Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Statham, Li, Crews, Couture, Van-Damme, Willis, Lundgren, Norris...good times! There's really no reason to talk about the plot of this movie. In as few words as possible: Van-Damme steals a bunch of uranium (cliche); Willis sends in Stallone's team to get the uranium back (cliche); mayhem and bad puns ensue (cliche).
If you couldn't guess by the trailer, this movie isn't really about plot. It's about having everyone you know and love from the 80's and 90's and sometimes even 70's, in the same movie, kicking ass together. It's a blast. There's no point, there's no reason for them to be doing any of what they're doing, there's not even any great dialog (except when they each say everyone's catch-phrases to one another, which, by the way, is friggin' awesome).
Lets talk about the acting! Please read the opening line listing all of the films actors. OK great!
Anyhow, if you ever wanted to see a movie that is Van-Damme incredible, and you enjoyed the first Expendables, you should certainly watch this movie. It is more of the awesome same. Watching this movie made me want to take a week off and watch Bloodsport, Lone Wolf, Running Man, Rambo, and every other crappy action movie ever. It really is a blast of nostalgic past, and with Expendables 3 no doubt on the horizon, I can't wait to see which other folks they pick up. My vote is for Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and maybe a former Bond, I'd love to see Pierce Brosnan or hell, why not, Sean Connery in a bad ass role, and lets throw in Angelina Jolie as an ass-kicking ninja hooker.
Expendables 2 gets a 2.5/5 (lets be honest, if you don't like action, there isn't much for you here; but if you do like action, this gets a 5/5 (a motorcycle gets shot at a helicopter...)!
Go see it, and if you have a dream cast for the all-but-inevitable Expendables 3, lets hear it!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Bourne Legacy: More Like Leg-to-your-facey
First thing's first; The Bourne Legacy takes place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum. Also, it does not have Jason Bourne in it, except for in name. The main character here is Aaron Cross, played by the ever increasingly bad-ass Jeremy Renner (possibly the best thing to ever come out of Modesto, California). Aaron Cross is a member of Operation Outcome, which is similar to the previous films' Treadstone (of which Jason Bourne was a member) and Blackbriar (which was sent after Jason to silence him, after he threatened to expose them). If you're not familiar, all of those programs/operations are CIA Black Ops projects that are creating super duper field operatives.
*EDIT* There's also a Moby song at the end of the film and everyone knows that the way to Yev's heart is through a Moby song.
Quick note about Total Recall as I will not be writing about it:
I give it 1.5/5. The 1 is for the CGI and action sequences, which are good, as long as no one is talking. The .5 is for the cast, I love Colin Ferrell and wish he would be in more stuff; Kate Beckinsale is always cute; Jessica Biel is kind of a bad-ass here which makes me think of her in Blade Trinity, which makes me happy; Bryan Cranston is not cooking meth, but plays a believable baddy nonetheless; and
Bill Nighy might be one of my favorite current Brits. All those folks are great, but their dialog is horrible, so you can go ahead and just re-watch the Arnold campy classic movie instead.
Spoilers-ish, in this film the Outcome agents are treated with a virus that helps them increase their mental capacity and physical prowess by some percentage. This works out great for Aaron Cross because before joining the military he was a dummy! The army recruiter added 12 points to his IQ...durr. Anyhow one of the scientists involved in this virus engineering is Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz, who I've been in love with since The Mummy). Aaron and Marta's paths cross (get it?) and they go off in search for a stem cell that can help Aaron's character stay smart indefinitely.
The main bad (or good, depending on your political/conspiracy leanings) is Eric Bayer (Edward Norton, who is great and I wish he'd make more movies instead of being a selfish brat and only making things he "believes" in...ugh). His role is basically the same one that was played by Joan Allen (as Pam Landy) in the other Bourne movies, he's trying to find Aaron Cross before not so flattering information about the United States is released to the public.
