Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

At an event I went to earlier this year, I was given a promotional hotel key card for this movie. I was immediately intrigued and when I had the opportunity to watch the film, I immediately jumped at the chance.

I didn’t really feel like this movie had a lot of substance. It moved very slowly and even though there was a lot of strong bloody violence, it seemed like the gore was there just for the sake of it.

I felt there was an awful lot of exposition, but very little in the way of chemistry – particularly between Nice and Waikiki. There were hints of depth to both of them, but not enough was shown about their history and motivations to enable me to really care about them as characters.

While it was good to see something of the outside world, the water rioting didn’t really seem to add anything to the storyline. The riots could have been about anything or nothing and the plot wouldn’t have changed.

The only character who was really interesting and had a lot of depth to her was the Nurse. Considering the amount of danger all of the characters were in, the only one who I really cared about was her. Maybe Everest, to a lesser extent, as there was stronger depth to him and I liked his interactions with the other characters.

It seemed like the whole movie was building up to something, but by the time the finale came, I was disappointed. The 3D printer being used to replace organs really didn’t work. I could suspend my disbelief when it came to printing a gun that would actually fire real bullets…but an organ to replace a damaged one? It really needed more of an explanation.

I was disappointed in this movie. It had so much potential that it really didn’t live up to. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to watch.

(This review may contain spoilers).

It was really good to see the origin of the ongoing game of tag. I liked the opportunity to see each of the main characters in something of their lives outside of the game – but I would have liked more details of their lives outside of the game. For instance, Hoagie and Anna had children – but very little was shown about them.

I liked how the game of tag was shown to draw the friends together, but at the same time, the characters did come across as kind of jerks. Jerry was the worst with how he treated his friends, but the refusal to let others play kind of put me off the other main characters.

There were some really good elements of humour in this movie, but also some scenes that were really gross and disturbing – more a case of adult humour I felt was only included for the shock value.

I did think it was good to see that the characters had issues and problems, though it seemed like those problems were ignored or even made light of by the others in the movie. While that attitude did fit in with what was shown of the previous games, I would have liked to see more of the serious moments mixed with the humour. The characters were supposed to be close friends, but it didn’t really feel like that to me.

This movie was a lot of fun to watch and I especially enjoyed seeing Hoagie, the ‘master of disguise’, come up with different looks to try and trick the others.

While I didn’t like Jerry as much as the others, I did find it amusing to get inside his head at times – as by the end of the movie, he’d grown on me a whole lot more. I still didn’t like Susan, though.

This movie was good and heavy on the humour, but I felt like it fell short on the more serious aspects. I did enjoy watching it, but I’m not sure I’d rush to see it again in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched the other movies in this franchise, I was immediately caught by the trailer for this movie – and the ability to see how the purge first came about.

I thought it was really good to see the whole build up to the night; in particular the way different people were reacting to what was about to happen.

I did find most of the characters really easy to empathise with, but I have to say, my favourite character was Dmitri. It was nice to learn something of his history with Nya and Isaiah – though I would have liked a few more details about that.

One of the things I liked about this movie was the build-up of the tension. While there were scenes of violence and gore, those were almost anti-climactic in proportion to the tension running throughout the movie.

One of the things I would have liked to see would have been how the rest of America – and, indeed, the whole world – viewed what was going on. There were a handful of news reports, but this was one of those instances when social media could have been used to good effect to show people’s reactions.

It was really intense watching this movie, but there were a couple of scenes where characters I didn’t really know or care or care about were killed. Those scenes just seemed to be placed for the gore factor – and to demonstrate how bad/evil one of the antagonists was.

By the end of the movie, I was on the edge of my seat, utterly engrossed in the storyline and the struggle the characters were facing. I wouldn’t, however, have said that the path from this movie to the annual Purge being a thing was very clear. I still feel there’s a lot more of the history to be told.

This movie was engaging and managed to draw me in easily. I would definitely watch it again in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I came out of this movie with some very mixed feelings, if I’m honest. I actually liked the start, with the focus on the miniature house. I felt that added a bit more of a unique element that really could have been utilised more throughout the movie.

I did struggle to connect emotionally with Annie in this movie. She could have been a much more sympathetic character – I felt more empathy for her husband and, even though something really horrible happened as a result of his actions, the character I felt the most for was Peter. I would have liked it better if the movie had focused on Peter – or even his father – as the main character and not a woman who forced her thirteen-year-old daughter to go to a party where there were much older teenagers.

