Joaquin Phoenix, what happened? You were such a quiet young man in The Village, and were downright charming in Walk the Line. But with your announcement of retiring from acting in order to become a hip-hop star, people have begun asking questions. Does I’m Still Here have the answers we’re looking for?To start off, his new movie, a documentary (or is it mockumentary? No one’s sure) of his recent life, shares a title with a film he participated in called I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust. Is the naming a joke, a parody of his former reputation as a social activist? If so, I’m not getting it. Following a stint of rehab in 2005, a car accident in 2006, and a bumbling disaster of an interview with David Letterman in 2009, it’s been hard to get a handle on the once renowned actor. (more…)

In 2007, director Russell Mulcahy told Fangoria magazine that Resident Evil: Extinction would “close the book” on the video-game-based film trilogy. However, both video game and movie fans are familiar with the simple fact that anything that sells will continue. Grossing over 140 million, the negative reviews for the film barely phased it, and here we are three years later on the verge of the next installment in the series: Resident Evil: Afterlife. Given what we know, should you put on your zombie costume and show up opening night, or wait for it to hit primetime cable?Afterlife does have some new elements which will please fans of both the game and film series. The most obvious of these is the fact that it’s 3D, filmed with James Cameron’s 3D Fusion Camera System. For most of us, it’s the closest we’ll get to getting bitten by a zombie ourselves. Afterlife also contains the first film appearance of video game character Chris Redfield, played by Wentwort Miller (Prison Break, Underworld). Chris is the brother of Claire Redfield, whose role is reprised by Ali Larter in this film. (more…)