Alita Battle Angel review

Warning: May contain potential spoilers

This was suppose to come out last July, and then it was delayed till December, and then it was delayed again till February, so I began to go from very interested to very concerned. However I decided I wanted to give it a shot, so I got into a special screening on Thursday, and I got to admit that I really enjoyed it. I want to address the main attraction of the movie, and that’s the visuals, and wow were the visuals were incredible. The world that was created for this movie was just spectacular, and were captivating. A part of me wishes I could jump into the screen and wonder around this world, that’s how cool it was. 

Next part that was amazing in the movie was the action, the action was so cool. One of the highlights was the Motorball sequences, besides movies, another favorite past time activity for me is Rollerblading, so that was cool to see that here. All the other action sequences were cool as well and that added to the amazing visuals. 

I was also invested in the main character of the movie, Alita, she was very intriguing and I enjoyed learning about her and cared what happened to her. There was a moment where something happens to a supporting character, and while I didn’t care for this supporting character, I did care about how she felt and that affected me more than what happened to this supporting character, it is a spoiler so I am trying to veer away from the details, but I am willing to go into this movie after this it comes out. I liked some of the other supporting characters like Christopher Waltz’s character who was the scientist that helped find Alita.

How was the story, I thought it was fine, there is a lot of world building and there is definitely a fair amount of setting up for future installments. It didn’t bug me that much, and I kind of hope they do get enough to make a sequel as I would like to see what happens. Let me put it this way, the main character was so interesting that it helped drive the story for me, there were flaws but you can tell there was a ton of effort put into the movie that I really appreciated it.

I look forward to seeing the movie again when it officially comes out in theaters. If you want to see this or are interested, I recommend checking it out in IMAX, it is worth seeing on the biggest screen possible to get the biggest experience.

19 Anticipated movies of 2019

Now that we are in 2019, it's time to talk about the movies I am most excited to see this year. I decided to do 19 of them because it is 2019 after all. So here is the countdown.



19. Knives Out – I don’t know too much about it, but it is directed by Rian Johnson, who decided to do this while waiting to direct his own Star Wars trilogy, it sounds like a small film but the idea of him filming it and getting it released when they only announced it a few months ago has me intrigued, and he also managed to get James Bond to come aboard.

18. Hobbs and Shaw – I never thought we would get these kind of movies out of the first Fast and Furious movie back in 2001, I figured maybe one sequel or two, and that was it, now this is the first spin off for characters that didn’t debut till much later. I don’t know too much yet, but we got Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Also, we get the actress who played the White Widow in Mission Impossible Fallout.

17. Other Side of Heaven 2 – This is a sequel to a movie that came out in 2001, it is about an Elder (Elder John H Groberg) that serves a mission in Tonga and his experiences there. This movie sees John H Groberg return to Tonga many years later with his family. The movie looks really good based on the trailer we got, so naturally I am intrigued to see the story continue. This is based on real events.

16. Missing Link – Laika is one of those studios that I keep an eye on and when they release a new movie, I am there to go see it. This looks to be funny, and I really hope that delivers the same kind of magic that has occurred in the other movies by the studio. They have a great cast.

15. Shazaam – While the track record for DC isn’t very strong, they are working to go a new route. If you have seen the trailers for this, you can tell that this is going to go for the fun and goofy side of things. This looks ridiculous and I am excited to see how this all turns out.

14. Are You Afraid of the Dark – I don’t know anything about this, except it’s being made by Nickelodeon. This is based on a show that debuted on Nickelodeon in the early 90s. I watched this show every so often and was very intrigued by it, so I am very intrigued on how this will turn out. We will see what to expect when we get a trailer.

13. Artemis Fowl – For the record, I have not read any of the books, so I don’t know too much about it. I did have a few friends explain the premise, and I have seen the trailer, and it does have my interest peaked, I am just hoping this turns out better than A Wrinkle in Time.

12. Lion King – Jon Favreau returns to Disney to direct another live action remake. They have a great cast and the trailer looks great. I don’t know if this will be a beat to beat remake or if they will try to do something different with the story, but we will find out this summer.

