Resident Evil: Degeneration

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Resident Evil: Degeneration is a computer generated animated movie set within the universe of the Resident Evil game franchise. I'll admit that I've never played any of the Resident Evil games, so I can't exactly speak to how faithful this movie is to the video games. I say this because I want it to be clear that I am in no way judging this as an adaptation, only as a movie standing on its own. The film was originally made in Japan, so the version I saw was dubbed over. Some of the actual syncing wasn't very good. The animation was alright. It's nothing stellar, but it's nothing amazing either. I will give credit to the voice acting. Many of the performers in this film are voice actors by profession. These include the likes of Laura Bailey, Alyson Court, Roger Craig Smith, and Steve Blum, just to name a few. The plot can feel a little bit too complicated at times, like there is a little too much going on. One point where I think the animation actually excels is in the action. Characters like Leon and Claire are just really damn entertaining to watch. It feels like the purpose with the heroes in the film is to just make them badass, and I was completely OK with that. Overall, this film was pretty fun to watch. It's far from perfect, but I would definitely recommend this film to fans of the Resident Evil games.

6 / 10 

Fast & Furious 6

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So, here it is, the last film I have to review in the Fast and the Furious franchise (that I haven't already reviewed). Following the events of Fast Five, a team of criminals led by Owen Shaw (played by Luke Evans) are stealing high-tech devices, which could be dangerous for the world at large. Luke Hobbs (played by Dwayne Johnson) seeks out Dom Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) and his team to help stopping them. To complicate matters further, it turns out that Shaw's second in command is Dom's thought-to-be-dead girlfriend, Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez). So, at this point, the Fast and the Furious franchise has veered into becoming a soap opera disguised as over the top action movies. And I kind of love them for that. I love that these movies have really started leaning into being stupid and ridiculous. Once again, I really have to praise the chemistry between the cast, as well as the performance by Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs (who practically oozes charisma). For once, I genuinely enjoy the villains in this movie, especially Luke Evans as Owen Shaw. This is the first film in the franchise where I felt the antagonist was genuinely memorable and charismatic. It does have a similar problem as Fast Five, in that it is probably a little too long. Like Fast Five, this film is 130 minutes, which is just kind of unnecessary. As always, the action is a ton of fun, and is easily the reason you should even consider watching this movie. This isn't a perfect film, but it still stands out as one of the best in the Fast and the Furious franchise.

8 / 10 

Rambo: Last Blood

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Roughly ten years after the events of 2008’s Rambo, John Rambo (played yet again by Sylvester Stallone) has lived a quiet and peaceful life. A teenage girl he shares a bond with finds herself in deep trouble, Rambo soon finds himself drawn back into a world of blood and revenge. From a performance standpoint, this actually might be the best that Stallone has been as Rambo since First Blood. Here, Rambo’s an older man who has finally found the quiet he has been seeking for so long, even though we can clearly see he’s still somewhat haunted by events from his past. The action is visceral. It’s not as gratuitous as it is in 2008’s Rambo, but it’s still pretty gnarly, and I kind of love that about this film. The villains aren’t super strong. They feel more like they are cannon fodder than anything else. But, I don’t really have an issue with that in this film. The film is really short, clocking in around 89 minutes. I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, I’m glad this isn’t 2 and a half hours (which it easily could have been). On the other hand, there are points where I feel like the movie wants to get to certain places. I think this movie could have been 10 minutes longer, and I would have been OK with that. That way, there are points that don’t feel rushed, but then the movie isn’t so long it wears out its welcome. Overall, Rambo: Last Blood is actually a really solid action sequel. Whether or not this is truly the Last Blood, I have no idea. But, I had a really good time with this film. 

