Sunday, April 26, 2009

Resident Evil Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction

Ok well hear it is the third and supposedly final resident evil movie well I’m eager to get this series out of the way so let’s get right down to it.

Ok so at the end of the last movie raccoon city was destroyed by a nuclear missile so what adventures will our characters get into in the mountains is it possible they will visit the facility from code veronica. Nope we jump ahead 5 years to a zombie infested wasteland with a quick intro by Alice explaining that the t-virus has infested a good percent of the population.

So where do I begin well first let’s talk about the plot progression. We go from an ending that copies the third game to the start of a story not present in the game at all. In the first movie we got a sort of side story to the first game in the second movie we had a story that imitated the second and third game but now in the third movie we leave all that behind and get a new story that the games haven’t reached yet and that also fails to utilize 2 characters from the game.

The first of these characters to be used incorrectly is Claire Redfield. At first in the games she is simply looking for her brother then later becomes a very strong willed capable fighter when faced with danger. In the movie they don’t cover any of her back story and now she is leading a convoy that hunts for survivors. The convoy may be something that Claire would have done but honestly she doesn’t do much else sure she fights a few zombies but I honestly don’t think the movie captures her personality very well and this version of Claire could have easily replaced with an original character.

The second character that was not utilized very well is Wesker. In the games he’s a great villain after escaping death in the first game by injecting himself with a version of the t-virus that gives him super strength and agility much like Alice's powers in the movies. If they had covered a tiny bit of his back story he would have made a great opponent for Alice with their abilities being very similar the ending battle would have been great and probably something similar to the fights in code veronica. Instead they let him be a strictly behind the scenes bad guy who is high atop umbrellas ranks.

Now honestly I think the movie handled the tyrant monster pretty good. In the games tyrants are constantly changing and developing new abilities so it makes since that this tyrant would have similar abilities to Alice so the fight would be interesting.

The action sequences are entertaining and pretty good. However more so then the second one this movie has even less horror aspects to it. At least in the second one while they are in the church and school there are moments of suspense and surprises but here there’s really nothing there’s one scene where a zombie comes out of a closet but other than that 2 second jump scare there’s nothing. Even when our heroes are being rushed by a hoard of zombies you don’t fear for them at all.

I think the main reason for this is how powerful they made Alice she is super strong she’s faster than normal people more agility and has psychic abilities. Which is another thing at the end of the second movie Alice’s powers have developed quite a bit but in this one which is 5 years later they are just starting to develop subconsciously it just doesn’t make since to me.

The ending of the movie does set us up for a sequel but there’s 2 things wrong with this one there has been multiple occasions where its stated that this was the last movie and 2 if they continue this plot line it won’t just be one Alice it would be an army of them and Alice is already strong enough having hundreds of her seems stupid.

Besides Claire, Wesker, and tyrant there’s nothing else from the games like the first one this is an original story which would have been fine if it was supposed to be after the games but the fact that they made it go in the direction it did does not help the series at all.

How would I do it? Well If I was going to simply alter this plot I would have made Wesker the main bad guy. If I was going to do my own movie I would have tried to do the story from code veronica which would have used both Claire and Wesker in better roles.

Over all the movie has decent and entertaining action sequences but fails to deliver in anything else and I’m glad it’s the final in the series so we don’t have to deal with the mutilation of the resident evil franchise anymore.

Overall the movie gets 4 out of 10 zombie crows. Entertaining action and pretty good CGI is the only redeeming factor for this movie other than that it’s really not worth watching.

The acting gets 6 out of 10. Like I said it’s not horrible just nothing too special.

The plot gets 2 out of 10. It took the franchise to a time and place it hasn’t hit yet and unfortunately the story just doesn’t deliver.

The content gets 4 out of 10. I really liked tyrant and it was nice they tried to include Wesker and Claire but the way they used these famous characters was poorly executed.

Ok well I’m glad I was able to get this one done as quickly as promised in my last review. Up next is Hitman then three Bolls in a row. I will try to pace myself with these as I do not wish to explode anyone’s head. However once I finish these that will conclude the Boll movies and I will be able to start writing my review of Boll himself.

And after that its only 2 more movies until I’m caught up and I have 4 months to do all this in as in august the Tekken movie comes out and I’d like to review it as soon as I see it. I hope the DVD for Chun-Li is out by then because I’d like to re-watch it before I review it.

BloodRayne2 movie review

BloodRayne 2: Deliverance

Ok so about a year after the first BloodRayne we get its straight to DVD sequel. This time Rayne is taking out vampire cowboys in the Wild West can a new actress and new setting save this series or will it be just as pointless as the first. Well read on to find out but I think you know the answer.

BloodRayne 2 takes place in a small town during the Wild West time era. This time Rayne has to take on a vampiric Billy the kid who is rounding up cowboys and turning them into vampires and children for some reason or other.

Well BloodRayne 2 does absolutely nothing to help this series at all the new actress is simply there for her looks where as at least Kristina Loken had martial arts and fighting experience. The best part about the first movie, the gore is absent in this one.

Again the movie is not based on either of the game stories and again shows Rayne's past which is fine. I actually liked this story better then the first as far as writing goes because it doesn’t change the facts about Rayne’s life it’s just an adventure she had during her long life.

