Day 267: Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Photoshop

When you reach the fifth installment in anything (movies, books, video games, meals) you already have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen. You could never see a Friday The 13^th movie, but you already know who Jason Voorhees is and what he looks like. It's important to keep things fresh while not straying too far from the formula that got the movie where it is in the first place. It's a fine line to walk and not always the easiest. Once again, look at Friday the 13^th: They ran out of ideas and eventually shot Jason in space just to give him something else to do. The Hellraiser series is the worst offended, eventually sending Pinface and the rest of the Cenobites into cyberspace. The point is, it actually takes effort and love to make a movie entertaining and relevant when it's already been done multiple times.

Resident Evil: Retribution is the fifth installment of the Resident Evil horror/action series starring Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Ultra Violent) as Alice. After a brief recap of the past 4 movies, which you can read reviews of here, here, and here) the movie picks up where Resident Evil: Afterlife left off. I strongly suggest you read the other reviews first, because this one will be hard to follow if you don't know what occurs in those movies). After being attacked on the rescue ship “Arcadia”, Alice wakes up in a surburban home, married to the supposedly dead Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Mummy) and mother to a hearing-impaired girl named Becky (Aryana Engineer, Orphan). Their perfect world is quickly shattered when zombies swarm their neighborhood, killing Carlos. Alice and Becky flee into the street and get a ride from the long-dead Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez, Resident Evil, Machete). They are hit by a truck and Alice and Becky run into a house, trying to hide from the zombies. It is revealed that all the people involved in this scenario are just clones. The real Alice awakens inside an Umbrella Corporation base and is interrogated by a mind-controlled Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Eragon). The Red Queen, the computer program created by Umbrella, is determined to recapture Alice or kill her if necessary. During a power failure, Alice escapes her cell and arrives in what appears to be Tokyo. She fights off a horde of zombies and manages to escape into a control room. There she meets Umbrella rogue agent Ada Wong (Li Bingbing, 1911, The Knot) who has teamed with Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts, Resident Evil: Afterlife Diary Of The Dead) to fight the Red Queen and her zombie hordes. Wesker reveals that the Umbrella base is actually underwater and ice in Russia and that a team has been dispatched to meet her. The team is made up of Leon Kennedy, Barry Burton and Luther West (Boris Kodjoe, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Gospel). The base is a training ground, complete with human clones, used to show governments the effects of Umbrella's biological weapons in urban settings. Alice and Ada must travel through multiple areas to meet the group and escape. After going through New York City and fighting to Axemen, Alice and Ada arrive in the suburbs and find Becky still alive. Becky believes that this Alice is her mother and is unaware that she is actually a clone. They have to fight off “bad” clones of Rain, Carlos, and James “One” Shade (Colin Salmon, Resident Evil, Punisher: War Zone). Ada is captured with Alice and Becky escaping with the “good” Rain into Moscow. There they meet up with their rescue group and try to escape the compound. Will they be able to stop the Red Queen and escape in time?

"Ugh, nothing gets zombie blood out!"

In the era of reboots and sequels, it is actually impressive that Resident Evil has managed to last this long with the same actors and actresses. It's always good to see a movie, far into it's story, recognize past events and characters and Retribution does this in spades. We get characters and references to every movie and video games as well. As I've sad before, I'm not much of a video game player, but I was still able to pick up on some references, such as a chainsaw-wielding zombie in the Moscow scene. Of course, if you don't know anything about the video games, this comes off as completely random. Cool, but random. Speaking of video games, Retribution is completely laid-out like a video game, complete with different levels and even end bosses. The previous movies all had a similar feel, but this one was the most obvious. Of course, this did allow the movie to show zombie outbreaks in fun and different locations. We've seen zombie Nazis in Dead Snow and Zombie Lake and now Resident Evil: Retribution has given us zombie Soviets. Ever wanted to see a zombie invasion in Times Square? Well now you can. I should mention that by setting scenes in Times Square and Tokyo, there is a lot of in-movie advertisements. It's a little obvious and slightly annoying to see a giant “Gamestop” sign in the middle of a video game movie. We get it.

Must...kill...Alice...weee!!!

