In this article I share my thoughts on these films. Normally I do this when I feel like they don't deserve proper reviews. While for some titles this applies this isn't the case. I just aim to keep up with writing the reviews shortly after I have seen them. In future I might elaborate on them.
Scoob (2020)
Scooby Doo is and always will be one of my favourite cartoon characters. It's a shame the animated films he has been in aren't of the same quality the original cartoons were excluding the live action films.
Unfortunately Scoob doesn't change this. It easily could have been but for some reason the writers and producers of this film failed to actually write a good story that will appeal to both young and old. It tries real hard to relate to the nostalgic fan but forgets to put in jokes for the younger crowd. Some physical gags and events do entertain but there aren't enough of them to keep things interesting. The few jokes that do hit are the ones that kept me in the race. However it is the nostalgia talking since I can't and won't say anything bad about Scooby. Scooby easily is the best character which should not be a suprise since he is voiced by the original voice actor, Frank Welker. The other characters are voiced by more contemporary ones including Will Forte as Shaggy. I like Forte but he is incredibly bad as Shaggy. His voice doesn't even come close. They should have hired Matthew Lillard. At least he got it right.
A missed opportunity to make Scooby Doo relevant again. But if you aren't too demanding the film will entertain while it lasts. It's far from good but it's not that bad.
Inheritance (2020)
Don't ask me how but I caught Inheritance online. I couldn't find a proper review of this film. Probably because officially it hasn't been released yet. The fact that it's now out there is incredibly suspicous.
However as I am a big fan of mystery films I couldn't resist. I wished I did. Because very soon I realized that this film was awful. It looked more like one of those Lifetime TV films who mind you are superior to this trash. Everything about this film is ridiculous and prepostorous. Now I am very forgiving and also quite willing to suspend disbelief if it ends up entertaining me. This only aggravated me. You can't really blame the cast since they try their hardest. Still everything else in this film is poor. Could I predict the twists? Well, maybe not the first one the second and big one definitely. But believe me if you make it that far you won't care.
This film has no heart whatsoever. AVOID!
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
After the outcry concerning Sonic's poorly done animation the studios did the unthinkable. They listened to the fans and improved it. I must admit I was skeptical even if Sonic would look as he is supposed to.
Why? Well, apart from having played a few Sonic games I never got into them deeply. Mostly I would play the first levels or so and then leave the games for what they were. Let's say that my emotional and nostalgic investment is very minimal. That being said, Sonic and James Marsden completely charmed me. You can tell that the film is made with a lot of care and love for the franchise and film making in general. From start to finish it's a real blast. I couldn't dare dream that this video game adaptation would be so endearing.
Definitely a must watch even if you aren't a fan!
The Occupant a.k.a. Hogar (2020)
The Occupant starts out real promising and for a while it takes you to places you really don't want to go. But because of the acting and the situation depicted you want to root for our main character. Up until a certain point.
It's at this point it felt like this was an idea for a short film and they never really had bothered to flesh out the characters and the story. Now I do understand why they haven't fleshed out the characters since not knowing that much is what adds to the tension and mystery at hand. You can tell they were trying to build up to the climax at the end. Unfortunately the climax is a complete letdown. Since it barely has an impact even if it is clear that was the intention. Again I understand why for example the main character Javier Muñoz (Javier Gutiérrez) is not fleshed out as much. They still could have shown more of his past. Or at least give us more of him in a normal situation before his predicament.
For some reason I had hoped this would be more like Sleep Tight a.k.a. Mientras duermes (2011). Apart from a few similarities it's nothing like that as it fails to show the main character from different perspectives. That and the supposed tension is severely lacking. I just wasn't invested as I should have been.
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Rampant a.k.a.Chang-gwol (2018)
Last but not least it's Rampant. If like me you can't have enough of Kingdom and are eagerly awaiting the third season to arrive then this might be the fix you need.
Like Kingdom it's set in the Joseon Dynasty and features zombies. There are a few plot elements that share similarities with the show. But make no mistake it's inferior to Kingdom. Still even if it is very minimal there is some character development especially concerning the main character. Perhaps a little predictable. But I am a sucker for unwilling and irresponisble heroes growing up and doing the right thing anyway. What really makes Rampant stand out is the action and the way the zombies behave. They are like a hybrid of the typical zombies and vampires. These zombies are fast and can jump quite high. It's a real joy to see the human characters battle them.
In hindsight I think Rampant is a little underrated and deserves more recognition even with it's many flaws.
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