Zach Ward is decent as the vampire Billy the kid but I’m a bit partial to him ever since the sitcom Titus. The new Rayne is bland as well as the supporting actors and actresses. The movie isn’t paced well at all and has even less action sequences then the first and like the first it fails to capture Rayne’s true powers.

There’s a scene where Billy is holding a weight or something above a child’s head and threatening to release it. Rayne should have been able to use her speed to slice Billy and catch the rope I mean in the game she can dodge bullets. She does catch the rope but it is with a great deal of effort.

Other than that there’s not much more to say the movie is just a continuation of the crappy Uwe Boll movies and is even worse than the first one as it’s missing the only good parts from the first one.

Overall the movie fails harder than the first to deliver a good BloodRayne story or even a good b vampire movie the lost boys 2 is a much better straight to DVD vampire sequel.

How would I do it? I would dump the Wild West and like the first one id actually put her in ww2. I have heard there is going to be a third one that finally gets to the stories of the games but we will have to wait and see.

Overall I give the movie this movie gets 2 out of 10 Dhampir blades. It’s just as bad as the first if not worse

The acting gets 2 out of 10. I like Zach Ward but that’s about all only good thing is him being in this movie probably helped him get the role as the postal dude.

The plot gets 1 out of 10. It’s just a side Rayne story and has no bearing or plot elements from the game.

The content gets 1 out of 10. Nothing but Rayne is from the games.

Ok so that’s out of the way a quick short one for a crappy movie up next is the last resident evil then Hitman then back to boll with his first big budget film and as soon as I save and post this I’m going to start on the resident evil review so expect them within hours of each other.

Monday, April 6, 2009

top ten movie sequels

Top 10
Movie sequels that where better then the original

Ok so in this list we are tackling part 2’s that where better then the part ones as always these are my opinions and if you disagree I’m sorry but make your own list.

10. Matrix reloaded. Now I know I’m going to get a lot of flak for this one. A good majority of the people I talked to loved the first one but hated the second. But the list isn’t based on sales numbers or anyone else opinion. Why do I think it’s better than part 1? The action scenes are longer and mixes the gun play as well as the martial arts scenes the story reveals a lot more about the one and is a lot deeper than good vs. evil and the smith vs. neo scene is one of my all time favorite fight scenes.

9. The incredible hulk 2008. Now I’m not sure if this is meant to be a sequel or if it’s a reboot or what but it is the second hulk film in the new generation of super hero movies so I think it counts. The acting is a lot better the story is more like the comic the hulk is more like the hulk and iron man is in it you can’t get much better than that. Also the movie is paced better and they even let Lou Ferrigno does the grunting and growling for the hulk.

8. Clerks 2. Some of you may agree some may not but clerks 2 was raunchier then the first and was absolutely every bit just as funny. The amount of time between movies does nothing to hurt the film. The interaction between Dante and Randall is absolutely great and seeing jay and silent bob back in their roles as supporting characters fits them well yet again plus who could hate a movie with a donkey show in it.

7. Superman 2. The second superman movie is better than the first for a few different reasons. For starters it’s the only superman movie where superman fights a super villain form the comic besides Lex and not only is it one villain but 3 and for an older movie the flying super human fights, while not a huge big drawn out cg effect like the matrix revolutions, are pretty good and he uses a cellophane s as a weapon that’s freaking cool.

6. Indiana Jones and the temple of doom. I’ve always liked temple of doom better then raiders I don’t know if it’s the fact that I was a young boy and this movie was full of gross out scenes including the bare hand removal of a guy’s heart. And short round is great as the comic relief albeit slightly annoying at times.

5. Aliens. More Ripley, more aliens, and more action are the main reasons this sequel to alien make it onto the list plus we get the “leave her alone you bitch” line while Ripley destroys the queen using the lifting mech thing.

4. Predator 2. Yes I know Danny Glover is no Arnold but honestly what’s so special about a Special Forces solider beating a monster he’s trained and buff and ready to kill. But Danny Glover's character is an older plain old cop and he still beats the predator. Not only that but this movie is the one that first introduces us to the fact that the predators have fought the aliens before and we get to see more about the predator technology and more predator equals better movie.
Ok these last 3 are big ones and depending on what kind of movie you are a fan of you may completely agree or totally disagree but in either case here are the top 3 sequels that are better than the originals.

3. Terminater 2: judgment day. The first one was great but with the second one we get 2 cyborgs not just one we get to see Arnold as the good guy and we get some very cool CGI effects with the t-1000. This is also the first time we get to see how much Sarah cares about john and this movie establishes her bad ass status that we have all come to know and love.

2. Star Wars episode 5 the empire strikes back. This is one that a lot of people agree on we get to see Yoda for the first time. The love between Han and Leia grows and Luke matures more into a man. And last but very certainly not least we get one of the greatest twists in cinema history when Vader reveals he is Luke's father.

