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I am only writing this review because I don't think it will come up in a natural conversation and it's been ringing in my head for days. The concept is fun and entertaining. That's not a problem. The problem is that the host sounds and looks like a serial killer and the contestants are being held hostage on a soundstage. Add in the forced laughter from the contestants and it makes you feel like they're in danger. His smile and the way he delivers his jokes is just bone chilling, and they let this man near knives. You can probably re-edit scenes from this show and pass it off for a horror movie.

I'm really glad this movie got made. In the wake following the eventual atrocity that befell the Resident Evil live action series (I'm looking at you, Extinction), it was needed that a good Resident Evil movie gets made. And, luckily, it did. Rather than basing the movie in it's own universe, Degeneration is actually directly linked the the game series, almost guaranteeing that it will be good. That was a major flaw that Resident Evil: Extinction did with the live action movies, the series began to stray very far away from the game series. But back to Degeneration for now.

One of the first thing people bring up when talking about Resident Evil: Degeneration is that there is an extreme lack of zombies present throughout. And being as this is Resident Evil it's not something that you really want to see. However, it is to be noted that this decision was possibly made to make distinct differences between the video game series to the movie series. This also made room for more story elements, but that's also where it's greatest flaw lies. There is an extreme absence in plot. It's introduced and developed, but the story is never fully focused on. It's easy to overlook this because of what it had going for it.

There are some very extreme positives about this flick. All of the action scenes were amazing. The opening 20-30 minutes or so could be the most entertaining I've ever seen. The setting is established perfectly, but I won't go into full detail about it to avoid any spoilers. It's also worth noting that the voice actress who voiced Claire Redfield returned to lend her voice to the project, as did one of the actors who voiced Leon. The animation was fluent, even if the faces of the characters look like they were just pasted on. The action scenes were fast paced and really enjoyable from start to end, leaving little left to be desired.

If you're a fan of the Resident Evil series you probably enjoyed it. I know I did. But there are a few minor flaws, including some of the animation. Comparing this movie to the Final Fantasy movie, I think Final Fantasy had better computer graphics. However, if you want something to stick true with the Resident Evil series and are sick of the terrible titles that keep getting released, then this movie is something you'll enjoy.

My rating? 8/10.

Hayao Miyazaki is clearly one of the best directors to this day. His best movie is, in my opinion, definitely Princess Mononoke. Being a fan of Miyazaki's work like Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arietty (which he only wrote), Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso (I could name more but back to the review) I had no little expectations for such an amazing film, boy was I wrong. My expectations were greatly surpassed and what we receive is one of the most visually stunning films of all time.

The story is about a young warrior who has a curse put upon him by a raging boar demon-god. He sets out on a journey to the western forests where he hopes to find a cure that would lift the curse from him. It's definitely like Hayao Miyazaki's style.

The characters are also pretty awesome. The film's main antagonist, Lady Eboshi, develops so nicely you have this real sort of hatred towards her, one that should be present in every film. She has a reason for it though, she wants success and wants the ability to survive. The protagonist, Ashitaka, is a cool character. He sees peace on both sides between the forest gods who want the humans dead, and the humans who want the gods dead. He can't find an ally on either side directly and he constantly is in a struggle for survival. There's a good romance story between San (the human who believes she is a wolf-god) and Ashitaka and over the course of the movie their relationship develops a ton. You actually get an emotional attachment to the characters, something that's very rare. While they aren't directly involved with one-another, you can see the love between them. It's rather heart-warming considering it's a film about death and stuff.

The voice acting is great, as expected. With an all-star cast that include Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, John Di Maggio, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Gillian Anderson, it's hard to believe that the voice acting wouldn't be good. It has a very good musical score that contains intense and emotional factors, never leaving the action bland or boring by complete silence.

There's much to enjoy about Princess Mononoke. It's just a film in general that's great to watch. Lots of colours are featured and leaves a stunning visual impact that really catches the eye. The animators all deserve recognition, as the animation blends in with the colours and nothing is absent. It gives the film industry a perfect reason why hand-drawn films are nearly always better than computer animation.

In all, Princess Mononoke is one amazing film. Definitely one of the all time best and it leaves nothing out. There were intense sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat while keeping the main attraction to the visual scenery. Everything was perfect and it's difficult to find any errors with such a masterpiece. Princess Mononoke is definitely an overlooked film. It also goes to show that special effects aren't the only thing to make a film look beautiful.