11. Dumbo – I first heard about this back in 2014, and I didn’t think much about it after the announcement, but then we got the first trailer and my interest grew, and it grew more with the second trailer. Yes, I placed this above the other live action remakes, and mainly because this one has me the most intrigued to see how they pull it off.

10. Spider Man Far From Home – This will be the first movie in Phase Four of the MCU (though I heard they would be doing away with phases), but this is supposedly taking place minutes after Avengers Endgame. I look forward to see how they continue to develop Spider Man in his next adventure.

9. Men In Black International – I am going to honest, I wasn’t really into the idea of a spin-off of the Men In Black series, even though they got great leads in the movie, but then I saw the first trailer a couple of weeks ago, and my excitement grew. This just looks like it will be a ton of fun, I just hope they don’t mess it up.

8. Detective Pikachu – I am not a big fan of the Pokemon series, I did watch a bit of the show during it’s first season when it debuted in 1998, but after that year Digimon debuted and I ended up watching that more. However, I saw the trailer last month, and for some reason, this looks like this could be a lot of fun, it also features many of the Pokemon I am more familiar with when I saw the show during the first season. Movies based on video games don’t have a great record, but I am hoping this turns that around.

7. Lego Movie 2 – One of the biggest surprises in 2014, The Lego Movie was a blast with a very good message at the end, and the animation was very unique. The next question is how do they continue the story after the first one. Well, there is a lot of great possibilities on how it will continue. All the characters were fun, I enjoyed playing with Legos as a kid, so I very curious on how this will turn out next month. Since they took years to get this released, I am thinking they took time to give us another great story.

6. Godzilla King of the Monsters – I enjoyed the new Godzilla movie that came out in 2014, and I did like Kong Skull Island when it came out two years ago. The trailers that we got recently really caught my eye, as it features epic monsters. This movie feels like it could be big. Please don’t let this one be a disappointment. 

5. Glass – Spoiler alert, I was in the theater seeing Split at the end of January in 2017, and it was a good movie, good performances and everything, and then at the end of the movie, they revealed the big twist, it took place in the same universe as Unbreakable. When I got home from work that night (I was working nights at the time), I rented Unbreakable to rewatch it to catch little connections, it revamped my interest in a movie I had not seen in years, and they are giving us a sequel to Unbreakable and the trailers look great. I look forward to see how this story continues.

4. Captain Marvel – I first learned about Captain Marvel back in 2016, I think it was when they announced the movie. The trailers give us a glimpse of the world of Shield in the 90s when Nick Fury was younger as well as Phil Coulson. This has a sense of coolness every time I watch these trailers. I just like the vibe that these trailers gives. Another plus is that after this movie, we will get Avengers Endgame about a month and a half after. I really think a lot what happens here will help give big hints as to what will happen in the next Avengers movie.

3. How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World – First thing I want to bring up is the fact that this trilogy has started at the beginning of this decade and will end with the close of this decade, let that sink in. The first one was a big surprise for me, along with others that experienced it back in 2010, and I also really liked the second one as well. This was a movie that was delayed a few times, but I think the delays mean they took the time to get the story right to conclude this trilogy, and I look forward to seeing how they wrap up the story. I also heard that tissues might be needed.

2. Star Wars Episode 9 – Let me start off with this, I did like The Last Jedi, I don’t think it was a masterpiece, and I probably put it a little too high on my top 10 list for 2017, but I still really enjoyed it despite it’s issues, and I am still very intrigued what will happen next. I have been a big fan of Star Wars for a long time, and have enjoyed going back to the galaxy far, far away, even if the movies were flawed. Also, I was a big fan of The Force Awakens in 2015 when it arrived, and with them bringing back JJ Abrams to direct this final installment for this sequel trilogy, I am very curious on where we go from here. Questions on who Rey’s parents are is the least of my focus, but more of my focus is how you conclude not only this trilogy, but all the previous trilogies as well, give one big epic conclusion, that is what my interest will be with this last installment. Yes, there will be other Star Wars movies down the road, but this is suppose to mark the end of the Skywalker saga.

