Resident Evil: Death Island

 

We got Jill.

 

About/Summary

Released in 2023, this animated movie follows the canon of the video games. Taking place after the events of the sixth game, an outbreak of T-virus in San Franscico leads Chris, Jill and Claire to Alcatraz Island, where they run into Leon who is there on his own mission. 

Content/Trigger Warnings

Gore

Death

Blood

Impractical female villain outfit

Violence

Tropes

Here be the list of tropes on tvtropes

Avengers Assemble -  Oh my gods, we get Jill, Chris, Claire, Leon AND Rebecca in this movie. All teaming up and killing zombies. So great. Love it. Five stars.

Big Damn Heroes - Rebecca is a Big Damn Hero and she deserves much praise.

Running Gag - I didn't even realize this was a thing until I was reading this list, but apparently most of the vehicles Leon uses get destroyed. Which... This knowledge makes me want to go through the entire series and make notes of the fates of every vehicle Leon S. Kennedy ever used.

 
Characters

 Like I said, in this one we get the heavy hitters of the franchise. Jill, Chris, Claire, Leon and Rebecca. This also takes place after the fifth game where (disclaimer, I have not played the fifth or sixth games, I also have not watched CJUGames play them. All my knowledge of those games comes from watching videos that cover the entire timeline of the games soooooo, I could be wrong here...) it's found out that Wesker had brainwashed Jill. But it's fine. Chris saved her or something. So, Jill is working through that in this movie. And she does a great job. Five stars, Jill. We love you.

All the characters were great. Except for the villain. Fuck that dude. He was an idiot. He deserved for his elaborate, stupid plan to fail.

Atmosphere/Setting

The movie has action horror vibes. Which is fitting.

The main setting is Alcatraz. Which, I've never been there, so I don't know how accurate the depiction is.

But, atmosphere is spooky in all the right spots. Suspenseful. Setting is cool. Old prisons are great for spooky shit.

Adaptation?

This isn't an adaptation. Not a spin-off either, really. It's more of another entry of the Resident Evil series. I think. The animated movies follow game canon, but I don't know if the games follow the movie canon. 

Plot

 Pretty basic plot for a Resident Evil thing. Someone wants to infect humanity with a virus that turns people into zombies. And the good guys win. No complaints from me.

Animation

Animation was great. Everyone was as pretty as they should be. 

Costuming

First off, at one point (when Chris, Claire and Jill arrive at Alcatraz) Chris Redfield is wearing a Hawaiian like shirt that I fucking need in my life. Not even joking. I want one. It is so ugly, and I would wear it constantly.

Jill is wearing the same outfit she wore in the Resident Evil 3 remake. Which seemed odd to me, but I just looked up some images from the movie, and I think Leon has been wearing that same shirt since Resident Evil 4. And Claire might be wearing the same jacket from Resident Evil 2 remake. Or she keeps buying red leather jackets.

Also, the Lady Villain's outfit was stupid. Like, seriously. I hate it.

 
How diverse is it?

Well, it's a bunch of white people. But we do get some badass female characters.

Overall Thoughts

Fun movie in the Resident Evil universe. I really enjoyed seeing all the gang together kicking ass. And really glad to see Rebecca kicking so much ass. She is one of my favorite Resident Evil characters and she doesn't get to kick enough ass.

I will say the movie does a good job at explaining some bits from the games and other movies without info-dumping. So, if you really wanted to, you could watch this one without knowing much about the games or movies. But... It wouldn't be as good, then. 

And for everyone that complained that Welcome to Raccoon City didn't follow the games well enough, watch these movies instead.

That's all for this one.

See y'all Saturday.

Stephy Watched Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

 

Hi. Uh, sir, um... Uh, what's going on? 'Cause, um... Should we... should we call someone?

 

 

About/Summary

Claire Redfield returns to Raccoon City to tell her brother about bad things that are happening in the city. Leon Kennedy is having the worst first day on a job ever. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are cops in Raccoon City who are sent to figure out what is going on at the local abandoned mansion.

Content/Trigger Warnings
Death

Gore

Betrayal

 

Tropes

 

Here be the full list on TVTropes. 

Adaptational Wimp - Leon is not as badass as he was in the games. And ya know what? I don't care. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I prefer bad-ass Leon, but this Leon was fun.

