SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Movie Review

The young and the young-at-heart are about to get "ringed" in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a sequel from the 2020 movie based on the SEGA video game. And it's not just a family movie that's a perfect bonding activity, it gives a special message of family and unity despite differences.

In this sequel, Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey) makes his way back to earth with the help of Knuckles  (voiced by Idris Elba), an echidna from another tribe who's off to kill our hero. On earth, Sonic tries to become a hero in the wrong ways but still gets the love of Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) while living peacefully in Green Hills. Doctor Robotnik's return puts a new threat to Sonic and a new mission and destiny was revealed that sends him and a new found friend, Tails, to a globe-throttling adventure.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sends off a good start with Doctor Robotnik's exile location in Mushroom Planet. It starts to build curiosity and a satisfying feast for the eyes. The abrupt appearance of Knuckles immediately sets an upcoming danger for our hero on earth. Although a continuation of the previous movie, this sequel separates itself with an independent plot.

As we expect more humor from Doctor Robotnik, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 injects more references in different familiar movies that somehow made it to the cut and would be bearable to the kids and what adults would let pass. Expect good giggles with the other cast that are a good breath of air in the action distributed entirely in the movie.

Speaking of action, Sonic and Knuckles gave an epic fight scene for your memory. The battle of red and blue radiated light and showed how powerful our heroes are. If again I'm going to discuss Doctor Robotnik, his powers is also to watch out for. I would not give much of details but you have to stay up to the credits because it ushers a new exciting premise.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 opens in Philippine theaters TOMORROW, March 30, distributed by Paramount Pictures Philippines through Columbia Pictures PH.

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Dr. Robotnik returns in Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Fire is turning up in the last and final trailer of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Dr. Robotnik returns. The fast Sega character turns to be a hero as he saves the world from destruction if a precious gemstone lands in the wrong hands.

In the trailer, Dr. Robotnik gets a new partner Knuckles who gets equal with Sonic and his sidekick Tails. Watch the trailer below.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 stars James Marsden, Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, and Jim Carrey returning, alongside new additions Shemar Moore, with Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles, and Colleen O'Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails.

Directed by Jeff Fowler. Screenplay by Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington. Story by Pat Casey & Josh Miller, based on the SEGA Video Game.

Opens March 30 in theaters, distributed by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures Philippines.

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CATS AND DOGS 2 movie review

the sequel of CATS and DOGS features the hunt for Kitty Galore (Bette Midler) who is trying to get her revenge from the human cruelty by brainwashing them in a state-of-the-art technology. creating radio waves that will turn things around the close relationships between man and dogs.

as for Diggs (James Marsden), a faulty K-9 dog, gets assigned for this project. but every move is a mistake that made Kitty Galore almost achieve her mission. thanks for the help of the other dog units and a MEOWS friend and secret agent Catherine (Christina Applegate), they are able to stop the evil goal of Kitty Galore.

it's good that they didn't focus much on human characters. Chris O'Donnell may have a role but amusement is really on the animal characters.

MEOWS and DOGS HQ are amazing and feature hi-tech facilities suited for furry friends' needs. grooming, feeding and even personal training is a man-owner's comfort need.

Bette Midler's voice is really scary for Kitty Galore! it was very effective for her to project a cat that has an evil plan.

though it's also shown in 3D, it's all right that you watch it in 2D. it is not as bad but the 3D effects didn't really pop-up off the screen. CGI didn't achieve the other animal movements which made them robotic. in general, kids could enjoy this.

opening August 18 across the Philippines in Digital 3D and regular format, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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BETTE MIDLER and CHRISTINA APPLEGATE: "MEOW!"

Hollywood icon Bette Midler and Emmy-nominee Christina Applegate breathe life to the lead kittens in Warner Bros.’ new comedy adventure in 3D, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.”

In the film, what’s going on is nothing less than the endless war between two species at odds since their earliest ancestors sought out the first caveman’s campfire. But now, one renegade cat agent – Kitty Galore -- has upped the ante. Determined to not only break the bond between dogs and humans forever but also pit feline against feline, Kitty’s bid for global domination could jeopardize the future of all creatures, four- and two-legged alike.

