Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

I didn’t really have very high expectations going into this movie, which is probably why I actually found it more entertaining than I was expecting. Yes, the movie was fairly predictable, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Jason Statham might well be one of my favourite actors and even though he seems to play the bad guy a lot, it was good to see him in the role of the ‘good guy’…at least for a change.

I have to say, the first scene did a really good job of establishing tension and demonstrating what to expect from the rest of the movie. It was quite a refreshing change to see Jonas make a decision that was vastly difficult…but what seemed to ultimately be the right one, even though other people didn’t necessarily agree. And it was good to see he did continue to carry on the burden from that choice.

I thought the movie did a really good job of capturing both the beauty and the danger inherent in the water. There were some really great visuals from the start. I can’t really say that I understood much of the science behind the undiscovered ‘world’, but I appreciated the fact that it was explained.

There was a lot of chemistry between Jonas and Suyin and I felt their building relationship was the strongest in the movie. I was a bit disappointed not to see a lot more of Suyin and her daughter, as I felt that could have added more depth to the movie. I also would have liked a bit more background about the relationship between Jonas and Mac; and there weren’t too many emotional moments between Suyin and her father before the end of the movie.

There was a lot of action in this movie and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I would have liked some more focus on some of the secondary characters and I did feel like some of the decisions made, by Morris especially, bordered on dangerously foolish.

I was engaged in this movie throughout and I would enjoy watching this movie again in the future. It was simple and good fun. I didn’t need to think too much and I cared about the characters and the danger they were in.

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was another movie I was really looking forward to watching. I didn’t quite get to it on opening weekend, but it was close enough.

I definitely wouldn’t say this was a movie that could stand on its own, given its links to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I really liked seeing some of Scott and Cassie’s relationship, along with Scott’s interactions with his ex-wife and her new husband.

I really did like seeing the fallout from Civil War and it was pretty awesome to see the lengths Scott went to so he could do things with his daughter; and how he dragged Luis into it.

It was really good to see some of the nods to the comics, such as in regards to Goliath/Giant-Man. I also really liked that Ghost had a lot of of depth, even though, as a villain, she was rather weak.

While this movie didn’t have quite as much humour as the first one, there were some really good laugh out loud moments in this. And I really liked being able to see more of Hope’s relationship with her parents. It was nice to see glimpses of Janet interacting with both her husband and her daughter.

I also really liked the fact there was a lot of focus on Hope as a main character. It was really good to see that she was able to hold her own against Ghost and I loved seeing her and Scott fighting alongside each other.

I really liked the use of the technology, though I felt that the growing/shrinking was used to quite an extreme. I didn’t really understand the quantum realm and how everything worked with that, but I did think that, visually, it was absolutely fascinating.

There were a couple of extra scenes at the end of the credits, one of which tied very neatly into Infinity War.

All in all, this movie was a lot of fun to watch and I’d enjoy watching it a second time. It might not have been such a serious addition to the MCU, but it was definitely worth watching as part of the world; at least in my opinion.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Despite not enjoying the first movies in this franchise, by the time this movie came out, I was very much looking forward to it.

I did find this movie very engaging, even though I felt the trailer was a little misleading. I did like the elements of humour and there were a few good moments of foreshadowing scattered throughout. At the same time, however, I did find it difficult to suspend my disbelief occasionally, as the technology especially seemed far too fantastical.

I did feel that this movie was more focused on the action than the relationships between and depth of the characters. While I did really like Benji and Luther, there wasn’t nearly enough interaction between Ethan and Ilsa to make me think they had much of a relationship between the previous movie and this one; and the hints that Ethan’s love life was cursed just felt really over the top.

I was disappointed not to see anything of Jeremy Renner’s character from the previous two movies. After he’d seemed to become part of the group, it was like his character just fizzled out.

I did also feel like there was a lot of predictability in this. August wasn’t a very likable character and it felt like there wasn’t a lot of depth to him. There was a lot of tension throughout the movie, but the villains were just bad guys without coming across as people whose motivation I could understand.

If you’re familiar with the Mission: Impossible franchise, then I would say this movie is worth watching. But I personally didn’t feel like it had much to make it stand out from the crowd. And while the storyline could stand alone, I think you need to have at least a passing knowledge of the franchise for this movie.

I wouldn’t mind watching the movie again, but I wouldn’t rush to buy it on DVD.

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was a movie I felt was really cleverly done, even if the format wasn’t an entirely new one – I just thought it worked really well for the storyline. It was really good to have the story of Margot and her parents told through the use of their laptop and I found it really easy to empathise with David as his search for his daughter became more desperate.

I thought there was a lot that this movie did really well, especially when it came to how harrowing the search was…and how difficult to see and learn more about Margot and just how little her dad really knew about how her life was affected by losing her mother.

