'Alita: Battle Angel' Star Rosa Salazar Updates On A Sequel, Encourages Fans To Help

I really liked James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez's Alita: Battle Angel, and I wasn't alone. While it wasn't a huge box office hit, those who saw it loved it to the tune of an "A-" Cinemascore. Unfortunately, the long-delayed $170M film only made $400M worldwide, so we haven't heard a lot about a sequel. That said, star Rosa Salazar is keeping hope alive and even has a plan to make it happen.

Here's a hint: it involves you spending more money.

Speaking with Slashfilm, Salazar says she would play Alita as long as she's able...

“I would play Alita ‘til my last breath,” Salazar said. “I would, and thanks to the performance capture technology, I probably could.”

When asked if she had heard anything, Salazar says no, but she does have an idea for how the fans can help encourage Disney...

“Not yet, but buy those Blu-rays,” Salazar said. “But no, I haven’t heard anything yet.”

Unlike before when Fox was calling the shots, Alita: Battle Angel now falls under the Disney banner and they have been very reluctant to move on some of the riskier projects they've acquired...

“Yeah, I mean, they had a crazy merger. People are gaining jobs, people are losing jobs. The whole Disney/Fox acquisition is so involved, this isn’t the right time for me to call Alan Horn and be like, ‘Hey bro, I know you got a lotta stuff going on, but like what about Alita 2?’”

Good luck with that, just don't lead with "Hey bro", okay? Because I think there's great potential in an Alita sequel, and hope it comes to be. If you're a fan, too, be sure to go and pick up one of those Blurays which are available in stores now.

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Review: 'Alita: Battle Angel', James Cameron's Manga Adaptation Kicks Robo-Butt

Finally, a live-action manga adaptation we can all get excited over. Alita: Battle Angel has been in the works for a long time, once aimed to be James Cameron's big 3D followup to Avatar. Then Cameron just couldn't quit Avatar and passed the reins, eventually, to Robert Rodriguez. During that time we've seen Hollywood try and fail repeatedly to with manga flicks Ghost in the Shell, Dragonball Evolution, and others. But all of those years spent by Cameron developing groundbreaking visual technology was worth the wait, because Alita: Battle Angel is a dazzling spectacle of kick-butt robo-action with a story that's surprisingly grounded and human.

Major props go to WETA Digital for creating one of the richest dystopian cyberpunk worlds we've ever seen. For once, it's worth it to plunk down the extra cash for the whole 3D experience, which should come as no surprise with Cameron's invaluable input. Alita: Battle Angel pops on the screen, and while there's an ample amount of CGI and motion-capture the surroundings are grounded and tactile. It's in the performances and characters where the hyper-surreal quality of manga comes into play.

The breakout star here is Rosa Salazar, probably best known for her role in the Maze Runner flicks. She plays the title character, a broken-up cyborg discovered in a scrap heap in the far-flung 26th-century. In this dystopian future the elites live in Zalem,  a glorious sanctuary high above the downtrodden in the slums of Iron City. Alita's savior is Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), who rebuilds her into a perfect little girl, christened after his own daughter. While Alita has a fully-functioning body of blood and steel, missing are memories of who she really is. However, within her core programming is the heart of a warrior and an ancient battle technique known only to an elite sect of androids.

There's a lot Alita: Battle Angel has going on, and the script by Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis piles it up with only a minimum of explanation. This is a setup movie, clearly, with a lot left to answered in future chapters if the franchise extends that far. But what we do get is full of awesome potential, realized in all of its stunning glory by Rodriguez. Alita is, as expected, naïve about the world and so much of the story is about her finding her way in the dangerous streets. There's the introduction of the sport Motorball, run by the mysterious Vector (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) who has designs on capturing Alita, using an army of paid bounty-hunting cyborgs of various degrees in quality. The people of Iron City have mostly allowed themselves to be transformed with any available tech. Some are pretty slick, like Ed Skrein's Mohawk-sporting hunter, while others are bulky and grotesque such as Jackie Earle Haley's behemoth. We're also introduced to Alita's first love interest, a charming rogue named Hugo (Keean Johnson), who has secrets of his own that could prove deadly. And of course, there's Alita's hidden past which frequently comes colliding with the present. You could make an entire movie out of what we learn about Alita, and a jaw-dropping interplanetary war that we only get glimpses of in flashback. Yes, I need that movie, please!

