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Wallace & Gromit Querkles
Book
Thomas Pavitte's amazing Querkles are an exciting twist on the classic colour-by-number images that...
Arduino in Action
Martin Evans, Mark Sproul, Joshua Noble and Jordan Hochenbaum
Book
* Easy to use reference guide * Uses real-world examples * Useful for beginning and advanced users...
Fury From the Tomb (The Institute for Singular Antiquities, #1)
7.0
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Book
Mummies, grave-robbing ghouls, hopping vampires, and evil monks beset a young archaeologist, in this...
David McK (3495 KP) rated Atlas (2024) in Movies
Dec 28, 2024 (Updated Dec 28, 2024)
I don't know about you, but when I hear of a J-Lo movie I tend to think of Rom-Coms.
Or her music career.
Not of what is, essentially, a version of the 1980s FASA miniatures game "Battletech" or the "MechWarrior" series if computer game spins offs.
Which is more-or-less what this feels like, with J-Lo's character in the future - who distrusts all technology - trapped inside the cockpit of a mobile armoured fighting robot (Gundam, perhaps, as another touchstone, or even Armoured Core) and needing to interact with the AI of said suit whilst on a mission to another planet to hunt down rogue AI - that she has a personal connection with - that attempted to commit genocide against the human race.
Actually better than I thought it would be, but unlikely to win any awards!
Or her music career.
Not of what is, essentially, a version of the 1980s FASA miniatures game "Battletech" or the "MechWarrior" series if computer game spins offs.
Which is more-or-less what this feels like, with J-Lo's character in the future - who distrusts all technology - trapped inside the cockpit of a mobile armoured fighting robot (Gundam, perhaps, as another touchstone, or even Armoured Core) and needing to interact with the AI of said suit whilst on a mission to another planet to hunt down rogue AI - that she has a personal connection with - that attempted to commit genocide against the human race.
Actually better than I thought it would be, but unlikely to win any awards!
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
Feb 20, 2019
Good visuals, not much else to recommend it
A few of my loyal readers recommended that I check out ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL in the biggest screen I could find, and in 3D. And...I'm glad I did for this film is a visual feast for the eyes, filled with eye-popping CGI and an interesting futuristic world on which the events of the film take place.
Unfortunately...that is all that there is to this film, for the rest of the movie does not live up to the fantastical elements laid forth visually.
Adapted to the screen from filmmakers James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is a combination of the first 4 of Yukito Kishiro's series of 9 manga books, and (hopefully) the first in a trilogy of films that follows a robot, Alita, who is put back together by the mysterious Dr. Ido. When she awakens, she does not know what her past was, but as events transpire, it soon becomes apparent that Alita is much more than the sweet, young girl robot that her outward appearance would suggest.
Rosa Salazar is winning enough as the completely CGI creation of Alita, but no so charismatic that she can carry the film on her own, she will need help - and that's where this film falls down. Christoph Waltz is mediocre in the underwritten part of Dr. Ido. Instead of being interesting and mysterious, he is bland and boring. I'm beginning to think that Waltz needs the words of Quentin Tarantino to shine (because he does shine in Tarantino films) but is just so-so when speaking someone else's lines. Jennifer Connelly is wasted as Ido's ex-wife, somehow connected to the power elite of the Universe and Marashala Ali (who will soon win his 2nd Oscar) is completely shutdown and "one-note" as the big bad guy. Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley (completely unrecognizable in voice or character as the CGI bad guy Grewishka) and Keean Johnson are all very forgettable as others in this world. Only Jeff Fahey (as a robot-Cowboy bounty hunter) is able to jump off the screen with what is the beginnings of an interesting character.
The battles, races, action and plot twists and turns are all "standard issue", pretty predictable and unsurprising. It is clear that Cameron and Rodriguez were so focused on the CGI and world building that they did not spend enough time on the plot, dialogue or pacing. And that's too bad, for besides the impressive visuals and graphics (and they are impressive), there is not much else to recommend from this film.