1. Avengers Endgame – I have a feeling that this is not a surprise to anyone, and in fact, I am certain that this is the most anticipated movie for everyone this year, and if you have seen the ending of Avengers Infinity War, it isn’t hard to see why. Not only that, this is a movie that is suppose to wrap up the stories of the MCU in the last decade, and also help spring the MCU into new territories that we haven’t explored yet. There are so many rumors and speculations on what will happen in this epic movie, they range from time travel to alternate dimensions, in fact, I should put together my own theories on what I think will occur because many have already done so. The plot has been tightly under wraps, and I am very thankful for that, because how often do we get a movie where we don’t know too much on what will occur before going in. I am unbelievably pumped for this movie.

Top 10 of 2018

With another year over, it is time to reflect on my personal top 10 of the year. Keep in mind, this list does not reflect what everyone is thinking, but is my own favorites, and also I have not seen everything this year, so with all that in mind, let’s get started.

10. Searching – Picking the number 10 was really hard, as there are so many great movies I saw that could go here, but I decided to go with this movie. We have had found footage movies for a long time, and there are some that were well done and entertaining and intriguing to watch. However, I haven’t really had any that had an emotional impact on me, until this one. How this movie was crafted and put together, I was drawn in on the mystery of the movie and at those moments I thought I had it figured out, I learned I didn’t and it kept me on my toes. I won’t reveal the reveals at the end, but this movie left me satisfied.

9. First Man – For the longest time, I enjoyed movies that deal with space travel, even the ones that were super cheesy. This was on my radar because of the director and because of the subject matter. I am not familiar with the struggles of getting to the moon, except for the fact that they did make it to the moon. It was very intriguing to see the struggles on what it took to get there, including an aspect that I just didn’t think about beforehand, and that is the families that had to sit there wondering if their husbands would survive the trip. It really kept me interested, and I also got to see this on IMAX and when they make it to the moon, it was really breathtaking. Also, when I got home, I ended up watching Apollo 13.

8. Bumblebee – I was done with the Transformers movies after The Last Knight, I am certain others were done way before that though. When I first heard of the Bumblebee spinoff, I didn’t think too much about it, except it might be nice. However, once I learned who the director was, my intrigue grew. I was really surprised by the movie we got when I got to see it, the phrase I kept using was this movie had heart, and it really did, you really cared about the characters, and you could see Bumblebee’s emotional responses and could really feel for him. This was a big shock compared to the other ones. The action in the first 10 minutes is excellent, and in my opinion, along with the opinions of others, is the best in the series. But also, it took everything and simplified it and really gave us a story that mattered. Yes, there are similarities to ET and The Iron Giant, but I was really invested and really liked the movie a lot. It also had a great sountrack.

7. Ralph Breaks the Internet – This was a highly anticipated movie for me, and I was wondering if this would deliver. This delivered in a different way than I was anticipating, so this didn’t have the video game characters that I would have liked, but it did have great jokes in regards to the internet and how it’s used these days, and it also gave a great story and really focused on the development of the main characters. I was really surprised at the direction these characters went, and just how complicated things can get. Yes, a lot of the things in regards to the internet will more likely be out of date in the coming years, but the aspects of friendship that are presented in this move will not.

6. Won’t You Be My Neighbor – I kept hearing about this movie so I decided to check it out and see how it is. I was really surprised, I remember watching aspects of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but I don’t remember too much beyond that, but watching this documentary made me appreciate the person that he was and the positive interactions that he strived to make with the children around him. This gave us a great perspective on the goals of the man and his show, if there came times I didn’t think much about his decisions when making the show, I would just reflect on this movie and realize what he was striving to do and doing very simple things that made the difference for all who would tune in and watch the show.

5. A Quiet Place – One of the more original movies of the year, A Quiet Place deals with monsters on Earth that are able to find people through sounds, and so this family learns to survive by staying very quiet, they learn to sign and they learn to be very quiet to avoid making any sound whatsoever. I am not someone that likes to go to horror movies, but this one I chose to make an exception because I was hearing very good things. The experience of being in the theater was very interesting, and it was a pretty busy theater, but within the first 15 minutes, when the family was getting around, you could hear the audience attempting to be very quiet, and that included trying not to make loud noises with their food or how they eat. This was a unique movie in the story it told and how it presented itself, and I found many cool things even after my first viewing.

