No one in Nome

For those not on a weekly diet of spooky movies, The Fourth Kind is reasonably creepy – i.e. reasonable enough to qualify as a science fiction horror movie without further qualification, while not quite spooky enough to make hairs stand on end, especially on a 21 inch screen. The premise is simple enough. A mockumentary (in the style of the Blair Witch Project) shows one Dr Abigail Tyler (Charlotte Milchard, and her younger avatar, Milla Jovovich) being interviewed on television, recounting her research into unexplained disappearances in Nome, Alaska. The movie weaves its way through pseudo-real footage, ancient languages (Sumerian!) making inexplicable appearances in Nome, and other reasonably copybook alien abduction routine. However, where the movie succeeds is (as mentioned earlier, if you are not brought up on a one-horror-movie-a-day routine) showing some disturbing footage that appears real, and makes you mildly curious about the strange goings-on in remote Alaskan towns

11/20

After Life and Death

Is Arcadia a place in Alaska that is the last human refuge in a planet over-run by zombies? And where does the omnipresent big brother – the Umbrella Corporation – fit into all of this? Maybe none of it matters. Resident Evil – Afterlife takes off from where the previous editions of the successful franchise have left off – i.e. killing zombies – to more zombie mauling. On to the (thin) storyline. Alice (Mila Jovovich) sets off on a search for Arcadia – and the search leads away from Alaska to Seattle – where she finds a bunch of human survivors, up against – you guessed it – hordes of zombies. But is that all that they are up against, or are they also on the periphery of another great Umbrella Corporation setup. A movie that delivers on its promise of being identical to all its previous editions, and wholesome if not quite family fun

12/20

A Perfect Little Movie

You may actually like A Perfect Getaway, if for no better reason than the fact that there is nothing obviously wrong with the movie. Cliff and Cydney (Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) and Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) are two couples doing the long hike across a Hawaiian island, and strike up a friendship. And a (reasonably predictable) twist later, the couples find themselves in a race against time and each other on the island. A fact paced movie, reasonably believable, well-acted, uncomplicated, low-engagement, and with a comely cast. Time-pass fare and decent, even

12/20