Starring as the voice of Kitty Galore, the scariest, loopiest, fur-challenged feline to swipe a claw since the maniacal Mr. Tinkles earned a permanent time-out at Doggie Alcatraz, Midler says, “I’ve been asked if I believe people are going to like this movie because they think their animals talk to them. Well, I don’t know about anyone else but I had an animal that did talk to me. She was a Jack Russell terrier, a dear friend of mine, and she spoke in complete sentences.”

Bette Midler and Christina Applegate

“I don’t think Kitty is misunderstood; she’s just evil,” Bette Midler states, confessing, “I like her a lot. She’s great. Villains are the most fun to play, they’re so over-the-top and usually the silliest. Here you have a wonderful combination of evil and absolute ridiculousness, which is irresistible.”

A former MEOWS agent, Kitty went rogue after losing all her fur in a depilatory vat that she fell into while trying to escape guard dogs at a cosmetics lab. Shunned by the human family who no longer recognized her, she landed on the street. Now a few hacks shy of a hairball, Kitty is one sour puss bent on avenging her losses on a grand scale.

Creating her cadence and vocal mannerisms was a process based both on looks and back-story, Midler explains. “You start with a sketch. In time, the sketch gets increasingly life-like and fleshed out until the creature is right there in front of you and sort of tells you what its voice should sound like. Kitty has gigantic eyes and very sharp, pointed little teeth. She seems refined so I tried to make her sound like a well-bred cat with a bad nature. She was obviously once a star and her stardom was snatched away from her so now she’s quite bitter and, as the title says, wants revenge.

“Having fun with it is key,” Midler continues. “Kitty gets whacked out sometimes and sputters because her mind is racing faster than she can talk.”

In the face of such sweeping peril, cats and dogs must join forces. Thus, dogs Butch (Nick Nolte) and Diggs (James Marsden) find their nascent partnership has grown to include MEOWS operative Catherine, who bravely puts all nine of her lives on the line with them, to bring Kitty down.

Describing the edgy alliance, Applegate says of her character, Catherine, “She’s a tough, smart, fearless cat, raised with the stereotypical distaste for dogs, but she’s willing to open up and take this chance. They’re working together for a common goal but are still a little bit at each other’s throats from the get-go.”

Applegate adds, “It’s absolutely absurd and fantastic, this whole secret high-tech world they have and yet it’s presented as perfectly normal. It’s as if all that other stuff they do—like purring and doing tricks, or tearing up the yard—is just designed to distract us from what’s really going on.”

Opening soon across the Philippines in Digital 3D and regular format, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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NEIL PATRICK HARRIS plays dog in CATS AND DOGS

no, Dr. Doogie Howser, MD won't play vet in this one. instead he will be as one of the pets.

Best known by global audiences as the womanizing Barney Stinson in the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother -- a role which has garnered him a combined five Golden Globe and Emmy nominations – Neil Patrick Harris provides the voice of Lou, the commander of dog secret agents in Warner Bros.’ new 3D comedy adventure Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.

Lou, a bespectacled Beagle, leads the subterranean base of DOG HQ, the nexus of worldwide canine operations, where dog agents watch surveillance monitors, break codes, build and test new equipment and…work out.

Lou was once the pup trainee from the first Cats & Dogs. Now a proud papa with a litter of his own, he’s top dog at HQ. “He takes the job very seriously. Lou assigns the missions. He’s also like the watch commander, saying ‘let’s go, let’s get this done,’” says Harris.

“You can’t have an ego when you’re doing this,” he concedes, not specifically about portraying a dog, but about voice acting in general. “You’re asked, ‘Can you say it this way?’ ‘That way?’ ‘Can you say it like you’re younger?’ ‘Older?’ You do a hundred different readings and it really becomes a chance to be creative. Ultimately, Lou’s voice is pretty much my own, but with more of an official, businesslike tone.”

Lou is assisted by gadget hound Peek (Joe Pantoliano), veteran agent Sam (Michael Clarke Duncan) and alpha agent Butch (Nick Nolte) who’s about to become the reluctant partner of new recruit, Diggs (James Marsden).


Nolte, Harris and Pantoliano
Nolte, who voices the gruff Anatolian Shepherd Butch, adds, “Since it’s a human story played out by dogs, you have to think in human terms—meaning, Butch is primarily a cop. He’s an old-timer, he’s been around and has a certain loping pace. Diggs wants to be heroic and that’s probably how Butch was when he was younger so he tolerates him, but at this stage he really doesn’t want the hassle of being saddled with the new recruit.”