4. Paddington 2 – Back in 2015, we were treated to a family movie called Paddington that I had no desire to see but then it got good reviews and so I decided to go see it, and I was really surprised by it. A sequel came out early in 2018, and I thought it wouldn’t reach the heights of the first as it was years since I saw it, and wow was I wrong. This movie was a great movie and I was spending time trying to recommend this movie to people as it featured so much good. Let me explain by what I mean by so much good, the main character attempts to find the good in those around him and attempts to try to do good that essentially brings out the good in others, how the small acts of an individual can make a difference in the community and how being there for those you love can bring people together and help do good for those in return, to see good happen to everyone in this movie. This is a family movie I strongly recommend checking out.

3. Mission Impossible Fallout – Just when you think that a sixth entry couldn’t be amazing, we are treated with Mission Impossible Fallout. The first trailer caught my attention in February and I knew I wanted to see it on the biggest screen possible, and then I was surprised to find myself really invested in the movie. First off the attempt to do the action sequences on location instead of green screen, where we are taken for these action set pieces is mind-blowing, and the cinematography was just stunning. Not only that, but it felt like the story was very intriguing, yes the action is the main focus here but I felt they tried to give us a good story and characters that you are drawn in on what happens. This was so much fun to watch and I continue to enjoy watching it.

2. Spider Man Into The Spiderverse – This is the Spider Man movie I didn’t know I wanted. The first teaser debuted in December of 2017 and I knew I wanted to see it, I didn’t know if it would hold up beyond the visuals, and I am glad to say that it totally it. Not only does it feature the most stunning and unique animation, it also features a great story and characters where you are really invested on what will happen to the characters and how they will make it out. There are so many different versions of Spider Man that you think it would collapse on itself, but it doesn’t even do that, every character’s involvement plays a role and makes the experience more rewarding, in fact, you will want to see their own movies afterwards, even Spider Ham. This is the most unique movie I have seen in a while, and I heard they spent time trying to get the animation right so it could look as great as it did, and I am so glad they spent that time trying to get the look right, I hope to see more of this kind of movie in the future.

1. Avengers Infinity War – This was my most anticipated movie of the summer and it just blew me out of the water, and it features the most gut punching ending that you would expect. That ending is the reason why Avengers Endgame is the most anticipated movie of 2019, but with all that aside, this movie earns my top spot for my personal top 10 for so much more. First off, the amount of characters in this movie, everyone’s favorite heroes (except for Ant Man and Hawkeye) play a role in this movie, from big to small, and seeing everyone come together from different franchises was just awesome, Iron Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy working together was great, and even the little moments where Rocket approaches Bucky about the arm, just how everything is balanced in such a big epic movie is amazing and well worth the price of admission. As well, this movie features a very compelling villain, Thanos, who steals the show whenever he is on screen. The technology that aids the storytelling has come along so far and it’s amazing to see the payoff here. It’s awesome to think where we were 10 years ago with the MCU and now where we are at, this movie is one big payoff. Can’t wait to see how Avengers Endgame wraps everything up.

That is my personal top 10 of 2018, I hope that you enjoyed, and I look forward to sharing more with you in 2019.

Mary Poppins Returns review

This isn’t a movie that was on my anticipation list, but it did catch my attention a bit lately with the trailer back in September and with all the awards buzz and talk it’s been getting. I haven’t watched the first Mary Poppins in years, but I was familiar with what occurred and knew about the character and world, so with all this, I was curious enough to see it and see what surprises it would give. I really enjoyed it. Was this a sequel that needed to occur? No. Was this fun to watch? Yes.

The original is definitely used as a blueprint to make this movie, and it’s very obvious in the structure of the story, as it follows very similar beats, though it mixes things a bit to give it a bit of a different flavor but very similar structure if that makes sense. So, if you are a fan of the original and want something similar with what you got before but with hints of something different, you will enjoy this movie. If you like musicals, especially upbeat, you will enjoy this. If you are expecting this to really shake the world of Mary Poppins and do something completely unexpected, then you are watching the wrong movie, though I don’t think many would go into this movie expecting that.

One aspect I really enjoyed was the design of the world, there were elements that reminded me of the Paddington movies (if you haven’t seen the 2^nd one, I strongly recommend checking it out). The design made the visit to this world very pleasant and it was very fun to watch. I also really enjoyed the animated sequence, as the animation reminded me of the original movie and it’s style of animation, so they stayed faithful to the time period and the animated world that was already established.