Enough about plot. The movie's actually pretty cool, and the action set-pieces are great (much like in the Total Recall remake; however unlike the Total Recall remake, the dialog was not atrocious and non-action elements kept my attention). If you like action, and if you've seen any of the other Bourne movies and are looking in to this one, you are probably are, you should certainly see this movie. If you are cautious about throwing money away, you can see it in a matinee, but in a theater with the thundering surround sound is probably the way to go. I will say this: the car chase scene in this film takes place in Manila, and is very well done, as far as chases go, but will leave you wondering how in the hell they could shoot there (it looks a smidge crowded).
This guy gets a 4/5, all-around good flick, good action, and Jeremy Renner getting another franchise to be a part of is good news for everyone. I think the next movie, "The Cross Identity" (probably), will start with Rachel's character being found face-down in a plate of Pad Thai somewhere off the coast of Thailand, and Cross teaming up with Jason Bourne to take down the baddies (or goodies). I'm very excited about this!
*EDIT* There's also a Moby song at the end of the film and everyone knows that the way to Yev's heart is through a Moby song.
Quick note about Total Recall as I will not be writing about it:
I give it 1.5/5. The 1 is for the CGI and action sequences, which are good, as long as no one is talking. The .5 is for the cast, I love Colin Ferrell and wish he would be in more stuff; Kate Beckinsale is always cute; Jessica Biel is kind of a bad-ass here which makes me think of her in Blade Trinity, which makes me happy; Bryan Cranston is not cooking meth, but plays a believable baddy nonetheless; and
Bill Nighy might be one of my favorite current Brits. All those folks are great, but their dialog is horrible, so you can go ahead and just re-watch the Arnold campy classic movie instead.
Hopefully this will re-set my ability to write these things and I'll get more out there. Not going to write one for Dark Knight. If you haven't seen it, you're an idiot and should go. As always, comment/share/suggest!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Movie Digest - Avengers, Men In Black 3, Dark Shadows, Wrath of the Titans (in order of watchability)
I haven't posted in a little while and was asked today why I hadn't written about the Avengers. Well, it's simple really. What else could I say about it? The common wisdom has been that you should go see it, so if you haven't...go now! I have seen a few other movies lately, here's a quick rundown of what I have seen as of late:
1. Avengers - Go see this movie. Its really that simple, it's expertly done. Joss Whedon (the director [also of Cabin in the Woods fame]) does an incredible job of adding comic book elements into a fast-paced action film. It has all of your favorite superheroes, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson, The Hulk, and Scarlet Johansson's ass in tight pants. See? All your favorites! Just go watch it, it doesn't really need a review, but its a solid 5/5.
2. Men in Black 3 - The third installment in the Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith franchise is a bit too light on the Jones, but is still heavy on the comedy. This film follows Will Smith's Agent J as he goes back in time to kill an assassin that wants to erase Jones' Agent K from the future. The younger K is played by Josh Brolin and he does an impeccable job of channeling the Tommy Lee Jones-isms, including the signature facial expressions and speech patterns. This is a good fun action flick, but I couldn't remember the second movie too well, so I can't comment too much on the continuity, but its worth seeing if you have an extra $10 and want an excuse to eat some popcorn. This one gets a 3.5/5 (points deducted for being a tad long, and starting off a bit flat).
3. Dark Shadows - Not Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's best collaboration. The movie itself isn't too bad, but some of the writing and the general tone of the movie felt "off". It was a bit hard to follow and switched from comedy, to serious, to comedy, to horror-ish movie willy nilly and made it hard to really get into the groove of the movie. Top marks go to Chloe Grace Moretz who plays a teenage Collins girl living in the old Collins estate. The movie is about Barnabus Collins (Depp), a vampire coming back from being imprisoned in a coffin for 200 years by a witch (Eva Green) who has a crush on him that she just can't seem to get over. That is basically the plot, the witch is in love with Barnabus and since the love is unrequited, she kills his lady-love and turns him into a vampire for all eternity. Beyond that there's very little twisting and turning and the plot of having to save the Collin's Canary from going under so that they can keep their business up and running is a bit light on excitement. This one gets a 2.5/5, you should see it at home, if there's nothing better on.