The fifth movie in a zombie action movie is never going to be Citizen Kane. The writers know this, director Paul W.S. Anderson knows this, and the audience knows this. More attention is placed on great action sequences and stunning visual effects than a cohesive, complex story. Survival is the theme with lots of guns and explosions. While previous Resident Evil movies strayed from the original zombie path, Retribution makes up for it with one of the best zombie invasion scenes in recent memory. It's undoubtedly similar to the opening from the Dawn Of The Dead remake, but if you're going to be like a zombie movie, you couldn't do much better. Certain scenes or character motivations are questionable and require some willing suspension of disbelief. The fight scenes are the usual high-octane, popcorn-movie fodder full of unbelievable jumps and twists. The final fight scene, while fun to watch, goes on for way too long, especially when you find out that the movie doesn't end when they finish.

Well, I guess it's good she's wearing red

Milla Jovovich is as good as ever and I believe she is one of this generation's best action stars. I'm glad she has stuck with the Resident Evil series as her personality and ability plays well in these over-the-top scenarios. If they stuck someone else in her role, it just wouldn't work. The supporting cast is just as good, fitting into their characters well. This was Li Bingbing's first role in an American movie, much to my surprise, since she seemed so natural in her role. The movie is in both 2D and 3D, but I saw the 2D version. I am not particularly interested in the 3D gimmick and have only seen 3D movies when no other option was available. You can definitely tell in the 2D version which scenes were meant for 3D with all sorts of things flying at the screen in super slow-motion. Director Paul W.S. Anderson picks up where he left off in the previous movie with tons of fluid action and heavily computerized effects. We get all sorts of different angles to capture the action and plenty of slow-motion so we can see every shot and punch.

It's like a family reunion, but with way more guns (or way less, depending on your family)

If you've seen any previous Resident Evil movie, you pretty much know what you're going to get with Retribution. The movie is a believer in “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” It is full of violence, action, blood, and a dash of intrigue and science fiction. This movie does a good job of giving nods to previous movies thanks to the inclusion of Michelle Rodriguez, Siena Guillory, Boris Kodjoe, Colin Salmon, and Oded Fehr. Milla Jovovich is very good, as always, and the supporting cast helps keep the movie going when she isn't on screen. There are also a few scenes taken from the video game series, but I'm sure hardcore gamers picked up more than I did. It was fun to get new characters like Ada Wong and Leon Kennedy, though I would have liked a little more background information on them. Retribution uses more zombies than in previous installments and uses them well. While you may not be enthralled by the uncomplicated story, you'll still enjoy all the action and violence. It's a Resident Evil movie, what more can you expect?

7/10

Day 166: Silent Hill

Silent Hill

At least she doesn't have to go to the dentist

As I've said in my Resident Evil reviews, I'm not much of a gamer. It's not that I don't like video games. I actually like them a lot. I have fond memories of playing Nintendo and Super Nintendo as a kid. It's just one of those things where new systems are always coming out and they're all expensive and blah blah blah. Some people take their gaming very seriously, with their special gaming chairs, headsets, and all sorts of accessories. Many of those same people take their horror movies very seriously. When a famous video game is made into a movie, heads explode in anticipation and usually disappointment. Just ask the Super Mario Brothers movie or the Double Dragon movie. The Resident Evil franchise has done well on the big screen, so why not try a video game that is truly scary.

Silent Hill is a 2006 adaptation of a video game by the same name starring Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black, Man on Fire) as Rose Da Silva. Rose's adopted daughter Sharon suffers from sleepwalking and speaks of a place called “Silent Hill”. Silent Hill is a ghost town, vacated after a coal fire that continues to burn after 30 years. Against her husband Christopher's (Sean Bean, The Lord Of The Rings, Black Death) wishes, Rose drives with Sharon to West Virginia in hopes that visiting the town will bring her some sort of clarity. As they approach Silent Hill, police officer Cybil Bennet (Laurie Holden (The Mist, The Walking Dead) pursues them. Rose speeds towards the town when a little girl appears in the road. She swears to avoid the girl, who disappears, and crashes her car. When she wakes, Sharon is gone and Rose realizes she has made it to Silent Hill. It looks like it is snowing, but it is in fact ashes falling from the sky. Rose meets a woman named Dahlia Gillespie who talks about her own daughter Alessa being abused by the town and alludes that both of their daughters are the same person. Rose tries to get back to her car, but Cybil handcuffs her and they search for the road out of town. They are attacked by an armless, faceless creature that spits black acid out of it's chest. They explore the town in search of Sharon and fight off various deformed monsters while Christopher scours the town with officer Thomas Gucci. Rose and Cybil seek refuge in the town church while the monster Pyramid Head tears a woman apart. The church is home to a religious cult led by Christabella (Alice Krige, Deadwood, Stay Alive). Rose escapes, but Cybil and Sharon are captured It is revealed that Christabella and her followers believed Alessa to be a witch and burned her, which accidentally set the town aflame. Alessa survived, but her pain and rage led the the creation of her dark side while Sharon is the manifestation of the last of her light. Alessa must gain her revenge and enters Rose's body. Will Rose be able to save Sharon and help Alessa gain some measure of peace?