I did feel this movie offered a unique perspective into the thriller genre, as it showed more of the wider world, rather than just focusing on a few people communicating on Skype. The movie was engaging and, although not exactly easy to watch, it was easy to get absorbed into the storyline.

I didn’t particularly like Abigail, who seemed very much like a vulture as the movie went on. And, of course, Isaac seemed to come across as such a stereotypical teenage boy that I was rolling my eyes every time he made an appearance. However, he did provide some needed humour at one point in the film.

I did think it was a bit difficult to get to know many of the secondary characters, as the movie was really only focused on David and Margot. I also found it a bit hard to suspend my disbelief when it came to David being able to guess his daughter’s passwords.

I thought there were some good elements of foreshadowing throughout this movie. It was easy to care about the main characters and the plot and this movie was so interestingly done, I’d really like to watch it again in the future, as I’m sure there were a lot of minor elements I missed.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did really enjoy this movie, despite it having taken a decade to be made. However, the timeline of the sequel left quite a lot of confusion; at least as far as I was concerned. I was very disappointed in what was ultimately revealed about Donna. The timeline of the sequel should have matched the length of time it took to make.

I really liked the songs. The very first one, performed by Donna and her friends, was really good and very catchy. It might have been my favourite, though there were plenty of other songs I liked as well.

Speaking of Rosie and Tanya, I thought that the actors who portrayed their younger selves were absolutely fantastic. Not only did they look like the older versions of the characters, but the mannerisms matched perfectly.

I do have to say, considering when this movie was supposed to be set, the fashions didn’t really fit with that era; and especially given the images shown of Harry, Bill and Sam in the first movie. I felt that this whole movie would have worked a lot better if nothing had been mentioned about what year it took place in.

Some things seemed to be left by the wayside from the first movie, such as Sophie’s two friends who were her bridesmaids and were never so much as mentioned in this movie. And there were several bits and pieces that were a contradiction to what had been written in Donna’s diary.

It was really good to see the younger selves of Bill, Harry and Sam, but I have to say, none of them matched quite as well to their older selves as Rosie and Tanya did.

I really didn’t feel that Sophie’s grandmother added anything to the storyline. It seemed like she only put in an appearance for one song and really didn’t live up to her hype.

By the end of the movie, I did feel quite emotional and I did enjoy the songs and the opportunity to see more of Donna’s history. This was definitely a movie I’d like to watch again in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was a movie I found really quite intense to watch, right from the start – though I wouldn’t have said the opening really added much to the storyline. I felt that the movie would have been just as effective without it.

I really like Dwayne Johnson as an actor and I enjoyed seeing his role in this movie. I especially liked the relationship between Will and his wife and children.

This movie was very intense to watch and even though it was primarily action, it did a good job of showing the emotion alongside that.

I would have liked a bit more depth to the bad guys, as they really just came across as villains without any reason to think they might have anything of a point.

I did think there were quite a few good areas of foreshadowing in this movie and I really liked the visual aspects. Fire can get really scary and I thought the movie did a good job of capturing that essence.

There were a lot of very nerve-wracking scenes in this movie that had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I particularly liked being able to see the public getting drawn into Will’s actions. One bit in particular made me chuckle, as one of the officers cheered for Will. And speaking of the officers, it was good to see them working on the ground and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves.

I did feel there was a bit too much of characters just introduced to die and I would have liked to see a bit more interaction between Will and Ben.

While I wouldn’t rush to buy this movie on DVD as soon as it comes out, it’s a movie I would definitely watch again in the future.

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having seen the first movie when it came out, I was pretty eager to watch the second as soon as I knew it was coming out. And while I didn’t think it was quite as good as the first, I did still enjoy watching it.

I really liked being able to see more of Jack-Jack and it was really good to see Mr. Incredible having to take care of the children. It was really good to see a bit more focus on Helen/Elastigirl.

I liked the family elements in this movie and I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more focus on that. I felt some of the problems Mr. Incredible faced with Violet and Dash were glossed over and I would have liked to see more of Dash in particular. I did feel like his parents weren’t very keen on teaching him to be responsible, as he was just allowed to run riot without being reined in.

There were some good elements of humour in this movie and I also liked being able to see some of the other supers. I was a bit unsure of what to make of Evelyn and Winston, but I did find both to be interesting characters.

While there were a couple of things I did see coming, those didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the movie and I cared about what was happening to the characters and in the storyline.

I wouldn’t necessarily say this movie is suitable for younger audiences, as it does show some darker themes that I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my five-year-old nephew watch. There was a lot of action and the movie was really easy and engaging to watch.

I did thoroughly enjoy this movie, but it wasn’t one I would go out of my way to watch again in the future.

(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.