Phil sees RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER from Sony Pictures/Screen Gems - April 1, 2017

Welcome back my loyal readers to Phil's Film Adventures! After taking a very long and much needed break, I'm back and better than ever!! And what better way to kick off my glorious return to the blogging world than to review the final chapter of a franchise that's been around since 2002. After 15 years and six films, it is with a heavy heart that we must say goodbye to our dear friend Alice with this, the last film to the immensely popular Capcom video game. So, let's talk about director Paul W.S. Anderson's swan song to the series RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER.

The film's official synopsis: Picking up immediately after the events of RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began - the Hive in Racoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

To be honest, the beginning felt just a bit rushed. We were never really given a full explanation about happened after the events of the previous installment. Nor are we told how the hell Alice survived. Or why did she survive and not anybody else? What happened to her friends? And let's not forget that it ended with Alice and her friends fighting off a horde of T-virus monsters! So how about it Paul? Mmmmm? Care to explain all this? Gonna give us a logical flashback to clarify these drastic questions that moviegoers have been waiting for for the past five years? Nope, you're gonna bypass all that and just start the movie off with Alice waking up and walking around the now destroyed and leveled Washington DC. Great, thanks a bunch Paul! You lazy bloody wanker!!

Anyhoo, Alice is played for the final time by Milla Jovovich, who's starting to show some fatigue from portraying this character for the last 15 years. She can play this role in her sleep. She doesn't bring anything new, still looks hot in black spandex and still kicks a lot of ass, but we've seen it already. There's no real depth to the character (like there ever was one to begin with) and so we're left with this two-dimensional pawn of the Umbrella Corporation who now has to go all the way back to Racoon City to finally stop the Red Queen and Umbrella from eradicating the remaining bits of humankind.

And what did I think of this mindless, soulless, abomination of a movie? I liked it.

While it really needed a more fluid story arcs, better pacing and stronger and more defined characters, it was all that bad. It had some excellent action scenes, cool looking T-virus monsters, Ali Larter is back as Claire (she still looks hot) and I liked how it ended up back at the Hive and the Umbrella Corporation from the first film. Overall, Anderson and his cast and crew did a good job for the most part. What took me out of the film a lot was the overused CGI and some, not all, but some looked really bad. That's one of my big pet peeves: if your film uses a lot of CGI, make sure it looks real and not like it does from the video game.

The cast is average: Jovovich and Larter are bad asses, Dr Issacs (Iain Glen) is still a batshit crazy religious zealot, there's a new little girl playing the Red Queen (Ever Anderson), and the rest of the cast gets killed off so I'm not gonna waste my time on them. Did that sound mean? Well, it's true! They introduce a bunch of new characters and they're all picked off one by one. How are we supposed to care for them, the last of humanity, if you're gonna kill them all? Yup, that's what I thought Paul! You lazy bloody wanker!!

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER is a decent action packed, horror, sci-fi flick to one of the most popular franchises of all time! It doesn't break any new ground and while it's predictable, it's a popcorn film and should just accept that fact and try to have a good time watching it.

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER is still playing at select theaters nationwide. Check your local listings and see if it's playing at a theater near you.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch: DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER (2015) from Sony Pictures-December 1, 2015

DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER DVD (2015)

DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER

Starring: Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, Virginia Madsen, Keegan Connor Tracy, Aleks Paunovic, Dennis Haysbert, Carrie Genzel, Rob Riggle, Julia Benson, Peter Benson, Harley Morenstein

Written by Tim Carter

Cinematography by Mahlon Todd Williams
Edited by Mike Jackson
Produced by Tim Carter & Tomas Harlan

Directed by Zach Lipovsky
Production Company: Legendary Digital Media, Contradiction Films, Dead Rising Productions

Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment

The majority of movies based on popular video games have been, shall we say, disposable train wrecks that almost ruin the game it's based on (remember MARIO BROTHERS and STREET FIGHTER). When the RESIDENT EVIL films came out, it seemed like the new trend in Hollywood was the game adaptations. Soon others followed like the HALO direct-to-video films and the atrocious HOUSE OF THE DEAD series plus those FINAL FANTASIES movies that people didn't like. Now there's a new game adaptation on the block making its debut and, to my surprise, is really awesome and very entertaining. So let's dive right into my review of DEAD RISING:WATCHTOWER.

The film's official synopsis: Set between the events of Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 3, The story follows online reporter Chase Carter (Jesse Metcalfe) and his camerawoman Jordan (Keegan Connor Tracy) as they cover the stories of the people inside of the walled-in quarantined area in Oregon, as the government (running an organization called FEZA—Federal Emergency Zombie Authority) attempts to contain a viral outbreak that turns people into ravenous zombies. An anti-viral drug called Zombrex, that keeps the virus at bay, is being administered to those infected. When it becomes clear that the drug is no longer effective and a zombie outbreak purges the town and infects its inhabitants, Chase, Jordan, grieving mother Maggie (Virginia Madsen), and survivor Crystal (Meghan Ory) battle their way out of the city before it gets firebombed. But Crystal has a dark secret, and the army has a hidden agenda.

Promotional Movie Poster (2015)

Unlike most films based on video games, this one is jammed packed with awesome action, cool characters, fun story, great directing, and very scary looking zombies. What I liked was that the film stated very faithful to the game, which is a rarity these days. Plus I liked that it fits into the game's continuity, which fans of the franchise will get a big kick out of. It's a long movie, which I found very satisfying because most films are really rushed and the filmmakers try to cram so much into their film. For some reason, filmmakers feel as if they need to tell it all in just 90 minutes. Where is that written in stone? Take the time to make a good movie and don't worry about the film's length. If the film's entertaining, the audience will go with you.

Director Zach Lipovsky does a great job of constructing some excellent set-ups, pans and clean narratives that keep the story moving forward. He builds tensions and scares with precise execution while giving the characters breathing room so we can get to know them better. And the action scenes with the zombies is spot-on; it looks like it was ripped from the video game. Every scene serves a purpose and it looks spectacular, especially the amazing bus scene where Chase is being chased by zombies in and around a school bus. That was an excellent scene!! That blew my mind away!! Great directing on the part of Mr. Lipovsky!!

The cast as a whole deserves nods from the horror community as well as from the game world. Jesse Metcalfe's Chase is the asshole you love to hate, but then cheer for at the end.
Meghan Ory pours on the mystery, the sexy, and the ass kicking as her character Chrystal is freaking awesome! And you can't help feel the sorrow of Virginia Madsen's character Maggie. No matter what role she plays, Madsen is one of the most underated actresses in Hollywood. Believe it or not I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Monsterpalooza convention back in 2013. She was such a sweet person that I found myself falling for her. Kind, considerate and very appreciative of her fans. She shows respect to her fans and that's why she is loved withing the horror community. One of the nicest women I have ever met! 

This was the first digital film developed by Legendary Digital Media, a division of Legendary Pictures. The movie premiered on Crackle, an online distributor of movies and television shows. Since then it's been released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It was announced recently that the sequel will premiere on Crackle in the spring of 2016.

DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER is a worthy entry to the game's franchise as well as in horror fans' libraries. It's a bad-ass, zombie infested, blood stained, thrill-ride-of-a-flick that will definitely keep you entertained through the film's duration! So grab your self a bag a popcorn, some cold sodas and set back and watch this awesome movie! 4 out of 5 stars!! Recommended viewing!! 

DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER is currently available on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Visit your local retailer and pick up your copy today. It can also be seen online on the Crackle website.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!