RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION - You Can't Keep A Good Zombie Down!

The RESIDENT EVIL franchise takes another giant leap forward as it reveals its first all CG feature length motion picture RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION. This new film is a departure from the live action films as it follows closer to the storylines connected with the video games.

In this film Claire Redfield is coming home to Harvardville when a terrorists unleashes the T-Virus at the same airport she’s in. This all coincides with the arrival of Senator Ron Davis who is believed to be the one responsible for the catastrophe that happened at Raccoon City years earlier. In addition to the terrorist unleashing a zombie in the airport, a plane crashes into the airport full of zombies causing a mass outbreak in which Claire finds herself trapped with Senator Davis and other survivors.

When agent Leon S. Kennedy arrives at the scene his job is to save the Senator and figure out who is behind the threat. Leon is assisted by a local police agent by the name of Angela Miller, who soon discovers that it is her own brother who is behind the terrorist threats who want Senator Davis to reveal the truth about what really happened at Raccoon City, where his wife was killed.

The film starts off as a simple rescue operation but soon turns into a espionage thriller as the convoluted conspiracy gets bigger the deeper Leon and Claire dig. The story is much richer then that of the live action films and should appeal to all fans of the video game but I do miss Milla Jovovich. The CG animation is quite good in parts but at times the females are drawn a tad out of proportion but this is negligible. The set pieces are much bigger then anything they could do in a live action film (unless of course they had $100 million) which is one of the films greatest assets as both the beginning plane crash and the ending of the film are magnificent. If this is a taste of things to come for the RESIDENT EVIL franchise then they are heading in the right direction.

MAX PAYNE, A Forgetable Video Game Adaptation

Films based on video games are generally not very good and this is no exception with the new Mark Wahlberg film MAX PAYNE. The film is about a detective Max Payne (Wahlberg) who after witnessing his wife and child’s death buries himself in the cold case files where he becomes a pariah to all the other officers on the force. When the becomes dragged into the investigation of a death woman who stole his wallet he becomes entangled with gangsters and the existence of a drug that makes people invincible, while some suffer horrible delusions and visions of a world inhabited by demons.

If you think I’m giving something away by revealing any of this, trust me, the film is very transparent with its story and you’ll see everything coming long before they decide to reveal it. It’s sad that films based on video games have been so bad (i.e. DOOM, SUPER MARIO BROS., or STREETFIGHTER) through the years and even with a big name like Wahlberg attached this film couldn’t have been elevated other then mediocre film that it is. Also on hand is Beau Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, and Ludacris (who is the only one that you don’t laugh at during the entire film).

The action is fast & furious and the special visual effects are top notch (which are the only things saving this film from becoming complete trash). I do have to admit that the ending was very well done especially considering how much I hated the rest of the film and how long it took to a point in the film was wasn’t completely ludicrous (forgive the pun). As much hype as they gave to the film you’d think that something more interesting would have come out at the end but maybe we’ll just have to wait for the next video game adaptation.

Taking Another Look At Director Uwe Boll's ALONE IN THE DARK

There is so much that can said bad about this film that it could take up a whole novel and to which many other people have already spoken and written much about but is there any good to this Uwe Boll film? You damn right there is.

Writer/producer/director Uwe Boll is this generations Roger Corman and despite the growing animosity towards this man I continue to go to the multiplex to watch his films. I saw HOUSE OF THE DEAD, BLOODRAYNE, and this film at the multiplex knowing before hand that they wouldn’t be any good, so, why did I go to see them? Well, like many audience goers I like to be not only entertained but mentally and psychologically taken on a roller coaster ride. Such films as THE EXORCIST, ROSEMARY’S BABY, ALIEN, David Cronenberg’s THE FLY, and John Carpenter’s THE THING to spring mind which are just great horror films no matter how you look at them, but close to my heart are also THE EVIL DEAD 2, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, HORROR EXPRESS, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, DEATH RACE 2000, and FRIDAY THE 13th; all of which are mindless, entertaining, horror film fun. Are these last few films “good”? By no means not in the classic since of the word but they are “cult classics” and films you can just watch over and over and over again; I love THE EXORCIST but I don’t know if I can watch it over and over and over again. Can you?

Boll has made it his business to make films that may not always make any sense but entertain nevertheless. Not all Corman’s films made sense – THE TERROR comes to mind, but they were entertaining and continue to entertain and be loved even to this day. Who didn’t have fun watching a bunch of zombies be annihilated at the end of HOUSE OF THE DEAD or love watching Michelle Rodriguez get killed in BLOODRAYNE? I particularly liked ALONE IN THE DARK because it gave Christian Slater another staring role in which to create havoc and have fun (i.e. KUFFS or HEATHERS or even PUMP UP THE VOLUME). Hundreds of alien creatures killing military personnel was actually one of my favorite highlights and Stephen Dorff over acting his ass off and thinking he’s in charge brought to heart memories of his character in the first BLADE film. Although everyone criticized Tara Reid’s performance in the film I hate to admit that she’s extremely attractive and in these types of films the hero needs an attractive co-star; this is one of the reasons why a female character was included in most sci-fi and horror films of the ‘50s and ‘60s just prior to the slasher boom of the ‘80s (in which female characters became the leading character).

Boll continues to churn out these types of films – i.e. BLOODRAYNE 2, SEED, POSTAL, ALONE IN THE DARK 2, and countless others, and they continue to pander to the lowest common denominator but people continue to go see his films. The fun of seeing a Boll film is knowing that he isn’t trying to achieve high art but rather create the best low-brow Roger Corman knock-off that entertains and never become predictable (because the plots usually don’t always make a hell of a lot of sense) and which has some of the best over-the-hill actors still working in the business.

I’m a huge Corman fan and as long as Boll continues to entertain and create that nostalgic feeling from those old double-bill drive-in classics (albeit on a bigger budget) then I’ll continue to go see his films. Knowing, of course, before hand that I’m not waiting for him to try and achieve some sense of high art.