mdamien13

**** out of *****


Caught a sneak preview of this last weekend at the Mills 24. Been looking forward to this one for a long time. Like Boyle's stuff although I felt that The Beach was a misstep for him.

Glad to say that he has rebounded nicely. Here he brings his innovative visuals and narrative style to a genre that blends many genres and does each one very well. The story follows a courier who wakes up in a hospital 28 days after a virus has overcome England. It has turned the infected people into mindless "zombies" (don't know what better word to put there) consumed with rage and a hunger for flesh. He has to band together with a handful of other uninfected people and try to survive attacks from the infected.

The movie begins as a "last man on earth" tale and then takes the obvious turn to a horror/survival movie. In the final act, though, it takes yet another turn to a thinly veiled social commentary (a la George Romero's Dead movies) involving a rogue military leader who plans on repopulating the earth with his soldiers and some uninfected women.

What you have when everything's said and done is a fun, thought-provoking ride through a genre that hasn't been done this well in a LONG time. The blood flows freely and there are some genuine scares to be had. Make no mistake though, this is much more than a simple horror movie.

Word of warning - this movie was shot on high resolution digital video so for those unaccustomed to new mediums this could be distracting but I thought it adds a nice touch to the atmosphere. Note to Hollywood - quit remaking classic horror movies (cough - Dawn of the Dead - cough) and watch this. There are original ideas to be had from a tired genre.

Oh, and I guess the virus, on top of making people mindless with rage, also turned them into compulsive valets because there isn't a clogged street to be seen in the evacuated London. That's the only thing that bugged me throughout the film. Other than that, I highly recommend this movie. Comes out in wide release on June 27.

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The Lonely Ones - available on DVD at all online retailers and Fry's Electronics everywhere! Check out the film's MySpace page for reviews and interviews with the cast and crew!

Krangthebrain

The plot sounds like a direct rip off of the Resident Evil game series.....virus that turns people to zombies.

I'll check it out though!

(Have you ever seen the movie City of the Dead? It's so bad, that it might be the best movie I've ever seen )

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“Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn’t worry about what workout to do—his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn’t care ‘how hard it is’; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn’t go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the ‘Cause.’ Now, who wants to quit?”

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

On life after football: "I wouldn't mind being a sports commentator. Having my own segment, working for ESPN, my own talk show. Part time trainer. Part time car mechanic. Part time Sprint cell phone salesman. Part time car washman. Grocery store baggage man. Football coach. Model. Actress. Stripper. And I even have dreams of being the next crocodile hunter." - Darnell Dockett

mdamien13

Is that the 80's movie also called Necropolis? If so then yes and I have spent years in therapy as a result. How can a movie with a chick with more than two breasts be bad? Oh, it's possible.

Also, in 28 Days Later the infected people run around at full speed and climb obstacles so they're a little more freaky than the standard shuffling zombies of Resident Evil. But yeah, the basic plot is eerily familiar, huh?

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The Lonely Ones - available on DVD at all online retailers and Fry's Electronics everywhere! Check out the film's MySpace page for reviews and interviews with the cast and crew!

Ryanwb

This sounds more like a rip off of The Stand by Steven King

Cardinals.Ken

Just one question concerning Zombie movies.

Will there ever be one where it doesn't take half the friggin movie for the protagonists to figure out you have to shoot them in the head to them?

I mean, can't someone say "Hey, I remember this Zombie movie one time. You have to shoot them in the head to kill them!" or something like that?

BTW, I think "Resident Evil" kicked butt! And I'm not just saying that because I have a thing for Milla!

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Moses parted the Red Sea, Oppenheimer split the atom, but dotKen cut the crap. - Steve Antczak

Krangthebrain

The movie was an entertaining B movie.

Some of my favorite movies fall under the B category.

__________________
“Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn’t worry about what workout to do—his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn’t care ‘how hard it is’; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn’t go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the ‘Cause.’ Now, who wants to quit?”

