Milla Jovovich Resident Evil: Retrebution

          Resident Evil: Retrebution

                 1 1/2 stars of 5

In the Sci-Fi thriller “Resident Evil: Retribution” Alice is back, and more deadly than ever. After being captured by Umbrella, Alice wakes up in their massive underwater T-virus testing facility. When someone turns off Umbrellas security, Alice seizes her opportunity and begins planning her escape, however countless T-virus simulators the size of warehouses stuffed with the undead lie between Alice and her way out. Can Alice shoot her way out of her seemingly impenetrable prison and stop T-virus from wiping out mankind?

The summary may seem short and simple, that’s because it is. I was very disappointed with “Resident Evil: Retribution”. Mainly because it had next to no story line, the whole film was just Milla Jovovich dismembering the undead, nothing more, really. I didn’t enjoy the previous “Resident Evil” films, but I thought that this one might turn things around. Wrong. Same old, same old, Alice whipping out her infinite ammo hand cannons and blasting the daylights out of something that belongs in Harry Potter.  The special effects were impressive, however they didn't really serve a purpose and were kind of “meh” because most of them don’t make the slightest bit of sense. The acting, too, was impressive especially by Milla Jovovich. Being a post-apocalyptic film fanatic, “Resident Evil: Retribution” really had me pumped up, (though I’m not sure why seeing as I hated the previous “Resident Evil” installations) there were gore, zombies, guns, zombies, fights, and zombies all to look forward to.  However I sadly learned that no matter how good the action is, it can’t stand on its

Lawless 

                Lawless

             5 of 5 stars

When the law becomes corrupt, outlaws become heroes. Set during Prohibition and the tail end of the Depression, lifelong friends Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) and Cricket Pate (Dane Dehaan) make a living bootlegging raw moonshine to their neighbors and the mob; all while struggling to stay one step ahead of the law and keep a sense of ethics and pride. With Forrest’s brutal defiance paired with Crickets’s brilliance at brewing moonshine, the pair’s business quickly raises above all the other Franklin bootleggers. Just when all seems to be running fine, Franklin County law enforcement gets a new special deputy, Charlie Rakes (Guy Pierce), determined to stop Franklins flow of moonshine and kill its brewers. One by one Franklin’s thugs are tortured or killed by Rakes and his crew of crooked cops, until Cricket and Forrest are all that’s left. In need of extra help, Forrest lets his timid little brother Jack (Shia LeBeouf) in on the moonshining business. By dumb luck, Forrest gets severely wounded just as Rakes begins closing in on the Bondurant brother’s operation, forcing tentative Jack to somehow take his place for the time being. Can Jack fill Forrest’s shoes? Or will Rakes shutdown the Bondurant’s whole operation and kill them both?

I didn’t walk into the theater with very high hopes for “Lawless”, it just seemed too cliché, Like the usual western pair punching their way through the law, little did I know my mind was about to be blown. Based on the 2009 novel “The Wettest County in the World” authored by Forrest’s grandson, “Lawless” is flawless. I’m not very familiar with director John Hillcoat, but he did a terrific job. Rarely is there a film that caries itself as well as “Lawless”, the intensity doesn’t let up one bit, its completely unpredictable. The acting too, was flawless. I was excited for Guy Pierce and Tom Hardy, however I didn’t think there was any way Shia LeBeouf would pull of hard-core bootlegger Jack Bondurant due to his long line of disappointing recent releases and acing. But I stand corrected; he pulled it off with flying colors. Despite LeBeouf’s stunning performance, Tom Hardy stole the spotlight 100%. I was excited for Hardy but I never guessed he would give us such as mind boggling performance. I could almost taste the filthy, emotionally scarred, poverty