How is Emily Blunt in the title role character? I thought she was great. Keep in mind, don’t go in expecting a recap of what Julie Andrew established, instead Emily Blunt took the character and made it her own. I haven’t seen the original in years but I have seen enough recently to know there is definitely a difference in her take, but she does a great job and was fun to see her interact with the world around her. I also enjoyed all the other characters that popped up throughout the movie. I am surprised to see Angela Langsbury with a great voice even at her age, speaking of surprise, it was great to see Dick Van Dyke do some fun dance moves in the movie during his cameo, a big part of me wished he was kept a secret instead of advertising it, I think the cameo would have been more fun that way and would have caught everyone off guard instead of waiting for him to appear.

The best way to describe this movie is familiar but pleasant. I thought this was a good movie and I enjoyed my return to this world despite the fact it was so many years since my last visit there.

Movie releases during Christmas 2018

As you can tell, this Christmas has a ton of movies that have been released. You have a ton to choose from, from Aquaman to Mary Poppins Returns. The hard part is to choose what to go see. However, if you are me, you just go ahead and see all of them, but I am sure there are many of you that can only see one of two, so I am going to give a recap on each one to help you get an idea of what each one contains and the hard part, sort of ranking them, which will be mainly on preference here.

Let’s start with Spider Man Into The Spiderverse. This is my top pick of the Holiday season. This movie was excellent, the animation style was so unique, plus it had a great story and characters. I have already seen it twice and look forward to seeing it again, and yes that will make it my third time but this movie is worth so many views. I understand we have so many Spider Man movies already but this one gives us a fresh take on the character(s) and gives us a really awesome premise. This one is a must see, and based on the online reactions, it looks like everyone agrees. This one is my top pick to go see this Holiday season.

Believe it or not, Bumblebee is a breathe of fresh air after all the previous Transformers movies that were made with no real thought, and this one was made with care. From the director of Kubo and the Two Strings, Travis Knight comes in and adds heart to the story, and simply takes out the excess and simplifies the Transformers, it feels so much easier to follow, and you will find yourself caring about the characters and what they go through. This takes place in the 80s and does have the feel of an 80s movie. Honestly, overall this is a good movie with a heart and I do recommend checking it out, I worry this will probably not get as much attention but I think it’s worth checking out. 

If you want an insane fun spectacle with lots of action and tons of creative visuals with the feels of an Saturday morning cartoon, Aquaman is the movie for you. This movie was a blast from start to finish. The worlds we are taken to are just amazing, and you get a fun little treasure hunt adventure in the mix. In fact, I plan to check this one out in IMAX soon. I know DC doesn’t have a great track record, and even if you aren’t a fan of the DCEU and you like what I listed above, you will have fun. Also, you really don’t need to see the other DCEU movies to enjoy this, so I highly recommend checking this one out.

An iconic character returns after 55 years, though 25 in movie land, Mary Poppins Returns does have the feel of the old movie, and also does take the majority of the beats from the old movie as well, and gives you a few different variations, so this movie is somewhat new yet very familiar. Enjoying this movie comes down to how much you are a fan of the original and also if you really enjoy musicals, if those are your things, then check this out, you will have a good time. (I will post a full review soon)

The last one I want to bring up is Mortal Engines. Unfortunately, because of an already crowded season, this is one I say you could pass, the visuals are amazing and the idea of moving cities are really cool, and there is a lot of potential, but it seems like the great story isn’t fully realized, which is unfortunate as the visuals are really cool. If you are still interested in seeing this, then go ahead and check, but if this didn’t really interest you, then you can pass.

I do plan to see Welcome To Marwen soon, and when I do, I will share my thoughts. Also, if you want more thoughts on the movies I listed above, I posted individual reviews for each one as I saw them. Thank you for reading.