Because so much is being heaped on the viewer at once, the story turns out to be fairly generic. Rodriguez wrings a lot of energy out of it, though, with battles that are smooth and dynamic, unlike the CGI slop-fests we've seen far too often by other filmmakers. The battles are unrestrained and eye-popping, looking more like an episode of Dragonball Z than the live-action movie ever did.  While the idea of Motorball feels like relic from the Rollerball days, the sequences are fast, exciting, and very violent. I would go so far to say they're too violent for kids, no matter what the age rating on the film may be.

Technical aspects aside, Alita: Battle Angel would be nothing without Rosa Salazar, who makes us fall in love with Alita through her warmth, naivete, and fighting spirit. I love that they kept Alita's manga-inspired giant eyes, because they suit her as her eyes are opened to the unfamiliar world around her. Don't expect Oscar-level performances from Waltz, Ali, Haley, or Jennifer Connelly, though. All four look cool as shit, especially Ali and Waltz, the latter when he gets his fight on with a giant energy-hammer, but only Waltz's Dr. Ido feels important to the larger story. 

With the power of James Cameron behind it, I could see Alita: Battle Angel growing into a successful and long-running franchise.  There's so much story left to tell and so much about this universe that demands revisiting, and I can't wait to see the next step in Alita's evolution.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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'Alita: Battle Angel' Super Bowl Spot Delivers Amazing Cyborg Action

"I'd rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven", says Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the new Super Bowl spot for Alita: Battle Angel. It's not only my favorite part of this brief footage but one of the best lines in a movie I genuinely enjoyed. My review will be up in the morning, but for now take a look at the amazing visual effects on display from James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, the unlikely duo who teamed up to bring the classic manga to the big screen.

The film stars Rosa Salazar in the title role, a scrapped cyborg who is rescued by a doctor who rebuilds her into the most formidable fighting machine in a dystopian world.  Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Eiza Gonzalez, Jackie Earle Haley, and Keean Johnson co-star.

Here's the synopsis: From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.

Alita: Battle Angel opens February 14th. I'm a little concerned about projections it'll be a box office bomb. It doesn't deserve to go the route of Ghost in the Shell and I hope the good reviews will prevent that from happening.  I've included a behind-the-scenes featuring showing the incredible work done by WETA  Digital to build the movie's world.

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Review: 'Bird Box', Sandra Bullock Leads Netflix''s Terrifying But Familiar Survival Horror

That Sandra Bullock would be someone to turn to in a post-apocalyptic world shouldn't be a surprise. Tough and resilient is just what she does, right? In Netflix's survival horror Bird Box, Bullock's character Malorie isn't taking any shit. She can't afford to. Right from the very beginning she's informing two small children, Boy (Julian Edwards) and Girl (Vivien Lyra Blair) to do as she says, no exceptions. To disobey her is to die, and to disobey her would be to remove their blindfolds. What's out there that's so terrible everyone must shield their eyes at all times? We never truly know, and that's one of the most compelling and terrifying aspects of a film has thrills to spare, even if it borrows from a lot of familiar sources to make them happen.

Bird Box throws one mystery after another at you, with answers that are spooled out over the course of Malorie's five-year-long story. First, why don't the children with her have names? Second, what's out there that has them so spooked? And third, where is the blindfolded Malorie taking them in that rickety old boat up a dangerous river? Flashing back in time we see a pregnant, slightly happier Malorie. She still isn't so sure about wanting to keep the baby, despite what her upbeat sister (Sarah Paulson) has to say. The choice is basically taken out of Malorie's hands when the world suddenly goes to shit. It starts with a wave of suicides in another country, then spreads to the U.S. The ensuing carnage looks like something out of 28 Days Later.

It doesn't take long to figure out what's happening. There are creatures out there that can force anyone who lays sight on them to commit suicide. A woman in a hospital, happy one moment, bashes her head against a window the next. People throw themselves out of windows, or in front of cars, and those who aren't affected nearly trample one another to get away. Malorie is nearly stampeded herself, but manages to make her way into a nearby home, shared by a random group of strangers just as scared and confused as her. Well, except for John Malkovich's character, a rifle-toting jerk with no time for all of these people invading his space.

