CreaturewiththeatombrainUK

American Mary is a sleek and sexy film that is unpredictable and fairly unique. The story is dark, daring and entertaining, and solid production gives it clean and smooth look. It's body modification theme is edgy yet tasteful, and at times quite thought provoking. Katherine Isobelle plays the lead brilliantly; cold and brutal, but at the same time, empowering and elegant.

As for Faults, well, American Mary is a great film, but it peaks two-thirds of the way in, and by comparison it's ending feels a little timid and noncommittal.

Now, this is a bit over critical on my part, and it's only a minor flaw, but one that stands out as there are so few in the film. It's the cameo from the Soska sisters, I get it, I do, If I made a horror film, I'd want to be in it too, but this just wasn't the parts for them. Although I suspect they probably wrote it with themselves in mind. It's only a short scene but one with so much potential. The Soska sisters play big characters in a scene that could have been wonderfully unsettling, but instead its a bit flat and clumsy. The girls just didn't have the physical presence or screen confidence required to fill out the roles.

American Mary would have been excellent if it wasn't hindered by a few minor flaws and a weak ending. Overall, a delicate, but by no means tame, addition to the torture porn sub-genre. This film could easily become a horror cult classic, and deservingly so. I will be interested to see what the Soska sisters do next.

These sort of films are supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, over acted, and trashy, the story plot full of stereo typed characters and bad decision making, along with good measures of tasteless gore and dark humour. Yet having all the right ingredients doesn't mean you can make a good cake. It takes a brilliance to balance these elements together and make something special, something marvelous. Director, Alexandre Aja, achieved this when he delivered Piranha 3D in 2010. Piranha 3DD does not. It feels like they've bought together a collection of not-so-funny one liners and cameo's and written a story around them, filling in any gaps with recycled material from the first film and Jaws 3D. (Certainly an interesting decision, given that Jaws 3-D was a horribly disappointing sequel itself).

The production quality wasn't bad, and the sound was okay. The CGI and effects were a bit dodgy in places, but on the whole, passable. The real downfall for this film is the script. The dialogue starts a little wooden, but becomes increasingly worse as the film progresses and towards the end it's cringe worthy. The jokes are shockingly terrible, and I don't mean offensive, as in edgy or dark, they're just bad. The characters are two dimensional and dull with virtually no relationship building; it's difficult to care whether they live or die. Piranha 3DD is just sloppy (or lazy) writing. It's just a bunch of unexciting ideas that have been forced together to fill up 90 minutes. I never thought I'd say this, but by halfway through I was desperately hoping the piranha would sprout wings.

The humour might appeal to some, and there's generous nudity throughout. Christopher Lloyd has some brief screen time and he is superb. It may be enjoyable with a group of guys over a few drinks and a stack of pizza, but I'd probably give it a miss and re-watch Piranha 3D instead.

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Kate Beckinsale returns as the latex clad, vampire warrior, Selene, caught up in a war between Vampires, Lycans and Humans. Kate's Husband, Len Wiseman has stepped out of the director's chair for this latest addition to the Underworld series, handing the reins to Swedish duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, making their theatrical debut.

First, lets get one thing out of the way, Underworld: Awakening has shamelessly ripped off Resident Evil: Afterlife. The similarities are numerous, from the way the film is shot to the story line. But then, why not? Resident Evil : Afterlife breathed life back into the Resident Evil series, and if there were ever a series that needed resuscitating then Underworld was it. How the series managed to ride the success of the first Underworld, through almost ten years and two lousy sequels is an impressive accomplishment of its own. It took four attempts, but they finally got it right.

Underworld: Awakening is fast and exciting from the opening scene to the credits, its packed with edge of your seat action that doesn't flag or become repetitive. Some of the Lycan CGI is questionable, but the rest of the film looks beautiful and sleek, using the series' signature dark greys, solid blacks and striking blue tones, blended with bold lines and sharp angles. The story moves extremely quickly but is easy to follow, and barring a few minor plot holes, makes sense. There are a few things that will make your jump and cringe, but this is more of an action horror so don't expect to lose any sleep. After seeing this, your more likely to go out and buy a cool leather jacket than go to bed with the lights on. At 88 minutes, it's relatively short, but it doesn't feel like it, the ending wraps up perfectly, leaving you wanting more. Underworld: Awaking is a lot fun.