Ink of Blood

Okay, so Dune…this came out two years before I was born, but I became pretty obsessed with the movie when I was younger and in school, due to being obsessed first with the video game. I played that as often as I could. So when I had the opportunity to watch this movie at the cinema, I jumped at the chance immediately.

Despite the fact that this movie is older than me, it still remains one of my favourite movies. Though I feel that there was a lot of rather gross stuff portrayed. The scene with Rabban stuffing his face and talking was cringeworthy. And the Baron was just awful.

I thought that, despite the fact the actor was much older than Paul should have been, Kyle MacLachlan was particularly good at portraying him. I thought the same about the actors playing Leto and Jessica. I was given some glimpses into their relationships and I really cared about the characters.

One thing I really didn’t like with this movie was the use of voiceover when it came to the characters thinking. A lot of the time, I felt that what those thoughts could have been spoken out loud. Or shown through the actions of the characters. The main one that springs to mind is when Thufir Hawat thinks about how he’s failed Leto; that could have easily been shown through actions or even conversations with other characters.

I did think that the worldbuilding was done particularly effectively, especially when it came to Paul learning about Arrakis and the spice and worms. There were a lot of characters that weren’t fully developed; and there was a lot from the book I would have liked to see included.

Considering the age of the movie, I did think that the special effects were really good for the time period, even if watching the movie now makes it clear just how dated those are. What was particularly effective was the way the voice, perhaps the strongest weapon of some characters, was shown and heard. It was very clearly something that was out of the ordinary and still sends some shivers down my spine even now.

Despite the fact that this movie has been one of my favourites, I can’t really see it as a true adaption of the book. There was a lot that was left out that would have really added to the atmosphere of this movie. The use of the shields, especially, looked so clunky and awkward. I honestly couldn’t see how it was possible to fight like that.

This movie was entertaining to watch for the time period and the main characters were interesting and engaging enough to keep me watching. But there were things that could have been done better. I really hope that the newest adaption of Dune will live up to my expectations.

I did see the original movie, but it was quite a long time ago and I don’t have a lot of memories of it.

I did enjoy this movie, I have to say. It was a nice setup scene at the beginning, with LeBron James as a child wanting to play video games and having it taken away from him.

Seeing LeBron with his children was, I thought, handled particularly well. There are lots of families where at least one parent has different expectations for their children than what the child was and I thought that was very realistic in this movie.

I did really like seeing the different worlds of the Warner Brothers and how the Looney Tunes characters had fit in with each of them. Daffy Duck in the world of DC was particularly amusing. And so was the world that Granny ended up in, although I didn’t really recognise what it was.

While I don’t really remember much of the original Space Jam movie and how it handled the cartoon logic, I did like that it was included here. Especially when they were originally training and LeBron was getting irritated about the fact they weren’t playing to the rules.

I did think there were some really good moments of foreshadowing in this movie and I liked the use of Dom’s video game and the characters he created. Plus, the fact that the father and son were supposed to be playing against each other added a whole conflict to the story; and it was really good to see things from Dom’s point of view as well.

I also particularly enjoyed seeing Dom’s excitement about what was going on, even though he didn’t know the real game that was occurring. I do have to say, though, the stakes didn’t feel truly real in the movie. Even towards the end, with all of the real-world audience having been brought into the setting.

It was good to see the distinctive personality and characters of the Looney Tunes, but I was questioning about just why they were so eager to join the team. After all, it wasn’t clear about how they went from all leaving the world to being scattered in all of the different worlds.

All in all, I did think that this movie was entertaining to watch, though I don’t really have a burning desire to watch it again. It was fun and had some nice family elements, but doesn’t really match up to my faint memories of the original.

Firstly, I was very excited about being able to see this movie. I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it was awesome to see a movie entirely dedicated to Black Widow.

I’ve always liked Natasha as a character and I really liked seeing more of her background. I really didn’t like Alexei as a character, if I’m honest. From the beginning, he really didn’t feel as invested in the family as Melina was. Of course, the movie is likely vastly different from the comic books, so the characters might be vastly different in the comics. I did feel like Alexei was there more for comic relief than any real character depth.

On the other hand, the initial scene of the movie did a really good job of establishing both Natasha and Yelena’s history together. I liked seeing the interactions between them and there were some really good elements of foreshadowing throughout.

I did feel that there were areas where the movie was slow moving. While it did allow for some character interaction and development, there were some scenes that were just straight up boring to watch. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the movie as a whole, but in some areas, it did drag.

While there were some good elements of humour in this movie, I felt it was more focused on the plot and character development, which was good. I felt like I was really able to get to know the characters, especially Natasha and Yelena. And I did like seeing the two of them working together, though I would have liked a bit more detail regarding Yelena’s first appearance and exactly how the brainwashing had affected the before and after of the Widows. It seemed like the brainwashing was more of a recent thing.

