4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alita: Battle Angel

 

Alita is a 2019 Sci-Fi/Action film starring Rosa Salazar, Keean Johnson, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connely, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley. The story is set in the 2500s in a dystopian future that develops after what is called "The Fall" which is (as you learn if you watch the bonus material) a war between Earth and Mars (after humans colonize Mars). Almost all the humans left on Earth live either in Iron City or a city that floats above it called Zalem. It is partly an origin story for Alita, who wakes up with no memory of who she is, and partly the story of a class system post-apocalypse, with some cyborg bounty hunters thrown in.

The movie is based on a series of Japanese graphic novels that began in the mid-1990s. It mixes action with some drama and even a few comedic moments. James Cameron wrote a very long script from the graphic novels, then passed it off to Robert Rodriguez to make it a movie-length script and direct the movie when Cameron decided to focus on Avatar and the sequels. I have never seen the graphic novels or the anime series, so I don't know how well this stacks up versus those. However, Cameron (at least from what is revealed in the bonus material) kept pretty close to the source material.

The 4k set is a three-disc set that includes a UHD disc, a 3D Blu-Ray disc, and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc and the 3D Blu-Ray just contain the movie, and the regular Blu-Ray has the movie and the bonus material. The film looks great in 4K, and you get a ton of bonus features (somewhere around two hours worth) made up of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, as well as animated featurettes that give a bit of backstory that was not put in the movie to keep it at a reasonable (2hr) running time. The movie is CGI-heavy, using much of the same motion-capture effects used on Avatar, so everything looks pretty seamless.

I cannot say the movie will appeal to everyone. But, if you like post-apocalyptic action movies, this one has good acting and writing and tells a more nuanced story. The creators definitely left the door open for a sequel (and there is more than enough source material), but given that it was not exactly a box-office smash, there is no guarantee that others will be made. They did an excellent job with the film if it does end up just being a stand-alone movie. Given, however, that James Cameron can get any film he wants to be made, there is a good possibility that at least one more movie will result from this one. This is not a film you can have on in the background while doing other things and follow easily. You must pay attention to the movie to understand what is going on. But if you have a couple of hours to kill and are looking for a good action movie, it is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Requiem For a Dream

 

Requiem For a Dream is a 2000 drama directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans, and Christopher McDonald. It is a movie about the power of addiction and the hold that varying addictions (drugs for most of the characters and TV and looking perfect for another) have over people. While all the actors turn in great performances, Burstyn, Leto, and Connelly give powerhouse performances, especially Connelly, whose character basically does anything for her next fix. All the characters end up in a downward spiral that ruins their lives by the movie's end. It is very over the top and similar in style and tone to other films by Darren Aronofsky, such as Black Swan, Mother, and The Fountain.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds excellent in the UHD format. The restoration of the 20-year-old film was done very well, and it looks as good as many of the physical media releases of newer movies. The extras are partly carried over from the original Blu-Ray and DVD release. A few new extras (such as an interview with Ellen Burstyn) were made for the 20th-anniversary release.  Overall, it is not a film that will appeal to everyone. That, however, is par for the course with Aronofsky's films, especially the really out-there ones. That said, if you are a fan of his movies like Black Swan and The Fountain, I think this one is worth checking out.

DVD/Movie Review: The Hot Spot

 

The Hot Spot is a 1990 crime-drama combined with an erotic thriller directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Don Johnson, a young Virginia Madsen, and a very young Jennifer Connelly. Johnson plays Harry Maddox, a drifter who takes a job as a car salesman in a small town in Texas. When he learns that everyone who works at the town bank is a volunteer firefighter, he sets a fire to get everyone out of the bank so he can rob it. He is then blackmailed by the wife of the car dealership's owner (Madsen) with whom he is having an affair, despite falling for the secretary at the dealership, Gloria (Connelly) who is herself being blackmailed by a character played by William Sadler.

There are several editions of the movie out there, both on DVD and blu-ray. I have the DVD that is a French import, and the only extra on that version is a trailer for the movie. Some versions have cast interviews and a commentary track, so it will vary. One thing that you get from the import version versus the versions widely available in the US is that the sex scenes are less edited in the import version. They are not explicit, of course, but they tend to be longer and have less edited out. 

Overall, I would say that the movie is good, but not great. It is definitely a bit outdated now, and probably would not be made the same way today as it was then. There is a lot of sex and nudity, and pretty much everyone in the movie chain smokes throughout. So, it is not exactly family-friendly. It also happens to be the first (and only) movie in which Connelly has done a topless scene (and they are spectacular), but Madsen was topless much more in the movie than Connelly.