We Are 138: Resident Evil: Degeneration, At least it makes more sense than Extinction

Once the action in "Resident Evil: Degeneration" starts rolling, this viewer had to be reminded of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". If it the same crew behind RED, that's cool, but if it is not, it maybe the end of photo realistic motion pictures. It has been eight years since the need for Square to merge with Enix occurred (and I'm sure all RPG fans don't fault the result), and if the effects haven't improved much between FF and RE, one maybe a little miffed if we just rented one giant cut scene.

The good news that only the Sony name connects the two which turns the possibility of the cut motion picture from a negative to a positive. Resident Evil: Degeneration may have a good premise, but can it be executed well.

Like "Resident Evil 4" suggests, Umbrella had fallen after the nuclear annihilation of Raccoon City. The US government has kept what actually happened under wraps, so that they can allow a new firm, WilPharma, to further study the uses of the T-Virus. After a biohazard occurred in India and a terrorist government openly expresses interest in using the virus, a Senate-backed American-based research facility in Hardardville would probably meet with protest. Protest that are led by a former WilPharma employee and father/husband to RC victims, Curtis Miller.

At the Harvardville Airport, Claire Redfield arrives to meet with fellow members of TerraSafe. While waiting to leave, they encounter Senator and WilPharma investor Ron Davis as he is being harassed by protesters with zombie mask. All hell breaks lose when some of the slow moving are not wearing masks, and a plane of undead crashes into the terminal. The only possible clue to what is going on his Claire catching a glance of Miller making his escape.

The airport has been quarantined, and Leon Kennedy is on the scene to coordinate rescue efforts and to help oversee the dispersion of a new T-Virus vaccine. Once word that Miller maybe involved, he and Angela, Miller's sister, are out to stop this biohazard from spreading.

Resident Evil: Degeneration is almost exactly like the video games it is based on. Perhaps to exact. When there is action, the viewer is amazed at the action like they are from the intensity of the video games, but once the scenes are over, the viewer is tied into a bloodless cut scene that consumes most of the picture.

The exposition cut scenes would work in a video game because we need to cool down after getting pass a boss. We are a little more accepting of the details and flashbacks. But RED isn't a game, it is a motion picture. It feels like you are reading the "Resident Evil 3" strategy guide as literature instead of a tool to destroy Nemesis.

I'm not saying that you will not enjoy the movie, but Resident Evil: Degeneration is strictly for the die hard RE fans. Everything you enjoyed in the games are here except sore thumbs. The Resident Evil fan should not be among us skeptics. With their cold response towards "Resident Evil 5", we may be praying Milla Jovovich's Alice will save the property.

HellHorror

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009): What Your Daughters Should be Watching.

The first adaptation of Stieg Larsson's "Men Who Hate Women" was the buzz of foreign film. It draws a modest crowd wherever it plays (like, "In Peoria") and David Fincher ("Se7en", "Fight Club") has jumped on the chance to remake it.

Why so much attention? Because the film is a modern day "Lord of the Rings" with a Hannibal Lector twist.

Mikael Blomkvist attempted to blow the whistle on a billionaire industrialist who was dabbling in the arms trade for "Millennium" magazine. After he is sentenced for to three months for libel, a set up to ruin the magazine seems apparent. In the publication's best interest, he has taken an indefinite leave of absence and will do his best to enjoy the sixth months before his sentence starts.

Lisbeth Salander is an enigmatic computer hacker who was assigned by former industrialist Henrick Vanger to verify the investigative credentials of Blomkvist. Both she and Vanger's associates feel that he is beyond straight laced and that he could not have committed the crime he was convicted for. Vanger decides to offer a means to earn a living before he heads to prison. The task is to find out who murdered his niece Harriet 40 years prior.