I never miss the Hot Ladies With Short Blonde Hair convention

Video games are becoming more and more like movies, so you might think that a video game actually becoming a movie would be easy. Horror is a good genre for the transition to occur, but it's still hard to pull off. I've never played Silent Hill before, so I'm not going to compare and contrast the differences. While Resident Evil was a zombie movie, it focused more on action scenes and guns. Silent Hill is a crazy monster video game and it's a crazy monster movie. The monsters are very scary looking and unlike typical horror movie creatures. They are the stuff out of nightmares and the entire makeup and effects team deserve a lot of praise. The look completely inhuman and make the film far scarrier. If you're like me and unfamiliar with the video game, you won't know who these monsters are. I don;t think they ever referred to the monster Pyramid Head by name and if they did, I missed it. I only know his name because I've seen clips of the game. I don't need the names and origin stories of every monster, but a little hint now and then would have gone a long way.

Speaking of long, this movie is far too long, clocking in at about 2 hours. There was no need for the movie to be this long. There are a number of scenes that could have been shortened or cut out completely. I like Sean Bean and he acts well, but his character could have been completely eliminated. I read a while ago that the movie was supposed to only have women leads in it, but the studio insisted on adding a husband character. I understand why, but it unnecessarily extended the movie far beyond the point of toleration. There are some good scares and plenty of scenes that will make you feel uncomfortable. There is a good amount of action and the acting is good throughout. The score, taken almost entirely from the video games, sounds great and really stands out. The story itself it just alright, starting out with a good, thrilling mysterious, but crashes and burns when all is revealed. On top of the weak reveal, the ending left me feeling empty and a bit confused. I think I understand it, but I'm not entirely sure.

At least he's not named "Pyramid Balls"

Making a movie based on a video game is never easy. The fans have very specific expectations, but the film must be made in such a way that non gamers can enjoy them. I have no idea if Silent Hill fit gamers' expectations, but as a horror fan I was unsettled by some scenes and bored with others. The movie is far too long and goes off into unnecessary scenes that kill the flow of the movie. Certain scenes definitely feel like a video game, running from building to building and coming up against different “bosses”. The acting is good and the makeup/special effects are great. The story starts out well, but loses steam towards the end. It has it's scary moments and a decent amount of action, but the ending is disappointing and vague. Ultimately, it's a decent horror movie with a few serious flaws that keep is from being great. Expect a sequel some time in 2013 or 2014.

6.5/10

Day 123: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Afterlife

But isn't regular life in 3D?

Resident Evil is officially a movie franchise. After scores of video games, shirts, toys, and even an animated movie, Resident Evil has moved past the originally planned trilogy and gone on to number four. Off the top of my head, I can't recall a fourth movie of a franchise being particularly good. Not Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Halloween, or Friday The 13^th. Would this movie fair any better? I mean, it has zombies in it and zombies make everything better. Right?

