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It isn't often that a zombie movie rules the box office, but that's just what Warm Bodies did earlier this month, easily winning its opening weekend, joining the ranks of zombie movies like 2004's Dawn of the Dead, 2009's Zombieland and the four Resident Evil sequels, which all achieved the same distinction. With The Walking Dead returning to TV with record ratings and World War Z arriving this summer to show what Brad Pitt can do against the zombie apocalypse, it's clear that zombies are as relevant as ever in the pop culture zeitgeist, and are determined to only evolve further.
It might be easy to dismiss zombies as mindless, killing machines (and they are that, too), but over their long history, zombies have also figured out how to move, how to talk, and, in the case of Warm Bodies, how to love again. For a full history of the evolution of zombies in movies, we only ask that you have 8 hours to spare.
find 8 hours and become a zombie scholar with our picks >> Posted 02.27.13 by Ryan -
Which Movies Were Game Changers?
Hollywood has been mining literature for source material for years, often with excellent results — 11 literary adaptations were nominated for Academy Awards in 2012 alone — and comic books have inspired several of the most popular and successful movies in recent years. Video games, on the other hand, have proven to be difficult to successfully translate to film. Gamers are often more interested in a game's graphics or the ability to earn achievements than in its plot, so there is often little for the screenwriters to draw upon. As Corey May, co-founder of Sekretagent Productions explained to CNN, "It often comes down to money, as movie studios frequently choose to make films based on the franchises that sell the best, not those with the most cinematic potential."
Still, the success of the Resident Evil franchise — $893 million worldwide and counting— and the prospect of enticing the hundreds of millions of gamers around the world to turn out to see a movie based upon their favorite game keeps Hollywood going back to the video game well for more. Only days ago, it was announced that Ubisoft and New Regency's Assassin's Creed adaptation is moving forward with Michael Fassbender headlining, and there are dozens of other adaptations currently in development, which should be great news for movie fans and video game fans alike. Have there been some turkeys? Absolutely. More than a few, but, despite what CNN's video game expert may think, movies based on video games don't all "stink". In fact, some of them are downright badass. Help us select the video game movies that defied expectations by entertaining us instead of making us groan.
Rate the Top 10 Best Video Game Movie Adaptations >>
Posted 10.26.12 by BrentJS -
Ten years ago, supermodel-turned-actress Milla Jovovich was still struggling to find a place for herself in Hollywood. She wowed sci-fi fans as Leeloo in The Fifth Element (1997) while barely saying anything intelligible and got some laughs as Katinka Ingabogovinanana in Zoolander (2001), but it wouldn't be until the 2002 video game adaptation Resident Evil that Jovovich found her calling as a badass, post-apocalyptic zombie-killer. Ten years and five movies later — the fifth installment, Resident Evil: Retribution, opens Sept. 14th — Jovovich has usurped the "queen of action movies" title from Sigourney Weaver, who previously wore the crown for her four-movie run as Ripley in the Alien series. Click the video above and join us as we look back on Jovovich's ten years in the Resident Evil franchise.
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September's Resident Evil: Retribution marks the fifth installment in the Resident Evil movie franchise, but for those that haven't been keeping up, a new featurette will fill you in on what Alice (Milla Jovovich) has been up to during the other four movies.
Not to play spoiler, but, so far, the Retribution promotional has emphasized "evil going global" in posters and trailers, and, to that end, writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson told the Hall H crowd at last month's Comic-Con that Retribution would be the "first truly, post-apocalyptic epic film" and a "global event," with locations including the Red Square in Moscow, Tokyo, and Washington D.C. With that said, we don't want to say that Retribution is simply another attempt by Alice to bring down the evil Umbrella corporation, so instead we'll point out that the featurette includes new Retribution footage!
watch the video >> Posted 08.03.12 by Ryan -
Screen Gems, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures, scored its first franchise with the release of 2002's Resident Evil, which has since spawned three successful sequels. Resident Evil was based on the video game franchise created by developer Capcom, and Screen Gems is now looking to bring another Capcom franchise to the big screen.
Variety reports that Screen Gems have purchased the movie rights to Capcom's Devil May Cry series in hopes of repeating Resident Evil game-to-screen gold. Screenwriter Kyle Ward has been hired to adapt the screenplay. Ward is no stranger to video game adaptations, having penned the scripts for the upcoming Kane & Lynch and, reportedly, a sequel to 2007's Hitman, both of which were originally video games.
More about Devil May Cry >> Posted 03.03.11 by Ryan -
Halloween is nearly here — that time of the year where we don frightening costumes and eat way too much candy. And as movie lovers, there's no better time to turn our viewing attention to the horror genre. This weekend there are plenty of movies to choose from. Way too many — 50 plus, by our count. From that mix, our staff horror maven has picked your 10 best viewing (or DVR) bets.
The 10 Best Scary Movie Picks >>
Complete Halloween Weekend TV Movie Guide >>
Posted 10.29.10 by reelz -
After winning the weekend at the box office, Resident Evil: Afterlife has assured that the Resident Evil franchise will continue. Milla Jovovich confirmed the sequel to The New york Post's Vulture blog.
This new Resident Evil is the first one to ever open at No. 1 worldwide. It’s the biggest movie in the franchise. So we’re definitely going to make another one.
Fans can Tweet Suggestions >> Posted 09.13.10 by Ryan -
Sony Screen Gems finally released five photos of its upcoming sequel, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which largely depict Milla Jovovich with a variety of guns.
With shooting on Afterlife finished, the movie is now undergoing the 3-D conversion process, which has caused several release date switches. It's now set to open in theaters on September 10.
continue reading >> Posted 04.02.10 by Ryan -
A mere eight years since it kicked off, the Resident Evil series may be getting the reboot treatment.
According to Bloody-Disgusting, the series may reboot after the fourth movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife, opens on August 27, 2010. The decision may be a financial one, with current Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich possibly being too expensive to keep, even if her husband Paul W.S. Anderson has either written or directed every movie in the series.
Tentatively called Resident Evil Begins, the movie will follow a special military unit that fights an out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of infected scientists mutated from a laboratory accident. And for anyone paying attention, that's more or less the exact plot of the first Resident Evil.
While this decision seems to come from Sony's Screen Gems studio, Capcom, publisher/developer of the Resident Evil video games, may also be asking for the reboot. Capcom already made a reboot of its own with the CG-animated Resident Evil: Degeneration, which ignored the live-action movies and stayed more faithful to the games, so it could also be coming at the game-maker's behest.
Posted 09.10.09 by Ryan -
Looks like the fourth installment of the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil: Afterlife, has been bumped from its initial release date of September 17, 2010, to three weeks earlier on August 27, 2010, just making it into the summer line-up of 2010.
Resident Evil: Afterlife will again see the return of Milla Jovovich and Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson, who also wrote the script. Afterlife should arrive on schedule, as long as Jovovich is able to make it through the production without hurting any of the cast or crew. Jovovich apparently has a habit of giving out black eyes while shooting Resident Evil movies:
I gave my fiancé Paul a black eye when he was directing me in the first Resident Evil. He was trying to plan the shot and said, "Punch straight at me and pretend I'm the camera." Of course I got too closed and punched him straight in the eye. I gave the director of photography a black eye on the set of Resident Evil 2.
Ironically, no zombies were hurt on the Resident Evil sets, though Jovovich also admitted that she can "hit the stunt men a bit too hard."
Posted 08.20.09 by Ryan