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.

Resident Evil - 2002

Constantin Film Produktion, Davis-Films, Impact Pictures

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

Cast:

• James 'One' Shade – Colin Salmon
• Alice – Milla Jovovich
• Rain Ocampo – Michelle Rodriguez
• Matt Addison – Eric Mabius
• Spence Parks – James Purefoy
• Chad Kaplin – Martin Crewes
• Red Queen – Micheala Dicker

Story: We enter on a scene of someone operating Waldos in a laboratory, placing double helix shaped tubes carefully into a metal suitcase. As the individual retrieves the case from the sealed area, he heads toward the door and tosses a lone tube in the air. As he closes that door, the tube shatters on the floor. Within moments, alarms are going off, people are panicking, and the scientists and workers at “The Hive” are sealed off from the world and beginning to die. Cut to a young woman lying on a shower floor, the curtain draped in front of her. She wakes up, wanders through the rooms, and suddenly there is a policeman, dressed in civilian clothes. Moments later, a team of commandos enters by rappelling and smashing through the windows. They take the police officer into custody, and the leader is holding the young woman by the shoulders saying “I want your report, soldier. I want it now!”. Alice soon discovers she has been hit with a special nerve gas by the Red Queen, a computer system that controls The Hive. Two hours ago the Red Queen went homicidal, and the team is there to find out why. Since Alice is one of the two security agents assigned to protect the secret entrance to The Hive, she must accompany them on a journey into death, destruction, and corruption far deeper than anyone suspects.

Review: A movie based on a Video Game? Really? Let's face it, Doom sucked (No offense intended, Dwayne), Tron was so-so (Oh wait, that's right, the movie was the basis for the game.) and Lara Croft, well...Hmmm, maybe I better shut up at that. After all, Angelina is one of the hottest women on the planet. Speaking of really hot women, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez are certainly in the top twenty or so. This film is a no excuses romp through all the zombies and evil creations any modern Frankenstein could dream up, and the players are all well versed in the action adventure genre. This is one of those films that brings together all the phobias of evil corporations, illegal experiments, and scientists backed by the military to produce horrific weapons of mass destruction that, as always, backfire. James Purefoy is the greedy bastard that starts everything in motion, but the Red Queen, a computer with the holographic persona of the designers daughter, is HAL and Skynet rolled into one times ten. One by one the rescuers succumb to either the Red Queen or the Zombies, and we are sitting on the edge of our seat waiting to see if anyone survives. Rated R for violence, language, and some brief nudity/sexuality, this film has spawned four sequels and who knows if more are coming. Powerfully entertaining and thrilling, I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good scifi flick with all the elements to keep it interesting. Definitely collectible.

Soldier - 1998

Warner Bros. Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Cast:

• Todd 3465 – Kurt Russell
• Cain 607 – Jason Scott Lee
• Colonel Mekum – Jason Isaacs
• Sandra – Connie Nielsen
• Mace – Sean Pertwee
• Church – Gary Busey
• Riley – James Black
• Jimmy Pig – Michael Chiklis

Story: In the not so distant future, soldiers are selected at birth. They are trained, educated, developed and bred to be soldiers, nothing more. They follow orders without question, do as they are told, and are the perfect fighting machines. Todd 3465 is one such soldier under the command of Captain Church. Colonel Mekum appears with the latest batch of soldiers, bred with DNA manipulation to make them superior to the soldiers The new soldiers are pitted against the old soldiers, and under training situations, the new soldiers appear superior. Cain 607 is sent into combat against Todd 3465 and two others and defeats the three soldiers. They believe all three to be dead, but Todd 3465 is simply unconscious. The bodies are given to waste disposal, where they are loaded on a waste freighter and dropped on a waste disposal planet. Todd 3465 manages to survive the drop and finds himself among a group of marooned people who were on their way to the Trinity Moons to colonize there. They have given up on their rescue and have created a sort of life there. Todd learns to interact with the colonists, and comes to realize there is more to life than being a soldier. Colonel Mekum and his soldiers are assigned to a security sweep of the area, and when they land on the planet, they are told to consider the colonists hostiles and to eliminate them. Todd 3465 realizes there is only one way to stop the killing, and that is to kill the soldiers.

Review: Another bleak look at the future of mankind. But this time, it isn't the machines we have to worry about, its us. Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee are both excellent in this minimalist drama about future soldiers who have no other interests than being soldiers. Neither have many lines, since soldiers only speak when they are spoken to. So it comes down to their ability to convey their characters with expression, which is not an easy thing to do. But they both manage to pull it off nicely. Gary Busey is perfect as the “Old School” captain in opposition to Jason Isaacs as the over confident Colonel Mekum. Connie Nielsen and Sean Pertwee do well as the stranded couple trying to raise their son and make a life on a hostile and harsh planet. Overall, the film has the right feel and the right depth of scientific development. No phaser rifles, but lots of oversized heavy weapons and machinery. The story development is interesting, and there are plenty of scenes where Todd is exposed to the lives of the colonists, a world he is unfamiliar with and uncomfortable in. Rated R for violence and language, the younger teens should be able to watch this without a lot of concerns.