Resident Evil, Onslaught, Fall 2: Deadpoint, Hope, Mutiny, & Colony

Now is the time for me to finally catch up on my theatrical experiences the past 6 or so weeks.

First was the most obscure. Hot Spot is an arty European sci-fi thing which should have been something I enjoyed as it was weird& wacky... and some might be interested in how overtly sexual it was. However, the story is an absolute mess, too obtuse and odd even for my tastes, so alas.

Mutiny sure was a modern Jason Statham action film. There weren't really any surprises yet the story, characters, and action were satisfying enough to make the movie fine, if never a must-see or idiosyncratic enough to make it an automatic recommendation.

I saw the first Fall four years ago. The story was dumber than a box of rocks yet it was OK. Well, its sequel was even stupider and did not have as many thrills... even so, it was another OK movie as some scenes were SO dumb, they made me laugh.

Colony is a Korean horror-action movie from the director of 2016's Train to Busan-something I highly recommend. This is an “infected person” picture that at least has a unique premise (all the infected have a hive mind that frequently receives upgrades) and while flawed, was a lot of fun.

Onslaught is from the director of The Guest-which is still awesome-and the last two American Godzilla movies, which were fun. Unfortunately, Onslaught was only fine & nothing more. The action was decent yet not spectacular and while the vibes of an 80's movie were appreciated, never warming up to the female lead of the film (what an unlikable character) was a massive problem. Nevertheless, at least there was Reginald VelJohnson in an important role.

Concerning Resident Evil, none of the games have ever been played & only a few months ago did I even watch the 2002 adaptation of the gaming franchise. Now, I've seen the director's Barbarian and the first two acts were fine until a rancid final act; Weapons was skipped entirely. The rave reviews for RE swayed me... if I knew the movie followed an unlikable idiot protagonist that constantly cussed, was inept at everything he did, and the picture was full of “modern humor” that wasn't funny, I never would have bothered. This version of Resident Evil was real bad, despite some nice snowy woods scenes & a cool synth score.

Finally, Hope; it's another Korean horror-action movie. This was from the guy that directed 2016's The Wailing, which was an interesting horror film. Unfortunately, Hope was much worse than I could have hoped or dreamed. Hope was 2 ½ hours of utter misery. This also was full of “modern humor”, had idiotic leads that were inept, and everyone cursed incessantly. Unlike Resident Evil, the threat were giant aliens (two of them had the faces & were voiced by Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, of all people!) and other goofy-looking creatures, all of which were brought to life by CGI that looked so horrible, it was as if they were created 30 years ago! The fact that you see them in most scenes after the opening half-hour and they were out in the open instead of trying to hide how bad its appearance was... I hated Hope like few other films I've ever seen theatrically! Please don't ever watch it. The icing on the cake was the finale, which was a setup for a planned sequel!

Sorry to end on a negative note. I hope to return sometime in the first half of October.