The only lead that Mikael has is phone numbers and names in the back of Harriet's bible. Neither he or the police can make sense of these, but fortunately Lisbeth is trying to prove his innocence. That means she is still hacking him to find out every possible detail, and she cannot help but crack the code presented despite it will expose her. Mikael was desperate for that break, so he decides that he will need to bring Lisbeth into the investigation. As they search for answers, more and more of themselves will be found out about each other. With their own drama developing, will they be able to stay focused on the task at hand.

Read the rest of this blog and other stories at Main Event of the Dead.com and determine if this thought process can be translated into a B-movie comedy about pro-wrestling 

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Essential: My Careers, Yes. Lockdown, Yes. "Demon City Shinjuku", Maybe

*Blog started on March 24, 2013.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. My two jobs have both been deemed essential. Unfortunately, a lack of computers with Internet browsers at the retailer and catching up on how things will operate with two less hours (those still being paid thankfully) means that the Monday blog did not even get started.

So again Morrisey confirms that he is a dick. He lied, everyday feels like Monday. With an ex-girlfriend whose job has deemed unessential, everyday will be silent and grey. That may be a bit of hyperbole. Actually, it is a fuck up because I thought the lyric was "everyday feels exactly the same". I guess I am the dick. How dare I not pay close enough attention to Moz.

Getting through lockdown with someone you do not want to rent with (I did not intend to break up with her, which she thought was a dick move but I think just indicates the misunderstandings of our relationship. If you want to see a dick move...) scares me a little. It took her a couple of days to realize the confining elements of it, but since she did not want to bug me with how to manage the finer points (applying for unemployment benefits, understanding all the tech I have to keep her from being bored), I have to hear try to translate her problems over the phone to her employer or parents. The circles she runs makes me think she just as well call the Philippines.

That is not racist, that is how customer service work. HGS, the biggest call center corporation, charges its clients like McDonald's more for its customers to speak with American representatives. If a client still needs a call center, but at a lower rate, Manilla or Bengaluru will take care of you. This makes me wonder, since Peoria is one of their call centers (and I was there), would people rather deal with racists instead of the well meaning?

Now if I wanna get truly racist (instead of leaning away from PC culture), I would go off on those wondering why they cannot come into the retailer. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

At least with my household communication failures, it is just simple electronic rearranging and loud, relatively inoffensive music (That means no Nine Inch Nails or Lords of Acid...probably Combichrist and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult as well.) to relax in the spare bedroom. I say simple rearranging, but even after raising the bed up again, I still got boxes on the TV consoles that prevent me from moving the PS4 and Switch to the room. It feels simpler to just wait her out till she goes to bed, but when I am in the midst of an essential 13-day work week, do I have the energy to?

It is a good thing that my secondary website, NinetyForChill.com is dedicated to shorter movies. The only problem I have is it takes so much time to find them through all the streaming services. Amazon Prime has come through for me many a time when it comes to haste, but with on-demand Rifftrax, finding these less than 90-minute gems makes me feel like I am missing something, besides "Fleabag". It is still offers plenty of the familiar, especially in terms of the post-apocalyptic, so "Demon City Shinjuku" seemed right for a revisit.

IMDB.com - Demon City Shinjuku (1988)

Demon City Shinjuku

Since the film suggests peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, lets just say in the not too distant future, the primary district of Tokyo, Shinjuku, is a wasteland controlled by vile lowlifes and vengeful spirits. This was the result of a pact made between the demons of hell and Rebi Ra, a practitioner of the chi-dependent martial art of Nenpo who envies any human that possesses more power than him. As a result of his rival Genichiro's sacrifice in battle, the district was separated from the rest of the city, but once Ra regains his strength, the world is doomed.

10 years later, the world's president Kozumi Rama and daughter Sayaka come to visit Japan for the first time. Upon arriving, a bouquet of flowers meant to welcome the president turns out to be a trap from Ra. This attack requires Ra's former master Aguni Rai to be at the president's side as protection, so it seems that no one will be able to stop him from fulfilling his pact with Hell. The only person who may have the knowledge and skills of Nenpo to contend with him is Genichiro's son, Kyoya.