I liked the acknowledgement that Natasha’s family was also the Avengers, though it made me sad that she had to be separated from them. I would have liked to see a bit more about the others; especially Clint, because…surely he wouldn’t have just ignored Natasha and would have tried to contact her, at the very least?

All in all, I did enjoy this movie. It allowed for more depth to Natasha’s character and it was good to see more of her history and past explored. And it tied in very neatly with the rest of the Avengers movies.

If you do watch this movie, there is an end credits scene.

I actually found this movie to be more engaging than the first one. It was interesting to go back to the time of Camp Nightwing and the Romeo and Juliet vibes were definitely stronger here, what with the Capture the Flag and the red and blue shirts to differentiate the two different towns.

Apart from Nick, I thought that the characters from Sunnyvale really weren’t developed at all, apart from being mean jerks. Right from the beginning, I had a strong dislike for the majority of the Sunnyvale characters. In stark contrast to the first movie, none of the characters were killed until they’d been developed enough for me to actually start caring about them.

While it was obvious how this movie would end, due to the first movie in the trilogy, there was still enough mystery to keep me invested in the movie. The slow advancement to the killer being revealed was enough to engage me in the struggles faced by the characters, both those involving the killer and those outside of the current situation they were involved in.

I did think that some of the choices made by the characters were stupid ones (taking pills that you have no idea what they are springs to mind), but they did make some good decisions where it really counted.

I found Cindy to be an interesting character, even though I found her hard to understand at first. In comparison to the others, I felt that she grew the most as a person. By the end of the movie, I really didn’t like Nick. While I could understand his reasoning, it didn’t really seem to fit with his actions as the Sherriff at the end of the first movie.

There was a lot of gore and violence in this movie; which was only to be expected, of course. But there was still the opportunity to learn some more about some of the past killers. For instance, Nurse Lane provided some good insight into her daughter’s tragic back story.

I did enjoy this movie a bit more than the first one. I thought the characters shown in this were better developed before the violence started. And I did feel really bad for Tommy, who seemed so confused about what was happening at the start. The killer’s hood in the first movie made a lot of sense while I was watching this movie.

All in all, I thought that this movie was engaging and I liked Deena, Josh and Sam’s appearance from the first movie. Though I did question what Deena had done about her wound from the end of the first movie. And the beginning scene of this movie, with the alarms going off, did a really good job of setting the scene. Plus, there were some really good elements of foreshadowing.

I’m looking forward to seeing the third movie in this trilogy, if only to find out the town’s true history…and in the hopes that Sarah Fier’s story isn’t just ‘evil for the sake of being evil.’

I was immediately interested in seeing this movie when I saw the poster at my local cinema. The body swap plot isn’t an original one, but this is the first time I’ve seen it done with a serial killer swapping bodies with an intentioned victim.

The initial scene of this movie did do a good job of setting up the Butcher and the sense of dread that followed the murders committed at the beginning. And those were…well, particularly gruesome and gory. But there was very little character development for the group of teens at the beginning (even for the cannon fodder who die first in a horror movie), so I was watching this first scene with zero care or concern for the characters who were initially being picked off.

This feel of little character development did come through a lot during the movie, though I did like the acknowledgement of the tropes from one of Josh’s lines in the movie.

I did feel that some of the jokes were recycled from other movies that did them better, such as when Millie is using the toilet and commenting on the body parts she currently has. In my opinion, Jumanji handled a similar scene so much better.

There was zero depth to the Butcher as a character. I feel the movie would have done a much better job if it had only stayed with Millie, or had focused on her friends and family watching her strange behaviour from the outside.

I did think there were some good elements of foreshadowing and there were some good moments of humour that did make me laugh out loud.

I have to say, I thought that there was a lot more chemistry between Millie and Booker when Millie was in the body of the Butcher. Also, it was great to see that the Butcher was limited in what he wanted to do by being in a body that was vastly different to what he was used to.

This movie wasn’t one that had a lot of mystery or required a lot of concentration to be paid to it. There wasn’t much in the way of character development for any of them…and the entire scene at the end felt really unnecessary and just tacked on. I wouldn’t watch the movie again, at least any time soon, but it was an entertaining enough movie to watch the first time.

I was immediately interested in seeing this movie, as I always enjoyed R.L. Stine’s books when I was younger.

There were some creepy moments in this movie, but there wasn’t really much in the way of jump scares. A lot of it was very predictable.

I found Deena easy to relate to. I couldn’t say I was that happy about Sam, though. While I did only see their relationship from Deena’s point of view, Sam came across as a much weaker person.

The fact that Deena and Josh’s father didn’t appear was really telling. All that I knew about him came from what the other characters said.

The scene at the beginning did a good job of setting up the feel of the rest of the movie, even though it was a fairly normal start scene for a horror movie. However, there were a lot of questions raised for me with everything that was going on. Even by the end of the movie, I had very little idea of what was going on with the history. But the first movie did a good job, because it made me want to watch the next two movies in the trilogy.

