everyday is halloween

resident evil: retribution [2012] 

i have an addiction to confess.  yes, i am addicted to the resident evil franchise.  it's hard to admit to for these are maybe not the best films every produced and distributed.  they must make money because every year or other year there is new installment about the adventures of zombie infected super-badass alice, played by a very capable milla jovovich, and her war against the red queen, a computer program manufactured by the evil umbrella corporation and a world populated by the undead.

these films are based on video games and they play like video games.  there is little to no plot, only more danger as alice and her cohorts find themselves in deeper shit every time they turn a corner.  alice not only perseveres but triumphs only to face tougher battles in the next movie.  the director, paul w.s. anderson, is pretty good at keeping the action taut.  the problem in this film, and all the movies in the franchise, is a lack of a coherent narrative.  it seems the video games have developed their own mythologies but those don't translate to the screen very well.

still jovovich is a pleasure to watch even in tripe like this movie even if she works over her role as savior alice with a lack of affect.  she sleepwalks thru her lines but comes alive when it is time to fight.  just as well.  i mean the writers didn't give anyone any lines to speak.  guttural gestures work just as well to get to the next action set piece.

but is this a halloween type movie?  sure.  because the fact that we can count on a new installment in this franchise is hella scary. 

boo