Letter Grade: B- (for the visuals)
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Unfortunately...that is all that there is to this film, for the rest of the movie does not live up to the fantastical elements laid forth visually.
Adapted to the screen from filmmakers James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is a combination of the first 4 of Yukito Kishiro's series of 9 manga books, and (hopefully) the first in a trilogy of films that follows a robot, Alita, who is put back together by the mysterious Dr. Ido. When she awakens, she does not know what her past was, but as events transpire, it soon becomes apparent that Alita is much more than the sweet, young girl robot that her outward appearance would suggest.
Rosa Salazar is winning enough as the completely CGI creation of Alita, but no so charismatic that she can carry the film on her own, she will need help - and that's where this film falls down. Christoph Waltz is mediocre in the underwritten part of Dr. Ido. Instead of being interesting and mysterious, he is bland and boring. I'm beginning to think that Waltz needs the words of Quentin Tarantino to shine (because he does shine in Tarantino films) but is just so-so when speaking someone else's lines. Jennifer Connelly is wasted as Ido's ex-wife, somehow connected to the power elite of the Universe and Marashala Ali (who will soon win his 2nd Oscar) is completely shutdown and "one-note" as the big bad guy. Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley (completely unrecognizable in voice or character as the CGI bad guy Grewishka) and Keean Johnson are all very forgettable as others in this world. Only Jeff Fahey (as a robot-Cowboy bounty hunter) is able to jump off the screen with what is the beginnings of an interesting character.
The battles, races, action and plot twists and turns are all "standard issue", pretty predictable and unsurprising. It is clear that Cameron and Rodriguez were so focused on the CGI and world building that they did not spend enough time on the plot, dialogue or pacing. And that's too bad, for besides the impressive visuals and graphics (and they are impressive), there is not much else to recommend from this film.
Letter Grade: B- (for the visuals)
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies
May 21, 2019
This was a good film (except for the scenes I couldn't see that included a certain wrestler.)
The Transformer movies have steadily slid into convoluted messes of CGI and plot holes. So, heading into this one I didn't know what to expect. This still had the robot fighting action you expect but seemed to take a step back from the other films and focus on a well-written story. Hailee Steinfeld is good in her role. She along with the ET-esque Bumblebee carry the heart of the film and force the audience to care about the "Robots in Disguise," something earlier films in the series seemed to have forgotten about. John Cena is also decent in his role. Overall, it's a cute and fun story of loss and rising from the ashes of that loss to return to life again. In my opinion the best one in the series.
Ripley's Believe it or Not! 2017
Book
The Ripley's Believe It or Not! annual has now firmly established itself as a Christmas must-have,...
The Door into Summer
4.0
Rate It
Book
A popular and enduring time travel tale by one of science fiction's all-time greats When Dan Davis...
David McK (3495 KP) rated Foxtrot Hotel (Harriet Walsh #4) in Books
May 23, 2021
Entry #4 in Simon Haynes's 'Harriet Walsh' series; a series which I actually started reading after picking up Hal Spacejock (sometimes also known as A Robot Named Clunk) and was completely unaware that the two characters would cross-over in later books (I haven't reached that point yet in either series).
Unlike the previous entry in the series - Sierra Bravo - (which is pretty much a siege story), this is back to being more of a whodunnit, with Harriett and the Peace Force (what there is of them ... ) investigating when a dead body turns up at her favourite beauty spot, which just so happens to be about to face an important governmental vote on whether it can have an apartment complex built on it ...
Competent? Yes.
Enjoyable enough? Yes.
A few unforeseen twists and turns? Hmmm ... that depends upon how familiar with the genre you are!
Unlike the previous entry in the series - Sierra Bravo - (which is pretty much a siege story), this is back to being more of a whodunnit, with Harriett and the Peace Force (what there is of them ... ) investigating when a dead body turns up at her favourite beauty spot, which just so happens to be about to face an important governmental vote on whether it can have an apartment complex built on it ...
Competent? Yes.
Enjoyable enough? Yes.
A few unforeseen twists and turns? Hmmm ... that depends upon how familiar with the genre you are!