Alita Battle Angel (2019) Review

Hugo: We go back we'll be on the run forever

Alita: But we'll be on the run together

 I’ve been a huge fan of Battle Angel Alita for over twenty years. I read the manga, watched the OVA, played the PlayStation game, and listened to the soundtracks multiple times. So naturally I was stoked when it was announced that 20th Century Fox purchased the rights and that James Cameron was involved with it... this was nearly twenty years ago. I waited patiently for it and waited some more. Then the trailer was released and I was super excited for it. Then the release date kept getting pushed back. So I waited some more. Was Alita Battle Angel worth my many years waiting? Why yes, yes it was.

  Alita Battle Angel isn’t a perfect film, but then again what film is other than Blade Runner 2049? I only have one minor complaint about the film and that’s all. Usually when I watch films nowadays I can’t help, but to find many faults in the film. I didn’t really do that with Alita. 

     The film is about disembodied female cyborg that still has a fully intact brain and heart who is found by an idealistic scientist who repairs her. She awakens, but cannot remember who she is and goes on a quest to discover who she is. She finds her humanity, willingly opens her heart to those she loves, and in the process takes out narcissistic robotic guys who underestimate her power due to her innocent demeanor. The love story is believable and I don’t understand that critics said it wasn’t believable since she has a cyborg body, but they loved 'HER' where the protagonist falls in love with an operating system.

   Usually when a film has a big budget, like Alita did, that usually means the company wants to franchise it. Milk it for all it’s worth. That’s why I don’t really like the films they think will be blockbusters because they really push the 3D on it. It’s not 3D because it’s not even shot in 3D. It’s shot in 2D and converted into 3D, an example being Clash of the Titans. The 3D with those types of films are just bad and nauseating in my opinion. The 3D films that James Cameron are involved in are truly phenomenal from Avatar to Life of Pi and now Alita. The 3D offers more visual delight to the whole film experience.

   Alita could very well be a franchise for one reason… and that’s actually Alita. Franchises are based on the protagonist. This is why films that were made to be franchises like Mortal Instruments fail because people just don’t like them. Then others succeed like Lord of the Rings or Indiana Jones. I hope that Alita will be just as iconic or more so than Katniss (Hunger Games) or any of the X-Men. The film definitely needs to make Fast & Furious type of money. She’s a character that is made for a franchise.

 

    Rosa Salazar shines as Alita. She’s everything you want a protagonist to be. You just can’t help, but to root for her. She’s more than a strong badass female character. She loves, she kills, and she’s driven by a strong moral code. “I do not stand by in the presence of evil,” she tells her opponent. It’s certainly clear she means it as well. Alita is a marvel of what CGI can do. So with Salazar’s terrific performance and adding that CGI really steps up those anime aspects. Then there’s Christoph Waltz as Dr. Ido. Of course he gave a good performance as he plays her father figure in a way. Keenan Johnson played Hugo perfectly as well. I was happy with all the performances. All the actors did justice to their characters.

    My only complaint about the film is that it has some awkward dialogue due to its narrative. The film has so much going on and it definitely doesn’t have the 2049 level of storytelling. It’s understandable since for the most part it follows the manga and James Cameron is involved so it means not much dialogue.

   I don’t understand what’s going on with critics nowadays. It has a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes by the critics, while the general every day audience gave it a 94%. It kind of reminds me of the Last Jedi, but in reverse. The critics gave it a 91% while the audience gave it a 45% (which deserves to be lower in my opinion).

   If you love anime/ manga you’ll love Alita Battle Angel. There’s big eyes, humungous swords, slow motion, eye popping color, and enough action to fuel a city. The Motorball scene is a beautiful ballet of cyborg bloodshed. It’s as if Robocop and Blade Runner had a baby and named her Alita.

   I found it to be a great adaption, especially Alita herself. She was perfect in every way. It was easy to forget that she’s CGI. Forget Captain Marvel Alita is the superhero film you need to see. I really hope it does well overseas so they greenlight the two planned sequels. It’s one of the best action films I’ve witnessed since MAD MAX Fury Road and John Wick. It’s arguably the best live-action film based on a manga and in the top science fiction films. It’s safe to say Alita Battle Angel is one of the greatest cinema experiences of my life. If it doesn’t get a sequel, much like Blade Runner 2049, I’ll just be happy that the film exists and I was able to see it as many times as I could.

5 out of 5

See it on the biggest screen possible and definitely in 3D.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) Review

Lucy: Emmet, you’ve got to stop pretending everything is awesome. It isn’t.

Emmet: Yeah, I get it. And that’s why I’ve cultivated a totally hard-edged side that’s super tough and, look, look, a shooting star! Make a wish!