4. Wrath of the Titans. If you thought the first one was bad, this one is even worse. I have no idea how they got Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson to come back for a second shoot, but I imagine it involved a lot of money and the promise of prostitutes. The best part of this move was Bill Nighy, who has a minimal role, but happens to be the highlight of any movie he is in. The story revolved around Zeus (Leeson) being imprisoned by Hades (Fiennes) so that Chronos can leech his power and come back to life. Persueus (Sam Worthington) has to save the day by doing impossible and random stuff, including going through a maze, which while it was interestingly designed and shot, was very confusing and hard to follow along with. You can skip this one, 1.5/5. Only see it if you need an excuse to eat butter and can only justify doing so by putting it on popcorn, and need to be watching something in order to do that.
As always, comments/suggestions/recommendations are welcome!
1. Avengers - Go see this movie. Its really that simple, it's expertly done. Joss Whedon (the director [also of Cabin in the Woods fame]) does an incredible job of adding comic book elements into a fast-paced action film. It has all of your favorite superheroes, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson, The Hulk, and Scarlet Johansson's ass in tight pants. See? All your favorites! Just go watch it, it doesn't really need a review, but its a solid 5/5.
2. Men in Black 3 - The third installment in the Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith franchise is a bit too light on the Jones, but is still heavy on the comedy. This film follows Will Smith's Agent J as he goes back in time to kill an assassin that wants to erase Jones' Agent K from the future. The younger K is played by Josh Brolin and he does an impeccable job of channeling the Tommy Lee Jones-isms, including the signature facial expressions and speech patterns. This is a good fun action flick, but I couldn't remember the second movie too well, so I can't comment too much on the continuity, but its worth seeing if you have an extra $10 and want an excuse to eat some popcorn. This one gets a 3.5/5 (points deducted for being a tad long, and starting off a bit flat).
3. Dark Shadows - Not Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's best collaboration. The movie itself isn't too bad, but some of the writing and the general tone of the movie felt "off". It was a bit hard to follow and switched from comedy, to serious, to comedy, to horror-ish movie willy nilly and made it hard to really get into the groove of the movie. Top marks go to Chloe Grace Moretz who plays a teenage Collins girl living in the old Collins estate. The movie is about Barnabus Collins (Depp), a vampire coming back from being imprisoned in a coffin for 200 years by a witch (Eva Green) who has a crush on him that she just can't seem to get over. That is basically the plot, the witch is in love with Barnabus and since the love is unrequited, she kills his lady-love and turns him into a vampire for all eternity. Beyond that there's very little twisting and turning and the plot of having to save the Collin's Canary from going under so that they can keep their business up and running is a bit light on excitement. This one gets a 2.5/5, you should see it at home, if there's nothing better on.
4. Wrath of the Titans. If you thought the first one was bad, this one is even worse. I have no idea how they got Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson to come back for a second shoot, but I imagine it involved a lot of money and the promise of prostitutes. The best part of this move was Bill Nighy, who has a minimal role, but happens to be the highlight of any movie he is in. The story revolved around Zeus (Leeson) being imprisoned by Hades (Fiennes) so that Chronos can leech his power and come back to life. Persueus (Sam Worthington) has to save the day by doing impossible and random stuff, including going through a maze, which while it was interestingly designed and shot, was very confusing and hard to follow along with. You can skip this one, 1.5/5. Only see it if you need an excuse to eat butter and can only justify doing so by putting it on popcorn, and need to be watching something in order to do that.
As always, comments/suggestions/recommendations are welcome!
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Cabin in the Woods - most fun you can have with your pants on.
