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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Deep Scar Vol. 01 in Books

Sep 3, 2019  
Deep Scar Vol. 01
Deep Scar Vol. 01
Rosella Sergi | 2019
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's been several years since I last read a manga book but the cover art style reminded me of the handful of series' that I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd give this a go.

It starts with Sofia moving into a new apartment as she heads off to University and meeting her room-mate, Veronica, for the first time. They are complete opposites. Then we have Lorenzo, Veronica's close friend who's always in and out of their room.

He is a little tormented by something in this volume and continuously pushes Sofia away while always doing nice things for her. I have a feeling they knew each other in the past considering that little bit of a cliff-hanger ending. You can clearly see that something is going to happen between them in future volumes but I don't think it will be without issues.

I loved the little images used as chapter breaks, and the chapter starts with the individual characters on them were pretty cool, too. As was the bonus content with the profiles of the characters at the end.

Some parts of the storyline seemed a little OTT, like her parents reaction to what her room-mate looked like, but I'm assuming their reaction will be explained in future issues.

I will keep my eye out for future volumes of this.
  
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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies

Jan 22, 2021  
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
2019 | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
7
7.4 (95 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Robert Rodriguez is not a good director. He isn’t an especially good writer or producer either. This is the guy responsible for four Spy Kids films, that start below average and downgrade exponentially into excruciatingly awful. What he is pretty good at is ideas, and seeing the potential of something visually arresting and exciting. That is what led to the success of Sin City, arguably his best effort to date, because he saw how the comic book creations of Frank Miller could become live action and he made it happen.

Alita: Battle Angel is a similar deal. This time Yukito Kishiro’s early 90s manga creation is the inspiration. With James Cameron as producer, and the considerable talents of Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali onboard, it would have been pretty hard for even Rodriguez to mess this up entirely. Although at times he does seem to try, mostly by doing too much and making certain sections too busy and too confusingly cross-genre, like he is frantically trying to colour within the lines whilst using every felt-tip in the pack. A habit that means every now and again something great happens, but you may have missed it in all the background noise.

Compare this film, that just falls short of qualifying for my Bad Movie Triple Bill list, to Spielberg’s superior yet similarly busy Ready Player One. Both involve high concept future realities that are very tech and AI driven. Both make extensive use of CGI and vivid colour palettes. Both are frenetic and demand an audience pays attention in order to fully appreciate the storyline. The difference is that one zig-zags back and forth in tone and momentum, and one is razor sharp in moving us from one idea to the next on a perfect learning curve towards a satisfying climax and conclusion. Guess which one is which? This is why Spielberg is Spielberg and Rodriguez is… a hack.

That said, Alita as a character and concept is charming, and you do therefore find yourself at least wanting to discover her story. The action scenes are also quite electric, and the visuals are often breath-taking. But the whole is less than the sum of the parts here, and we are left with something that can only really exist in the same box as dozens of admirable sci-fi B-movies aimed at teenagers, such as The Maze Runner, Mortal Engines and The City of Ember. It also continues to prove the point alongside Ghost in the Shell and Speed Racer that Anime / Manga into live action is a very tricky business.

There is definitely an audience out there for this movie, and I dare say at some point I will be tempted to give it another watch. What is definitely worth watching however, is how James Cameron uses this as a stepping stone to perfecting virtual humans on the big screen. I am sure everyone involved learned a lot in that respect, so all is far from lost.