I did notice that there was a very clear divide between the two towns right from the beginning and it came across as very much a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ vibe involving Deena and Sam and the conflicts between the two towns. Plus, the only character from Sunnyvale who actually seemed to have any real depth was the Sherriff. And I was definitely intrigued by what seemed to be his knowledge of what had happened before.

I did find it strange that so many of the town’s residents seemed to just accept that violence and murder was part of their lives. While Josh was talking to someone online who seemed to believe in the witch and clearly believed in her as well, it didn’t seem like there were that many people who were questioning just why so much evil was happening in one small town. The headlines at the beginning of the movie seemed to indicate murder was occurring extremely frequently.

I did feel like the world of this movie was very small. In a way, it was good, because it allowed for more focus on the main characters. On the other hand, it didn’t much feel like there was a wider world outside of Shadyside.

I can’t really say that this movie stood out much from the crowd, but it was entertaining to watch and I liked the fact there was representation. Plus, I am interested in watching the next two movies, even if I’m in no hurry to watch this one again.

I normally have an interest in movies based on the trailer/storyline. This might be one of the only movies where I actually noticed the actors who were in it first. In this instance, Casey Affleck and Morgan Freeman – both of whom I’ve seen and enjoyed in other movies.

The premise of this movie was one that resonates very deeply. The disappearance of a little girl and a family desperate to find her. Well, the aunt was desperate to find her. The mother was a pretty awful person who didn’t seem to care about Amanda even when she was missing. Helene did have a bit of an emotional breakthrough later on in the film, but it just came across as too little too late.

I thought that Angie and Patrick were both pretty interesting characters who had motivations that were easy to understand all the way through. I think their relationship added a bit more of a human element, especially considering the fact that there was so much action going on in the movie at the time.

I did think there were a lot of things happening that didn’t necessarily feel that connected for a lot of the movie. Patrick had a lot of connections with the ‘shadier’ parts of the neighbourhood, but he was still threatened and honestly didn’t seem to get much further than the police. Then again, maybe that was the point. Two different pairs of people who could only get so far on their own.

It was a bit disappointing not to see as much of Morgan Freeman’s character, Doyle, as I would have expected. Still, I felt the movie was even better when he did appear. He was a character who it was easy to see what drove him. And the desperation to find Amanda felt really vivid and real.

Helene’s friend, I think, was one of the weakest points of the movie. During the interview with the press, she sounds so flat and emotionless. Later on in the movie, that makes a lot more sense, but for a scene right at the beginning…I assumed I was going to be seeing a lot of the same kind of wooden acting. I did think she was meant to be Amanda’s mother at first.

There was some upsetting content in this movie and a lot that really stuck with me by the end. This wasn’t such a cut and dried good guys trying to stop the bad guys movie and I liked that. The characters felt real and three-dimensional, like they were real people. Making mistakes and decisions that weren’t the right ones. Nothing fell nice and easy into their lap. And the consequences felt real.

All in all, I found this movie very engaging with some really good acting and a plot that really stuck with me after watching. But I’m interested to know what any of you think about it!

I like horror. I don’t mind blood or gore in movies I don’t need to think too much about, though it is nice to see a movie that’s a bit more subtle. And that was definitely the case with this movie.

The first scene did a good job of setting the feel of the rest of the movie, even though it wasn’t clear how everything fit together at first. I found both Daniel and Peter interesting characters, even if it did follow the whole trope of gruff, reluctant mentor is forced to be partnered with a young, wet-behind-the-ears rookie.

I did like seeing the exchanges between the two of them and it was good to see that, although Daniel was gifted in his learning, he was still ignorant about the real workings of being an exorcist.

I thought there were some pretty good elements of foreshadowing in this movie. By the end, there was a lot that had come together and made sense. However, many of the scenes were pitch black and it was virtually impossible to see what was going on. There was one scene that took place in the prison/police precinct that I’m still left completely confused on exactly what had happened. Plus, I was watching with two of my friends who are blind…so at various points, I was saying, ‘I don’t have a clue what’s going on either.’

There were some good moments of action in this movie, but the jump scares were pretty basic and nothing I hadn’t seen before. Visually, by the end of the movie, I thought it was let down. The whole finale was extremely fast-moving and confusing in comparison to the rest.

I did like the relationship that was shown between Daniel and Charlie, but I would have liked more insight into Daniel’s motivations. Even when Peter asks him, Daniel doesn’t really go into much detail. Even by the end, I didn’t really get a good idea of Daniel’s strength of will/character.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the wider world of this movie. I think there was a lot more that could have been shown. And it was disappointing that the movie seemed to abandon some of the subtlety in favour of jump scares, especially towards the end of the movie.

I did find this movie intriguing to watch, even though I would have liked to see more motivations of the characters and more of the world outside. Plus, I didn’t feel that the end goal made a lot of sense. I think it would be good to see a sequel to this movie, where hopefully some more details are explored and the hints of, ‘You know what it’s like,’ are further explored with Daniel’s character.