Milla Jovovich is back and kicking zombie butt as Alice in Resident Evil – Apocalypse (Special Edition). This time the virus from the research lab has spread all throughout Raccoon City. The situation is so severe, no one was allowed to leave the city.

After Alice finds some weapons, new clothes, and a motorcycle, she joins up with a group of officers and Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) , a newswoman, to fight these zombies as well as more of those alien-faced creatures. She makes it look so easy now, but what a waste of a motorcycle. Soon the group walks through a cemetery, which is ironic for a city full of zombies. However, it is neat how the zombies come out of the ground and attack.

There are plenty of other officers out throughout the city fighting the zombies also, including Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, who I remember best from the Mummy films). The shooter perched on top of the movie theater has the right idea with a cool setup. Kill a zombie, have a beer. “Plenty to go around. Whoo-hoo!”

Time starts to run out when it’s announced that by sunrise, Raccoon City will be sanitized with a nuclear bomb. It’s bad enough that there’s also a computer-controlled zombie called Nemesis (Matthew G. Taylor) killing officers with machine guns and rocket launchers. Nemesis is one scary bad dude, but who ever heard of a zombie with a bazooka. Worse yet, Nemesis is bulletproof, which makes him more persistent. Seems like nothing can stop this monster.

Now here’s a new twist. There are also zombie dogs. They are quick, fearsome, and hungry for blood. And I thought the monster with the big guns was creepy.

It was a good sequel. Alice is more hardcore than before. If only those scientists would stop experimenting on her, then she wouldn’t be so cranky. On the other hand, Alice looks good in a bathrobe. It makes you wonder what will happen in the new installment, Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Elisabeth Rohm - best known to Whedonverse fans as Detective Kate Lockley on Angel.  I met Elisabeth at the 2008 FX show.  She was pregnant and appreciated me kneeling down to have my photo taken with her.  She also mentioned the autograph photo I chose was her “sexy pose”.  I would have to agree.

Jewel Staite - best known as Kaylee Frye in both the Joss Whedon show Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity.  I met her at Mini MegaCon 2009. I also remember Jewel from her role as Heidi Gotts from the short-lived FOX show Wonder Falls. Of course I watched most all of the episodes on DVD because FOX cancelled Wonder Falls before it ever had a chance to survive.

Well it’s been one year since I started my blog. It is my hope that you have enjoyed my posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I look forward to sharing my convention adventures, and my thoughts about other entertainment venues during the upcoming year. Thank you for your support. Also, I want to thank my sister Stacey for all her help and encouragement over the past year.

We all remember The Wizard of Oz. In the sequel Return to Oz, Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) gets sent to an asylum because of a sleeping disorder and her “delusions” of the Land of Oz. During her escape, Dorothy and her talking chicken Billena wind up in Oz and find out that it has been taken over by a new threat, the Nome King (Nicol Williamson) and Princess Mombi (Jean Marsh), who has a detachable head. They have captured the Scarecrow and turned Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and all of the civilians of the Emerald City into stone statues. Now it’s up to Dorothy and her new friends Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkin head, and the Gump to face Mombi and the Nome King, rescue the Scarecrow, and restore peace to Oz. 

The animation on the rocks is neat. It has a creepy look with all the different faces and expressions. When the Nomes come out of the walls and attack, it reminds me of the clay animation from The Adventures of Mark Twain in the scene when he plays the organ.  

All I can say is that once again, Dorothy ends up vanquishing the villain out of dumb luck. 

As far as I can tell, when it comes to weaknesses, every witch is different. Dorothy unknowingly killed two witches in the first Wizard of Oz film. The Witch of the West’s one weakness is water and the Witch of the East was killed by having a house land on her head. What would’ve been next? The Witch of the Southwest having a weakness to rap music? The bottom line is that Dorothy didn’t know what she was doing, but she’s still one brave little girl. 

I think this is a classic sequel. As it turns out, this was Fairuza Balk’s first movie, long before she played more mysterious roles in films like The Craft and The Island of Dr. Moreau. 

I met Fairuza Balk at Spooky Empire 2009 and she was very sweet.

The clay animation series called Celebrity Deathmatch (1998-2002) is another great example of MTV’s brand of humor. Various celebrities battle each other in a wrestling ring and are featured in a parody manner. The celebrities are paired up, usually based on common talents most of the time. But what really makes this show different from pro-wrestling, is that the fighters use dialogue during the bout, expressing their hatred towards one another and even using movie titles and song titles as puns. That is so clever.

However, the story lines mainly focus on the two commentators, Nick Diamond and Johnny Gomez. Sometimes things that go on in their personal lives affect them on the job. It helps bring the show to a more adventurous level, don’t you think?

Sometimes Nick and Johnny use the movie and song puns as they call the fights. Not only that, but they have such unique names for the different fight moves like the Mormon munch, the Belgian helicopter, and the Winnipeg wax job. How do they come up with those?

Starting in the second season, the series added a time machine to bring back currently deceased celebrities to fight in the ring. That helps add to the educational level to the show. Celebrity Deathmatch was an excellent source of learning about celebrities that I knew very little about. However, this is a parody series, so the portrayal is never completely accurate.