Not much to say about this movie because if you say practically anything it will be ruined. Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, this is absolutely not a horror film, but does have horror elements. That is practically all I can say about the movie.
It really is something that is best seen without knowing anything about it. If you can avoid the commercials/trailers for it as well. It is scary at parts, so know you will get a few scares, but they are telegraphed fairly well so it won't be difficult to know when you need to do the 'ol "look through the fingers" trick.
So lets do a little checklist:
Acting - Check (Bradley Whitfield is great)
Horror - Check (scary nightmarish creatures)
Comedy - Check (this is very much a Joss Whedon script)
Gore - Check (things get a little messy)
Evil Dead - Check (this has a very Evil Dead vibe, almost so much that I expected Bruce Campbell to pop in at some point).
That is all I'm saying. If you can stomach a smidge bit of scary time, this is by far one of the most fun movies I've seen all year (granted its before the summer blockbusters, but I strongly think that it will be a contender throughout the summer).
Please see this movie. 4.5/5 (very little could have been better, seriously).
It really is something that is best seen without knowing anything about it. If you can avoid the commercials/trailers for it as well. It is scary at parts, so know you will get a few scares, but they are telegraphed fairly well so it won't be difficult to know when you need to do the 'ol "look through the fingers" trick.
So lets do a little checklist:
Acting - Check (Bradley Whitfield is great)
Horror - Check (scary nightmarish creatures)
Comedy - Check (this is very much a Joss Whedon script)
Gore - Check (things get a little messy)
Evil Dead - Check (this has a very Evil Dead vibe, almost so much that I expected Bruce Campbell to pop in at some point).
That is all I'm saying. If you can stomach a smidge bit of scary time, this is by far one of the most fun movies I've seen all year (granted its before the summer blockbusters, but I strongly think that it will be a contender throughout the summer).
Please see this movie. 4.5/5 (very little could have been better, seriously).
Comment/share/enjoy
Sunday, April 1, 2012
1 Year Anniversary!
Happy anniversary to me! And happy April Fool's Day to you! Today marks the 1 year anniversary of
my moving out to California from Iowa. I remember it like it was only yesterday, my Altima was filled to the brim with my life's accumulation of crap. Since then much has happened! For example, that car is no longer with me, instead, I'm driving a brand new Kia Soul!
I've also gotten made into a cartoon, by an artist who I "met" while doing support for my company Backblaze and have since become "twitter friends" with! I've helped with our companies largest advertising campaign on reddit as part of World Backup Day (March 31st, backup your computers)! I've reduced the number of questions I ask at work from 20+ per day to about 4-5 per day (what I consider one of my greatest accomplishments). I have had the good fortune of representing Backblaze at conferences, conventions, and meetups. I've found an awesome hot spring (Callistoga Hot Springs) less than two hours away from where I live! In addition to finding a hot spring, I've tried my darndest to find new restaurants, and continue my mission of seeing almost every crappy movie that comes out (I accidentally see some good ones as well). I've explored San Francisco, gone down to LA, and have found time to keep on visiting Iowa as often as possible. I've also thought about getting healthier, which is a "step" in the right direction!
Oh, also I've launched a very successful website: www.yevyev.com, it has 4 views!
All in all it was a very good year and I'm excited to see where the next one will take me! Here's a few more pictures I've accumulated throughout the year!
my moving out to California from Iowa. I remember it like it was only yesterday, my Altima was filled to the brim with my life's accumulation of crap. Since then much has happened! For example, that car is no longer with me, instead, I'm driving a brand new Kia Soul!
Oh, also I've launched a very successful website: www.yevyev.com, it has 4 views!
All in all it was a very good year and I'm excited to see where the next one will take me! Here's a few more pictures I've accumulated throughout the year!
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| I cooked this on my own! Yay! |
The End!