Kyoya was barely a teenager when his father disappeared, and had no time to master Nenpo. Since this seemingly makes him no match for Ra, why should he sacrifice his life only to change nothing? His reluctance to take on the war he just now became aware of seems steadfast, but if he will not go, Sayaka is more than willing to take the task on herself. He cannot just let the girl do this on her own, so despite his better judgment, he will go to war with a realm of demons. Fortunately for him, there are demons and residents who are opposed to Ra's rule, but will that be enough to survive and restore the Monster City?

"Demon City Shinjuku" is the fourth feature by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. If there is any director who I associate with all the negative stereotypes of anime (graphic violence and excessive nudity), it would be him. That maybe an insult to him because I think he has one of the most notable character designs in the industry. But this design serves as a warning that an anime may go over the top in a hurry.

"Demon City" is definitely one of his more restrained features. The first version of this feature that I saw was on the SciFi Channel in the late 1990's. Revisiting it kind of shocked me at moments of blatant sexualization of women, but it turned out that these took nothing away from the story. It leaves you wondering if there was much to take away from to begin with.

The OVA's narrative is rather straight forward and you can tell that they crammed the original novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi into this 82-minute package. Action sequence after action sequence just happens, and that totally takes away from the quest that an unlikely hero is suppose to experience. When it comes to the action, aside from the first demon battle, there is not much to it as a well-placed blow will solve any problem.

There are some great scenes that show you how to cut corners, but only if you want to know how to make a cartoon on the cheap would make this film worth studying. That is kind of a shame because for the year it was made, 1988, it might be the best-looking anime outside of "Akira" and Studio Ghibli. As I said, this was done on the cheap, so I really would like to see another/updated take on "Demon City Shinjuku." At least a version with a English dub that is not used as a voice acting exercise for its cast.

If you can watch "Demon City Shinjuku" with subtitles, this is worth a watch. Too bad finding a free version of that is going to be a challenge. $3.99 for misplaced poor Mexican and British accents is too much.

90-Min Amazon Prime: "Wild Card' and Jason Statham vs. William Goldman

*Blog post started on April 30, 2020.

Things keep getting weirder during the lockdown. Tuesday, it was 2:00 am and the monotony of trying to get enough virtual currency to purchase Beth Phoenix in "WWE 2K19" (to then be able to download the best Nyla Rose before the servers shut down in May) was wearing on me. Aside from watching "The Daily Social Distancing Show" and eating Taco Bell after work and errands, the ex-girlfriend decided to be her aloof self in the living room. All of the 4K gear is in that room and I have yet to watch my "Rise of Skywalker" disc yet. I lay back and let out a "Go to fucking bed *redacted*."

"What was that?"

"Just talking to myself."

So the lesson should have just been, play video games like Simon Pegg did on "Spaced" and no one will pay attention to my cursing from the spare room. Then I got back from work last night.

She was frustrated because her ex-fiancé and then leading candidate for next roommate had wanted a custom face covering. Her mom had requested one the prior day and her father keeps breaking his. It is quite the work load and its keeping her away from her Etsy shop. On top of that, she gets a call mid process from this "gentleman":

"Is it okay if I put NRA on his mask."

"He'll look like an asshole, but I'm sure he'd say 'free country'."

"They're only trying to protect the right to bear arms."

"Do I need to pull up NRA TV?"

Wednesday is a good night for TV. "AEW Dynamite" from 7 pm to 9 pm. "South Park" from 9 to 9:30 pm. "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" from 9:30 to 10 pm, and Trevor Noah's show at 10 pm. I got comfy so I did not really worry about the ex not sharing the experience. That was until her cat wanted attention.

"I think I may just move to *redacted*. I wanna keep Skim."

"You're not going to lose him."

It turns out, it maybe about the guy she was thinking about moving in with.