Resident Evil: Afterlife once again stars Milla Jovovich (Fifth Element, Zoolander) as Alice, the superhero killing machine infected with the Umbrella Corporation's T-virus. Alice and her clones created from the previous movie Extinction infiltrate the underground base of Umbrella in Tokyo. Alice reaches Umbrella leader Albert Wesker on his helicopter, where Wesker injects her with a cure to the T-Virus, stripping her of her powers. The helicopter crashes, seemingly killing Wesker while Alice survives. Six months later, she heads to the supposed haven of Arcadia in Alaska. When she arrives, she is attacked by a mind-controlled Claire Redfield (Ali Larter, Legally Blonde, Final Destination). Alice removes the device controlling Claire and they both travel to Los Angeles where they see a group of survivors on the roof of a prison surrounded by zombies. They join the group of survivors and learn that Claire's brother, Chris (Wentworth Miller, Prison Break, Underworld) is actually being held captive in the basement. They learn that Arcadia is not a fixed location, but a cargo tanker floating around the West Coast. The zombies have evolved and are able to tunnel into the prison. There is also a giant super strong zombie carrying a huge ax pounding at the prison's gates. The group makes a break for the port in an effort to make it out to the Arcadia. One of the survivors steals Alice's plane, so they have to go by foot. Most of the survivors are killed while Alice and Claire fight off the ax-wielding monster. They make it out to Arcadia to find it completely abandoned, despite the computer saying there are over a thousand people on board. Is everything as it seems and did Wesker really die in that helicopter crash?

 These are my boom sticks

In terms of being a horror movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife may be the least horrory movie. That's not to say there aren't some good zombie scenes, some scares, and the general apocalyptic desperation that occurs in plenty of horror movies. I just feel like the focused more on sleek action scenes and check-this-out 3D shots. While watching this on a regular screen, every time there was a scene that was clearly shot for 3D purposes, I would shout “3D!” It's a visually stunning movie shot in High Definition with great production and editing with loads of superhero action. That's all great, it's just not heavy on the horror, which is where the video games and original movie started.

One problem I had with the movie was with the zombies themselves. They're faster and their faces open up like some sort of monstrous starfish. There's also the random giant monster with his giant ax. None of this is explained. Why are these zombies different and where did this big fuck come from? And where did he find the huge ax? Home Depot? It's like watching Silent Hill and never playing the video game. I wouldn't have known who Pyramid Head was if I hadn't looked him up. Milla Jovovich is great once again as Alice and Ali Larter does well reprising her role of Claire. Boris Kodjoe (Love & Basketball, Surrogates), who plays survivor Luther West, also does a fine job, especially knowing that he did his own stunts. Paul W.S. Anderson reprises his role as director, using his sharp eye for beautiful slow-motion action shots, but not much for atmospheric horror.

What an ax hole

Resident Evil: Afterlife is a fun action movie, but a disappointing horror movie. The acting is good and the action is fun. It is beautiful to look at and the soundtrack adds something extra to the scenes. If you have not played the video games, like myself, you'll miss references and may be a bit lost when it comes to the zombies changing. The movie is certainly entertaining, but its unfortunate to see it move away from horror so much. I'd recommend seeing the previous movies before watching this one as you will be lost and confused. Though not as good as previous installments, it's still worth watching if you're looking for a fun movie. After all, there's a new one coming out later this year.

6.5/10

Day 94: Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction

You had me at "Extinction"

I really enjoyed the first two Resident Evil movies. It's not like they were pieces of cinematic genius or had Oscar-worthy performances. They were fun zombie movies with lots of violence and a decent story. Above all else, they were entertaining and that's all I really want. A movie can be deep and existential while looking beautiful, but if it's a boring story that doesn't make sense, I'll hate it with a fiery passion (See: The Tree of Life. No, wait. DON'T SEE THE TREE OF LIFE! ALWAYS STAY ON THE BOAT! NEVER GET OFF THE BOAT!) The original Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse stayed fairly true to it's video game and horror roots. Would Resident Evil: Extinction follow in their rotting footsteps?