1. Batman: The Dark Knight. Batman begins was the restart the franchise needed to dig itself out of the whole that batman and robin dug itself into comic and movie fans alike enjoyed this new origin story of batman. It was darker and with the explanation of most of Batman's technology we got some answers we may have had for a while but skip ahead a few years and everything is better and bigger. We get more gadgets we get to see the mental struggle between batman and Bruce Wayne and of course we get one of the most disturbingly wonderful performances from Heath Ledger as the joker and in my opinion the best joker of all time. Everything in this movie is well executed although a few of the lines are cheesy. Everything in the dark knight tops everything from batman begins in every way and that’s why it’s my pick for number 1 sequel.

Ok I hope you enjoyed that list I know some will agree and some will disagree but it’s my opinion like anyone’s else’s top ten list. I would love any comments and will respond to them all.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Dead or Alive movie review

D.O.A.

Ok so at this point we have a mortal kombat movie and a street fighter movie so the next logical step is the dead or alive series. Will this series do any better than its fighting game adaptation brothers? As always read on to find out.

D.O.A. or Dead or Alive is about a tournament of the world’s greatest fighters hosted by Victor Donovan. Over the course of a few days the fighters compete in single KO elimination contest. Towards the end the final 4 find out Donovan has other motives and the fighters have to compete against him. There are a few sub plots going on as well. Christie and max are trying to find a vault full of money. And Kasumi is trying to find her brother while avoiding Ayane who is after her.

Ok so D.O.A. is the third movie based on a fighting game and personally I think it’s the best out of all 3 in the next few years we will get a Tekken movie and an art of fighting movie so time will tell if it holds its place. Now you’re probably wondering why I like this one best so let me get into it.

First off it’s the plot. Now it doesn’t follow the games exactly it gets the main gist correct. Instead of a huge corporation trying to make the ultimate weapon its one man trying to compile all the fighter's data to make a program which is essentially the same goal.

Other things that are nicely done are a lot of little things such as the health bars when Donovan is watching the first round fights the computer voice saying “ready, fight!” Which is from the game. There’s a scene where 4 of the female fighters play volleyball while Zach, another fighter, does the commentary and this is a fan service reference to dead or alive Xtreme beach volleyball. What’s good about this scene is they do not just focus on the fan service there an action scene that cuts in and out of the volleyball scene.

Another thing that’s cool is the amount of characters. Now unlike in MK2 they decided to focus on only a few characters and just write the others off as fighters in the tournament instead of trying to make them intricate to the plot and most of which are defeated and therefore sent home early in the movie.

That’s another thing the fighters are mostly in traditional out fits from the games and easily recognizable by fans and most are introduced by name at least weather it’s the health bar or contest bracket or during the scanning scene. However the characters are not all done well there’s a few tradeoffs I’m not to fond off.

First Zach’s personality is dead on but except during the warm up montage he doesn’t do any Muay Thai moves, which is his fighting style from the game. The Kasumi Hayate and Ayane relationship is correct but they grossly overuse the word Shinobi in the wrong context. In the movie they use shinobi to describe a rouge ninja the real use of shinobi is just another word for ninja.

Donovan’s character is mostly correct with a few minor details changed. In the game he is head of DOAtech in the movie he’s head of the D.O.A. tournament. In the game he hires Ayane in the movie he does not. In the game and the movie he is responsible for Helena's mother’s death.

And of course there’s Christie in the game she is a ruthless assassin but in the movie they make her out to be a fun spirited thief only mentioning her assassin status in text.

The acting is only ok some of the banter is funny such as bass walking in on Tina in situations that make it look as if she is a lesbian to him. Also it was kind of neat how a real wrestler (Kevin Nash) played bass who in the game is also a wrestler.
Now what’s a movie based on a fighting game without fighting so let’s talk about that. The fights are very well choreographed witch is no surprise as the director is Corey Yuen who has directed some other very good martial arts films including so close, the enforcer, and the first transporter. One of my favorite scenes is when Hayabusa is fighting the guards on his way up the stairs it’s so brutal and fast paced.

There are also some well placed comedic sound effects like when Leon pumps his arms they make gun cocking sounds and during Tina and Zach’s fight when they hit each other tiny explosive noises can be heard.

Over all the movie is a pretty good kung-fu flick and does well as a video game movie it has recognizable characters as well as a plot similar to the games while only changing a few minor details but not deviating to far from the objective of the plot.

How would I do it? Well besides the character changes I mentioned I would pretty much leave it alone.

Over all the movie gets 8 out of 10 Shinobis. The movie succeeds where other video game movies fail including recognizable characters and a ton of tiny little things from the game and it’s always the little things isn’t it?

The acting gets 6 out of 10. It was horrible but most of the actors just phoned it in and there was a bit of over acting.

The plot gets 7 out of 10. The end objective is the same as the game and most details are the same but they also change a few characters a bit towards the bad side.

And the content gets 8 out of 10. Lots of characters lots of little things from the games and it’s the first fighting game movie to sneak health bars in there.

Ok that’s done next up we get back to the crap fest that is Uwe Boll with Bloodrayne 2 a straight to DVD pile of vampire turd. I have obtained a laptop recently so I will be able to complete these reviews faster now. After Bloodrayne 2 we finish up the resident evil series then on to Hitman followed by 2 boll movies in a row. See you next time.