I got a movie review, that turns out to be prophetic when it comes to the scenario above, so I am going to skip some details. Things were also weird because I was experiencing my first NSFW picture exchange on Snap Chat. Somehow we got to bonding over all the madness going around and thinking about our stimulus checks, the fun of not moving came to mind. We are not going to get back together anytime soon, but maybe we could look after each other during the fall out.

This relates to the movie because it is about a character who seems co-dependent on the people of Las Vegas. He needs to get out, but that could be too easy. And what happens after he captures his dream? How will he stay sane? It is William Goldman's last screenplay, so there has got to be some intellect to it. But not since "Snatch", when has there been a Jason Statham movie that had that ("Revolver" and maybe "Safe", but "Expendables", "Crank", and "The Transporter" definitely lack that.)?

Wild Card

Nick Wild is a tough guy with a heart of gold who claims his only goal is to get out of Las Vegas. If this was really a priority for him, why is he quick to refuse extra cash for being such a great guy? But what would the good people Vegas do without him though? Who is going to serve as bodyguard to the idealist young tech billionaires? More importantly, how else will the recently raped and beaten sex worker settle her score with an arrogant mafia son? There is so much to do, is there even a way for Nick to find time to gamble away his cash in the hopes of divine intervention that will send him to live out the rest of his days in the Mediterranean?

"Wild Card" is based on Goldman's novel "Heat" which was adapted into a Burt Reynolds's movie in the mid-80's. From all accounts, including Goldman's, that film was a disaster. It sounded like it was more of Reynolds's vanity project from what I read, so I will not be revisiting that feature.

Reynolds's personality seems too big for the Nick character. Every Burt character is Burt. Jason Statham plays the same character every film, but he does not go out of his way to let you know that he is the same character. He is also a legit action star, so he is more believable when things in any film get crazy. At least for Goldman, the casting presents a good template for him to work with.

The rest of the supporting cast in this film is great and despite it being sold as an action flick from a promotional standpoint, you start to wish this could be a mafia version of "The Princess Bride". Sadly, the film does not click. Every performer is on their game and there is some brilliant dialogue, but the studio does not know if the film should focus on the gambling elements or the action. It ends up feeling clunky and being only adequately directed does not cover that up.

If you are looking for an action movie, I think "Wild Card" will disappoint. If you are looking for a William Goldman film, you will get to see the glimpses of a couple good ones, but they do not make a great whole. Fortunately, this film is for the Jason Statham fans, so if you are one, this is a pleasant change of pace.

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90-Min Rutger Hauer: "Surviving the Game" Before Newline Tried

*Blog posted started on April 17, 2020.

Four hours and 10 minutes left in the shift and I foolishly thought writing a movie review would get me through the rest of the day. Stimulus fever seemingly lasted for 48 hours. If you got they got their check, they cashed it out before the government knew it was gone. That had been the only story in the news, so I am back to needing to blog on and on and on.

For a second there, I thought I was in trouble. Fortunately, my Domo-kun messenger bag did make the trip from the car to the breakroom. It would be really awkward to ask the manager if I could run out to the car for my comic books.

This might be my biggest complaint about the COVID-19 lockdown that I cannot go troll hunting to cope. For printed media, it is probably a plus for print and bookstores. Comixology has not been sending the bi-weekly worthwhile email about what graphic novels and comic book releases. No brick and mortar, no new releases. I definitely prefer the paper and the collectability despite my not owning sleeves and cardboard backs (What else do you expect me to use my Pro Wrestling Crate boxes for?). Still, with movies soon to be a digital only medium, I am willing for comics to be the same.

As long as there are Funko Pop! collectables when we get out, we can stay locked up till 2021. The strike-shortened NHL 2013 season was a lot of fun in my opinion.

With all that said, I do have to thank the heroes at Netflix DVD.com warehouses. It is great to have the assurance that I will not pay an extra $2 to see a Rutger Hauer movie that has yet to be converted to HD.