Resident Evil: Extinction starts off with a serious case of deja vu as we see Alice (Milla Jovovich, The Fifth Element, Zoolander) going through the mansion from the first Resident Evil movie. She goes through various obstacles that we saw in the previous movie, but is killed by a machine gun. Her body is taken outside by scientists and dumped into a trench filled with dead Alice bodies. Dr. Sam Issacs (Iain Glenn, Gorillas In The Mist, Kingdom of Heaven) has been creating clones of Alice for the Umbrella Corporation in order to create a cure for the T-virus that has turned world into a wasteland of zombies. Unfortunately, the clones are inferior and Issacs tries to convince the Umbrella board that Alice's capture is essential. Meanwhile, Alice is traveling across the American Southwest, dealing with her new psychic powers. Her allies from the previous movie, Carlos (Oded Fehr, The Mummy, Deuce Bigelow) and LJ (Mike Epps, Next Friday, All About The Benjamins) have joined a convoy of survivors being led by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter, Final Destination, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back). The convoy is traveling across Death Valley and running low on gas and supplies. They are attacked by zombie crows and Alice appears, stopping them with her powers. Alice informs the surviving members of the convoy about a town in Alaska called Arcadia that is supposedly free of infection. The group decides to head to Alaska, but must stop in Las Vegas for fuel. It's a bad decision because Dr. Issacs has found them and sends his new, aggressive breed to Las Vegas to stop the convoy and get Alice. Many in the convoy, including LJ, are killed. Alice takes the fight directly to Issacs at his base while the surviving convoy heads to Arcadia. Will she be able to defeat the mad doctor or does he have something up his sleeve?

Zoolander 2 looks intense

The first two Resident Evil movies stuck with the basic zombie movie premise. The third movie, though, delves off into more of a science fiction/post-apocalypse genre. It pretty much comes off like Mad Max: The Zombie Warrior. When movies are set in the desert, it's usually done as a cost-saving measure. I guess all the CGI and stunts cost a pretty penny. The story itself is pretty basic in the zombie genre. You can pretty much guess what is going to happen. The movie keeps the audience interested in fun violence and some good performances. The action is solid, though it feels like director Paul W.S. Anderson is screaming “CHECK OUT HOW AWESOME THIS IS!” with extreme slow motion shots. Milla Jovovich is as great as ever. She is a great action hero, plain and simple. Fehr and Epps do well repriseing their roles and bringing a bit more of a human side to the movie.

All that being said, Resident Evil: Extinction did have it's share of problems. The previous movies took the time to explain who characters are and what is happening. Extinction assumes you've seen both movies AND the video games. We have no idea who Claire is or why she's in charge. I never really played the video games, so I was lost. Apparently, she has big roles in multiple games, but how am I supposed to know who she is? I was also dissapointed that Sienna Guillory did not reprise her role as Jill Valentine due to a commitment for the movie Eragon. Her absence was never mentioned, though. Why couldn't they just throw in a line saying she went her own way? I kept waiting for a mention that never happened. The relationship between Alice and the young girl K-Mart feels very forced and isn't given the proper amount of time to grow. Many scenes in the movie feel like it's a level in a video game. I can practically see a health bar in the top corner of the screen.

Ozzfest 2002

Resident Evil: Extinction is a zombie movie that shoots off into different genres of science fiction and post-apocalyptic action. The action is fun with plenty of cool, if not overly in-you-face scenes, and Milla Jovovich puts on a good performance once again. If you haven't seen the previous movies and played the video games, you will be very lost. You won't know who certain characters are and why things are happening. A few extra lines of explanation could have cleared a lot of things up. As far as zombie movies go, this one had some good moments, but never came close to the first two movies.

6/10

Day 69: Bloodrayne

Bloodrayne

Shitstorm

I knew what I was getting into when I decided to watch Bloodrayne. All the warning signs were there; video game movie, horrible reviews, Uwe freaking Boll directing. But like a person in a horror movie sticking their head out the door to see if the cost was clear, I knew it wasn't going to end well. I've seen plenty of bad video game movies, but usually I have some idea of what the video game was about. I've never played Bloodrayne, so I'd watch with no preconceptions of the characters or story. That way I'd have no idea how bad the movie actually was in comparison.

Bloodrayne follows the story of Rayne, (Kristianna Loken, Terminator 3) a half-human, half-vampire hybrid called a Dhamfir. Rayne breaks free from her captures at a traveling freakshow and discovers her vampiric hunger and powers, though she is susceptible to water and immune to crucifixes. Rayne is the daughter of Kagan, (Ben Kingsley, Ghandi, Schindler's List) the most powerful vampire in the world. Rayne plans to kill Kagan for murdering her mother and seeks out a mystical eye that grants her powers and gains the attention of Kagan. The eye belonged to a vampire named Belial that had found a way to overcome vampire weaknesses. Two other body parts are scattered throughout the land and Kagan wants them. Kagan sends his soldiers to kill Rayne, but she escapes. Rayne meets up with Sebastian (Matthew Davis, Below), Vladimir (Michael Madsen, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) and Katarin (Michelle Rodriguez, Resident Evil, Machete), all members of the vampire-hunting group, The Brimstone Society. Sebastian trains Rayne to fight and they fall in love. Will they be able to find the body parts and kill Kagan?