Aquaman review

My experiences with the DC movies have been interesting to say the least. Obviously the Dark Knight trilogy was great, and there were other good movies, but let’s focus on the DCEU, which started with Man of Steel back in 2013. I liked Man of Steel, it wasn’t anything mind blowing, but it was a good movie. Batman V Superman was frustrating. Suicide Squad was forgettable. Wonder Woman was a great movie, in fact my favorite movie of the DCEU at this time. And then Justice League was entertaining, but didn’t really leave much of an impact. After Justice League, I really wasn’t excited for any more DCEU films. That changed earlier this year when I saw one of the trailers for Aquaman and we were shown glimpses of Atlantis and what kind of movie we were getting, even the trailer in early October shot up my anticipation levels even more.

As a member of Amazon Prime, I was able to get tickets to an early screening tonight. This movie was a blast, a very fun entertaining movie. The biggest highlight for me was the visuals. We are treated to an amazing world here, a giant smile could be found on my face as we were taken down to the world of Atlantis and we did a fly through the world. This is a dream for anyone that wants an overload on visuals in a movie, whether a spectacular world to visit or a ton of inventive action that is fun to watch. Great job James Wan for creating an amazing visual experience that comes together in such a tremendously awesome way. We are also treated to an adventure story where we go to a few different locations besides Atlantis that makes the film so much fun to experience. Along with the visuals, we were given a soundtrack that was really fun to listen to.

With the visuals we are treated with, we are given really good performances. Jason Mamoa as Aquaman is great here and is totally making the role his own. Along with Aquaman, we are given a ton of great characters and everyone is having a ton of fun in their roles and add to the visuals. Honestly it felt great to see everyone feel like they are having a fun time in the DCEU, which feels very refreshing, it’s like they took notes from Wonder Woman and saw where to improve. The story won’t blow the doors down, but it will keep you engaged throughout the movie and will help to drive the experience and make it worth it.

My hope at this point is that the DCEU improves to the point that we are very excited for the next entry. With the trailer for Shazaam, it looks like the DCEU is starting to add more fun into their movies, I just hope they continue to get better. The question may be whether you have to watch the other DCEU movies to get ready this, the answer is no, you don’t have to see any of the other DCEU movies to enjoy this or follow what is going on, you just have to go in wanting to have a fun time at the movies. You will get amazing visuals with a fun set of characters and a story that is good. This movie comes in as highly recommended.

Mortal Engines review

Back in December 2017, we were introduced to a teaser for this movie. It was simply a couple of cities on wheels, one huge one was chasing down another one and simply capturing it and devouring it, it was produced by Peter Jackson and that was it, I was intrigued, but my desire to see this really grew when I saw the next trailer which debuted in June of this year, and I was hyped and really thought that this would be the next big franchise that would blow everyone’s minds, this trailer had amazing visuals and it just looked awesome.

Forward to when I saw this, and I still hope that if a sequel happens to occur that they will be able to fix the problems with this. So lets start with the good, the visuals. The design of this world was cool, the idea was very intriguing and cool to look at. Someone made the mention that it kind of reminded them of Howls Moving Castle, and while I was watching this world, I couldn’t help but think of elements of a world that would be designed by Miyazaki himself, the scope just felt amazing. The first third of the movie was very engaging, especially at the beginning of the movie when London chases down one of the smaller cities, how it was edited together, I was just blown away, and at first I was thinking why were people panning this movie.

As the movie started to progress through the second half, I was starting to see the problems with the movie that everyone mentioned, how the dialogue had issues and how there were issues with pacing and the construction of the story. Keep in mind, I didn’t hate the story, or the script or the pacing, I recognized why they were problematic here. I was still able to enjoy this movie and had a fun time watching it, but I will admit by the time the third act of the movie was occurring, it was starting to lose steam and it wasn’t as entertaining as the first and second act of the movie were.

So the next question would be how are the characters in the movie. They were alright I guess, I felt they had potential, there was one character that was super awesome, Anna Fang. I thought the characters had a good set up at the beginning and had potential to have really great arcs, but then it just seemed like with everything else it started to lose steam. This movie had a great premise and a great set up that I think if they took more time to work out the kinks in the story and characters, I really think this could have been an amazing movie.

Overall, I am very glad I saw this on the big screen. If you go in recognizing that this movie has big flaws and are here for the visual feast, then I do think you can go into this movie and have a great time, but don’t go in expecting a story that will blow you away, just expect the visuals to do that, and they did and I was satisfied for that reason.