Resident Evil: Retribution review

It seems a little silly to do a review of a Resident Evil movie.  Obviously the film is going to be a mindless piece of crap.  Nobody is going into this film with hopes of anything artsy, intelligent, or tasteful.  You are either going to watch this film with hopes of enjoying the mindless action or you are going to go watch something decent.

However, for people like myself who take guilty pleasure in such an awful series, there is some room for criticism.  What I mean by this is that Resident Evil: Retribution can be judged as a good or bad film with regards to the rest of the series, and also in regards to whether the pure entertainment value outweighs the misery of watching a film that just isn’t well made at all.

Star Trek Into Darkness is Getting Ahead of Themselves

Recently, someone ridiculously named Benedict Cumberbatch who happens to be playing the villain for the new Star Trek film claimed his villain had shades of Hannibal Lecter, The Joker, and Jack Torrance.  These are three of the greatest film villains of all time, and are great inspiration if you want to play a mentally deranged badass iconic villain.

Well, this is great for the actor to say during a publicity tour, but let's not get carried away.  Just because I call my screenplay a mix of The Godfather, Citizen Kane, and The Graduate doesn't mean it's true at all, or that my screenplay will be any good.  How about we look at the previous Star Trek film and examine that villain.

Three Directors Mentioned as Possibilities to Direct the New Star Wars (That I Would Hate With a Passion)

Kevin Smith

My favorite director on this list, and the one that I feel would give the biggest fanboy effort into the new films.  Smith references Star Wars in many of his films, from Clerks’ discussion of contractor ethics in regards to choosing whether to work on the soon-to-be-destroyed-again Death Star to the spoof porno in Zack and Miri Make a Porno.  I’m not questioning that he would be the truest to the original trilogy, willing to strive for the glory that was the first 3 films rather than the commercial appeal (and overall failure) of the last 3 (Jar Jar Binks).

However, Kevin Smith is not a technically sound director at all, and his films have enormous flaws.  While he is capable of writing hilarious dialogue in some scenes, other scenes feel bogged down.  He lacks any real visual flair, his films are poorly edited, and the film would likely suffer in quality.  Smith could deliver some very solid concepts and would likely make an enjoyable film, but it wouldn’t be as great quality as some better options would provide.

Megamind: Such a Pleasant Film

Megamind isn’t going to win any awards for best picture, and it shouldn’t by any means.  It isn’t a culturally significant film, it doesn’t change the way people look at the world, it doesn’t examine society in a way that sheds some light onto new truths, and it doesn’t have visuals set to inspire a new generation of filmmakers.  But it is an incredibly pleasant film that has led to one of my more joyful film-watching experiences in a while.

I’ve always blasted people for liking stupid movies.  When someone tells me that their favorite movie is something where the attractive but overworked girl ends up getting the nerdy but charismatic guy, or the popular guy gets the nerdy but secretly hot because she’s a Hollywood actress girl, I usually insult their intelligence.  But sometimes the people making an easy-to-watch, little-thought-needed film get it right, which is the case with Megamind.

5 Worst Community Characters

It's hard to find many flaws with Community, which happens to be my favorite comedy on television right now.  However, there are a handful of characters I can do without (and one I hate with a passion).  So here it is, the 5 worst characters from Community

#5  Bill/Student #1/Dude #1/Young Guy/Condom Water Balloon Man/Football Player (Bill Parks)

(pictures on the left)

 One of the many reoccurring characters on the show, but perhaps the one with the least personality that has been in six episodes.  He seems to be just some random person with minimal personality that they inserted into 6 episodes because it was easier to just keep him around than to find someone else who could provide the show with another humorous or interesting character.  He isn’t even credited with an actual name until his 6^th episode, and even then they just take his real first name.  And in that episode, he isn’t even referred to as “Bill”, but is instead called “Red Haired Guy” by Abed.

Failures in The Dark Knight Rises' Plot and Political Message

(SPOILERS)

Going into watching The Dark Knight Rises, I was thrilled to see Christopher Nolan’s final film in his Batman trilogy.  It was the opposite of going in to see The Dark Knight, a movie I had low expectations for.  I hadn’t been a big fan of Batman Begins, seeing it as just another superhero movie, but The Dark Knight completely blew my mind, providing incredible characters, thrilling action, philosophical themes, and a fresh storyline.  Coming out of The Dark Knight Rises, I could say that all of those things were provided again, but I still walked out of the theatre disappointed.  I still enjoyed watching the film, and appreciate how Christopher Nolan created a well-made smart summer blockbuster, but couldn’t shake the feeling that this film was significantly more flawed than its predecessor.

Why The Shawshank Redemption is Overrated

(SPOILERS)

The Shawshank Redemption is an incredibly overrated movie.  Before I watched it, all I heard about the film were glowing reviews.  It was constantly on top of the imdb list of the greatest films of all time.  In my freshman year high school study hall, the classroom had a full-sized movie theater poster serving as a shrine to its supposed greatness.  When I finally got around to seeing the film, however, I was left disappointed.  I gave the film a second chance though, seeing it again a few months later, seeing if my negative first impression was simply a case of the mood I was in, and once again I couldn’t enjoy the film nearly as much as other people seemed to.  I would often tell people about my dislike for the film, and every time I did so, I would be met with disbelief that anyone could hate the film.  Recently, I decided to try and explain why I had these negative feelings about the film, and rewatched the movie for a third time, this time taking care to analyze the film and take notes describing what exactly I felt were the problems with the film.  In this post, I will try to present the case for my dislike of the film, not with the intention of convincing other people that the film isn’t great, but to simply explain how it is possible to not like the film.