8 / 10 

Fast Five

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Brian O'Connor (played by Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) are on the run after O'Connor springs Toretto from a prison bus with the help of Toretto's sister Mia (played by Jordana Brewster). The three find themselves in Rio where they run afoul of a corrupt businessman played by Joaquim de Almeda. They then pull out every stop they can in order to rob de Almeda's crime boss by calling in allies from previous films in the franchise. But, to complicate things even further, the team is pursued by DSS agent Luke Hobbs (played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). OK, the plot can get a little complicated, and the movie is a little too long at 130 minutes. Joaquim de Almeda's villain is better than the villains in the first four movies, but I still don't think the character is really anything special. I wanted to get those out of the way because those really are the only major issues I have with the movie. Even if the acting isn't award-caliber (but, who would go into Fast Five expecting that anyways), it's still good enough for this type of movie, and the cast all legitimately have good chemistry together. Truthfully, the standout is Dwayne Johnson. There's something about Luke Hobbs that really helped turn the Fast and the Furious movies around, and into something better than they've been in the past. The action in this is amazing because you can tell they're actually blowing up cars. There's very little (if any CGI) being used in this film. The heist itself is a ton of fun to watch. To this day, if I were asked to pick a favorite film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, I would have to say it's this one. Fast Five took the formula from the first four movies, and cranked it up to 11, which actually helps make this movie feel fresh and new. This is the film where it felt like the filmmakers finally understood what these movies were, and what they needed to be, and they just rolled with it.

9 / 10 

Fast & Furious

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Fast & Furious re-teams Vin Diesel and Paul Walker together for the first time since the first film. Actresses Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez are also brought back from the first film. Dom Toretto (played by Diesel) finds himself drawn back to the United States to search for a ruthless criminal known only as "Braga" when Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez) is seemingly murdered. This is really the movie where I feel like Paul Walker kind of comes into his own as the Brian O'Connor character. Does that mean Paul Walker gives a stellar performance? No, but I didn't really expect that out of him either. I always really feel Walker's chemistry with Vin Diesel in these movies. The action and street racing is mostly pretty fun, with just the right amount of stupid. This is really the first film in the franchise that signals that a shake up coming. It's a lot more noticeable in the next film in the franchise. However, I think this is the film that really starts turning those stones. The racing actually is fairly important, but the murder mystery and the crime element is truly the focus of the film. Sometimes, it can feel a little too complicated. It's never really to a point that you're completely confused and checked out, but that complication is still there. For as fun as the action is, some of the computer generated effects don't really look too good. I'm glad they're pretty toned down though. As much as I enjoy this as guilty pleasure (something fairly common for this franchise as a whole), this is one case where I can kind of see the franchise showing some wear and tear. It's not really a cohesive whole, but I think it just barely works.

6 / 10 

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

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In many ways, Tokyo Drift is sort of the black sheep of the Fast and the Furious franchise. The film centers around Sean Boswell (played by Lucas Black). Sean gets in trouble with the law, and is sent to live with his father in Tokyo. From there, he starts getting into his old street racing habits, and even runs into some trouble with the Yakuza. This might have some of my favorite moments in terms of the actual street racing moments. I think the best thing this movie does is introduce the character Han (played by Sung Kang). Han is just this cool, laid back kind of guy, and actor Sung Kang plays this part to a tee. He is easily the best part of the movie in my opinion. Plot-wise, the best comparison I could potentially make is that this is sort of a Karate Kid style plot. It's not really anything too complex, but I don't really need it to be that complex either. So, yeah. This a pretty short review. I like this as a simple movie. I don't really need any more out of it than what it gave me.

7 / 10 

2 Fast 2 Furious

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As the month of September continues, I am now moving on to the next film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Brian O'Connor (played again by Paul Walker) teams up with an old friend of his, Roman Pierce (played by Tyrese Gibson) to take down a villain played by Cole Hauser. Forgetting that 2 Fast 2 Furious is a kind of a dumb title for a movie, this might be the most forgettable film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. This isn't an awful movie, it just isn't terribly memorable compared to some of the other films in the franchise. For starters, Cole Hauser's villain is incredibly weak. I don't really remember what his name was, or what his plan was (assuming he even had a plan). While I didn't mind the chemistry between Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson, it felt like something of a downgrade compared to what Walker and Vin Diesel had in the first movie. Some of the action is kind of fun. To be fair, the action is probably the weakest in this film. I feel like there's a bit too much of a reliance on CGI for the car stunts. The acting isn't Oscar material by any means, but I think it's serviceable enough. 2 Fast 2 Furious is far from high art. The best way I can describe 2 Fast 2 Furious is that it's a perfectly decent movie to have playing in the background while you're doing other things. It's far from being one of my personal go-to movies in this franchise, but it does it's job well enough, I suppose.

