Movie Review Double Feature

First up in this double feature will be the marvelous Milla Jovovich in The newest entry in the Resident Evil universe; Retribution.  This series has always been a guilty pleasure for me, both the video games and the movies.  I have to say that this was the best entry into the franchise since the second movie.  The movie itself is beautiful and the plot felt like a video game.  For those that don't know, the Resident Evil games usually have an overall objective with a lot of mini objectives as you go on your way.  Escaping the simulation center is the main objective with mini missions of fight through NYC, find the child (boss battle against jill), find the rescue team, car chase (boss battle with the licker), rescue the child (second boss battle against licker), and the escape (final boss battle against Jill and Michelle Rodriguez). 

The important thing about this movie is that it is fun and this one was a lot of fun. 

Second on the list but not in the standings is Dredd, the newest cinamatic take on the iconic 2000 AD comic.  Staring Karl Urban as Dredd himself this movie more than makes up for the Stallone and Rob Schneider mess that made a mockery of the hero so many years ago.  This movie felt more than a little like Raid: Redemption.  This one comes highly suggested.  Karl Urban projects the quiet confidence and rage that is Dredd.  Lena Headey is also in this movie as the big bad and she rocks it.  Olivia Thirlby plays a rookie and if she ever reads this she needs to know that she is much better looking with the blonde hair she wore in the film.

Overall this movie was a whole lot of fun and didn't get the acclaim that it deserved in theaters.  I hope it was successful enough that it gets some sequels.  This movie has been Judged!

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

I am an unashamed fan of the first two resident evil movies.  Even the third one was pretty cool.  They all deliver on zombies and crazy mutations.  They are a lot of fun.  So, of course, I was going to check out Afterlife.  I was a bit disappointed right from the start.  The actor that played Wesker was wooden and had some horrible lines.  Also this movie had zombies in it, but they were not really the focus.  The humans were mostly isolated from them and really only had to fight of the mutations. 

Plot-  The movie picks up right where it left off.  Alice is out for revenge against Umbrella.  This really wouldn't work as a stand alone movie as you need to have watched most of the previous movies to understand what was going on.  I think you can get by with just the recaps in the other movies.  So, Alice defeats Umbrella and now fears that she is the last living person.  She finds some people holed up in a prison and can't help but stop to help them.  Of course, her timing is impecable as all hell is about to break loose. 

Characters-  Paul Anderson wasn't really on his A-game here.  He wasn't getting the best performances from his actors.  Milla is Alice, you can't go wrong there, but the other actors just weren't cutting it, especially but not limited to the guy that played Weskers.  It was probably a bad script and bad lines, but I really didn't care about anyone in the movie.  Of course all the characters went completely undeveloped, so why should I care about them. 

Prettyness-  The movie is shot almost too polished.  Resident Evil is about monsters and zombies at its core.  This movie is just too bright and too pretty looking for most of the film.  It fails to set a mood and creep you out.  This was also a problem with the third movie. 

Time-  97 minutes.  Really. . .Really. . . Really. . .  The movie was practically over once it got started.  Hey Paul W. S. Anderson.  How about 15 minutes of character development or maybe 10 minutes of fighting zombies.

Overall-It was just okay.  It wasn't a zombie movie or a horror movie, it was an action movie.  I don't agree with that direction for this franchise.  They even forgot that you can't kill zombies by shooting them in the body.  Yes, many zombies were taken down with body shots.  What are people learning from watching this sloppiness.  Anderson could be costing folks their lives with his laziness.  I am not going to tell you to not watch the lovely Milla, but I can't really recommend the movie either.  Just know that it is an action movie you are watching. 

Perfect Getaway(2009)-Spoiler Free Review

There are few things in life that you want to go more perfectly than your honeymoon.  In Perfect Getaway, we follow a honeymooning couple in Hawaii when there is a report that there has been a murder of another honeymooning couple and the killers could possibly be on their island.

Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, and Timothy Olyphant star in this thriller that keeps you guessing.  Thor, I mean Chris Hemmsworth, co stars as a guy with a DNR (Do Not Resussitate tattoo on his chest. 

Plot-  It is a murder mystery.  I won't give up any more  than that.  It was very entertaining.  Not sure how plausable the story was, but it was fun. 

Characters-  The story takes place over a two day period of time, not a lot of time for character growth, but the film makes up for it in character depth.  Everyone did a fine job of acting.  I really like Steve Zahn and his wackiness.  Milla Jovovich has always been there for me when Natalie Portman would spurn my advances, so you know I love her.  Olyphant plays his character pitch perfect. 

The movie does an excellent job setting up the location as someplace that is pretty empty and remote.  The perfect getaway as the title would give away.  It made me want to go backpacking while the danger of the situation made my wife never want to go camping again (she said this out loud during the movie).  The movie thrives on this conflict of having the perfect honeymoon vs. returning to safety. 

Overall, this wasn't a bad little picture.  It is one that you will likely have to watch twice, but the performances don't make that seem like a chore.  This is also a movie best walked into blind.  If you know too much about the movie it is going to ruin it.  Luckily it wasn't a huge draw in theaters and not many people are talking about it.  This one could be okay for teens, but is aimed at adults. 

Meth is one crazy drug.