I don’t really know how a winner is chosen for each bout. It could either be based on the personal issues between the fighters, or it could be about which celebrity is more popular or the least irritating. Heck, there were even times when both fighters lose… their lives. It’s always unpredictable.

The show abruptly ended after season four. A few years later, it was brought back. Only to be abruptly cancelled again after only a short time. I must admit though, that newer version wasn’t as good.

This was a very clever series. I liked it, even if it does seem like Nick and Johnny don’t care when anyone dies in the ring. “Somebody dies every night on this show. That’s part of the fun.”

I remember back when Little Nemo was a video game. Nemo is a young boy in a land of dreams called Slumberland. He has to search each level for keys in order to unlock the door to the next level. Then at Level 8, he has to fight two bosses before the final confrontation with the Nightmare King. It’s a total classic.

When I first found out there had been an animated movie called Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, I looked forward to seeing it, but mostly for the relations to the video game, just like with the Super Mario Bros. cartoons. Knowing about the video game first was helpful. For instance, Flip was a mischievous character. He always tried to talk Nemo into doing bad things like unlocking the forbidden door and relasing the Nightmare King, but I already knew that Flip was one of the good guys.

When the Nightmare King arrives at the throne room and captures King Morpheous, he takes the form of a tar-like blob creature, which looks a lot like Hexus from Ferngully. The Nightmare King’s true form is a monstrous giant in this movie. I expected him to be more like Emperor Zurg from Buzz Lightyear. Then again, I’m comparing this film to the video game. I’ve got to stop doing that.

I don’t know how many times Nemo wakes up, but at least it keeps him safe from harm, just like with real nightmares. However, that doesn’t mean Nemo gets to back out from his mission to rescue the king and save Slumberland.

It wasn’t until fairly recently when I discovered that Little Nemo was a comic strip before it was a video game or a movie. Overall, it’s still a good movie filled with adventure and clowns. Don’t worry, they’re not the scary kind of clowns. Thank goodness.

This exciting video I found is my most favorite fight scene from a YouTube series called Super Mario Bros. Z, where Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Shadow fight four caped Koopa Troopas in a high flying battle that only the Powerpuff Girls could match up to. Enjoy.

Masters of the Universe (Keepcase) premiered shortly after She-Ra: Princess of Power ended. In comparison to the cartoon series, Masters of the Universe went in a completely different direction, mainly because most of the story took place on Earth instead of Eternia. Although He-Man (Dolph Lundren) never used a laser gun before, I found the battle scenes much more exciting. With the addition of Skeletor’s (Frank Langella) troops, this took on a Star Wars turn, in relation to the Storm Trooper battles. The sword fights with He-Man were so much better also because they actually lasted longer than one swipe.

Some recognizable actors include a young Courtney Cox and the late Billy Barty who has played some interesting roles in several old fantasy films of the 80s. Gwildor was definitely one of them.

I liked this movie, but it had some disappointments. First off we never see Prince Adam change into He-Man. It would’ve made a great effect for the big screen. What also could’ve made this movie better is if it had included characters like Orko, Ram Man, or Trap Jaw. However, Beast Man (Tony Carroll) sure looked cool along with Evil-Lynn (Meg Foster) who has more of a intergalactic warrior edge to her wicked sorceress image.

Now this is a more unique take on the classic superhero. Batman Beyond, Seasons 1-3 (DC Comics Classic Collection) (1999-2000) takes place in the future. Bruce Wayne is too old to continue as Batman. Luckily, a new teenage protégé named Terry McGinnis comes along. Bruce is against it at first, but Terry shows valor and nobility to do what’s right.

The new and improved Batman has new gadgets like wings and rocket boots to help him fly, stealth capabilities, and super strength within the suit. Not to mention that Bruce can monitor everything and keep in contact from the bat cave.

Since all of Batman’s original archenemies are either dead or middle-aged, Terry ends up finding new archenemies to fight. Such as; Inque a shape-shifting blob of a woman, Spellbinder an intelligent creator of illusions, Blight a man with radioactive skin, the Royal Flush Gang a family of mobsters dressed like playing cards, and others.

Of course Batman Beyond doesn’t change everything from the original versions. One of Gotham City’s biggest street gangs is known as the Jokerz. The punks all dress as clowns with attitudes. As for Bruce Wayne’s other old comrades, Dick Grayson had left Gotham City awhile back and Barbara Gordon has become the new commissioner, which is a little helpful.

There was also a movie based on the series called Batman Beyond – Return of the Joker. The Joker was as tough as ever, but that was nothing compared to the Joker on The Dark Knight, who was played by Heath Ledger. Now he was crazy. Though it was disappointing that Harley Quinn wasn’t in that movie also.

Star Wars star Mark Hamill was the voice of the Joker on this movie and Batman the Animated Series. I met him at Star Wars Celebration V 2010.

Despite that the story lines can be dark sometimes, this was a great series. But what really makes Batman Beyond such a great show was the background music during the fight scenes. Hard rock and battles are an excellent mixture.