I wouldn’t have said this movie was really a horror. Although there were some really gross, disturbing scenes, none of those were anything I’d seen before.

Throughout most of this movie, it felt really surreal, which could have been played with so much better – but I felt like it was just an excuse for some absolutely ridiculous things to happen. Even by the end, I was left with more questions than answers – it felt like the movie had tried to follow paths to two different directions that really didn’t work when merged together.

I felt there was a distinct lack of foreshadowing and any real setup through this movie. By the end, I was actually rolling my eyes at the cliched horror scenes that really detracted from a movie that had a lot of potential.

I felt this movie tried too hard to have a complicated storyline and there was too much reliance on character exposition. Personally, I won’t be watching this movie again – and I wouldn’t have compared it to the Exorcist.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched the previous movie in this franchise, I was quite eager to watch this one as well – and I did definitely enjoy it.

My favourite scenes in this movie revolved around Blue, who I was happy to see had a lot of focus in this movie. One of the best things was being able to see her as a younger raptor and how she differed to the others in her pack.

One of the most interesting aspects of this movie was the debate going on about whether it was right to save the dinosaurs or not. While Ian’s character didn’t appear too much, it was still good to see the nod to the original movies.

I could definitely see why Claire wanted to save the dinosaurs and how Owen allowed himself to be talked into trying to save Blue. I did think that the movie headed into more predictable territory as the volcano erupted.

While there was a lot of action and tension in this movie, there were a couple of scenes that were absolutely gut-wrenching to watch. This movie definitely managed to tug on my heartstrings.

I really liked Maisie’s character. It was nice to see a child who still acted like a child, despite being resourceful and getting into dangerous situations. I was somewhat disappointed with the main villain of the piece, as I would have liked a more redemptive arc.

I really liked the visual aspects of the movie, especially when it came to the dinosaurs. At one point, I could imagine how they would feel if I was able to reach out and touch them.

I thought this movie was a good sequel and it was nice to see some of the returning characters, as well as to get to know new ones. This is a movie I’d enjoy seeing again – and I’d love to see more in the franchise.

(This review may contain spoilers).

While I didn’t see this movie as sooon as it came out at the cinema, I did go and see it as soon as I could. And I personally really liked it.

It was good to see a movie in the Star Wars franchise that focused entirely on Han Solo, though by the end, I wasn’t left with a clear idea of how he would get from this movie to his much more jaded personality in A New Hope.

I thought it was good to see how intricate the plot was and how much there was going on in the movie. It was also good to see that there wasn’t much about the Force until right towards the end, as there’s a lot more to the Star Wars universe than just the Jedi and the Sith.

It was also really good to see the history that had been hinted at in the original trilogy, such as Han winning the Falcon from Lando. And, of course, there was so much more shown, such as L3-37 and her relationship with Lando. I’m not sure I liked her, but she was certainly an interesting addition. I really did like seeing how Han and Chewbacca became friends, too – although there were no details about a life debt in this movie.

I wasn’t really sure I liked Qi’ra. By the end of the movie, I still hadn’t made up my mind either way. Of course, the chanes are good I was just a little biased, considering I grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy and seeing Han and Leia together.

I did enjoy this movie for what it was, even though I would have preferred a more contained storyline. Still, it’s clear there’s a lot more of the story to be told – and I’m definitely interested in seeing the rest of the movies in this franchise when they come out.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve seen this movie twice now and thoroughly enjoyed watching it both times – though, of course, watching it for the first time really couldn’t be recaptured.

I’d have to say that this sequel was just as good as the first movie. The credits at the start were both amusing and almost heartrending to watch, but I have to say, the trailer was entirely misleading when it came to the X-Force – though I loved Domino.

It was nice to see the new characters show up in this movie. While I spent a lot of time disliking Cable, he did grow on me by the end. Plus, it was as amusing as anything to have a reference to Thanos in an entirely different ‘verse.

I did feel a lot of empathy for Russell, even though he was well on his way to becoming a villain. And I really couldn’t blame Wade for the actions he took, even if those were against what Colossus was telling him to do.