The Mist is arguably my favorite Stephen King adaptation, and I love Dawn of the Dead. Put a motley crew of folks in a contained space while all Hell breaks loose outside and I'm a happy moviegoer. So Bird Box was checking off all the boxes for me at this point, with a pregnant Malorie holed up with a powder keg of divergent personalities. Jacki Weaver plays a helpful older lady, with Lil Rey Howery as a wannabe writer of apocalyptic novels, Danielle Macdonald (of Netflix's recent comedy Dumplin') is a sweet and naïve pregnant woman, with Rosa Salazar, Colson Baker (aka rapper Machine Gun Kelly), and BD Wong as others trapped inside. Pretty great cast for Bullock to be surrounded with, but the most impressive by far is Moonlight and The Predator breakout, Trevante Rhodes. As Tom, he bonds with Malorie right away and soon becomes the person she leans on most. Rhodes' physicality is prominent, as always, but so is the sensitivity that made his performance in Moonlight such a showstopper. It's a great role for him, and he works very well opposite Bullock.

Oscar and Emmy-winning director Susanne Bier (In A Better World, The Night Manager) ventures into genre territory for the first time and she does a solid job building up tension both inside the house and during Malorie's treacherous trek along the river. A particularly good sequence involves the group venturing out into a darkened car to retrieve food, only to be assaulted by the creatures which we can barely make out in shadow, the car's GPS and proximity alerts going haywire the whole time. While we never see the actual creatures, a damn smart move, when they are near it causes the winds to swirl with their power. Only birds seem to recognize when an attack is near. With the help of Trent Rezor's ominous score, there are moments when Bird Box will have you gripping the edge of your seat, although I suspect some will get a little stir crazy at the overlong homebound portion. As the creatures' power expands, more human threats emerge that I wish could have been explained in greater detail.

I'm not sure fracturing the narrative proved to be a storytelling strength for Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer, however. In most cases it's done so that events from the past can add modern context but all it did for me was telegraph who wasn't going to survive staying in that house. The two halves don't make for a cohesive whole, even if Bird Box's individual parts scratch the itch for those looking for multiplex-worthy scares they can watch from the comfort of home.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer: Robert Rodriguez And James Cameron Bring The Manga To Gorgeous Life

Once slated to open in December, James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez's manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel was moved to February 2019. While that may not be the sexiest date on the calendar it was probably the wisest move to keep the film from being overlooked by a crowded holiday slate of  family-friendly offerings and Oscar contenders. And now the latest trailer boasts the most impressive look at the action-packed film yet, which boasts some seriously gorgeous visuals.

It shouldn't come as a surprise the film looks beautiful. Rodriguez is the guy who gave us the groundbreaking noir of Sin City, working alongside Cameron who has been developing the visual technology on this project for years. The Maze Runner's Rosa Salazar gives a mo-cap performance as the titular cyborg who awakens in an unrecognizable future and must unlock the secrets of her past while escaping from dangerous forces connected to it. Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Keean Johnson, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Rodriguez, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., and Eiza Gonzalez make up a truly extraordinary cast.

Here's the synopsis: From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.

Alita: Battle Angel opens February 14th 2019.

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'The Kindergarten Teacher' Trailer: Maggie Gyllenhaal Obsesses Over A Child Prodigy

Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of the best at playing well-meaning but self-destructive women, and in her upcoming film The Kindergarten Teacher she looks to excel at it again. The drama debuted at Sundance earlier this year and I remember hearing rave reviews about her performance in a disturbing role. Netflix agreed and picked up the film soon after, and now the trailer is here and it looks fantastic.

Directed and written by Sara Colangelo and based on a 2004 Israeli drama, The Kindergarten Teacher stars Gyllenhaal as a teacher who is realizing that her job isn't all that it was supposed to be. She wants to mold and shape the young minds of the future, but she's more like a babysitter. All of that changes when she discovers that one of her students may be a prodigy, and when the child's father doesn't want to pursue that (think Chris Evans in Gifted), she goes to extreme, even dangerous measures to nurture his talent.

Also starring Parker Sevak, Anna Baryshnikov, Rosa Salazar, Michael Chernus, and Gael Garcia Bernal, The Kindergarten Teacher hits Netflix on October 12th.