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

On life after football: "I wouldn't mind being a sports commentator. Having my own segment, working for ESPN, my own talk show. Part time trainer. Part time car mechanic. Part time Sprint cell phone salesman. Part time car washman. Grocery store baggage man. Football coach. Model. Actress. Stripper. And I even have dreams of being the next crocodile hunter." - Darnell Dockett

Cardinals.Ken

Being a HUGE fan of the video game series, I was duly impressed. My expectations were exceedlingly low though. Video games made into movies are normally dogs. Mortal Kombat broke the mold, and was really good too!

__________________
Moses parted the Red Sea, Oppenheimer split the atom, but dotKen cut the crap. - Steve Antczak

mdamien13

I was really unimpressed with Resident Evil when I first saw it but after viewing it again I liked it better. The second time through you can catch some more nuances from the game that were in the movie. Both Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil were directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. He's writing the sequel to Resident Evil (set to begin filming shortly) but somebody else is directing it.

__________________
The Lonely Ones - available on DVD at all online retailers and Fry's Electronics everywhere! Check out the film's MySpace page for reviews and interviews with the cast and crew!

Krangthebrain

Great game series, I really liked them also.

I especially like part 2, and 3 was kind of interesting (being chased around by Nemesis was a cool idea).

__________________
“Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn’t worry about what workout to do—his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn’t care ‘how hard it is’; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn’t go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the ‘Cause.’ Now, who wants to quit?”

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

On life after football: "I wouldn't mind being a sports commentator. Having my own segment, working for ESPN, my own talk show. Part time trainer. Part time car mechanic. Part time Sprint cell phone salesman. Part time car washman. Grocery store baggage man. Football coach. Model. Actress. Stripper. And I even have dreams of being the next crocodile hunter." - Darnell Dockett

PortlandCardFan

Ya know.... I thought "Resdient Evil" was pretty darn good as well. I think movies that are created off of video games will always get poor reviews. The only thing I really didn't care for were the mutants that were directly injected with the "T" virus.

Completely exposed brain with no eyes bulldog on steriods.... me no likey.

PortlandCardFan

Oh yeah.... we all know you liked the muff shot (I hope that doesn't offend anyone).

Cardinals.Ken

No Comment!

__________________
Moses parted the Red Sea, Oppenheimer split the atom, but dotKen cut the crap. - Steve Antczak

Krangthebrain

They were supposed to be the "lickers" from Resident Evil 2.

I actually thought that was pretty cool. I wonder if the next movie will have the Nemesis characters...

__________________
“Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn’t worry about what workout to do—his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn’t care ‘how hard it is’; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn’t go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the ‘Cause.’ Now, who wants to quit?”

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

On life after football: "I wouldn't mind being a sports commentator. Having my own segment, working for ESPN, my own talk show. Part time trainer. Part time car mechanic. Part time Sprint cell phone salesman. Part time car washman. Grocery store baggage man. Football coach. Model. Actress. Stripper. And I even have dreams of being the next crocodile hunter." - Darnell Dockett

PortlandCardFan

If it came from the game that is cool.

I just had a problem with the whole creature weather in the game or in the movie.


I never played the game so maybe I would have appreciated more if I had.

Krangthebrain

It was supposed to be a genetically engineered creature weapon designed by Umbrella Inc.

The sequel should have these giant zombie-like creatures that are wicked cool. The creature is called the nemesis and it is the featured monster in Resident Evil 3.

__________________
“Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn’t worry about what workout to do—his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn’t care ‘how hard it is’; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn’t go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the ‘Cause.’ Now, who wants to quit?”

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

On life after football: "I wouldn't mind being a sports commentator. Having my own segment, working for ESPN, my own talk show. Part time trainer. Part time car mechanic. Part time Sprint cell phone salesman. Part time car washman. Grocery store baggage man. Football coach. Model. Actress. Stripper. And I even have dreams of being the next crocodile hunter." - Darnell Dockett