See the horror of ‘Apocalypse’ now

Evan Marmol

“Resident Evil: Apocalypse” is a rip-roaring, arm-chair clutching,

heart-racing thrill ride.

Unlike its predecessor, it is not riddled with episodic sequences:

The narrative is nonstop. Command performances by Milla Jovovich who

reprises her role as Alice, Oded Fehr (Carlos) and Sienna Guillory

(Jill), not only serve to bolster the plot, but give the movie an

edge that is usually absent from horror movies.

Incidentally, Alice has been biogenetically enhanced giving her a

slew of powers. She has cat-like agility, superhuman strength and

uncanny senses.

The gist is much like the first. The unscrupulous Umbrella

Corporation’s involvement in the manufacturing of biogenetic weapons

has a catastrophic leak of a pernicious viral agent. After a

half-hearted attempt to evacuate the town they work beneath fails,

the town is contained in a hermetically sealed doom.

The virus transforms the hapless denizens into flesh-devouring

ghouls. The virus also manufactures unspeakably demonic abominations.

As if this does not serve as enough of a daunting challenge, an

indomitable monstrosity armed with a rocket launcher and machine gun

is engaged to test its powers on the survivors. With all of these

terrors converging on the remaining cadre, survival seems hopeless.

The characters act independently at first until they receive a

glimmer of hope. One of Umbrella’s scientists contacts the remaining

armed citizens with a proposition. If they retrieve his daughter from

the carnage, he will reward the formidable endeavor with a guaranteed

rescue.

The vicious onslaught by the sallow ghouls, dripping with gore and

viscera is, at times, nearly unbearable. On the other hand, the

manner in which they are dispatched is choreographed skillfully.

The film is never burdened with cloying subplots or contrived

speeches; it is truly an unadulterated action flick.

This is the “Spider-Man” of zombie flicks.

Zaniness abounds in ‘Paddle’

“Without a Paddle” falls into the uncouth, sophomoric category of

flicks that are good for a cheap thrill and chuckle and not much

more.

Then again, if you were looking for something more substantive,

then you probably would not be watching a film with Seth Green and

Matthew Lillard, a tandem notorious for racy humor and utterly

forgettable content.

The narrative is a time-saving, contrived formula. Combine three

facile characters going through a premature midlife crisis.

Add a catalyst, let’s say the death of a lifelong friend -- the

same friend that leaves the exact coordinates for an arcane treasure.

Then, simply give them a reason to act like buffoons in a typical

fish-out-of-water comedy. This is a bargain basement “City Slickers.”

It is far more lowbrow and less compelling than its counterpart, but

the tawdriness allows for more foolishness and mayhem.

The flick delivers precisely what it advertises. It is zany and

kooky and unpredictable in a comfortably predictable manner.

Where else can you see a bear confuse the diminutive Seth Green

for a bear cub?

Where else are you going to see two slack-jawed, imbecile

hillbillies cultivating tons of marijuana and protecting it with

automatic machine guns?

Or when was the last time a film used titillating tree-huggers to

spice things up?

OK, I will concede, these are not Pulitzer Prize winning devices.

The ambience and performances are not top-notch. But, this is still a

good movie for a hearty laugh.

* EVAN MARMOL is Laguna Beach resident. He graduated from UC

Irvine with a degree in psychology and social behavior. He can be

reached at Evan_Marmol@hotmail.com.