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At the Movies: 'Resident Evil'
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Special to The Appalachian |
'Evil' doings lack plot, please fans
by Nick Coulapides
Staff Writer
Listen and see if this story doesn’t cover most zombie-thrillers:
city wide panic, countless lives at risk, a few chosen heroes/heroines,
countless amount of ammunition wherever you seem to go, few heroes die,
a couple lives to survive and live happily ever after. Until the “shocking” twist
pops you with an ‘ah ha, one zombie still lives’ and screams
into the camera as the credits close to leave room for a sequel.
Well if you’re tired of being drawn into the typical,
zombie-syndrome crap that has left the last couple of Hollywood flicks
pale and disappointing (“Dawn of the Dead,” “28 Days
Later”) then you might have yourself a winner in the new sequel
to the acclaimed video game-based movie “Resident Evil.”
The sequel is co-titled as “Apocalypse” (ohhh,
creepy). It sounds like a lame title George Lucas would have used for
his Star Wars prequels. However lame the title may sound, “Apocalypse” pleases
on a number of accounts, especially (and I stress this even more) to
those who love and adore the video game.
The first film didn’t really give fans a whole lot
from the game except for a few mentions of the evil corporation called
Umbrella and a couple sequences involving the grotesque-looking hounds
that enjoy ‘flesh-meat.’ The sequel goes over and beyond
giving those same fans what they were missing from part one, including
the film’s premiere monster Nemesis.
“Apocalypse” leaves off where the first film
ended with Alice (Jovovich) being taken away by the Umbrella Corporation’s
doctors before appearing to have escaped back to a city in ruins.
This city, called Raccoon City, has just been put under
complete containment after the T-virus, that caused the dead to become
undead before breaks out again.
However, this time the evil corporation behind containing
the city’s people from leaving have a secondary plan, while using
the situation to their advantage.
They unleash their new Nemesis Project into the city to
perform acts of violence and rampage amongst various obstacles (people,
zombies, anyone really) that are trapped inside the enclosed city. The
Nemesis is a gigantic and overwhelming monster, and loads of ammunition
and bullets practically are of no use in stopping it.
Our hero, Alice, discovers she too is not as human as she
once thought. Since her supposed “break out” from Umbrella,
she has found abilities she wasn’t once capable of.
She meets up with several people that are trying to escape
the city, including a renegade cop, ex-Umbrella foot soldier, a couple
of expendable officers, a little girl and a civilian played by Mike Epps
(“Next Friday”), who is pretty much cast for the comedic
role in the horror film (yes, predictable, yet he is really funny in
his small role).
The plot, however lame it may come off, is a straight forward
concept taken from the game that gets paid plenty of gratitude in this
sequel. A scene inside a church involving a couple of slithery reptiles
will be sure to please fans, as well as a sequence inside a school that
pays homage to many of the video games’ buildings where players
are forced to search several floors for clues.
“Apocalypse” is nothing short of fun, explosive
action filled with spots of humor and even a few scares that will have
your typical action/horror fan pleased with spending their seven dollars
on this ticket.
And to those hardcore fans, myself included, you can rest
assure that this sequel will leave you hoopin’ and hollarin’ throughout
many scenes that are very reminiscent of the game. To those who fear
to bring their date to such a raunchy guy-flick, girls … the main
heroine leads a shot first ask, questions later crew (a la’ “Kill
Bill” style), so even the ladies have something to enjoy (unless
you’re a hopeless romantic, then you’re just hopeless).
TO TOP
Should be fun for fans, but who else?
by Ryan Finn
Staff Writer
I didn’t like the first “Resident Evil” film much
at all. “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” is a little bit better,
although in the grand scheme of things, that’s not really saying
a lot.
Now, I know that I should approach this movie with a certain forgiving
attitude.
However, there are ancestral spirits to contend with: the
cries of films like “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dead Alive,” and “The
Evil Dead” are calling out to me. They have a message: do not forgive
this movie.
Our heroine, Alice (Milla Jovovich), escaped the underground zombie infested
facility, The Hive, in the first film. She then endures experiments in
a lab.
In this film, the viral strain escapes The Hive and causes the titular
apocalypse. Alice wakes up, meets some friends, kills some enemies and
tries to escape the city.
The zombie genre is difficult to do correctly. I think
there are two possible avenues. You can either go straight for the throat,
unleashing gory horror and unsettling terror (the aforementioned “Night” and “Evil”)
or you can plant that tongue firmly in cheek (the aforementioned “Alive” or “Re-Animator”).
