McBone Mini-Reviews; The McBone Week in Movies

The Eyes of Tammy Faye - Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were hideous monsters who swindled their followers out of millions of dollars in the name of constructing a Christian resort empire called Heritage USA.  Jim Bakker went to prison for his crimes.  Tammy Faye eventually married the architect of Heritage USA, Roe Messner, who would serve a subsequent prison term of his own.  This documentary, directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and narrated by RuPaul, offers some interesting glimpses into the rise and fall of these bloodsucking evangelists, but is far too sympathetic in painting Tammy Faye as a victim of an embezzling, adulterous husband.  We're to admire her, the film argues, because she's a survivor; she's forgiving; she's full of life; she's (imagine!) nice to gay people.  While it is fascinating to hear her talk about the makeup that has made her an icon in drag communities, The Eyes of Tammy Faye ultimately sputters.  Too many sympathetic talking heads want us to forget that she spent much of her life imploring people to write checks.  Finding a few critical voices would have served the filmmakers well.  Official McBone Rating: 2.5 McBones.

Also seen


Resident Evil: Apocalypse - Raccoon City is infested with zombies, but the exquisitely evil Umbrella Company (think Halliburton x10), which created the T-virus in its subterranean labs, has implemented a successful quarantine.  Unfortunately, that means locking residents in.  That leaves Alice (Milla Jovovich) to do what she does best: kick zombies in the head.  What she doesn't know is that the company has been experimenting on her.  She's infected!  And it's giving her super powers.  Good thing, because another zombie experiment is on the loose and making short work of the city's dwindling defenses.  In Apocalypse, director Alexander Witt and screenwriter Paul W. S. Anderson have fashioned 94 minutes of zombie nirvana.  Excessive without being insulting, graphic without feeling gratuitious, R.E. is to the zombie genre what Blade is to vampires.  That is high praise, and this is the finest installment to date.  3.5 McBones.

Resident Evil: Afterlife - OK, so maybe that quarantine wasn't so successful after all.  Zombies have escaped Raccoon city and overrun the world.  Survivors prowl a Mad Max style wasteland in search of gas, food and other survivors.  Milla Jovovich is back and the T-virus has given her supernatural powers.  Too bad for the zombies, and too bad for her that the Umbrella Company is still up to its old tricks.  This time they're cloning Alice (is this a bad thing?).  For what purpose?  I'm not sure I care.  I just love watching Milla kill all manner of zombies.  Zombie humans, zombie dogs, zombie crows...bring it on!  Though Anderson is back as screenwriter, Afterlife isn't quite as tight plotwise as its predecessors.  It also seems to ignore certain threads from where Apocalyspe left off (which really pissed off my sometimes popular wife).  Does that mean it's not freaking fun as hell to watch?  Hell freaking no!  2.5 McBones

nwb