The Brave Little Pixar

Ah, Pixar...I love Pixar. Ever since they made Toy Story they have been some of my favorite film makers of all time. Ever since 2008 (Wall-E) me and my little brother have made it a tradition to go see every Pixar movie in theaters. So obviously, we went to go see Brave today. So how was it? Well, you're here to find out, right? What's that? ...you want to know where my Zombie movie review is? ...WAIT FOR IT!!! Sheesh...Soon I SHOULD have the review of Extinction up. I would have had it up earlier this week but...well...uh...it sorta scared me so bad that I needed time for it to sink in that something like that exists...in the meantime, here's Brave!

Background...well, Pixar makes family movies that are good. This is their newest. Ok, I should put something here...For one, my favorite Pixar movie is Toy Story 3. What does that have to do with Brave? Nothing. Second, I should say that we did NOT see this in 3D, so I won't be evaluating that. And finally, I want to say that the title Brave is stupid. Honestly, it gets shoehorned into dialogue later and doesn't make sense. The original title was The Bear and the Bow...and that made a LOT more sense. Oh well, just something odd.

A quick recap of the movie...spoiler free, don't worry...: There's a young princess in the Scottish Highlands that is being pressured by her mother to act like a proper princess. Fed up with it all, the princess runs away and finds a witch, making a deal for a spell that could help her with her mother...what could possibly go wrong?!

Ok, positive time! Firstly, this movie is BEAUTIFUL! The Scottish Highlands feel ALIVE in this movie. The detail is great, the modeling is wonderful, and beauty can be seen everywhere. Also, the characters are REALLY fun, and I didn't hate a single one (I do kinda hate those two kids that were sitting behind me in the theater...but that has nothing to do with the movie...). The script was well written, the voice acting is pretty good, and the exciting parts are tense. The plot twists are also unexpected and exciting. The relationship between the mother and daughter is very believable, and the princess is not the typical Disney princess. Also, I love the score.

Negatives...well, honestly my main problem here is that the whole story seems rushed. Don't get me wrong, this is a relatively long movie (Almost 2 hours, I think), but they spend a lot of time introducing us, then some gags, and finally we have about 1/4 of the movie to fit in the conflict. It's still a great movie, and it doesn't drag at all, but either a longer run time or less time for the intro could have helped the conflict out a lot. Also, some people may complain about how butchered Scottish life is in the movie. Honestly, I don't mind at all, and think they did a great job adapting Scottish life for a kids film, but some purists may be upset. Also, the resolution feels a tad bit underplayed...don't get me wrong, it's a great emotional ending...but I feel like the resolution really happened before this part.

All in all, this is a fun movie, and it is a great addition to the Pixar library. I highly recommend you go see it. ...don't worry, next is Resident Evil: Extinction. Sheesh.

Word of Warning: Well, this movie has no swear words...but there IS a bit of violence, including hunting and nearly-deadly bear attacks. There is no blood, and no gore, though. Also, there is some scary/intense moments, and there are a couple more sexual jokes. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

I am the R2 Dude, and this is The R2 View!

Summer of ZOMBIES!: Resident Evil: Apocalypse

And now for the second review for Summer of ZOMBIES! Today's movie is the sequel to the first Resident Evil movie...that's right, today we're reviewing Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

I don't really need much background here. If you haven't read my review of Resident Evil read that first, I'll wait...done yet? No...well hurry! ...NOW?! SERIOUSLY?! Ugh...Ok, that's it. If you haven't read it yet TOO BAD! Ok, there is a couple things I need to say...first thing is this. Remember how I mentioned that Anderson was the director/writer/producer of the series? Well, even though he didn't direct this or the next movie, he still wrote and produced them. Anyways, he met Milla Jovovich (Alice) for the first time making the first Resident Evil movie. However...Anderson fell in love with her during production. No, seriously. He even proposed to her in 2003...the same time he was writing the script for Apocalypse...hmm...you know, that explains a LOT! Secondly, despite what I said in the first review (HA! Told you to read it...), from here on out there is NO continuity between game and film. It didn't take me long to figure out, either...

And for a quick plot analysis...the T virus has gotten into the water supply of Raccoon City, causing a HUGE Zombie outbreak. Alice and a group of survivors try to save a young girl and get out alive. Wow...that was quick.

