'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' Review

Is Sonic 3 the best film in the series? Yes. However, I still have major issues with this franchise. My review is up at Screen International.

What Is "Songbird" Doing in 'Gran Turismo'?

I have answers for you over at Cracked.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Air Jordans, 'Dungeons & Dragons' and Mario's Big-Screen Return

A little behind on posting this podcast episode, which was filled with big movies after taking a week off. We both liked Air, one of us liked Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and we both loathed The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Hear the whole thing down below.

'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' Review

It's been 30 years since Super Mario Bros. stunk up movie theaters. There's a new, animated film now. It's better! But it's still not good. My review is up at Screen International.

A Look Back at "Techno Syndrome" (Which You Probably Call "The Mortal Kombat Song")

 

This was a fun one. A few days ago, Warner Bros. released a trailer for their reboot of Mortal Kombat ... which, to the surprise of many, did not feature the familiar theme song. That got me wondering: Had anyone ever written a history of "Techno Syndrome"? Not really, so I did. I found out some really fascinating things.

This Week in Genre History: 'Super Mario Bros.' Hits Theaters, Sadness Ensues

Over the 1993 Memorial Day weekend, an adaptation of a video game arrived in theaters. It was bad. For SyFy, I wrote about the legacy of Super Mario Bros.

'Sonic the Hedgehog' Review

The worst part of Sonic the Hedgehog? Sonic the Hedgehog. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

Some Thoughts on 'Pokemon Detective Pikachu'

What's it like to hear Ryan Reynolds do PG-rated sarcasm?

Why are the behind-the-scenes stories behind the making of Pokemon's biggest songs so sad?

And did you know that this movie was shot on 35mm? (Do you even understand how rare that is anymore?)

I talked about all that, and more, while discussing Detective Pikachu for MEL.

What's the Best Video Game Movie?

That's the question we try to answer on this week's Debate Club. Our list is now live on SyFy.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Lara Croft, 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Street Smart'

On this week's episode, we review Tomb Raider, but the more interesting stuff dwells in our Reboot section. There, we look back at Eyes Wide Shut and Street Smart. Plenty to dissect and discuss. You can hear the whole thing down below.

Some Thoughts on 'Tomb Raider'

For MEL, I offered some random thoughts about Tomb Raider, including why I hated its ending and what makes Alicia Vikander such a good action-movie runner. Plus, I investigated underground bike races and the secret to getting jacked like Lara Croft. You can read the whole thing here.

'Assassin's Creed' Review

Give Assassin's Creed this: It's not good in a pretty arresting way. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in this adaptation of the popular videogame series. Most of the time, I had no idea what was going on. But it's got a real vision to its hallucinatory nonsense. My Screen International review is live here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Talking 'Warcraft,' 'Menace II Society' and 'Being John Malkovich'

On this week's installment of the Grierson & Leitch podcast, we get really angry about Warcraft. (Actually, it's more me.) Plus, for our regular Reboot section, we revisit Menace II Society and Being John Malkovich. Both movies made my Top 10 of their respective years. One of them, sadly, has not held up. You can hear the whole thing here.

'Hitman: Agent 47' Review

Back in 2007, I reviewed Hitman for Screen International. That movie was not good. Now, Fox is yet again trying to breathe cinematic life into the videogame assassin. Hitman: Agent 47 isn't much better, though. I reviewed this shoot-'em-up stinker for Popular Mechanics.

The Immortals - "Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)"

This turned out to be Video Game Week at the blog thanks to my article on why video-game movies are always terrible and my review of Need for Speed. So let's finish things up with this wonderfully, epically cheesy theme song to Mortal Kombat. If you're making a movie set in the '90s and want some music to capture the ridiculousness of the era, you could do a lot worse than picking this.

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'Need for Speed' Review

Aaron Paul has several movies on the way, including ones directed by Ridley Scott (Exodus) and John Hillcoat (Triple Nine). But his first post-Breaking Bad film is the unfortunate Need for Speed. Funny enough, I think I may like it more than most people, and I don't like it much at all. I reviewed the film for Paste.

Why Are Video-Game Movies Always Terrible?

That's the question I try to answer with this week's "Culture Club" column at Playboy. (Watching Need for Speed helped put some ideas into focus.) You can read my piece here.