UNDERWORLD AWAKENING REVIEWED!

So let's recap. Underworld Evolution ended with Selene and Michael defeating the first Lycan and Marcus the elder vampire. Which not to worry if you don't remember this, this installment gives a nice summary of the previous movies. Since that time, the humans have discovered the existence of the lycans and vampires and are at war to exterminate the two species.

After a gun battle with humans, Selene is knocked out and she wakes up 12 years later to a world where vampire and lycans have all but been wiped out. Oh, and she has a daughter and Michael is missing. This will be the main focus of the movie, Selene protecting her daughter from the humans, lycans and a medical facility that wants to use her to create a vaccine which would cure the infection of the two species.

I really like these movies. They are dark, bloody and just fun. The only real downside to this and really all of the Underworld movies are the special effects. I have seen a lot better in lesser movies but they don't take away from the movie.

So, if you liked the other Underword movies you should enjoy this one. Just remember the third movie in the series, Rise of the Lycans, is a prequel to the previous two so this movie has nothing to do with that one and takes place immediately after the second movie, Underworld Evolution.

By the way, this movie is in 3D as well. I saw it in the regular version which is just fine as I didn't see the need to spend the extra coin to watch an already dark movie with 3D sunglasses on.

HAYWIRE REVIEWED!

Haywire starts innocently enough, a woman walks into a diner, sits down and has a cup of tea while waiting for her contact. Soon enough she's in a violent fight for survival as her contact surprises her with coffee to the face and a punch to the stomach. American Gladiators Gina Carano makes her feature film debut as a for hire soldier who is framed for a murder she didn't commit.

The movie is fast paced enough as our lead travels from city to city finding trouble at every turn. The action is well done and Gina Carano's character, Mallory is believable as someone who can take a punch as well as giving one.

Haywire is also packed with famous actors in small rolls. Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Ewen McGregor, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton are around to give this movie the star power needed to prevent its release to DVD only.

The look of the movie was a mix of brightly lit locals and dirty/grainy camera work. All of which is typical of it's director Steven Soderbergh(Ocean's Eleven, The Informant!) The one weird thing I found was the soundtrack. It either didn't have any soundtrack or when it did, it was straight out of a 1970's TV show. Half the time, I expected "Shaft" to pop out from around a corner.

So, is it worth admission? I would say yes. Is it groundbreaking? Um, no. But sit back and enjoy "Crush" from American Gladiators kick the crap out of a bunch of dudes for 90 minutes.