More silly posts and reviews surely to come!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Chronicle (Better than Narnia)
There's something I need to get off my chest. I really dislike movies shot in 1st person. There, I said it. I first found out about this preference during Doom, which had one scene shot in 1st person. Unfortunately for Doom, it was also probably the best sequence in the movie. This dislike of 1st person camera work was further enhanced when I went to see Cloverfield, which actually made me feel nauseous, but with the help of some diet coke, I persevered. Chronicle follows in their footsteps and was a bit difficult for me to watch at the beginning (when they were not only shooting through a shaky cam, but had the audacity to do it with an SD camera). The movie was hard to watch, but I'm glad I toughed it out.
Chronicle follows 3 kids as they find a glowing thingy that makes their noses bleed and gives them telekinetic powers. So far that is about all the information that you would get from the trailer. Luckily, the trailer does not ruin the movie, as it is incredibly vague. I won't give out too much about the plot, but the movie more or less follows them around as they work out their new-found "muscles".
The main character is Andrew (Dane DeHaan), who is a socially awkward, shy, and troubled high school senior. His cousin Matt (Alex Russell) is an awkward popular kid who is looking out for Andrew and plays the voice of reason in the group. Their buddy Steve (Michael B. Jordan) is the popular jock who is also running for class president. The other characters in the movie don't really matter as they don't have powers and, well, who cares?
The movie is very well done and watching the characters transform as their powers get more and more developed is pretty cool. Of course there has to be some conflict within the group and that escalates throughout the movie, which leads to a climactic flying sequence around the Seattle space needle.
This gets a solid 4/5 (could have been a 4.5/5 if not for the shaky cam). Go see it! Also, its been out for a week or so, and may be leaving theaters soon, so run and see it if you need to, but only if you don't get nauseous easily!
Comment/Write/Suggest below!
Chronicle follows 3 kids as they find a glowing thingy that makes their noses bleed and gives them telekinetic powers. So far that is about all the information that you would get from the trailer. Luckily, the trailer does not ruin the movie, as it is incredibly vague. I won't give out too much about the plot, but the movie more or less follows them around as they work out their new-found "muscles".
The main character is Andrew (Dane DeHaan), who is a socially awkward, shy, and troubled high school senior. His cousin Matt (Alex Russell) is an awkward popular kid who is looking out for Andrew and plays the voice of reason in the group. Their buddy Steve (Michael B. Jordan) is the popular jock who is also running for class president. The other characters in the movie don't really matter as they don't have powers and, well, who cares?
The movie is very well done and watching the characters transform as their powers get more and more developed is pretty cool. Of course there has to be some conflict within the group and that escalates throughout the movie, which leads to a climactic flying sequence around the Seattle space needle.
This gets a solid 4/5 (could have been a 4.5/5 if not for the shaky cam). Go see it! Also, its been out for a week or so, and may be leaving theaters soon, so run and see it if you need to, but only if you don't get nauseous easily!
Comment/Write/Suggest below!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Ghost Rider 2 (Why do I keep doing this to myself?)
I let Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance happen to me last night. I don't feel good about it. I wish I didn't let it happen, but in the end, it was my own fault. Much like the first Ghost Rider, which was widely thought of as one of the worst comic book movies of the last decade. It turns out that Ghost Rider made just enough money to be green-lit for a sequel and that is what Colombia Pictures and Imagenation Abu Dhabi (yup), released this weekend.
If you take out Nicolas Cage (who is a wild card), the cast of the movie is actually pretty good! We have, Anthony Head (Buffy, Repo! The Genetic Opera), Christopher Lambert (Highlander, Mortal Kombat, everything on Syfy), Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor, 28 Weeks Later), plus a bunch of other folks. Then you have Nic Cage. Who is, probably one of the best-worst actors of our time. When he's good (Lord of War), he's great, but when he's bad (Season of the Witch), he's spectacularly bad! I feel bad for Nic Cage, because of his recent financial troubles, and I understand he needs to keep working in order to maintain his lifestyle, and keep some of his homes. I get it. But shouldn't quality mean more sales and income instead of quantity? Apparently not.
