Elizabeth: The Golden Age

The trailer for this movie was quite riveting (aren't they all?), and thus I was compelled to see this period piece. As a bonus of course is the stunning Cate Blanchett reprising her role as queen from an 1998 Elizabeth. Along with with the indelible Geoffrey Rush again playing Sir Francis Walsingham. Finally Clive Owen adds a bit of roguish dash as the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh.

This film is about the time when Queen Elizabeth, the virgin queen, fought off the Spanish armada and saved England and protestants everywhere. The movie plays as a series of scenes strung together by an overbearing musical score, rather than a flowing story. Still some of the scenes are well done, some are interesting, and others droll. Despite the enrapturing performance by Blanchett, it's not enough to give this one a "must see." But definitely rent it when it comes to DVD.

There is a love triangle between Sir Walter Raleigh, the queen, and a court lady-in-waiting known as Bess (Abbie Cornish). There are plenty of political intrigues, involving the king of Spain and the house-arrested queen Mary of Scotland. And the CGI ship battle was adequate.

I must also say that the costumes, especially the queen's , were stunning. If you like historical pieces (albeit slightly skewed) check out Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Cell Phone Fun

Downtown Spook

Resident Evil: Extinction

A hot chick kicking lots of undead butt, what's not to like about the third installment of the Resident Evil series? Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, the beautiful uber genetically altered female.

These films remind me of the Underworld series starring Kate Beckinsale, they need to catch up with the Resident Jones' and make a third Underworld, this formula seems to work. Unlike Milla's last kick-butt movie, Ultra Violet. (Can't remember why it was such a stinker but it was)

Extinction fast forwards a few years, with Alice out on her own hiding from the Umbrella corporation's satellites. In fact they believe her dead. The "T" virus has spread globally and only a hand full of humans remain. As my friends at GirlsOnFilm put it; "It's Mad Max meets Zombies."

Alice catches up with this rag-tag fleet of humans in the desert being led by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter-HEROES) and helps them fight off a few thousand undead crows. After helping them escape extinction, she returns to the Umbrella hive where she has a big boss battle with the evil scientist behind the zombie creating virus. The final battle wasn't as over the top as in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but it seemed to lack something. Even so, I liked it!

If you are a fan of the Resident Evil games, the previous two films, or just have a passion for zombies in general--the be sure to check out Resident Evil: Extinction at the movies before it is well....extinct.