6 / 10 

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

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I think it's safe to say that Jason Goes to Hell isn't exactly the most beloved film in the Friday the 13th franchise. I do have some level of respect for this film, which seems a little weird. It is a movie that tries something incredibly different for the franchise, even if that's a risk I can't necessarily say pays off in the end. This film portrays Jason as more of a demonic parasite who uses people's bodies as hosts for his spirit. Yep, this is that kind of movie. Is it even fair to criticize the acting? Slashers (with a few notable exceptions here and there) aren't known for having stellar acting. I feel like this is a point I have brought up numerous times, but I also don't know that it really matters. The biggest criticism I have towards this movie is that Jason really isn't in it, at least in his more well-known form. Because of this, Kane Hodder feels pretty underutilized. So, his presence feels missed. Some of the characters are kind of cool, but they feel like they belong in a completely different movie. I also like the ending that teases Freddy vs. Jason (which came ten years later). The kills are pretty cool, especially if you watch the unrated cut of the film. In the end, Jason Goes to Hell has some bright spots, but is still very much so one of the weaker entries in the franchise. Part of me honestly wonders if I would actually like this movie a lot more if it were a standalone film, and not linked to the Friday the 13th franchise.

5 / 10   

Ready or Not

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Newly married Grace (played by Samara Weaving) is forced to play a deadly game of hide and seek at her new husband’s family estate in a family tradition that appears to be centuries old. So, the first thing I want to do is compliment the hell out of this cast. Everybody feels like they bring something to the table with the characters they play. Granted, the characters are mostly pretty exaggerated, but it honestly works for this film. The clear standouts to me are Samara Weaving and Adam Brody. Weaving is just a charismatic performer on the whole, and this film is no exception. Adam Brody really deserves props as well. His character is arguably the most developed, and one of the most sympathetic. The movie also blends its dark humor and more horrific elements pretty effectively. Some of the development can be thin for our characters, but they are so well performed it feels like it doesn’t matter that much to me. In all honesty, Ready or Not might just be one of my absolute favorite films of the year so far. No, this isn’t a groundbreaker. But, I didn’t need it to be. This movie is a ton of fun, and seems like it knows that. This is a movie I highly recommend to fans of the horror genre.  

9 / 10   

It: Chapter Two

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27 years after the events of the first film, the Losers’ Club returns to Derry, Maine to finish Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgard) off once and for all when “It” resurfaces. In some ways, I almost feel like I’m at a loss on how I should review it. It’s because this movie is bad. It’s actually solid. It’s just difficult for me to know whether I should start with the positives or the negatives. The acting is genuinely good (especially from Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Skarsgard). If there is one flaw that really sets this film back—especially in comparison to the first film—it’s the film’s length. This movie clocks in around 170 minutes. Without getting into spoilers, there were some subplots that probably didn’t need to be included in this movie, or tightened up at the very least. Some of the effects aren’t very good either. They aren’t awful, but they are just bad enough to be somewhat distracting. My review for this movie might seem a bit messy, and all over the place. However, I feel that the flaws in this movie are quite a bit more noticeable. Overall, It: Chapter Two comes across as being just good enough for me to recommend. This movie isn’t anything amazing, and feels like something of a downgrade compared to the first It. 

6 / 10 

Kill Bill Vol. 1

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Kill Bill Vol. 1 comes from the mind of Quentin Tarantino. I finally got a chance to watch it again recently. Much of the influence for this film comes from old school kung fu films and anime. The film follows The Bride (played by Uma Thurman) after she is left for dead on her wedding day. She wakes up from a coma four years later with vengeance on her mind and begins hunting down her old team who betrayed her and left her to die, with Bill (played by David Carradine) as the main target for her revenge. As usual, Tarantino's writing and directing shines. The cast is excellent. Lucy Liu doesn't play a villain very often, but her work in this film makes me wish she would do it a little bit more. The film also plays out in a very non-linear fashion (typical for Quentin Tarantino). I like that Bill is used sparingly. His face is never shown, but his presence is always felt, almost as though he's a shadow looming over the film in its entirety. The action is incredible. You can feel Tarantino's love for the genre he's sending up. The action is fittingly brutal and bloody. Let's be real, I honestly think this is Uma Thurman's movie. She delivers when she needs to be vulnerable. She delivers when she needs to cold and calculated. She delivers when she needs to be angry. While Pulp Fiction might be her most iconic work, I actually think The Bride might be her at her absolute best. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is one of those movies I haven't seen very often, but I think I love even more the more I actually see it.

10 / 10