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'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer Reveals Robert Rodriguez And James Cameron's Cyberpunk Adaptation

There hasn't been a ton of buzz surrounding Robert Rodriguez's Alita: Battle Angel, and I don't know if that's good or bad.  The previous trailer came out late last year, but you haven't heard the usual rumblings associated with American adaptations of classic manga/anime, like you did with Ghost in the Shell. A brand new trailer hit during Fox's panel at Comic-Con a few days ago, and again the response has been very muted.

The Maze Runner breakout Rosa Salazar stars as Alita, a warrior cyborg who must survive the streets of Iron City while also learning the truth of her mysterious past. The film co-stars Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Lana Condor, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., and Eiza Gonzalez. This is one of the best casts Rodriguez has ever worked with, and let's hope he and James Cameron, who co-wrote the script and produces, can create an imaginative world that matches the vibrancy of the graphic novels. If anybody can it's Rodriguez and Cameron.

Here's the synopsis: 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 opens December 21st.

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Review: 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' Sprints To A Satisfying Conclusion

The Maze Runner occupies an interesting place in YA history.  Arriving just as the already-tired genre was fading out, it managed to steal the mantle left behind by The Hunger Games that we all presumed was meant for Divergent. But after an on-set injury sidelined star Dylan O'Brien, the third film, titled The Death Cure, was delayed so long it arrives already feeling past its prime. Fortunately, promising director Wes Ball has used the hiatus to reclaim the pulse-pounding energy of the first movie, after its sequel The Scorch Trials, was something of a meandering mess.

All of these dystopian YA flicks kick off with a unique premise, in this case a bunch of boys and one girl trapped in a mysterious forest labyrinth. Then they all sort of devolve into "teens vs. tyrranical government" riffs, as war breaks out against the adults who are planning some nefarious scheme or another. These are, naturally, the least interesting parts of the story, but at least The Death Cure continually moves at a brisk space and has an impressive sense of scale, two things the first movie excelled at.

After a breakneck train sequence that owes a lot to Mad Max: Fury Road or The Fast & the Furious, Thomas (O'Brien), Newt (Thomas Brodie Sangster), Brenda (the awesome Rosa Salazar), Frypan (Dexter Darden), veteran rabble-rouser Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) and more rescue a bunch of imprisoned kids from the clutches of WCKD. It was revealed that WCKD, led by dour head honchos played by Patricia Clarkson and Aidan Gillen, has been harvesting special youths to find a cure for the Flare virus that has turned most of the population into zombie "Cranks". The rescue worked, but they didn't find their friend Minho (Ki Hong Lee), which means they'll have to bust in to WCKD's fortress city and find him.

The action is bigger than ever and more relentless, although at times it's also pretty damn silly. A chaotic, utterly unfathomable sequence involving a giant crane and a bus full of Gladers being about where things jump the shark. But I like Ball's visual eye, choreographing some truly stunning set pieces. He gets a lot of help from his cast, with O'Brien leading the way as the film's charismatic focal point. The only one who commands the screen better is Salazar, who as Brenda is the franchise's resident firecracker. Brenda's closeness to Jorge, and unrequited romantic interest in Thomas who still longs for the traitorous Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), make her the most fully-realized character of the bunch.  Others don't fare so well, like Walton Goggins as a disfigured walking McGuffin who plays a crucial, if extraordinarily convenient, role in the final battle.

There are plenty of surprises, including the return of a major character thought long dead, and an ending that is satisfying but leaves you wondering if there are more stories left to tell. If only Ball could have found a way to trim down that unforgiveable 142-minute runtime, I think more would be willing to run the Maze once again, perhaps adapting the other two novels in James Dashner's series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' Trailer: This Isn't About Mazes Anymore, Is It?

Remember when you couldn't go a day without there being some new YA franchise being launched? Twilight started it, The Hunger Games pretty much ended it, and others that have tried to start since, like Divergent, Beautiful Creatures, The Host, and others, have pretty much died on the vine. All except for The Maze Runner, which featured something those movies didn't have; a mostly-male cast, and a mystery unlike any other. Now after a delay so star Dylan O'Brien could recover from an injury, the trilogy wraps up with Maze Runner: The Death Cure, and a new trailer has arrived.

O'Brien is joined by Rosa Salazar (Also in the new Alita: Battle Angel trailer), Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Patricia Clarkson, Aidan Gillen, Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper, Walton Goggins, and more. Frankly, the synopsis can do a better job of explaining this thing than I ever could, but it's really not about mazes anymore, is it?