Of course, people are surprised when they find out that I still have a DVD-rental subscription service. I may have just overblown the noble nature of this essential job. Are they having any issues social distancing in those distribution centers if 1 in 22,500 (population of Champaign divided by two) are requesting discs via mail?

I should not mock them when there are plenty of assholes who troll people just to say "Fuck you! Your wrong!" on Twitter and Facebook. They are just trying to survive, like Ice T in Ernest Dickerson's follow up to "Juice" (Please pardon that tacky transition.).

Surviving the Game - Why Can't F. Murray Abraham be Properly Billed?

Jack Mason has been down on his luck since his family died. He is homeless and both of his best friends have just joined his family. Wanting to take control of some aspect of his life, walking into an oncoming Peterbilt seemed to be a wise decision. Serendipitously, a volunteer at a food bank pushes him out of the way in time. This man wants to give Mason a reason to keep on living, so he directs him to Thomas Burn of Hell's Canyon Outfitters. Mason being able to survive the concrete jungle, surely he can be shaped into a hunting guide in the Pacific Northwest. At least, that is what Burns is selling him.

After an evening of libations with the psychiatrist, oil baron, and stock broker and son that he is to lead on a hunt, Burns and the good Samaritan awaken Mason with a .45 caliber pistol pressed against his temple. Mason will be leading these men out on a hunting trip, he just did not realize that he is the hunted. The hunters do give him a head start to get to civilization as they partake in a hardy lunch, but Mason quickly determines the best thing to do is to turn this anger management retreat back on his pursuers. Who is meant to survive this most dangerous of games?

As a child of the eighties, for some reason I think I was made aware of Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game" during one of my lit or language arts classes in high school. Perhaps my overread sister told me about it. Maybe I was familiar with the concept because of Arnold Schwarzenegger films ("Predator", "The Running Man"). Regardless of how I was introduced to hunting man for sport, Ice T as a movie star was not going to sell me on checking out "Surviving the Game" when there were Jean-Claude Van Damme and action films with Keith David to watch.

Fortunately, HBO is free for a year with most cable TV packages, and it needed content. It is always easier to run ninety minute features when you are a programmer, so their Newline subsidiary came through with this stacked cast (It is short of a shame that F. Murray Abraham is never the true antagonist.). I am just curious how the studio were able to get this cast in the early 90's, a time when they were not known for trying.

And that is what you get from this feature, a lack of effort from those handling the money. Was it a subliminal message? You will cheer for Ice T killing off the one percentile because they are not trying to help amuse you thoroughly.

The generic and overdone soundtrack style and John C. McGinley's presence gave me a flashback to "Highlander 2: The Quickening". There are very few opportunities for the accomplished cinematographer to shine as a director. If you are a fan of "The Walking Dead" (There are just too many episodes in my opinion.) you can see what Dickerson had taken away from this film which is good, because otherwise you feel this is just a quickly produced knock off of John Woo's "Hard Target".

It is a tough task to approach a concept (JVCD versus Hunters led by Lance Henriksen) that Woo had tackled, but the action in "Surviving the Game" holds up pretty well. If "Judo" Gene LeBell is on your stunt team, the hand-to-hand will look intense. Even with that style of combat, you cannot compete with a Woo's film set pieces, so the script wisely takes time to focus on each antagonist.

All of the performers deliver when it comes to their roles with the exception of Ice T. In Ice T's defense, we want him to be Ice T. As long as he does that, you cannot be dissatisfied. Because the supporting cast delivers, you do invest in their plights as well. It is enough to make for a fun way to kill 90 minutes, and you do not have to worry about loud explosions to bother the neighbors.

"Surviving the Game" is a fun action flick that which makes me miss the time where live TV was all there was. This is a fun way to kill 90-minutes or at least serves as great ambience noise wise. Seeking out a quick take on John Woo is not something that most will partake in, but if it pops up on Tubi or Pluto, it might be that throwback you need in the time of pandemics.

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