Eyes Do Not Belong There - Resident Evil is just full of eyes where there shouldn't be eyes. They are just everywhere. Ugh. I have issues with eyes now. Thank you, Resident Evil.

 

Love Triangle - Usually I talk about tropes I like, but I hate love triangles. They're boring. And this movie threw a very slight one in. And I hated it. Probably my biggest complaint about the movie, honestly.

 

Mythology Gag - There are a bunch of random nods to the video games, which are cool. Really liked the Itchy Tasty thing. Itchy. Tasty.

Characters/Casting 

 

Main characters from the games show up. Well, Claire, Chris, Leon and Jill. Oh, and Wesker. Though for the most part, not the same as their video game counterparts. Which is fine. I still liked them well enough.

Leon was sort of the himbo damsel in distress in this movie. And I fucking loved it. It was just great.

Casting was pretty good. No complaints from me.

Atmosphere/Setting

 

Some of the settings looked fantastic and pretty spot on to the settings from the games. In this, Raccoon City is slowly emptying out because Umbrella has left and most people along with it. The movie mainly focuses on the police station and Spencer Mansion. Both of which looked really good in the movie. The orphanage also plays a part. Again, looks great.

Adaptation?

 

As an adaptation of the video games, it's kind of shit. A lot of things changed that made me raise an eyebrow at. But, as a reboot type of thing, it was pretty good. Once I started to ignore the part of my brain screaming "That's not right!" I really enjoyed it.

Heavy spoilers for the rest of this section for both the games and this movie.

This movie tried to combine the first and second games. Which... if you know a bunch of Resident Evil lore, that doesn't work. But... Again... Stop thinking about the games. From a certain standpoint, trying to combine those games works well. Mostly so you could bring in the Resident Evil heavy hitters (Jill, Chris, Claire and Leon). Logically (from a fan of the games viewpoint), combining the second and third games together would have worked better. But, if you did that you wouldn't get Chris (could replace Carlos with Chris, I suppose, but that sounds horrible, Carlos is wonderful). You also wouldn't get Wesker. Which the movie just made him a dirty cop basically, while in the games he was a part of Umbrella since childhood.

Chief Irons is just a dick in this movie. Not a serial killer. Which, I guess he could still be a serial killer we just didn't find his journal in the movie.

I also assume people were angry about the change in Leon's character. Look. Leon is a badass. But also, he is not really the smartest Resident Evil character. The boy was told to stay away from Raccoon City and he just went anyways. And had the first day on the job from hell. And don't even get me started on the whole Ada thing. This movie just took his naivety up a few notches. Which I found humorous. And I need some humor in movies like this. Also, Leon isn't that badass when I'm controlling him. That boy sat in a corner for five minutes crying when I controlled him. And like Ryan said recently: "Feel like that man is alive because he accidentally succeeded a bunch". Which, yeah... Yeah...

 

Plot

Basic zombie plot for the most part. No complaints. Easy to follow, one slight twist which is obvious if you know what happened in the first game.

 

Costuming

 

Wesker was not wearing enough black. Nor was he wearing sunglasses. Fail.

Other costumes were fine.

How diverse is it?

Two characters weren't white. Other than that, not very diverse.

Overall Thoughts

I enjoyed it. Granted, it took me a bit to enjoy it cause I was sort of expecting a more accurate adaptation for some reason. But after I realized it wasn't going to be that, I was really enjoying it.

My recommendation? Don't watch this movie if you just want a shot by shot movie version of the game. If you want that go watch someone play the games on YouTube. I recommend CJUGames videos, if you don't mind some commentary. I made a playlist of his Resident Evil playthroughs. Which, that is how I have any knowledge of the games really. I do recommend watching this movie if you're a fan of zombie movies. Or if you like Resident Evil but don't mind big changes from the game canon.

 That's all for this one.

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What I've Been Watching

Photo by Nothing Ahead

Just a quick refresher for anyone that forgot:

With the new year, I got back into scheduling what I watch. By that I mean, each day I focus on one streaming service or watching DVDs/blu-rays I own. I started doing this years ago and it really helped me to actually finish watching shows instead of just starting something and then going back and watching random shit on YouTube for the next month. Which is what I’ve been doing for the past year, really. So, I’m going to start some posts talking about what I’m watching for each day and my thoughts, and my expectations to actually finish it.

