Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

This film was very intense to watch. I couldn’t have said I enjoyed it, but it kept me on the edge of my seat for the majority of it.

I liked the opportunity to see bits and pieces of some of the crew’s family life and superstitions before they moved to the oil rig. It was interesting to get something of an idea of how the oil rig actually worked… but my knowledge is virtually non-existent, so I have no idea how much of that was true to reality.

It was also interesting to see the way the company cut corners when it came to safety… at least in the movie. Once everything started going wrong, though, it was really difficult to differentiate between the characters… and a lot of the film was spent with me trying to figure out who, of the people I got to know, was doing what.

The atmosphere of this movie was a really intense one and although I didn’t know how true to the reality the movie stayed (with the injuries, for instance), I found myself wincing along with the characters. I felt engaged with the movie from the start… helped by things like seeing Mike with his wife and daughter and Andrea with her car.

A lot of the movie did seem to focus more on setting it up for the explosion. I did find my attention dragging a little at times and I wasn’t sure about the roles everyone had.

It was good to see those on the outside, such as the coastguard and Mike’s family. It was also interesting to see the outside of the oil rig and what the explosion looked like from the different angles.

I’m not sure I’d watch this movie again. It was very intense to watch the first time through, though, and I felt it was portrayed and acted well.

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve seen bits and pieces of previous Bridget Jones movies, but I found myself really engaged with this one. Bridget was really easy to empathise with… even though I did find myself cringing at a lot of the things that happened with her.

It was good to see Bridget had chemistry with both Mark and Jack. I could understand how she got caught up with not sure who was the father… and being unwilling to tell either of them the truth. I liked the fact that there was a lot of conflict there; and there were some very amusing scenes with the three of them.

I also liked seeing Bridget’s relationship with the other characters, even though I didn’t recognise all of the connections between them. I did really like her friendship with Miranda… though I wasn’t sure how it had formed. Even so, I found myself laughing outright during one of their first scenes together.

There were some occasions when I felt the time moved very quickly and I thought a bit more could have been shown, even though I understand it would have made the movie a lot longer.

I didn’t really know what to make of Alice. I wasn’t sure if she was ruthless and didn’t care… or if she was just trying to do her job, which meant she had to be ruthless.

I did like seeing Emma Thompson’s cameo and I did find those scenes to be quite amusing. I did feel quite sympathetic towards Bridget from the start and it was good to see how she developed the protective instincts towards her baby.

I also liked seeing Bridget’s relationship with her parents and how supportive her father was… though I didn’t really like her mother much until towards the end of the movie.

I did find this movie entertaining and amusing to watch and I really liked the ending. I do think it’s necessary to know the background before watching this movie, though.

(This review may contain spoilers).

While I didn’t think this movie was quite as funny as I was anticipating… I did still find it really entertaining to watch. It was interesting to see the way the different moms dealt with their lives and having to be part of the organisation, too.

I enjoyed seeing the friendship that formed between Amy, Carla and Kiki… though Carla was definitely not someone I’d feel comfortable around in real life.

I did like seeing  Amy’s relationships with her children, but I would have liked to see the same with Carla and Kiki… and potentially even the other moms.

I liked seeing that the three main characters had lives outside of them, even though Carla in particular didn’t seem that concerned with her responsibilities. I did feel a lot of sympathy for Kiki and I really didn’t like her husband.

It was nice to see Jane and Dylan had their own personalities, though I really did think Jane was a bit neurotic. And I really didn’t like Amy’s husband, even if he did make an effort at times. He seemed very much like an overgrown child.

It was nice to see that even the moms who weren’t very nice still seemed to have a lot of depth to them… though I did feel that Vicky was only there to provide comic relief.

I did like seeing Amy and Jessie form a relationship and it was interesting to see how Jane viewed their relationship. I did think the bake sale was really over the top… but at the same time, it made a lot of sense, considering the amount of ingredients people have to be careful about, due to food intolerances.

There were some sweet moments in this movie, in particular towards the end. And although I probably wouldn’t watch this movie again in the near future, I did find it amusing to watch the first time through.

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, it made me think of X-Men for children. But I was intrigued by the plot and knew I wanted to see it from the start.

I found Luke a character who was easy to relate to. I liked seeing his relationship with his grandfather and it was interesting to see the actor who played his father in a different, more serious role.

I particularly liked being able to see the different abilities (or peculiarities) the children had, though I would have liked some detail about why they had the particular abilities they did.

I did find Miss. Peregrine an intriguing character, but there were times I felt she came across as a bit fake. I also thought that the whole idea behind the children living in a time loop was a strange one, as it seemed they were kept in a perpetual childhood and it would mean there needed to be a lot more of Miss. Peregrine’s kind, considering the peculiar children would probably keep being born.

While the romances weren’t really irritating to watch, I didn’t really feel like they added a lot to the storyline. I would have liked to see more of a bond grow between Luke and the other children he met… especially since Enoch in particular had a lot of depth to him.

I didn’t really like Luke’s mother that much. I had the feeling she didn’t care about her husband or her son… but to be honest, Luke didn’t seem close to either of his parents.

The Hollows were really creepy, though I found it interesting to learn about their origins and would have liked to see a bit more depth to them.

There was quite a lot of tension in this movie and I found myself on the edge of my seat for quite a bit of it. I felt that a lot of the characters showed strength and although there were some moments of humour, I felt those added to the storyline, rather than drawing away from the serious aspects.

This was definitely a movie I enjoyed watching and I would be interested in watching it again in the future.