And will they be able to find her a decent costume?

There are so many things wrong with this movie that I almost don't know where to start. I have no idea if the story or characters are close to the video game, so we can just skip that. The story is simplistic and horrendously convoluted. It bounces around without explanation and let's the audience figure it out for themselves. Why does water hurt Rayne? Why was she part of a freakshow and why couldn't she escape? Why didn't Kagan find these body parts earlier? Bloodrayne actually has a pretty big cast of real actors and it's shocking how bad they all are. The acting is just as painful. Kristianna Loken is very pretty, but is just not convincing. Michael Madsen delivers his lines with all the passion of a turnip and his wig would make Tom Hanks' hair in The Da Vinci Code scream in terror. Michelle Rodriguez tries to speak with an accent, but no one else does, so why bother? Ben Kingsley, who won a freaking Oscar, looks like he knows he's in a terrible movie and wants to be anywhere else but there. Billy Zane has a bit of the charm he had in Demon Knight. Even Meatloaf makes an appearance as a sweaty pervert vampire. These are all real actors (well, Loken, hasn't been in much). How did they all manage to range from mediocre to god-awful?

There is a decent amount of action throughout with tons of blood and gore. Can you say “blood fountain”? How about “stabbed in the face with a sword”? That's not to say the action scenes are good. While the ultra-violence is a fun distraction, sword fighting in movies takes weeks of practice. There are some scenes where you can see the actors slow down their swings to make sure the swords hit. The direction is bad, but what else would you expect from Uwe Boll?

I get paid to make terrible movies!

The ultimate goal of a video game movie is to sell the product. After watching Bloodrayne, I don't even want to play other video games. I'd rather see “Pong: The Movie” than sit through this again. It has a confusingly bad story, terrible acting, and Uwe Boll directiong. Bloodrayne is like a terrible movie turducken. Sometimes it's fun to watch a bad horror movie. Not this time. Avoid Bloodrayne like vampires avoid the sunlight.

2/10

Day 53: Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

There were lots of posters for this movie. I picked this one. Yay!

I've said in the past that I'm not much of a gamer, but even I know that Resident Evil is an awesome franchise. Any game that involves zombies immediately gets my attention and when you make it have genuinely terrifying moments like Resident Evil does, you've got yourself a winner. Videogame-to-movie transitions are difficult and sometimes have horrible results (see: Mario Brothers, Double Dragon. The first installment of Resident Evil on the big screen had some pretty good horror and action moments and Resident Evil: Apocalypse continued the trend.

RE:Apocalypse begins with a quick recap of the first movie in which Alice (Milla Jovovich) the T-virus spread throughout the Umbrella Corporation's underground lab, The Hive. A special forces team is sent by Umbrella to stop the outbreak, but the employees of The Hive have all turned into zombies and overpower the team and escape into Racoon City. Alice is experimented on with the T-virus by Umbrella and gain superhuman strength, speed, and fighting ability. At the same time, Racoon City has been walled off, by Major Cain from Umbrella to keep the virus contained. At the same time, the creator of the T-Virus, Dr. Charles Ashford has learned that his daughter Angie is still stuck in the city. Disgraced police officer Jill Valentine, Sgt. Peyton Wells reporter Terri Morales eventually team up with Alice to find Angie in exchange for a way out of the city. At the same time, Umbrella soldier Carlos Olivera also gets a call to save Angie and joins up with Alice and her crew. The group is attacked by a powerful zombie soldier named Nemesis, who was originally an environmentalist named Matt from the first movie. Major Cain catches on to Dr. Ashford's plan and cuts off the group's plan. Will Alice be able to defeat Nemesis and Cain and save the world from the T-virus or will the group be eaten by zombies? 