Meanwhile, watching everyone’s back is Peek, a resourceful Chinese Crested with a keen nose among noses, the agency’s tech and communications expert. Much like Bond’s Q, Peek has a gizmo for every occasion. “Peek is the geek,” quips Pantoliano, reprising his role from the first film as the voice of the tiny technician. “He’s always at the center of things in the lab, developing gadgets the dogs use in the field.

“It’s amazing how sophisticated the talking-animal technology has become,” he observes. “I used to love watching Mr. Ed because it was never in sync. When the horse talked, it looked like they just gave him something to chew on. We’ve come a long way.”

Also reprising his original role is Duncan as the voice of stalwart Sheepdog Sam. Sam can hardly see through the thatch of hair over his eyes, causing his feline adversaries to underestimate him, but this veteran agent can hear the crunch of kibble or the click of tiny claws a mile away.

“I have a cat and three dogs, so this probably goes on at my house,” says Duncan, of the ongoing campaign between Sam and his pack against their lifelong foes.

But all that could change when Kitty Galore hones her master plan to purr-fection.

Opening soon across the Philippines in Digital 3D and regular format, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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JAMES MARSDEN plays dog in CATS AND DOGS: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Warner Bros. presents James Marsden (The X-Men trilogy) and Chris O’Donnell (Batman and Robin) in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, a comedy in 3D that blends live action with state-of-the-art puppetry and computer animation.

In the film, Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for cat spy organization MEOWS, has gone rogue and hatched a diabolical plan to not only bring her canine enemies to heel, but take down her former kitty comrades and make the world her scratching post. Faced with this unprecedented threat, cats and dogs will be forced to join forces for the first time in history in an unlikely alliance to save themselves—and their humans.

Though Marsden and O’Donnell share the screen, director Brad Peyton explains, “they rarely got a chance to interact in person, but even so, their work came together in a way that created its own chemistry and in that sense they truly were a partnership.”

That’s because Marsden was providing the voice of rookie dog agent Diggs, a German Shepherd with leadership issues, while O’Donnel plays Diggs’ compassionate human partner on the police force, Shane.

“It’s a lot of fun,” says Marsden. “This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, although, at the same time, the characters behave as if the fate of the world was really at stake. Dogs using headsets and computer keyboards, throwing grenades; it’s all played straight and that’s what makes it so funny. The more determined they are, the crazier it is.”

While Kitty Galore grooms herself for greatness, another drama plays out on the streets of San Francisco. K-9 Officer Diggs is about to execute the latest in a series of screw-ups that will land him back in the concrete kennel.

Marsden understands how the over-eager German Shepherd sabotages his potential. “He has the best intentions in the world but not the best judgment. Wanting to be the maverick, the hero, he recklessly takes the lead in every situation, with disastrous consequences. He’s likeable and has real ability, but no self-control. Sadly, for all the confidence he shows on the outside, he’s beginning to have real doubts.”

“He knows he keeps messing up, but he just can’t help himself,” adds O’Donnell. “When Shane and Diggs go out on a job, sure enough, he jumps into action before he’s told. Shane knows he’s trying hard and it’s frustrating for both of them because every time they face a tough call the dog does something to make it worse—spectacularly worse.”

As the story opens, Shane and Diggs are on a case. Used car impresario Crazy Carlito (Paul Rodriguez) is living up to his name by going nuts at his car lot, threatening to blow it all up. Against orders, Diggs lunges at Carlito’s backside for a massive chomp, prompting the startled salesman to toss his detonator skyward… with unfortunate consequences.

The incident ends Diggs’ budding law enforcement career. Heartbroken, Shane campaigns to have his former partner retired to domestic life at his own home, but the department insists he’s state property and locks him in a cage.

It’s there, alone and at his lowest point, Diggs gets a second chance most mutts can only dream about: an offer from elite canine protection agency DOG. They’ve been watching Diggs and think he’s got what it takes to be a good agent—but only if he drops the lone wolf act and learns to work with the pack.

O’Donnell recalled the old adage about never working with children or animals, saying, “My first shot involved a baby and a dog. The dog has to go over to a crib, pull a blanket up over the baby and walk away, and all I have to do is say a line. I’m thinking, ‘the baby is perfect, the dog is perfect…if I can’t get this right on the first take I’m going to look really bad.’ It was a lot of pressure!”

Opening soon across the Philippines in Digital 3D and regular format, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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