These posts are done whenever I finish up the schedule.

DVD/blu-ray

The Simpsons

Been watching my old Simpsons DVDs. Which the packaging on some of these leaves much to be desired. 

DVR

The Simpsons

Wasn’t really feeling anything on the DVR, so I found The Simpsons on FXX and decided that would work.

HBO Max

We Bare Bears

This is such a cute and fun show. 

Netflix

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

So… I was scrolling through Netflix trying to decide on what to watch when I saw the new My Little Pony… And I did not like the design. Was not happy. So I spite watched Friendship is Magic… 

This show gets a lot of... Not hate, exactly, but people really look down on this show. Though, that might be just people I know. "Cartoons are for kids". Which, yeah, they are, but that doesn't make them bad. My kiddo used to watch this show all the time and because of that I used to watch it all the time. It kind of sucked me in. I liked My Little Pony when I was a kid and this show was a good update. 

PlutoTV

Garfield & Friends

Prime

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural

Felt like some Ryan and Shane Shenanigans

Roku

Killer Mysteries

Actually finished this up. 

Tubi

How It’s Made

I put this on as background noise as I did some reading. I got sucked in. I know how toilets are made now! 

VUDU

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Resident Evil: Degenteration

Resident Evil: Damnation

Then the internet shitted out and I decided I’d watch Vendetta another day. 

YouTube

Mystery Trackers: Forgotten Voices (Hidden Object Game) 

Gab Smolders 

I love Gab and her Hidden Object Game videos are super relaxing to watch.

The Haunted Taxis of Ishinomaki

Decoding the Unknown

As always, I have to watch at least one Simon Whistler video. It's the law. Or something.

15 of the best orange dresses in cinematic history 🧡🦊🍊

ModernGurlz 

I love fashion stuff. Which seems to surprise people. But I love looking at pretty dresses and shit. And this channel is super good and shows me lots of pretty dresses!

Prohibition - OverSimplified

OverSimplified

Love OverSimplified history videos. Amusing, easy to understand, just perfect. We use it in my kiddos's history stuff. 

Tried to Cover Up a Vicious Crime… TWICE

That Chapter

This bitch was stupid.

Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst (Hidden Object Game)

Gab Smolders

Again, love Gab. 

And that's what I've been watching. 

What I'm Watching

 What I’m Watching…

Photo by Nothing Ahead

Just a quick refresher for anyone that forgot:

With the new year, I got back into scheduling what I watch. By that I mean, each day I focus on one streaming service or watching DVDs/blu-rays I own. I started doing this years ago and it really helped me to actually finish watching shows instead of just starting something and then going back and watching random shit on YouTube for the next month. Which is what I’ve been doing for the past year, really. So, I’m going to start some posts talking about what I’m watching for each day and my thoughts, and my expectations to actually finish it. 

These posts are done as I finish up the schedule. 

DVD/blu-ray

M3gan

Pretty good movie. Predictable as hell, but still a fun watch.

Oh, and a warning: The dog dies. It is not graphic and happens mostly offscreen, but yeah, he dies.

DVR

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

No commentary on this.

HBO Max

Ghost Ship

Ya know, I fully enjoy this movie and have watched it multiple times, but I still can never remember what the fuck happens after that opening scene. Even now, with the movie just finished I’m kind of like “well… There was a ghost… And a ship…” I still really enjoy the movie though. 

The Haunting

Always a good watch, in my opinion. 

Signs

I still like this movie. Forgot about the dog deaths though. 

Netflix

Finished up Absurd Planet, which was such a fun show.

Watched the Resident Evil movies that were available after that. Well, the ones with Milla Jovovich. They didn’t have all of them. Which, rude. 

Prime

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark

13 Nights of Elvira

The Elvira movie is always such a fun watch. I love her so much.

13 Nights of Elvira is basically movies with Elvira popping in with some commentary. I watched three “episodes”. First movie - Cannibal Women in the Avacado Jungle of Death - was bad. So bad. Second was Puppet Master, which I watched years ago. Need a rewatch of it, honestly. I wasn’t fully paying attention this time and it seems bad but a fun bad. Third was Dollman. As I said I wasn’t fully paying attention so I have no idea what happened in this movie. 