Speaking of Colossus, it was awesome to see both him and Negasonic Teenage Warhead put in an appearance. Plus, I loved the references to the other X-Men – and the brief appearance they put in. The breaking of the fourth wall was always fun.

While this movie was extremely violent, the gore did fall under the category of comic. There was a lot of humour and joking around in this movie, but it was also good to see acknowledgement of serious issues too. That mixture was one of the things I really liked about this movie.

While there weren’t any extra scenes at the end of the credits, there were two during that were definitely worth watching.

If you enjoyed the first movie, I highly recommend watching this one – it’s definitely worth it.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched the first Strangers movie when it came out at the cinema, I thought I’d give this one a try and see if it was as harrowing as the first.

I have to say, I was disappointed in this movie. I felt the characters made really bad decisions, even at the start of the movie, when no one was aware of what was really going on.

I did find Kinsey to be an interesting character as the movie went on, but at the start, it was really hard to connect with her. She just came across as a fairly typical rebellious teenager – and it was really hard not to see her as the character from Once Upon a Time.

I felt this movie was fairly predictable and relied too heavily on the jump scares. The use of the masks could have come across so much better, but by the end of the movie, the appearance of the strangers wasn’t scary or creepy at all.

It was good to see some fight in the characters, but towards the end of the movie, it was difficult to suspend my disbelief. After all, adrenaline can probably only carry someone so far.

I can’t really say I was disappointed in this movie, as I didn’t have particularly high expectations going into it. But although Kinsey and Luke made me care about what happened to them, I really couldn’t have said the same for their parents. I also did think that some of the gore was really over the top. Less can sometimes be more.

There were some areas of tension in this movie, but I felt the ending left a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t watch this movie again in the future and I wouldn’t recommend it as a particularly engaging thriller to watch.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this wasn’t a genre of film I would have chosen to watch on my own, when I watched it with two of my family members, I found it a lot more engaging than I would have initially expected.

The very first scene did a good job of introducing me to the members of the society – even to Elizabeth, who was clearly an important part of the storyline, even though she only appeared in flashbacks.

It was nice to learn more about Juliet and see something of her history and I really liked seeing her form relationships with the residents of Guernsey. I also really liked Mark. It was nice to see a love interest who wasn’t demonised to make way for the new romance.

I really liked Kit. I thought she was really sweet and it was nice to see her interactions with the other members of the society. I also really liked Eli and it was interesting to see how the war and evacuation had affected him. It was really easy to empathise with him the more I learned.

I really didn’t like Charlotte and as I saw more of her throughout the movie, I disliked her even more. I also went off Elizabeth a bit by the end. While I could understand her motivations, I felt that she should have prioritised differently – and there were other ways she could have done the right thing.
I thought the history and relationship between Juliet and Sidney was one of the strongest parts of this movie, though I would have liked to see a bit more of Sidney.

This movie was really entertaining to watch, with characters I cared about and some good elements of humour. While I’m not sure I would watch this movie again, I definitely think that it was worth watching the first time through.

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I first saw this movie advertised, I was immediately intrigued. The elements of science fiction were entertaining, but for me, the most engaging aspect of the movie was the relationship between Davis and George.

I really liked being able to learn more about the history and motivations of the characters, but this was a movie I felt would have benefitted more without forcing a romance. I liked Davis and Kate, but I didn’t really think they fit well together.

I did have some very mixed feelings about Harvey. At first, I really didn’t like him that much; but as the movie went on, he grew on me a whole lot more.

I liked the fact there were quite a few elements of foreshadowing. I was less than thrilled that the bad guys came across as fairly stereotypical evil scientists, though. I would have liked to see a bit more depth to them rather than just cowardice shown towards the end.

While the trailer did show a movie where suspension of disbelief would be difficult, the movie itself did do a good job of showing the biology and how the genetics worked in a way that actually seemed to make sense – though I’m not a scientist; and the scene with the wings did make me roll my eyes in the movie itself.

I really did like George’s character. While the other two animals didn’t seem to be negatively impacted in any way, I really liked that he was shown to be more emotional. Plus, the scene of him as a small gorilla was heartbreaking.

I did think that the trailer missed a trick in showing the identity of the third animal. That could have been played for tension so much better than it actually was.

I did like the action scenes in this movie and the characters were ones I really cared about. While I don’t think I’d gain anything from watching this movie again, I did enjoy it the first time through.