Call me crazy, but 90 minutes of Milla Jovovich doing anything is worth watching -- doubly so when her activities deal with zombies, monsters, and ridiculous high-tech weaponry. Yes -- deep sigh -- I'm a (slightly) reluctant fan of the Resident Evil series. (Yep, there's even some stuff I like in Part 2. Like Sienna Guillory.) When I'm writing or net-browsing or playing hours of Zuma, I often like to have a familiar movie playing in the background (like most people do with, um, music) and the Resident Evil flicks fit the bill quite nicely sometimes. (Depending on my mood, of course. Last night my relaxation movie was The Mask of Zorro.)

So it's my relative fandom for the series that leads me to share this half-piece of semi-news: According to the always-fun MTV Movies Blog, series master Paul W.S. Anderson has started speaking to Sony about a Resident Evil 4. And don't even dare act surprised when a series that grossed this much money moves forward on another adventure. How many Police Academy movies were there? (OK, bad example that isn't exactly helping my argument, but I seriously lost count. There were about 28 Police Academy movies? Or it only felt like that many.) Mr. Anderson doles out the reliable "Oh, once we get a good script ... We're not gonna do it just to do it" schpiel, which means he's probably about three weeks away from hiring a writer.

My take on the Resident Evil series is pretty darn simple. Part 1: Slick, stylish, entertaining junk. Part 2: Junk. So when I read the not-so-surprising news that Sony was aiming to deliver a Part 3, I was equal parts happy and annoyed. But hey, any chance I get to see Milla Jovovich in torn clothing as she blows down zombies left and right ... I'll take it. I'm a big fan of the Milla. Then I learned that an old pro was being brought in (that'd be Russell Mulcahy, of Razorback, Highlander and Ricochet) and my hopeful-meter raised just a few points.

Well, Mulcahy's Resident Evil: Extinction doesn't hit theaters until September 21, but Sony aims to kick-start the zombie madness with a big swanky double feature DVD that the fans are sure to love. According to DVDActive.com, the Resident Evil Double Feature Collector's Set will hit the shelves on September 4, and here's what you'll find inside the package: Both movies (Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse) obviously, a brand-new "bridging scene" that'll tie all three movies together through the magic of ... Resident Evil movie clips, a "Diary of an Apocalypse" featurette, a "Zombie Dog P.O.V Test," an "Undead Boot Camp" featurette, a "Memory Retention Division" featurette, a stuntman set tour, an "Evil Archives" photo gallery, an early peek at some Part 3 footage, and (best of all) a free ticket to see Resident Evil: Extinction. (That way if it really sucks you can say "I got in for free ... and I still want my money back!" and all your friends will laugh and call you clever.)

So there's some pretty good news for the newer Resident Evil fans. Kind of a kick in the teeth to anyone who owns the Resident Evil Special Edition, the Resident Evil Deluxe Edition, the Resident Evil: Apocalypse Special Edition or the previous Resident Evil / Resident Evil: Apocalypse double feature set. But oh well. That's what eBay is for, I suppose.

In about five-and-a-half years, the world will supposedly end. Don't worry, though, because it will be a lot of fun. That is the impression I get from Nickelodeon Films, anyway. The kid-friendly division of Paramount is making an action-adventure for the whole family that is based on the idea that the apocalypse is coming in December of 2012. Called simply 2012, the movie will be about a family vacation during that fateful month when, according to the Mayan calendar, and some UFO theorists, something devastating is expected to take place. 2012 will be written by Tom Astle and Matt Ember, and it will probably be directed by Tom Dey -- all three of whom were responsible for Failure to Launch.

This is the second movie we've heard about so far that has to do with the Mayan doomsday prediction. The first is an adaptation of Whitley Streiber's upcoming book 2012: The War for Souls, which Michael Bay is making for Warner Bros. Though Nickelodeon's 2012 should be much lighter in tone, I have to assume that the whole premise will still be a bit scary for the intended audience -- unless kids these days just aren't afraid of the end of the world as much as I was (and honestly still am). According to Variety, those involved with 2012 have some time before they'll be able to get started on the movie. Currently, Astle and Ember are writing the direct-to-video spin-off Get Smarter: Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control and reportedly Dey is expected to be committing to other projects ahead of this one. The trio better not take too long, though, because they're running out of time. In only six years, either the movie will lose all relevance, or we won't be around to see it.

I hate thinking about the apocalypse. I used to have recurring nightmares about the end of the world, and despite world events seeming hopeless these days I'd like to think the end is not actually nigh. Other people, however, are happy to discuss the apparently inevitable apocalypse, as well as how it will happen and when. According to Whitley Strieber, author and alien abductee, the end of the world will come in 2012, and he has a book about it coming out in September. TMZ has the scoop that Warner Bros. already has plans to turn the book into a movie and Michael Bay has been set up to produce.

It isn't definite if Bay will also direct, but Transformers screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have apparently been hired to adapt it for the screen. I'll admit that I was once a big UFO buff and I even went to a Strieber book signing, but after awhile my fascination died, partially because everything was getting so depressing. Strieber, for instance, is not just now becoming apocalyptic; he was a co-author of the book that The Day After Tomorrow was based on (he also wrote the film's novelization). I know that one had nothing to do with aliens, but Strieber isn't solely known for his abduction books. He also wrote the horror novels that became Wolfen and The Hunger. There is no synopsis given for his new book, which is called 2012: The War for Souls, but supposedly some UFO theorists believe aliens will invade Earth in 2012.

However, Strieber has previously written an article about the year and our fate in it that has nothing to do with aliens. Instead it references a famous Mayan prophecy and discusses more environmental catastrophes a la The Day After Tomorrow. Whatever the plot of the book and movie, though, it is sure to make me nervous, especially if I think too much about it.

[via Hollywood Wiretap]

OK, yes, fine. I'll admit it: I like Resident Evil. There, I said it. Not the sequel, mind you, but the first one. Call it a guilty pleasure or good mindless fun, but I've revisited RE more than once over the years, and the goofy mayhem still holds up pretty well for me. The less said about Resident Evil: Apocalypse the better. And of course you know by now -- they're making a third one. This just-released teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction looks suitably slick, spooky and action-laden -- but then again so did the promo materials for the first sequel and ... I'm talking about Apocalypse again, aren't I? Sorry.

Part of the reason I have some fresh hope for this franchise is because producers Jeremy Bolt and Paul W.S. Anderson didn't give the reins to just another young music video hotshot. They actually went with a veteran in Russell Mulcahy, and that's the guy who directed Razorback, Highlander and Ricochet -- in addition to other (lesser) features. And yes, we're still being asked to buy wafer-thin (but stunningly gorgeous) Milla Jovovich as a high-end zombie butt-kicker. Like I said: good mindless fun. Resident Evil: Extinction opens on September 21.

Within less than five minutes of The Signal, you already care about the main characters. They're adulterers, but they're obviously in love, which makes everything that follows a lot more engaging. It's a character-based (and very well-acted) science fiction horror flick that's got a solid sense of humor, an admirable air of dread and a 50-ton vat of ultra-gooey gore: Cool. Admirable enough for simply being a true treat of a genre flick, The Signal is also noteworthy for how it was made. Although it's not an anthology film, The Signal is the work of three different directors: David Bruckner for Act (or "Transmission") One, Jacob Gentry for part two and Dan Bush for the final third. Whether or not this unique approach is actually a good (or necessary) thing is up to you, but I can tell you this: The Signal is one viciously fun little genre flick.