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.

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.

Those gore-lovin' knuckleheads over at Bloody-Disgusting.com spent a few days on the set of Resident Evil: Extinction (surrounded by women like Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Ali Larter, those lucky bastards) and while they haven't come back with their full set report (which, frankly, doesn't even interest me all that much), they've gleaned a few choice nuggets from the cast and crew members.

Oded Fehr will be returning for RE3, and he dropped a vague little tidbit regarding a certain looming sequel: "From what I know ... they're writing one that's totally different, in a different time. Brendan (Fraser) and Rachel (Weisz) are in it." Hmph. The Mummy Returns Again? We'll see.

Stopping by to chat with Ms. Larter, the BD.com boys learned that she will not be reprising her role in the upcoming sequel to House on Haunted Hill -- even though she signed on to star in the second sequel to Resident Evil. Oh well, moving on, the gorehounds hit the mother lode when they sat down to chat with producer Jeremy Bolt, a guy who's made a lot of movies with the fanboy-controversial Paul W.S. Anderson. (Anderson directed Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier, Resident Evil, and Alien vs. Predator, if you must know.) The partners' next project will be a "less parody, more reality TV" remake of Death Race 2000, an NES-to-celluloid rendition of Castlevania, and a sequel to this movie, which looks so sinfully bad that I can't wait to see it.