In the epic finale to the Maze Runner saga, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.

Directed by Wes Ball, Maze Runner: The Death Cure opens February 9th 2018.

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'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer: Robert Rodriguez & James Cameron Adapt The Classic Manga

I find it difficult to believe, even now as the first trailer has arrived, that Alita: Battle Angel is actually happening. In the works for years and initially one of the projects James Cameron was going to do before deciding his future was all about Avatar, it now finds him in a producer/co-writer capacity and Robert Rodriguez of all people in the director's chair. It's the biggest project of Rodriguez's career, even bigger than his Sin City movies, and it doesn't look like anything he's done previously.

Based on the cherished manga by Yukito Kishiro, the story centers on a broken down cyborg named Alita (played by Rosa Salazar, who is suddenly everywhere) who is discovered by and taken in by scientist Ido (Christoph Waltz) and raised as his daughter.  The whole thing takes place in a dystopian future where Alita's incredible fighting abilities prove useful. 

The trailer looks great, although Alita's giant manga eyes are super creepy, like one of those paintings from Waltz's Big Eyes movie.  I'm not sure how it'll play with audiences who may feel burned by American adaptations of Japanese manga after the disappointing Ghost in the Shell. 

Also starring Mahershala Ali, Keean Johnson, Eiza Gonzalez, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Michelle Rodriguez, Lana Condor, and Jackie Earle Haley, Alita: Battle Angel opens July 20th 2018. 

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'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' Trailer: Dylan O'Brien Races To The Finale

After the first couple Maze Runner movies came out in fairly rapid succession, the wait for the third, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, has been pretty long. When star Dylan O'Brien went down to a serious on-set injury it was a major setback, delaying its release almost a full year. But everything got rolling again, and now the first trailer is here to remind you this franchise still exists when others have fallen by the wayside.

Looking like a kid again rather than the hardened soldier he was in American Assassin, O'Brien leads the final chapter in Wes Ball's saga. Could I tell you what the heck is going on at this point? Hardly. The first film was terrific, offering a genuine puzzle to figure out mixed with some great action sequences. The sequel, 'The Scorch Trials', was less coherent and this new footage makes even less sense. But I trust it'll all come together in the end. Here's the synopsis:

In the conclusion to the Maze Runner trilogy, Thomas and the surviving Gladers prepare to face off against WCKD one last time as they fight to find a cure for the deadly disease known as The Flare that has wiped out most of the world. Friendships and loyalties will be tested and the fight against WCKD will also determine who will survive in the end.

Right. Gladers. WCKD. Okay, it's starting to come back to me a little bit.

Also starring Rosa Salazar, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Patricia Clarkson, Aiden Gillen, and Giancarlo Esposito, Maze Runner: The Death Cure opens January 26th 2018.

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Review: 'CHiPs' Starring Dax Shepard And Michael Pena

You know how when you’re skipping around cable stations, and you stop on TNT or FX and they’re showing a movie that you kind of forgot about, but it’s interesting enough that you stay on it for a couple minutes and think “yeah, this is alright.” You know those types of movies I’m talking about? You’re aware that they exist, but seem to entirely miss them in theaters without even trying, and then like four years later you come across copies of the DVD being sold for five dollars in one of those large wire discount bins at a gas station. You know what I mean? Well CHiPs is the latest addition to this very specific subgenre of mediocrity.

Inexplicably written and directed by Dax Shepard of all people, CHiPs is yet another hard-R buddy comedy adaptation of an old TV show, in the vein of 21 Jump Street, Starskey and Hutch, and the upcoming Baywatch. While nowhere near as intelligent or creative as either of the Jump Street movies, CHiPs is entertaining enough to fill an hour and a half, with a couple chuckles here and there and some interesting-enough action set pieces and chase scenes thrown in for good measure. It’s not an especially glowing endorsement, but considering how unwatchable the trailers made it seem, I was pleasantly surprised by how okay-ish CHiPs turned out to be.

