Necrotongue

The Japanese precursor to all the Hunger Games and similar style films. I rewatched it after years and it had the same effect on me as it did back then. At times it is a chilling, gritty thriller. At times it shows the typical Japanese enthusiasm seen in Japanese tourists. At times the film slows down almost to a halt due to the also typically Japanese sentimentality. The whole film is strangely unbalanced with hardly any detriment to the plot. I especially want to highlight the excellent soundtrack (Radetzky March on the Blue Danube was fantastic), and the unforgettable instructional video. The film was entertaining, terrifying, and thought-provoking at the same time.

For me, this is definitely the weakest installment in the franchise. I praised Paul Anderson for not being afraid to create his own story instead of desperately trying to copy the game, and now this... There is no story, the film offers a disconnected set of slow-motion action scenes interspersed with the crunching of bones and pointless references to Resident Evil 4. It recycles characters who have died at least once in the previous installments, so the most appropriate reaction is probably WTF??

Despite my apprehension, the fourth installment of Resident Evil wasn't that bad, it was a tad better than Extinction. I appreciated that there was no annoying speechifying. The whole film would have looked much better if it hadn't been shot almost entirely in slow motion. I have to applaud the filmmakers for their exemplary knowledge of the laws of physics. I would encourage them to get thrown from the 20th floor in a metal container. As long as they hit water, they should be fine. I'm no Sheldon Cooper, but this was too much even for me. I don't mean to sound overly critical, it did make me laugh for a long time, so this scene was actually a plus. The action scenes looked decent, the monsters looked monstrous, and Albert Wesker looked positively sleazy.

I enjoyed the previous two installments, mainly because they were based on the game but didn’t lack originality. The third installment is a kind of fusion of zombie movies and a softcore version of The Road Warrior. There are more heroic acts and emotional speeches, which is a shame. The theme had a lot more potential. This way it is rather average, and I'm giving it three stars only out of force of habit.

I happened to see Karate Kid on TV the other day, and I watched it to the end to my own surprise. The film is disgustingly predictable, naïve, and generally unconvincing, yet I’m giving it three stars. 1* Mr. Miyagi, 2* – Elisabeth Shue, 3* – desperate nostalgia.

I rewatched Apocalypse Now and had to upgrade my earlier rating by one star. I had been too harsh. Like the first installment, this film also takes the game only as inspiration on which the story is loosely based. Apocalypse Now clearly takes Resident Evil 3 as a model (Nemesis and Jill Valentine are both accurate). The filmmakers tried to avoid scenes with "overpowered" heroes this time, but Alice's triumphant entrance into the church sure got out of hand. Otherwise, I was quite satisfied with the story. Let me just say again how much I appreciate that Paul Anderson didn’t try to make the film exactly like the game. He would have definitely failed my expectations. I was okay with this loosely inspired story.

A standard B-movie based on a great game series. Resident Evil 3 for PS 1 is a big favorite of mine. I was looking forward to it, but at the same time, I was very apprehensive about how it would turn out. To my pleasant surprise, the movie was great in all respects. Of course, there were a few flaws such as logic holes, too many "cool" one-liners, and the overly tough Michelle Rodriguez who came on too strong. I was pleased to see that the script didn’t copy the plot of the game but came with a story of its own. This way, I didn't have to compare the movie and the game, which would end up in me hating the film crew as it sometimes happens to me after watching a film adaptation of a book. To sum it up – a decent action movie, a disgustingly rotten corporation, and James Purefoy – 4*.

I remember not being very impressed with the third Austin Powers film the first time I saw it, but after watching it today I was downright disappointed. Goldmember doesn’t bring anything new, the jokes have hit rock bottom. The only positives were Austin, Dr.Evil and Mini Me. Otherwise, there was nothing worth watching. Why Beyoncé was in it is beyond me.

The second Austin Powers film is much lamer than the first one. That's not to say I didn't have fun, but it wouldn’t kill the filmmakers to show more effort and not just blatantly try to cash in on the success of the first film.

A great series that was a perfect fusion of drama and black humor with a good dose of cynicism. I was very disappointed when I found out that the adverts appeared only in the first episode, they were brilliant. The plot of the first three seasons was truly captivating. I enjoyed the character development and wondered what kind of death would open the next episode. Seasons 4 and 5 seemed to drag a bit, but everything was saved by the finale. I worried that it would have an overly optimistic ending with an overdose of pathos, but it was excellent, which really made me happy.