Ok, Positives. Well, I do like the scale for this movie. The first movie had a small facility, and everything was contained. This movie improves things by having all of Raccoon City be infested. The action in the movie is very good, too. A lot of the characters are likable, and a good amount of them live this time. I also like how they tried to incorporate more of the game's elements into the movie. And more of the monsters make an appearance, which is awesome. Lastly...the ending. Seriously, the endings that Anderson has just makes you want to watch the next movie! It's cliffhangers to the extreme...

Negatives...where do I start...well, first off, the CGI still is bad...it's improved, but not much at all. Also, they sorta butcher the story of the third game. I appreciate that they tried...but bad decisions still made it bad...And now for the REAL problem with this movie. This movie turned Alice into a Mary Sue. Seriously. This is the first movie to include main characters from the games, and they become pretty much non-existent once Alice is around. For example, early in the movie you see Jill Valentine break into a police station and kill a bunch of Zombies single handily. It was a very cool moment and the first time we see zombies die. (Early in the movie this time, thankfully.) However, once Alice shows up Jill becomes Princess Peach. She stands in awe of Alice and actually runs away from danger when Alice tells her to. I honestly feel like Anderson swept the story aside in order to write a movie praising Jovovich...just so she would like him. I mean, in this movie Alice returns from the dead twice, stares unblinkingly at Nemesis, has Nemesis AT HER MERCY, and single handily fights off a huge hoard of Zombies...WITH KARATE! Honestly, this is my biggest complaint with this movie. The first movie had Alice as a memory loss victim with a dark past that returns to haunt her. She eventually over comes that in order to save the last couple of survivors, even when it puts her into danger. She fights, yes, but not much. And even when she does it makes sense. This movie, however, makes her the greatest thing since sliced bread. We are forced to think that Alice is the most powerful and greatest person in this universe, and aren't given much choice on the matter.

I'll be honest here, I was really enjoying the movie...but the constant Alice/Jovovich worship was really irritating and distracting. Look...I think she's a good actress, and I am not complaining she was in this movie...but this really felt more like a Mary Sue fanfiction for Resident Evil 3 than a Resident Evil Movie.

Word of Warning: Again, not a movie for kids. At all. This time the R rating feels more natural. There is more blood and gore (Still pretty tame, though.), and more violent deaths. There is still swearing, but there are less F words (Still a few, though.). And again...Zombies, people. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Final Verdict: 6/10

I am The R2 Dude, and this is The R2 View!

Summer of ZOMBIES!: Resident Evil (Movie)

Welcome to the first review of Summer of ZOMBIES! Today I will be reviewing the first Resident Evil movie! Uh, the first live action movie, that is. You know...the one with Milla Jovovich and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.

Time for some background...Resident Evil is a video game series developed by Capcom, and is about a series of viruses that turn people into zombies (Yes...I know there is more to it than that. But that's the basics.). I have never played the games, but I DO know the basic plot of each game, as well as the major characters. Anyways, the real villain behind the whole series is the Umbrella corporation. If it wasn't for them there wouldn't be ANY zombies. (Yes..I know about Wesker...but again, not important to understand this movie!)

So, here's the plot analysis. There will be spoilers, but this movie IS 10 years old. If you haven't seen it yet than skip to the next paragraph. Resident Evil starts off in an Umbrella research facility called the Hive. A T-Virus outbreak locks all the workers inside to die. We then follow Alice, a woman inside the mansion that sits on top of the Hive, who wakes up and can't remember a thing. She is found by a cop and a group of Umbrella special ops who take her to the Hive to shut down the AI...the Red Queen. After shutting down the Red Queen, they accidentally release the zombie hoards, and are now racing against the clock to escape from this place before it gets sealed away forever.

I will, as usual, say some positive things about the movie...well, to start off, I did enjoy it. Yes, the whole group of people escaping zombies has been done to DEATH, but I still enjoy it. Also, from what I can tell, this movie could fit into the game's canon. There isn't any game characters (That I know of) in this movie, and none of the events covered in the game are covered here (Except one...but it still fits. And is awesome.), so you could say this movie is a canon side story. From what I hear this is completely thrown out the window in the sequels, but for this movie it could. There is also nice little nods to the game series. Raccoon City is seen (And the incident there mentioned.), the Nemesis program is also mentioned, and besides Zombies there are other Resident Evil monsters shown (Such as those awesome dogs!). Some Resident Evil fans may complain that it has nothing to do with Resident Evil and could very easily been edited and released as a non-Resident Evil movie, but I kinda like it because of that. It has the elements that people loved about Resident Evil, kept it away from main stories in the series, and at the same time kept it more original so that movie goers who never heard about the series wouldn't be lost. Also, the characters are mostly good (If a little cliched) and the twists in the story are well done (But again, cliched). There is also some "Alice in Wonderland" references that are very subtle and interesting.