“Resident Evil: Apocalypse” doesn’t quite
do either one. Given the roots of the popular videogame, the movie feels
like one at times. You have explosions, zombie bites, dark halls, guns,
fights and zombie head shots. Joy.
OK, I shouldn’t be sarcastic. This is joy for a lot of people,
and that’s perfectly fine.
I’m quite sure that fans of the videogame series
will enjoy this movie.
I’ve only had a short experience with the game, however, and I
didn’t quite enjoy the film.
The biggest problem is just that there are no surprises
anymore. There’s
nothing original anywhere, and that’s not really this film’s
fault.
The genre has been done to death and there is nothing fresh to unearth.
“Apocalypse” certainly makes use of those tired cliches, though.
If a human character sneaks up on someone who has their back to the
camera, maybe that person is a zombie.
Maybe characters we see in profile get surprised from behind. Maybe a
close friend who gets bitten or killed will show up later. Who knows?
That’s not to say there isn’t anything to like
here.
There are a few good pieces of acting, a great little mini-villain (Nemesis,
a scientific experiment that parallels Alice), and an interesting bit
of action every once in a while.
There is an explanation for the worst parts, though. This
film was written by Paul W. S. Anderson, who directed not only the first
Resident Evil, but also “Alien vs. Predator,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Soldier” and “Event
Horizon.” The man needs to be stopped.
“Apocalypse,” however, was directed by a first-timer
Alexander Witt, and I sort of wish him all the best.
He has done plenty of technical film work before, but he starts his directorial
career here.
I can’t imagine this film ending up any other way.
Whether that is good or bad is your decision.
Storyteller Hicks releases new album
by Elizabeth Ashford
Staff Writer
Anyone that loves a good story will be pleased to hear
that mountain storyteller Orville G. Hicks is putting out a new version
of his CD, “Orville Hicks: Mule Egg Seller & Appalachian Storyteller.”
Hicks has been telling stories for over 20 years. He started
by going to story tellings with his cousin Ray Hicks.
“Ray Hicks, my cousin, told tales and I used to go
up to his house and sit there and tell him tales and he said, ‘Gosh,
you’re good, you ought to start going.’ So I went with him
[to a story telling] one night, and ever since then I’ve been running
my mouth,” Hicks said.
“Orville tells a lot of different kinds of stories
and one kind is the ‘Jack Tales’ which are these long fictional
stories about this character called Jack and he heard some of them from
his Mom,” Appalachian State Department of English professor Dr.
Thomas A. McGowan said.
“We’d sit on the porch in the evening time
and we’d break beans or shell peas and Momma would tell us tales
for entertainment,” Hicks said.
Hicks said there is a little bit of truth in the stories he tells.
“I’d say there’s a little truth in some
of them, but most of them are just big tales,” Hicks said.
Hicks said the importance of the oral tradition is letting
younger generations know how the world used to be.
“The importance of them is the younger generation
coming up in a world with computers and stuff; they don’t really
know how some of their ancestors lived and how we grew up and how the
world’s changed since the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Hicks
said.
“Hicks’ first CD came out in 1998, which was
supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council,” McGowan
said.
Hicks sold out of the old CD, so they decided to put out
a new version, McGowan said.
“We decided that we had a little bit of room on the
CD to add some stuff,” McGowan said.
“The new CD did not come with grant funding,” McGowan
said.
“We were able to do it because of Dave Haney, who’s
the chairperson of the English Department. He has a little recording
studio in his basement and we used his recording equipment and Dave’s
expertise ... So Dave did the recording for us and he did the inserting
of the new stuff into the CD so that we now can go ahead and start making
more CDs,” McGowan said.
“This is kind of the ‘cottage industry’ version,
in that if I’m at my computer at home, I’ll multi-task my
computer and I’ll do one at a time; I’m burning copies of
the new CD. If we can get some grant money, we’ll do a nicer version
of it,” McGowan said.
Hicks said the new versions have added material that have
him talking about his cousin Ray, who died last year, and a song he wrote
about Ray.
“Other materials found on the CD that are not new
are Jack Tales, Hunting Stories, Preacher Tales, stories about growing
up and others,” McGowan said.
“Anyone who likes storytelling would really enjoy
this CD. It’s really good and kids and adults seem to like it regardless
of their age. It’s good source for entertainment with a lot of
laughs,” Orville Hicks’ wife Sylvia O. Hicks said.
For those interested in buying a CD for $20, call Hicks’ home
at 262-1551.
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