Anyway, Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance is about Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage), who still has the demon rider inside of him, but wants to get him out. Some stuff happens and the anti-christ is born, and he has to save the anti-christ, or else he will become the anti-christ and then if he can do all that and stop the devil (Ciaran Hinds), then he can get rid of his demon. Or something like that, I started not to care after Johnny Blaze took over a quarry machine and made it throw fireballs.
Best part of the movie is the drunk monk, Moraeu (Idris Elba). He was funny, and liked wine, things I can relate to. Please do not see this movie only for Idris Elba's character. It is not worth it. Believe me.
I give it a 1/5. Honestly the only reason to see this is if you like Nic Cage and enjoy watching him at his most ridiculous, which I do, but even then it is very rough.
Leave comments/suggestions/whatevers.
If you take out Nicolas Cage (who is a wild card), the cast of the movie is actually pretty good! We have, Anthony Head (Buffy, Repo! The Genetic Opera), Christopher Lambert (Highlander, Mortal Kombat, everything on Syfy), Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor, 28 Weeks Later), plus a bunch of other folks. Then you have Nic Cage. Who is, probably one of the best-worst actors of our time. When he's good (Lord of War), he's great, but when he's bad (Season of the Witch), he's spectacularly bad! I feel bad for Nic Cage, because of his recent financial troubles, and I understand he needs to keep working in order to maintain his lifestyle, and keep some of his homes. I get it. But shouldn't quality mean more sales and income instead of quantity? Apparently not.
Anyway, Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance is about Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage), who still has the demon rider inside of him, but wants to get him out. Some stuff happens and the anti-christ is born, and he has to save the anti-christ, or else he will become the anti-christ and then if he can do all that and stop the devil (Ciaran Hinds), then he can get rid of his demon. Or something like that, I started not to care after Johnny Blaze took over a quarry machine and made it throw fireballs.
Best part of the movie is the drunk monk, Moraeu (Idris Elba). He was funny, and liked wine, things I can relate to. Please do not see this movie only for Idris Elba's character. It is not worth it. Believe me.
I give it a 1/5. Honestly the only reason to see this is if you like Nic Cage and enjoy watching him at his most ridiculous, which I do, but even then it is very rough.
Leave comments/suggestions/whatevers.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
One-Upping (The Importance of the Underworld and Resident Evil Franchises)
It is not secret that I am a fan of pretty much any movie that can keep my attention for over an hour. I've seen a lot of movies that I haven't had a chance to write about in the last month or so: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Adventures of Tintin, Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. All of them were great, although if I had to pick a favorite or three I would say that Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Dragon Tattoo were incredible! That brought the end of 2011 in terms of movies, and it was a great ending!
I started 2012 off with a movie that is right up my alley, a dumb action movie that is the 3rd (or 4th, depending on if you count it) installment in a franchise, Underworld: Awakening! As far as the movie goes, it takes place after the events of Underworld: Evolution. Vampiric Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Vampire/Lycan Hybrid Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) are on the run after killing the Vampire coven leaders who had marked them both for death. Awakening starts with the purge, when humans were made aware of the Vampire and Lycan threat and have gone on an offensive in order to kill both species. Selene and Michael get separated and Selene is held hostage for 12 years where she is kept in stasis, she awakens (get it?) and learns that almost all vampires and lycans were killed during the purges. She then meets "subject two", a young girl who is also a hybrid, much like Michael. Subject two gets kidnapped and the story follows Selene working with a still functioning coven to try and recover the girl.
The movie was fine, in the grand scheme of things and it deserves some praise for effects and camera-work. I saw it in 3D and the entire movie looked really good, with the 3D adding to the action and never being over-the top. I give it a 3.5/5 and can't wait to see the next one!