The Castle of Cagliostro (Lupin the III) was an old Anime film from the early 80s. An international thief named Lupin and his partner in crime Jigen go to a European city called Cagliostro to investigate some counterfeit money, but stumble onto something more.

While fixing a flat tire, Lupin and Jigen find Clarice, a bride on the run from mobsters. For the thrill of the excitement, Lupin and Jigen go after them and rescue Clarice. Lupin just can’t resist a lovely damsel in distress, but she gets captured again.

Lupin has some very crafty skills with agility and gadgets, much like a superhero. Or is he a super villain? It’s hard to tell because he’s on the wrong side of the law, but isn’t dangerous to others.

The character was also featured on the series Lupin the 3^rd and was voiced by Tony Oliver, who I met at Anime Festival Orlando 2010. It was bit unclear to me, so I asked Tony if he was the voice of Lupin on this movie as well. It turns out that it was Bob Holt. There were three actors who played the role in the Lupin franchise, Tony Oliver, Bob Holt, and Sonny Strait, who was also at Anime Festival Orlando 2010. Tony liked his version the best.

Lupin and Jigen soon find out who Clarice is and soon get more than what they bargained for. She is the unwilling fiancée of the Count of Cagliostro and the boss behind the fake money. Things really get exciting when the Count’s henchmen, who are ninjas with sharp metal gloves and bulletproof bodies, attack Lupin and Jigen.

After escaping, Lupin and Jigen sneak into the castle to rescue Clarice. They slip by all sorts of traps throughout the place. Lupin even climbs a tower with his bare hands before using any of his grapplers. Then Lupin slips from a rooftop, but uses it to gain speed and jump a long distance. That’s incredible. Makes you wonder how he does in track and field.

Lupin soon falls into a trap door with a lot of corpses hanging down as well as a pile of bones at the bottom in the catacombs. “Must be previous uninvited visitors.” That sure is a lot of them. There’s hardly any walking space in that spooky area.

It soon becomes a war zone at the castle after Lupin and Jigen crash the Count’s wedding in another attempt to rescue Clarice. The Count and Lupin even have a duel within the clock tower. It’s real smooth how they both maneuver with all of those moving gears.

This was an exciting film with a good story line. I still wonder where Lupin learned his amazing skills, even if he is only an animated character.

Yeah, like me.

What makes a great villain? Usually it’s a wickedly tough adversary that the hero(s) must go up against in order to protect the innocent. In many superhero stories, there are usually quite a few different archenemies. Each of them is colorful in their own way.

Let’s take Batman for example. He fights criminals all over Gotham City, but the only villains who are most popular are the colorful ones, such as Joker, Penguin, Cat Woman, Riddler, etc. because they stick out from the rest as much as the superhero. 

Dick Tracy is another perfect example. The criminals he fights all have various quirks, which they are named after, like Mumbles, Flat Top, Prune Face, Itchy, etc. I’ll tell ya, if it wasn’t for that, Dick Tracy would never have made it as an icon, no matter how heroic he was. 

From an artistic perspective, a great villain is an enemy who is not only colorful, but is evenly matched to the hero. That way it appears more like a 50/50 chance on who will come out on top. 

I have here a top five list of my most favorite match-ups that help explain my point. 

#5) He-Man vs. Skeletor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Skeletor’s motive is simple, he wants to rule the world. He-Man is the only one who can stop him and maintain peace in Eternia. It sounds a little one-sided at first, but now I understand that it’s merely a power struggle between the strongest beings representing good and evil. 

#4) Obi-Won Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) vs. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) from Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith: These two Jedi warriors used to be partners. With the seduction of Darth Sidous and unfair treatment of the Jedi counsel, Anakin had completely turned rogue. That soon led to their exciting one on one battle, but what was really touching was when after Obi-Won won the fight, he still felt devastated from Anakin’s betrayal just as any mentor would feel if their protégé turns on them. 

#3) John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) vs. Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) from Demolition Man: The motives for these two need no introduction, cop vs. convict. However, the relationship goes deeper when Phoenix gets Spartan arrested with him. The battle scenes between them became more intense when Phoenix develops some new combat skills, which challenges Spartan even more. 

#2) Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) vs. Faith (Eliza Dushku) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: These two are both slayers and used to be friends. Although Faith was troubled to begin with, her reason for turning rogue was different. She wanted to live on the wild side and be free, but Buffy knows better. That soon caused some friction between them as to how the slaying should be done. On the other hand, don’t you just love a good cat fight? 

#1) Xena (Lucy Lawless) vs. Callisto (Hudson Leick) from Xena: Warrior Princess: Let’s certainly not forget this classic match-up. Years ago when Xena was evil, she conquered Callisto’s home village and killed her family. That drove her to become more like Xena in every way possible while vowing revenge. Callisto had definitely succeeded, even from beyond the grave, if you know what I mean. As beautiful as she was, it’s really Callisto’s psychotic persona that makes her a favorite of mine. 

Basically a good villain is one who is worthy of the title. Whether it’s personal grudges or being consumed by a dark power, villains have goals, but it’s their evil intent that gives them bad karma, which is also enjoyable to watch at times.