Trailer Review - Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel (2018)
Official Trailer
Watch It Here


Person of Interest: Rosa Salazar as the titular bug-eyed anime heroine, Christoph Waltz as a humble junkyard-diving scientist, Jennifer Connelly as an evil scary lady, Mahershala Ali as an evil mobster, Keean Johnson as a boring love interest, and Ed Skrein as an unfortunate actor who had to wear a green screen bodysuit in order to play a CGI constructed cyborg.

Scene Pop: Those eyes... My god!

Effective?: It certainly is drawing major attention just for the first look at the CGI enhanced anime eyes the makers placed on Salazar, which means the trailer is ultimately a success. But seriously, what the hell is with the ultra serious tone, the dramatic reveal of "And Director Robert Rodriguez", and the pushing of its Oscar-winning actors? It's a sci-fi action flick!

Check it Out?: Maybe for a matinee. Alita has been one of the biggest white whales in Hollywood, thanks to James Cameron's absolute refusal to let the project die despite the sheer fact that even diehard anime fans have forgotten about the OVA. It could be an averagely fun film but I do really see it becoming the next Valerian.

Trailer Review - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Official Trailer
Watch It Here


Person of Interest: Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard returning as their lame characters, Justice Smith as an annoying kid sidekick (which everyone just absolutely loved in all of the movies past the first one) and Jeff Goldblum in a surprise appearance as Dr. Ian Malcolm.

Scene Pop: Malcolm's back! Even though there's a high chance it's just for a cameo!

Effective?: Not really. It starts off explaining its premise of dinosaur conservation but then moves on to straight up spoiling a ugly looking action sequence involving an active volcano, one of the stupid ball transports from Jurassic World, and Pratt doing his best Tom Cruise by trying to outrun the ash.

Check it Out?: Signs point to no. I love J.A. Bayona but Jurassic World quickly soured on everyone's hopes and dreams of the rebirth of this franchise. That film may have scored a humongous box office take but I can see this one pulling far lower numbers, even if Bayona can somehow make the movie work beyond its sure-to-exist studio meddling and Colin Trevorrow, the man who poorly directed Jurassic World, coming back to co-write the script.

Coco - Review

Miguel is the black sheep of his large crazy Mexican family of shoemakers due to his penchant for the forbidden vice of music. An accident on Día de Muertos reveals that his exiled great-great abuelo is actually popular musician Ernesto de la Cruz, much to the annoyance of his music-hating abuela Elena. One trip to Ernesto's crypt and strum of his famous guitar later, Miguel is suddenly transported to the Land of the Dead and begins his search for his banned family member. COCO is a delightfully entertaining breeze of an animated movie, that kind your heart needs when you a little cry or a reminder about the power of family and seeking your dream. The story has a thankfully casual pace, allowing the audience to enjoy its vibrant and musically inclined adventure with low stakes. There's a nice breath of fresh air with its structure, such as how the intended antagonist may be ruthless in their agenda but you clearly can understand their reasoning and why they're wearing kid gloves to catch that kid. It's just so very nice to have an exquisite Latino-based work brimming with culture and personality that's suited for children and families that isn't polluted with obnoxious helping hands for the language or the presence of a kid protagonist with vacant eyes and no soul. The backgrounds are all evocatively rich in their depth, detail, and sheer amounts of color and filled to the brink with crowds of splendidly designed characters. The voice cast is wonderful, with Gael García Bernal as Miguel's sidekick/guardian Héctor and Alanna Ubach as Mamá Imelda beings the absolute standouts for doing the double duty of emoting their lines and belting out tunes. The music is pretty good, especially Michael Giacchino's score, but I feel bad for Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina, as all of the original songs they produced are ultimately squashed by the heavyweight beast that is "Remember Me", the new contender for your kid's favorite song by the powerhouse couple of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Unfortunately, though I was enraptured by its world and much of the heartwarming material caused me to tear up, the film quite quickly vacated out of my senses once I walked out of the theater. It could have been the fact that the script gets way too relaxed and often resorts to cliche storytelling and predictable outcomes that we have seen in other works and/or in other Pixar movies. It could have been the great but unnecessary twist the film pulls so it can have the standard Pixar final act that always closes out the show. It could have been many other things but there just sadly isn't a ton of resonance beyond its animated beauty or touching scenes to make COCO a true masterpiece. It may grow more in my heart in time or it just may be a brief euphoric experience today due to the current state of Pixar. Oh, and as for the now infamous "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" short that plays before the movie: it is an inoffensive treat but the long pace, weird retconning, and truly forgettable songs do hurt its amusement.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5