Welcome to the gun show

Sequels have the advantage over their predecessor because the origin story is out of the way and they can get right to the action. RE:Apocalypse thankfully gives a recap of what previously happened, taking into account that some people may not have seen the first movie or that people just need a reminder. This does tack on some more time to the movie, which does feel longer than its 94 minutes. It's certainly not a boring 94 minutes, it just felt longer. I've read that the movie takes parts of several different Resident Evil games, but if you're like me, you did not have to play the games to comfortably follow the movie.

It has to be said that Milla Jovovich is a legitimate action star. She's great in the role of Alice as a strong, confident and capable badass. Sienna Guillory (Eragon, CSI) is equally as good (and hot) as Jill Valentine. Mike Epps (Next Friday, The Hangover) provides some welcome comedic relief as the pimp, T.J. The zombies look good and don't veer from the traditional idea of what a zombie should be. There is plenty of high-octane action throughout, but it should be noted that the action is very much based in the video game world. Impossible jumps, superhuman reflexes, and incredibly accurate shots all occur throughout the movie so if you like your action based in reality, you might find yourself yelling at the screen. Speaking of video games, certain scenes definitely give you the feeling that you should be holding a controller. When Alice confronts Nemesis, you feel like a health bar should be on the screen.

Do I have something stuck in my teeth?

Resident Evil:Apocalypse is a fun horror movie with plenty of pulse-pounding action. Milla Jovovich is once again excellent as Alice and is complimented by a capable cast surrounding her. The movie is easy to pick up if you're not a video game fan. It does have some strong video game-like moments, so that may be discouraging to some viewers that prefer a bit more reality in their action. RE:A is definitely worth your time if you like horror or a good action flick.

7.5/10

Day 41: Gamebox 1.0

Gambox 1.0

I prefer XCube

I'd seen this movie multiples times in video stores (remember those?) and on Redbox. Looking at the cover, I felt like I knew exactly what would happen. Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover and a movie by it's poster. Other times, you're completely wrong. This movie fell somewhere in between.

Gamebox 1.0 stars Nate Richert (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) as Charlie Colburn, a video game tester suffering from depression due to the loss of his girlfriend Kate, played by Danielle Fishel (Boy Meets World). One day, Nate receives a mysterious game console, one with technology never seen before. He is literally transported into a video game world where his memories provide the details. The heroine, Princess, is modeled after Kate and the villian, Ao Shun is modeled after the police officer that killed her. Nate goes through 3 levels in the game, Crime Spree, Zombie Land, and Alien Planet. Unfortunately, the sentient console refuses to let Nate exit the game and he soon falls into a coma. Will Nate be able to save the girl and save himself, or will Gamebox 1.0 claim another victim?

All hail Topanga!

Gamebox 1.0 is an independent sci-fi/action movie with a little bit of horror. I say a little bit because while not entirely entrenched in the genre, it does have some horror-related scenes, references, and overtones. This movie has a pretty basic plot and you know what is going to happen. The movie gets bogged down in predictability and some serious plot holes; I might have missed it, but I have no idea why Nate received the package in the first place. And the name “Gamebox 1.0”? Really? Richert and Fishele actually put in good performances, which help save the movie from a painful fate. The effects and in-game footage can come off as cheap and cheesy, but that's kind of what makes it endearing. When you think about it, it looks exactly what you'd think real people in a video game world would look like.

If you're a fan of video games, you will definitely get a kick out of picking out the references and scenes to other games. I'm not a gamer, but I have enough knowledge to catch that the first level Crime Spree is clearly Gran Theft Auto. The second level Zombie Land recalls scenes from Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead. The zombies themselves are not your typical, staggering zombies, but more frantic shadowy ninja zombies. I can let that slide because this isn't a zombie movie and video games like Resident Evil take liberties with the genre anyway. The final level Alien Planet reminds me of scenes from Starship Troopers, although I'm not sure that's what they were going for. 

Raging heart-on

Plenty people have thought about actually being in a video game. If you're old enough, you may remember a show on Nickelodeon called Nick Arcade. Thankfully, the effects in Gamebox 1.0 are better than that, but only by modern standards. It's plot is predictable, but good performances from the two leads really help. The movie has a sort of after-school TV show charm, but maybe I think that because it stars people from Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World. Gamebox 1.0 is a decent rental if you like video games or are nostalgic for fun TV shows.

6/10