     In 2014, the LEGO Movie defied all expectations and ended up being a delightful and colorful adventure for both children and adults. I expected it to be a cheap cash grab that was just going to be a toy advert, but what we got was a nostalgic magical film. In the five years since, we’ve gotten two spin-offs: the great LEGO BATMAN Movie and the forgettable LEGO NINJAGO movie. I enjoyed the LEGO BATMAN Movie more, but that’s because of my dry humor and I’m a major Batman fan. So after five years waiting and two spin-offs we finally got a direct sequel. So was it worth the wait?

  

    Well of course it was worth the wait. It doesn’t match the quality of the first film, but it comes close and does it justice. The first one focused on a father and son eventually bonding over LEGOs. Now this time it expands on the human characters as it centers on the brother and sister’s relationship as an analogy for what’s happening with Emmet and his friends. Emmet has to travel to the Systar System to save his friends and to prevent “Ourmomageddon”. The story was simple, but was rather satisfying and charming. It provided some heartwarming lessons that everyone could enjoy. These lessons include: sharing is caring, bridging the gaps among friends and family, respecting one another, and compromise.

  A big part of the success of this film is the voice cast. Chris Pratt returns as lovable Emmet. Will Arnett is of course Batman who is once again the scene-stealer. Most of the cast returns from the first one other than Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman. The new additions to the film are Jason Momoa that voices Aquaman, Margot Robbie voices Harley Quinn, Bruce Willis voices Bruce Willis, my spirit animal Richard Ayoade plays an ice cream cone, Noel Fielding plays a sparking Noel Fielding… I mean vampire, and Tiffany Haddish voices Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi. Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi and Batman stole the film for me. She wants to marry Batman, but as he tells her “I’m a bat-chelor!” The new supporting cast of characters are great, but actually one of my complaints about this film is that the supporting characters from the first film didn’t have much to do and were just wasted.

   The addicting catchy tune, “Everything is Awesome” returns along with a couple more addicting tunes. One of them being titled, “Catchy Song” where they repeat the lyric “this song is gonna get stuck inside your head.” Then there’s ‘Gotham City Guys’, which involves… yep you guessed it! Batman! The jokes are non stop and well written. The animation has improved quite a bit in five years.

    The LEGO Movie 2: the Second Part is in many ways like the original. It has the same dry humor, cast, and they even have a catchy song or two that’ll get stuck in your head. It’s an unconventional animated film for all ages. There are scenes made for children to laugh and then the humor for adults to pick up on. The animation is appealing. The film is definitely worth a watch. So if you want to have a fun time with lots of glitter, desolation, Apocalyptic Batman, Glittery Batman, Batman’s Wedding (take that Selina Kyle), an ice cream cone played by Richard Ayoade and a glittery vampire played by his buddy Noel Fielding… then this film is for you. One last thing, what kind of jobs do these parents in the film have? Because who can afford all those LEGOS. They’re super expensive even when they are on sale!

3.9 out of 5

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) Review

“There was a boy who got hit with an artillery shell. Left arm, leg blown off, eye dangling on his cheek. Crying out for his mommy. So I shot him… I had to.”

 

    In 2015 Peter Jackson, the director of Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, was approached by 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museum to do a documentary on World War I. He was given over 600 hours worth of interviews and over 100 hours of original film stock.

    ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ was a true experience. I wish the film was at least ten more hours. I was transfixed by what I was watching.  It’s not like most documentaries. There is no narrator, it’s just voices of the soldiers describing their experiences— from training, being shipped to Germany, life in the trenches, how they feared bombardments and tried to keep out of the way from snipers, getting lice, having their feet freeze and having to get them amputated, how those they were close to died right in front of them, taking prisoners, how they were treated when they arrived home, and more. I thought it was a wise choice on Jackson’s part to use just the voices of the soldiers describing their experiences. So there are no dates of battles or who was in charge. It’s just about the soldiers.

   The film submerges the viewers in the war through World War I footage never seen before along with photographs and drawings from magazines describing the war at the time. Jackson went to the most extreme and colorized the footage. He went to sites of where the footage took place, photographed it in order to match it, and then went to the lab. The result is outstanding and in a way unnerving. It’s like when The Wizard of Oz went to Black & White to color. Jackson took his time colorizing it unlike people behind TV documentaries who hurry to get the job done so that the end product isn’t flattering.

   The thing that stood out the most for me was the personalities of the soldiers. They seemed so friendly and had a positive outlook. They were full of smiles and life. They were trying to make something good out of a bad situation. They had a good sense of humor and were optimistic. On Peter Jackson’s commentary after the credits he states that basically everyone on the footage will either be dead or wounded. It’s haunting. I don’t know how the Academy could not nominate this film and Won’t You Be My Neighbor for Best Documentary, but then again they’ve made a lot of stupid decisions.

4.8 out of 5