The film tells the mismatched-cops-who-learn-to-accept-their-differences-and-be-bros story we’ve seen a thousand times before with a relatively straight face. Most of the humor (however unsuccessful it may be) comes from the actions taken by the buddy cop duo (Shepard and Michael Pena) as opposed to from them being a buddy cop duo. This is the key critical difference between CHiPs and Jump Street. The film is still raunchy enough to earn its R rating and disregard the intentions of the original series, but not bold enough to ever satirize it. Fortunately, though, Shepard keeps the film moving at a pretty fast pace. That, coupled with his on-screen chemistry with Pena, makes this a watchable, if uninspired, middle-of-the-road action movie. High speed chases and motorcycle stunts that are competently filmed will always be at least a little interesting, and this movie gets that right as well.

 As for the “comedy” part of this action-comedy… it’s honestly very weird how many of the jokes in CHiPs don’t land. There’s a lot of questionable, dated, and easy shots taken in the movie that I suppose were going for shock laughs, but instead just felt tone-deaf and out of touch. Gay-panic jokes without a satirical slant just can’t fly anymore, and this movie spends a great deal of time proving that point.

The cast is fine, I suppose. Shepard and Pena both play well off of each other and make their scenes together pretty fun to watch despite their less-than-comedic dialogue. Vincent D'Onofrio seems to be exerting the minimum amount of effort required to make his villain anything other than physically imposing, which is disappointing since just this past fall he gave such a great character performance in The Magnificent Seven. He very much still has the ability to transform himself and wow an audience, but he seems to just pick and choose when to make an effort. So, much like he did in Jurassic World, he decided not to be interesting here. Kristen Bell is also in this movie, which is a decision I would question if I didn’t know she was married to Dax Shepard. I suppose they got to have fun filming together, even if he didn’t write her a very good part.

Ultimately, CHiPs is just an incredibly underwhelming movie. It did not have to be made, and there is next to nothing in it that stands out or is at all memorable. It’s not bad. Really, it isn’t. I watched the whole thing and had no problem doing so. The issue is that it also isn’t very good. CHiPs is a movie that was made and is fine. That’s really all there is to say about it.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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Rosa Salazar Wins 'Battle Angel' Lead In James Cameron And Robert Rodriguez's Film

Not long after his record-breaking Avatar, James Cameron began toying around with the idea of directing an adaptation of manga/anime hit, Battle Angel Alita. Eventually those plans gave way to focus on a bunch of Avatar sequels instead, and Battle Angel fell to the background. But the film is still happening with Cameron producing and Robert Rodriguez directing, with an actress finally named to play the film's cyborg huntress.

Rosa Salazar, best known for her roles in YA flicks Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and The Divergent Series: Insurgent, has landed the lead role in Battle Angel. She beats out Maika Monroe, Bella Thorne, and Zendaya Coleman who had all been on the recent short list along with her.  This will be Salazar's biggest role yet, and considering she gave the most passionate performance in 'Scorch Trials' she should be just fine playing a female cyborg who is trained to be a lethal assassin after her recovery from a scrapyard.

The project still isn't green lit as 20th Century Fox looks to trim down the $175M+ budget. [Collider]

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Short List For James Cameron's 'Alita: Battle Angel' Emerges

 In the works seemingly forever, James Cameron's Alita: Battle Angel is nearing closer to a green light over at 20th Century Fox. Last fall we learned that Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) had come aboard to direct with Cameron producing, and now a short list of finalists to play the titular cyborg has been revealed.

Maika Monroe (It Follows), Bella Thorne (The DUFF), Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials), and Zendaya Coleman (Spider-Man: Homecoming) are in the running. The futuristic story centers on a female cyborg discovered in a scrap heap by a doctor and, using her learned martial arts training, becomes a deadly hunter of criminals. It's the kind of sexy, kick-ass role perfectly suited for a director like Rodriguez, and honestly any of these actresses would be a good fit for it. That said, Zenday's schedule on Marvel's Spider-Man movie could knock her out of contention.

A decade has passed since Cameron first started developing an adaptation of Battle Angel Alita, and for a while he had planned to direct it. But he's neck deep in four Avatar sequels and will be for the foreseeable future. Last we heard he had wanted to get this film rolling by 2017 and that seems to still be within reach, although he and Fox will have to figure out a way to slash the reported $175M+ budget first. [THR]

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Review: 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' Starring Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and More

Emerging out of the YA fog as a welcome diversion to...well, Divergent, was The Maze Runner, a film that relied more on an intriguing central mystery than silly teen love stories. It also had a fair share of running...running through tunnels, running through mazes, running away from robotic spider creatures. It certainly wasn't lacking for action, excitement, or diversity in cast, all positive aspects that carryover into the larger spectacle that is Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. But with the grander scale, 'Scorch Trials' trades that intimate mystery for more bullets, explosions, and unfortunately more similarity with its YA peers.

