dept. on Where the Wild Things Are) with the story following Sonic (voice of Ben Schwartz) as he tries to save the world alongside human pal, Tom (James Marsden), to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). While the involvement of someone like Carrey in a role that is literally a cartoon come to life is enough to be intriguing the film otherwise doesn't look to be doing anything outside of what that string of "live-action" Alvin and the Chipmunks films did a few years back. I imagine Sonic is about as hot right now as the Chipmunks were in 2007, but at least they had a Christmas special to bank on. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out and if the quality of the film can actually rise above the inherent cynicism that comes with its existence at the moment. Sonic the Hedgehog also stars Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Neal McDonough, Adam Pally, and opens on November 8th, 2019.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: April 30, 2019

Tavern Talk: Video Review - AVENGERS: ENDGAME

The question was never going to be whether or not Avengers: Endgame would top the box office, but rather by how large of a margin it would win the top spot at the box office. Well, not only did Endgame come in at No.1 over the weekend, but it decimated all kinds of records by delivering the largest opening weekend of all-time, both domestically and globally, with a three-day domestic gross totaling an estimated $350 million and a global weekend over $1.2 billion. That's $350 million domestic in three days of release and $1.2 billion (with a "B") globally in its first five days overcoming its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, to become the fastest grossing movie to reach a billion as it took Infinity War a whole eleven days to accomplish this feat. BoxOfficeMojo provided a nice list of records that Endgame broke over its opening weekend which is included in the hyperlink, but while Disney and Marvel Studios are no doubt celebrating this huge win they might also be celebrating a little extra as not only did they have the No. 1 film in the world, but the No. 2 film at the domestic Box Office as Captain Marvel received a favorable Avengers bump as, in its eighth week of release, the film dipped only -10% for an estimated $8 million three-day run placing it over $413 million at the domestic box office while adding over $2 million internationally for a worldwide weekend that topped $10 million and a global cume that now stands at $1.11 billion. To date, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's twenty-two films have now grossed over $19.8 billion worldwide, of which nine have topped $1 billion at the global box office. Not too shabby. For the rest of the films this weekend though, the news wasn't so great. The Curse of La Llorona dipped -72% for an estimated $7.5 million weekend, Breakthrough landed in third place, dipping -44% for a  $6.3 million weekend, while Shazam! brought in an estimated $5.5 million (-66%) as it entered its fourth week in release. This Friday will see the release of three new films including STX'a first original animated feature in Uglydolls, the Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron comedy Long Shot from Lionsgate and Summit, as well as Screen Gems' Dennis Quaid-thriller, The Intruder, but don't expect anything to surpass Endgame for that top spot just yet. As always, be sure to follow the official Initial Reaction YouTube channel as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where you can find a new review (or reviews) each week!

AVENGERS: ENDGAME Review

The culmination of eleven years and twenty-two films worth of story, Avengers: Endgame brings to a conclusion one of the greatest experiments in cinematic history and does so with as much grace and satisfaction as one might hope or expect a single moment to capture. That isn't to say there aren't a few hiccups along the way, but what is here to complain about feels so quaint in comparison to what the film gets right that they hardly seem worth mentioning. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have achieved what felt damn near impossible leading up to the release of the film and that is to have met the loftiest of expectations. Having been invested in these films for over a decade now and experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows with each of the key players, Endgame takes it upon itself to find both closure in and resolution to many of the biggest arcs that have-knowingly or unknowingly-been playing themselves out for much of this same time period. That is to say, while Endgame more than compensates the eager opening night audiences with its pure "fan service" finale, the casual viewer or even the small remainder of the rest of the general population that hasn’t seen a single Marvel movie-should they decide to invest themselves this late in the game-might find themselves rendered surprisingly affected in these times of great trial and potentially even greater consequence. Endgame is certainly something of its own beast in that it thrives on its own, very distinct, structure and strong individual character arcs (especially for the core group of original Avengers) and more or less functions as a stand alone piece if not a direct sequel to Infinity War; yet it is the kind of sequel audiences always complain they don't get enough of. Meaning, Endgame compliments its predecessor without replicating it in hopes of delivering the same type of fulfillment. In every sense, Endgame couldn't feel more different than the largely space-based Infinity War as that film was non-stop from the word go to the moment of the decimation. In Endgame, our titular heroes are dealing with the repercussions of this event, the fallout of certain relationships and the idea that maybe, for once, they won't actually be able to save the day.   

Tavern Talk: Video Review - THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA

As is typically the case, Easter weekend was slower than usual at the box office, but even with The Curse of La Llorona performing above expectations and coming in at number one with $26.5 million the new releases, which also included Breakthrough and Disney Nature's Penguins, couldn’t salvage movie theaters from suffering the worst Easter weekend showing in almost fifteen years. This total domestic take for the box office amassed $112 million in ticket sales, the lowest haul since 2005, according to Comscore. This decline is undoubtedly due to every studio in town refusing to open a big movie ahead of Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, which is expected to smash every record ever set when it debuts tomorrow night. In remaining focused on this past weekend though, La Llorona also launched in seventy-one international markets and brought in an roughly $30 million for a $56.5 million global total and all on a budget of $9 million; want to know when they'll stop making movies in The Conuring-verse? When they stop making returns like this. Filling out the rest of the top five sees Shazam! in the runner-up spot, dropping only -29% in its third weekend with $17.3 million the film's domestic total now tops $121 million while another $22 million internationally this weekend pushes its overseas cume to $201.5 for a worldwide gross of more than $322 million...also not bad for a $100 million super hero production. In third place is Disney's first official Fox release with the faith-based feature Breakthrough, which opened on Wednesday and delivered $11.1 million for the three-day and $14.6 million over the five-day. The film received an "A" CinemaScore and played to an audience that was 65% female and 70% over the age of twenty-five which will make it interesting in terms of how this might will hold against the likes of Avengers as well as throughout the remainder of the "Easter season". Getting a bump from the aforementioned Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel came in fourth place after receiving a +6% increase over last weekend despite losing three hundred and twenty-two locations. Finally, the Universal/Regina King comedy, Little, rounded out the top five as the $20 million production dropped -45% in its second weekend with $8.45 million for a domestic cume just shy of $30 million. So, how high do you think Avengers: Endgame is going to fly? Be sure to get your predictions ready as showtimes start as early as 6 pm tomorrow and be sure to check back with Tavern Talk for full spoiler and non-spoiler reviews this weekend. As always, be sure to follow the official Initial Reaction YouTube channel as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where you can find a new review (or reviews) each week!