Roku

Killer Mysteries

Just some true crime while I read fan-fiction… 

Tubi

Labyrinth

Gods, still love this movie… But, straight up, if I was Sarah I would ask David Bowie to send the kid back and make me the Goblin Queen.

Most Terrifying Places in America

I really enjoy this show. Just people telling spooky stories. And the narrator is perfectly dramatic for the content.

VUDU

Resident Evil

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Retribution

I feel like I should mention that after I watched all of these (most of the second time within the week) I put on CJUGames playing Resident Evil to fall asleep to. I even made a playlist so I could easily go to the videos whenever I wanted.

YouTube

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - Teaser Trailer

They’re gonna be fucking, right?

Beware the Pope Lick Monster

Channel: MrBallen

I showed up expecting a cryptid. Did not get a cryptid.

Trigger Warning: 

Death

Stupid Girl by Garbage

I Touch Myself by Divinyls

5 Scary Ghost Videos Caught by Ghost Hunters

Channel: Nuke’s Top 5

The Terrifying Story of the Whistler | Reddit Horror Story

Channel: That Chapter

Just a spooky story. Love spooky stories.

The Complete Resident Evil Timeline Explained!

Channel: GameSpot

Spoilers for all the games as well as the animated movies and Netflix show. I did skip the last few minutes because it covered the Village DLC which I haven’t… watched someone else play and I didn’t want it spoiled for me. But otherwise, fun video.

Even Flow  by Pearl Jam

When Cats Break the Rules of Nature

Channel: Casual Geographic

I love this guy's videos.

Trigger Warning:

Animal Violence

Disturbing Region Locked Mysteries with Chilling Evidence

Channel: Lazy Masquerade

I like Lazy Masquerade's videos. They are not happy topics, but he is a good narrator.

Trigger Warnings:

Violence

Murder

Why Lucas Baker Was Crazier Than We Thought | Full Lucas Baker Lore and Origins from Resident Evil

Channel: HeY DeVuH

I am not going to trigger warning every Resident Evil video that follows. Just assume there is death, violence, and that sort of shit. The videos are about horror games. It's not going to be pretty.

Also, assume they all have spoilers. Cause I'm pretty sure they do. 

Anyway. Lucas is a crazy asshole, right?

How to Make Godzilla vs Kong's TUNNEL TO HOLLOW EARTH // Godzilla 2021

Channel: North of the Border

50 Facts About Leon S. Kennedy

Channel: Ink Ribbon

Exploring the Darkest "Unidentified Wiki" Pages

Lazy Masquerade

Trigger Warning:

Violence

Death

Drug use mention

5 Ghosts Videos That Will SCARE the HECK Out of You

Nuke's Top 5

Spooky videos!

Top 10 SCARY Ghost Videos To SEND YOU RUNNIN'

Nuke's Top 5

More spooky videos!

A Closer Look at MOTHER MIRANDA from Resident Evil Village | Story of Mother Miranda Explained

HeY DeVuH

5 Scariest Things Caught On Doorbell Cameras

Nuke's Top 5

Only slightly spooky videos. That snake one, though...

5 Scary Ghost Videos That You'll REGRET Watching !

Nuke's Top 5

5 Haunted Dolls Caught On Tape

Nuke's Top 5

I fucking love Nuke's spooky video lists. 

What Happened to Jack Baker In Resident Evil 7 | Full Lore And Origins of Jack Baker From RE7

HeY DeVuH

Top 5 SCARY Ghost Videos That'll Make You CRY for DADDY

Nuke's Top 5

What Really Happened to Marguerite Baker in Resident Evil 7 | Story of Marguerite Baker from RE7

HeY DeVuH

I watched a lot of YouTube videos. Still in a Resident Evil mood obviously. I highly recommend HeY DeVuH and Ink Ribbon for Resident Evil lore videos. 

And that's what I've been watching.

“I got into an argument with a girlfriend inside of a tent. That’s a bad place for an argument because then I tried to walk out and slammed the flap. How are you supposed to express your anger in this situation? Zipper it up really quick?”

-Mitch Hedberg