Ink of Blood

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.

This is the first time I’ve seen this movie and I did find it very entertaining. I did see a bit of the original movie beforehand, though, and couldn’t help but feel that Matthew Broderick wasn’t quite as good as Gene Wilder, at least at first. But I sort of appreciated the fact that there wasn’t quite as much shouting.

I did really enjoy the songs in the movie and the first one did a good job of showing the situation that Max’s character was in. And I couldn’t help but feel there was more than a hint of realism in the song where Leo’s at his office. Being unhappy in work and feeling like you’re doing the same thing over and over is, I think, something that a lot of people can empathise with. But I have to say, that final dancer really creeped me out. Especially right towards the end of the song, where Leo leaves his old boss behind.

I found the lengths they went to in order to get the flop they needed to be quite incredible, really. I couldn’t help but laugh in the scene involving Franz Liebkind. I particularly enjoyed Leo’s responses to the requests that were made; and Max’s responses to those. And the fact that they put their middle fingers up during the oath, but had to keep switching to their forefingers whenever Liebkind looked at them.

I did think the costumes and choreography worked really well in this movie. I especially liked Ulla’s outfits, both when she was in the office and when she was on the stage. I don’t think I found the romance between her and Leo all that engaging, though; I really wasn’t sure how much she understood and her character seemed to shift between very naive/innocent and very adult. And I really don’t know how she managed to interpret ‘tidy up’ as ‘paint the whole office white.’ Though I was amused when Leo and Max reacted very realistically – ‘Ooops, wrong office.’

I did feel there was a lot going on visually in the movie and that there was a lot of comedy, so I felt that developing the relationship between the characters fell rather by the wayside. By the end of the movie, I would have like to see more foreshadowing of the ending speech.

I also did feel that this movie dragged on a bit. There were about three different points that I thought the movie might end and where I thought it would be better ending at those points.

I felt this movie relied more on its humour and visuals rather than developing the relationships between the core characters. It was entertaining to watch and did have some good songs…plus, I did like the scenes that showed the play ‘Springtime For Hitler’. I enjoyed the movie for what it was.

So, I’ve got to admit, the Fast and Furious franchise really isn’t the best one for gritty realism. Or, if I’m honest, realistic at all. It kind of seems like each movie has to outdo itself with really stretching the viewers’ suspension of disbelief.

That being said, I do enjoy the Fast and Furious movies and I did find this one to be really entertaining. I liked the fact that I got to see more of Dom’s history and family life. I think it allowed for a better insight into Dom’s personality and why family is so important to him.

I really like the fact that Brian’s character is still an important part of the movie, despite the actor passing away. I’m glad that Mia made a return to the movie, because it made it clear that family is just as important to her throughout. And some of the actions she took made her stand out independently from the rest of the group.

I found it pretty interesting that there was some flirting with breaking of the fourth wall. I won’t go into details about what happened, but some of the unrealistic parts of what happens to and around the characters do end up addressed. And I really liked that.

There were some pretty good moments of humour in this movie. One particular scene had Ramsey driving a huge van and…well, let me just say that how she was driving was exactly how I would be driving if I ever managed to get behind the wheel of any kind of vehicle.

I have to admit, this movie series does have a bad case of characters not staying dead. As seen from the trailer, Han is very much alive. And there is an explanation provided. The explanation still doesn’t answer all of the questions I had, though.

There was a lot of great action scenes in this movie, but I really couldn’t help but wince at some of the damage that was caused to the general public during the course of some of these chases. It’s like…the good guys are causing huge amounts of damage and huge amount of injuries (and likely deaths) and…it’s not acknowledged? Pretty sure a lot of the cars that were damaged did in fact have people in them.

I loved the bickering/banter between Roman and Tej and it was honestly great to see Ramsey added to the mix. I loved that, although the main focus of the movie was on Dom and his estranged brother, there was still a lot involving the other characters, too. Though I did get a little confused when they split up and there was so much switching between different scenes.

All in all, the movie was good, if pretty repetitive considering it’s the ninth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise. And the younger actors seemed to fit their older roles particularly well. So if you enjoy the franchise, you will probably get some entertainment watching this. But I wouldn’t say it’ll be easy to follow as an introduction to Fast and Furious.

If you do go and see it – there is a mid-credits scene. And if you do go and see it, let me know what you think!

Who wouldn’t want to live out their greatest fantasy? This movie’s trailer did a good job of setting the scene when it came to showing the feel of the island, from the idyllic atmosphere to how things started to go wrong.

I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the characters through the course of the movie. It was good to learn more about their history and motivations. Even J.D. and Brax, who at first seemed typical party boys, had a much deeper history than it first seemed.

While I did expect the fantasies to take a dark turn, due to the trailer, I felt that it was still done in a way that worked, as a gradual buildup rather than everything turning sour straight away.

It was good to see glimpses of the wider area of the island, though I would have liked a bit more detail of how it actually worked. At various times, the movie seemed to break its own rules.

I did find it harder to relate to Gwen’s fantasy; which I suppose did make sense, given what’s revealed later in the movie. However, I found it difficult to see any mothering instinct in her, despite her claim to have five years worth of memory.

As more was revealed about the characters and their backgrounds, I did start caring about what happened to them a lot more. But honestly, I couldn’t see how the island could ever be a sustainable thing. After all, people would talk. And eventually, it would either be overrun by people desperate to change their lives, or utterly destroyed.

I haven’t seen the series this movie is supposed to tie to, though, so it’s possible that these things do happen.

I did end up enjoying this movie. If you ignore the contradictions, it is entertaining and does have some good characters easy to relate to.