FREEZE FRAME: “All the Old Knives” (R), “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (PG), “Agent Game” (R)

The HBO Max cloak-and-dagger drama “All the Old Knives” is a well-acted espionage thriller with a plot that twists like a mobius strip. Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton add steamy eroticism as former lovers who reunite years after their CIA field intelligence office mishandled a hijacking case that left over 100 people dead. Are they coming together to reignite their romance or are they preparing to stab one another in the back? There are flashes of promise in this smart screenplay, but they don’t all pan out. Veteran actor Jonathan Pryce is especially effective as an aging former agent who Pine suspects was a mole. Even though it doesn’t all work, but “All the Old Knives” is a thoughtful adult whodunit.

The only thing faster than Sonic, Sega’s supersonic hedgehog, is how fast you may forget the sequel, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Jim Carrey is watchable as the villainous Dr. Eggman, but after over two hours of Sonic mayhem, even Carrey’s comic antics wear out their welcome. Sonic should have loaned one of his magic superspeed quills to this movie’s editors. And let’s put a moratorium on movies with 5-6 climaxes. While acceptable enough for undemanding kiddies, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” isn’t as entertaining as one of his umpteen video games.

Mel Gibson and Dermot Mulroney headline the absurd spy thriller “Agent Game.” Gibson plays a CIA bigwig who puts together a clandestine operation to create some scapegoats when Washington politics dictate a change of foreign loyalties. The double-crossing plot gets more and more ridiculous as the movie progresses and the action scenes rely way too much on disorienting, herky-jerky camerawork. And, hey, cinematographer, would it kill you to turn on a light once in a while? “Agent Game” isn’t worth playing.

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