Tag Archives: Christoph Waltz

Alita: Battle Angel Trailer #2 (2018) *From James Cameron & Robert Rodriguez*

Fox has released the second trailer for Alita: Battle Angel (or “The Adventures of Creepy Big-Eyes).  It’s kind of odd that it wasn’t showcased at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con.  Aside from a Deadpool 2 panel Fox really didn’t have much of a presence at the con.  With the studio’s acquisition by Disney now all but a matter of contracts, Fox finds itself at a crossroads.  Alita is definitely an F/X showcase and I thought the second trailer was an improvement over the ponderous and wistful first trailer.  This movie was initially supposed to come out last weekend and we’ll have to see in December if the delay was to get the kinks out or to put off a bomb.  More below from Coming Soon.


Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (Avatar) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) create a groundbreaking new heroine in Alita: Battle Angel, an action-packed story of hope, love, and empowerment. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in.

Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories. A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.

Alita: Battle Angel also stars Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the December 21, 2018 release features a screenplay by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and Rodriguez. Based on the graphic novel series Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel is produced by Cameron and Jon Landau.
Rosa Salazar in Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel Trailer #1 (2018) *Will Hollywood Finally Get Anime Right?*

*Text from The Verge
For more than a decade, James Cameron was working on an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s manga Battle Angel Alita, before handing off directing duties to Spy Kids / Machete / Sin Citydirector Robert Rodriguez. That project is finally moving forward: Alita: Battle Angel is scheduled to hit theaters next year, and today, 20th Century Fox released an initial trailer, in which its main character falls squarely into the uncanny valley. Continue reading Alita: Battle Angel Trailer #1 (2018) *Will Hollywood Finally Get Anime Right?*

Downsizing Trailer #2 (2017) *Go Big By Going Small*


I hated Nebraska and Sideways and was wishy-washy on The Descendants, but Alexander Payne’s new concept for Downsizing is so clever, I’m curious.  I want this to be good, but I will put a SPOILER WARNING on this trailer because I think it gives away a major plot twist it didn’t need to, so be forewarned.

Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution to over-population, Norwegian scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global transition from big to small. People soon realize how much further money goes in a miniaturized world, and with the promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha in order to get small and move to a new downsized community — a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.  Directed by two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne (Nebraska, The Descendants, Sideways) from a screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, Downsizing arrives in theaters on December 22.
Downsizing-Matt-Damon-Kristen-Wiig-1200x520

Downsizing Trailer #1 (2017) *Go Big By Going Small*

* Text from Coming Soon
Following the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Paramount Pictures has released the full trailer for Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, his long-in-development sci-fi shrinking comedy starring Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Saving Private Ryan) and Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters, Saturday Night Live). Check out the Downsizing trailer in the player below!

Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution to over-population, Norwegian scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global transition from big to small. People soon realize how much further money goes in a miniaturized world, and with the promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha in order to get small and move to a new downsized community — a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.

The cast also includes Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds), Hong Chau (Inherent Vice, Treme), and Jason Sudeikis (We’re the Millers, Saturday Night Live).

Directed by two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne (Nebraska, The Descendants, Sideways) from a screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, Downsizing arrives in theaters on December 22.
Downsizing-Matt-Damon-Kristen-Wiig-1200x520

Movie Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) *Or Why Belgium Sucks*

The Legend of Tarzan, Tarzan, Alexander Skarsgard, Jane, Margot Robbie
Over the last two decades there have been some extremely successful reinventions of classic characters for the modern age: Zorro, Batman, Sherlock Holmes,  James Bond, etc.  All of these stay true to the heart of what made the character great to begin with, but ground the character in a practical sensibility that make them relatable to today’s audience.  I’m guessing this was the intent with Tarzan, the Lord of the Jungle, made famous through the stories of Edgar Rice Borroughs.  Tarzan was a staple of early Hollywood, probably most famously played by Johnny Weissmuller, but with the exception of the Disney animated feature in the late 1990’s, no one has tried to bring Tarzan back to his big screen roots in a long time.  After The Legend of Tarzan, I think it will probably be a long time before anyone else gives it another shot. Continue reading Movie Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) *Or Why Belgium Sucks*