Now to the negative side of things...well, for starters, the CGI is VERY faithful to the original game...and by that I mean the CGI looks like it came from the Playstation 1. It really harks back to Anderson's OTHER big video game movie...Mortal Kombat. Again, that is NOT a compliment. The other effects are alright, but the CGI is terrible. Also, the movie is a bit slow. Granted, in the first few minutes we see the death of hundreds, but it's all by drowning. We don't get an ACTUAL Zombie attack until a half hour in! In fact, we get four people that die by laser BEFORE they even know the zombies are there! Not only that, but Alice herself doesn't kill a zombie until almost the END! She does fight some zombie dogs, but that's it!

Another thing I never understood...how come they never IMMEDIATELY shoot the heads? I mean...are there no Zombie movies in this universe? I mean, even so, why do they always shoot at the legs? If I wanted to kill anyone right away I would shoot for the head! Also, if you see someone trying to eat you...do NOT yell "FREEZE! I DON'T WANT TO SHOOT!" Kill them! I'll give a pass on Alice and Spence, since they are suffering from Amnesia, but the others are trained soldiers! Not only soldiers, but special ops! You THINK they would no better!

All that aside, this WAS a fun film, at least in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, this is no masterpiece, but if you want a good Zombie survival flick this is a decent choice. Also, you can see Raccoon City in a movie! How cool is that!

Interesting little fact...the original director was George Romero...yes, the Father of the Modern Zombie George Romero! Guess what...they fired him! They fired him from a Resident Evil movie...WHAT?! From what I can tell he wrote a loose adaptation of the first game, and that's why they fired him, because they didn't want just a movie version of the game. I respect them for that...but still, you fired George Romero from a zombie movie! That's messed up!

Well, the first review of Summer of ZOMBIES! is finished! Return next time for my review of Resident Evil: Apocalypse!

Word of Warning: This is NOT a movie for kids. It is rated R, and deserves it. Barely. Honestly, the reason why this film is R is because of the F words. There is other swearing as well, but the F words are what push it over. There isn't all too many F words (There's less than ten, I mean), but if there is over one it gets R. In fact, the violence and gore is about PG-13 level. Only a couple of the Zombies are "gory" and even then it doesn't get worse than a hole in the head or a few cuts. The goriest thing is a beheading...which again, is very clean cut. There is blood, but ironically it isn't a blood bath. The Zombies eating is very clean, so much so that you barely hear the victims scream! Don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining. I am not a fan of gore, and applaud the movie for not relying on it. My point is that it suffers from the same thing Terminator 2 does: A PG-13 movie given F words so that it will get a hard rating. If I may rant a bit, that is awful, movie makers! Adding F words to make your movie an R is alienating to people! I think you should just make the movie you WANT to make, and if it gets a PG-13 than so be it! I'll get off my soap box now and finish. Parents, this movie has Zombies... obviously. This movie has extreme swearing. This movie has very minor gore and a quite a few clean deaths. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Final Verdict: 7/10

I am The R2 Dude and this is The R2 View!

Summer of ZOMBIES!

As you may have noticed I haven't had a review in a while. Honestly, I want to review all the Summer blockbusters, but I unfortunately am still looking for a job. So while I am penniless I thought I would do something special for all my fans...the two of you. Anyways, I was looking through my library for a movie I never watched before to review. That's when I came across the ENTIRE Resident Evil movie series, unopened and forgotten. Yeah...I bought four movies and never watched them...don't judge me. Anyways, I thought I would do a Zombie month or something...and then I realized I had a LOT more Zombie and Resident Evil material...so I said what the heck! This is the SUMMER OF ZOMBIES! And yes, if I see any of the Hollywood blockbusters this summer I will review them...but every other review will be the Summer of ZOMBIES! Enjoy this Summer!