The Last Boy Scout - 1991

Geffen Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures

Directed by Tony Scott

Cast:

• Joe Hallenbeck – Bruce Willis
• Jimmy Dix – Damon Wayans
• Sarah Hallenbeck – Chelsea Fields
• Sheldon 'Shelly' Marcone – Noble Willingham
• Milo – Taylor Negron
• Darian Hallenbeck – Danielle Harris
• Cory – Halle Berry
• Mike Matthews – Bruce McGill
• Chet – Kim Coates

Story: Joe Hallenbeck is going through a really rough time in his life. The former Secret Service agent who once took two bullets for the President is now a alcoholic bum private detective who discovers his wife is sleeping with Mike Matthews, his best friend. Mike is also a detective and offers Joe five hundred dollars to handle a surveillance job, which he accepts even though he catches him in his bedroom closet with Sarah, his wife. As Mike is leaving, Joe gets the information on the job and stands by the curb to watch Mike leave. But when Mike gets in his car, it blows up. And the stripper he is hired to protect gets killed. The stripper's boyfriend, a former professional football player named Jimmy Dix, gets involved and together they work to solve the mystery that's getting people killed.

Review: Timeline in another dimension...has to be. Pro Football on a Friday Night with Bill Medley singing the theme song? Halle Berry dancing in a strip club with silver pasties? Anyone wanting to assassinate Jimmy Carter? (well, maybe) Talk about your fantasy summer action films. I think Tony Scott knew exactly what he was doing when he got Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) to write this incredibly fast paced film with lots of twists and turns. Willis and Damons work exceptionally well off each other, and its hard to tell who's the straight man and who's the comic in several of the exchanges. I'm not quite sure which characters have the shortest film time, but not many Bad Guys survive. Bruce McGill and Kim Coates are both excellent in brief but important roles, and Taylor Negron wins the award for most villainous bad guy of the 1990's, in my opinion. Now, if you're looking for plots that make sense, forget it. This is a shoot 'em up film where Willis gets to play the irascible grouch who is pissed off about losing his job and taking it out on the world. How bad is he? Every time someone calls him a bastard, his response is: “and then some!”. So we are not talking Oscar material, and we certainly aren't talking collectible, unless you are a big fan of Willis. (I admit it, I have a copy) Rated R for every conceivable reason in the book except maybe perversion with animals, this is definitely a see it once and enjoy the laughter and the action.

Resident Evil: Afterlife - 2010

Constantin Film Produktion, Davis-Films, Impact Pictures

Written and Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

Cast:

• Alice – Milla Jovovich
• Claire Redfield – Ali Larter
• K-Mart – Spencer Locke
• Luther West – Boris Kodjoe
• Chris Redfield – Wentworth Miller
• Albert Wesker – Shawn Roberts
• Bennett – Kim Coates
• Jill Valentine – Sienna Guillory

Story: The clone Alice army has destroyed the Tokyo facility of the Umbrella Corporation in a daring move that kills everyone but Alice and Albert Wesker, one of the main leaders of the corporation. Wesker is also infected with the T-Virus, and like Alice, has incredible speed, agility, and healing powers. But as he is escaping from Tokyo, he is about to kill Alice on his escape plane when the plane crashes. Alice survives, even though she has been returned to human status thanks to an injection delivered by Wesker. Sic months later, Alice has located a plane and is flying to Alaska to find Claire and the others from the caravan. When she arrives, she finds only a deserted field with lots of abandoned planes and helicopters, and is almost ready to give up when she is attacked....by Claire Redfield. Claire and the others were captured by the Umbrella Corporation to be used as subjects for further development of the T-Virus. Together, Claire and Alice fly to Los Angeles, where they locate another group of survivors who are also looking for an escape to Arcadia. But Arcadia is not a city in Alaska, it is a ship off the coast broadcasting a signal to offer shelter and food with no fear of infection.

Review: Paul W.S. Anderson returns to direct this fourth installment of the incredibly popular franchise. Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter reprise their roles as Alice and Claire. Kim Coates is offered up as our resident “jerk”, a part he has played so well in so many films. And hats off to Shawn Roberts, who is the best villain of the series so far. While this film is far more expository that the first three, the level of zombie terror is maintained with the addition of mutated zombies who have grown mandibles similar to the Reaper strain in Blade 2. Overall, this film is less satisfying than the previous three, but does resolve some plot issues and returns Alice to humanity. Boris Kodjoe is excellent as the even tempered former basketball star who is trying to keep the small group alive in their fortress, and while Spencer Locke is in the film, her role is so small it barely merits credits. For the adrenaline junkies among us, the opening scenes of the film make the best use of the Alice clones, and the action there is excellent, although brief. The mutated baddie known only as the Axeman is an interesting contrivance, yet too easily done in by Larter and Jovovich. Consider this film a bridge between Extinction and Retribution, which is accented by the brief but ominous appearance of Sienna Guillory (hint: Don't skip the end credits). Rated R for violence and language, like Extinction, if you have them, you have to have this one for the collection.