Picking up where the last film left off, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), and other former Gladers have escaped into the seemingly welcoming arms of a new group opposed to the evil organization WCKD. Their mysterious new benefactor is Janson (Game of Thrones' Aidan Gillen), who keeps them locked up for unclear reasons and is evasive with his answers. This immediately puts Thomas on edge, and it doesn't help that they're in what appears to be a prison along with hundreds of other kids rescued from similar mazes. While the others are satisfied to get a shower, a hot meal, and some new company, Thomas and mousy outcast Aris (Jacob Lofland) aren't sold. Kids are being selected to go to a supposed "paradise", which in sci-fi parlance means they aren't going anywhere good at all. It isn't long before Thomas discovers they're all just a bunch of lab experiments, and after a break-neck chase they escape out into "the scorch", the ravaged, desolate world outside.

The film assumes you remember everything that came before, such as the Gladers' apparent immunity to the Flare virus, which turns humans into snarling, predatory creatures known as Cranks.  Many questions that need to be answered are frustratingly buried in the sand, so director Wes Ball, working from a streamlined adaptation of James Dashner's novel, races from one thrilling chase to the next. While not as colorful and visually appealing as before, Ball manages to come up with truly inspired ways to build tension, from a claustrophobic underground chase to a harrowing escape up a crazy-angled skyscraper. Ball's use of kinetic camera movements and unusual perspectives is quickly becoming a trademark for the young filmmaker.

Falling into a similar trap that has hobbled other YA franchises, The Scorch Trials largely jettisons the Lord of the Flies-style aspect that helped set it apart in the first place. Also gone is that distinctly masculine energy and the conflicts raised by all that testosterone. Instead everyone seems to get along, more females are introduced (still no sexual dynamic to speak of), and the characters basically move from one deadly encounter with WCKD to the next.  That said, every hardship they face is thrilling, gripping stuff, especially when shady criminal Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) and adopted daughter Brenda (Rosa Salazar) enter the picture. Esposito is as cool as ever while adding a patriarchal note, while Salazar's tough-as-nails attitude dominates every scene she's in. She also brings just a little bit of romantic tension in a strange, Eyes Wide Shut-esque party scene featuring an oddball appearance by Alan Tudyk.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is only disappointing because the first film set the bar incredibly high, and expecting the sequel to measure up was perhaps unfair. There's still too much confusion surrounding the actual plot, but the film moves at a break-neck pace too fast for you to care.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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New Trailer and Character Posters for 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'

20th Century Fox is banking a lot on Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and why shouldn't they? The first film debuted last year and quickly overshadowed the much starrier Divergent. While it hasn't quite reached The Hunger Games territory, with that franchise coming to an end there's definitely room for a new YA champion to emerge. A couple of weeks ago at Comic-Con a brand new, incredibly intense trailer debuted, and now it has been released online along with six character posters.

The images feature returning stars Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Kong Lee, and Kaya Scodelario along with newcomers Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones, Furious 7), and Rosa Salazar (who also has a role in the Divergent sequels). Wes Ball returns to direct the film which has the Gladers investigating the world outside of the Maze and the mysterious organization known as WCKD.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens September 18th.

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Giancarlo Esposito, Rosa Salazar, and Jacob Lofland Join 'The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'

After only a couple of weeks The Maze Runner has amassed $161M, not too shabby when one takes in the minuscule $30M budget. That's the kind of money that gets sequels moving, and we know director Wes Ball, Dylan O'Brien, and the cast will be returning for the next film, The Scorch Trials, with a few new additions joining them.

Giancarlo Esposito, who played Gus Fring on Breaking Bad but will always be known for his roles in Do the Right Thing and School Daze, has joined The Scorch Trials as Jorge, a pilot for the secretive WICKED organization. Also coming aboard are a couple of younger actors. Jacob Lofland (Mud) will play Aris Jones, a telepathic boy with ties to WICKED's creation, and Rosa Salazar (Insurgent) is Brenda, a key character holding on to a big secret. They join Aiden Gillan who was recently cast as Janson, the story's primary villain.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens September 18th 2015.

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