I did make an observations while I was in the theater though. One of the the trailers that I saw was for Resident Evil: Retribution. It had one of the best trailers I had seen in quite a while! It reminded me a lot of the Resident Evil: Apocalypse trailer, which is one of my favorite trailers of all time. That got me thinking about the parallels of the Underworld and Resident Evil movies. Both franchises started around 2002 (RE) and 2003 (Underworld). Both movies have very strong female leads, Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, and Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. Both are supernatural, with Resident Evil dealing with zombies and infectious diseases and mutations, and Underworld tackling good old fashioned battle between Vampires and Werewolves. Both have marriages driving the franchises, Resident Evil being helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson who married Jovovich in 2009, and Underworld with Len Wiseman, who married Beckinsale in 2004. Both are crazy, dumb, fun, and visually intense actions movies. Both are now being shot in 3D and have great CGI graphics, stunts, and special effects. Both have questionable writing! Despite the questionable writing, both will keep you engaged for over an hour.
There really is no point to that observation, other than that both franchises, while very different, drive the supernatural action/horror/unintentional comedy genre and play off of each other in order to one-up the graphics, fight sequences, explosions, violence, and questionable writing. Its a great little franchise duel to watch! I can't wait to see what Resident Evil 9 and Underworld: The Taper-offering will be like and what affect (if any) it will have on other franchises!
As always leave comments/suggestions or if you have movies you'd like me to watch and write about, let me know!
I started 2012 off with a movie that is right up my alley, a dumb action movie that is the 3rd (or 4th, depending on if you count it) installment in a franchise, Underworld: Awakening! As far as the movie goes, it takes place after the events of Underworld: Evolution. Vampiric Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Vampire/Lycan Hybrid Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) are on the run after killing the Vampire coven leaders who had marked them both for death. Awakening starts with the purge, when humans were made aware of the Vampire and Lycan threat and have gone on an offensive in order to kill both species. Selene and Michael get separated and Selene is held hostage for 12 years where she is kept in stasis, she awakens (get it?) and learns that almost all vampires and lycans were killed during the purges. She then meets "subject two", a young girl who is also a hybrid, much like Michael. Subject two gets kidnapped and the story follows Selene working with a still functioning coven to try and recover the girl.
The movie was fine, in the grand scheme of things and it deserves some praise for effects and camera-work. I saw it in 3D and the entire movie looked really good, with the 3D adding to the action and never being over-the top. I give it a 3.5/5 and can't wait to see the next one!
I did make an observations while I was in the theater though. One of the the trailers that I saw was for Resident Evil: Retribution. It had one of the best trailers I had seen in quite a while! It reminded me a lot of the Resident Evil: Apocalypse trailer, which is one of my favorite trailers of all time. That got me thinking about the parallels of the Underworld and Resident Evil movies. Both franchises started around 2002 (RE) and 2003 (Underworld). Both movies have very strong female leads, Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, and Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. Both are supernatural, with Resident Evil dealing with zombies and infectious diseases and mutations, and Underworld tackling good old fashioned battle between Vampires and Werewolves. Both have marriages driving the franchises, Resident Evil being helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson who married Jovovich in 2009, and Underworld with Len Wiseman, who married Beckinsale in 2004. Both are crazy, dumb, fun, and visually intense actions movies. Both are now being shot in 3D and have great CGI graphics, stunts, and special effects. Both have questionable writing! Despite the questionable writing, both will keep you engaged for over an hour.
There really is no point to that observation, other than that both franchises, while very different, drive the supernatural action/horror/unintentional comedy genre and play off of each other in order to one-up the graphics, fight sequences, explosions, violence, and questionable writing. Its a great little franchise duel to watch! I can't wait to see what Resident Evil 9 and Underworld: The Taper-offering will be like and what affect (if any) it will have on other franchises!
As always leave comments/suggestions or if you have movies you'd like me to watch and write about, let me know!
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