Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did find this movie very difficult to get into for quite a while. I did think it was good to have the opportunity to see something of Bill’s relationship with his wife and daughter, since that enabled me to connect emotionally with him as a character and care about what happened to him.

It was really interesting to see the science fiction elements, but it was fairly obvious from the start things would go wrong. I did feel that there was a good element of urgency running through the movie, though.

I found Jericho to be a really unsympathetic character for the first part of the movie. It was made very clear that he wasn’t a nice person from the beginning… but it was good to see that he began to evolve over the course of the movie (though I still wouldn’t have trusted him personally). I really did feel that Kevin Costner did a good job of playing Jericho’s character throughout.

There were quite a few actors I recognised in this movie, but I found it really hard not to see Elsa as a Black Widow wannabe.

It was interesting to see how Jericho had the different flashbacks triggered by things Bill had experienced. And I especially liked the interactions he had with Emma and Jill later on in the movie.

There was a lot of action in this movie that did draw me in after the less likable start. I liked seeing the interspersion of scenes with the Dutchman, though I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of him.

I did eventually get drawn into this movie and there were a lot of really good parts about it. I liked the actors and thought they did a good job with the script and playing off each other. I probably wouldn’t watch this movie again, but I did enjoy it the first time through.

(This review may contain spoilers).

As a child, Disney films were a big favourite with me and my sister, so when I saw they were doing a live-action film of The Jungle Book… I was immediately interested in seeing it.

I found this movie to be a lot more intense than the cartoon version and there was a lot more violence involved. Shere Khan was suitably intimidating and it was really interesting to see the way things worked in the jungle, especially with the water truce. The hedgehog made me smile and I felt he added a lot to the story.

I really liked Mowgli’s relationship with the wolves. I thought Grey was especially sweet and I really liked the fact that the wolves had accepted Mowgli as a member of their pack… even though there were a lot of problems after Shere Khan’s appearance.

I did think there was some really good visual imagery in this film. I especially liked the images where Kaa was involved… and there were some really nice bits of humour involving Baloo.

I did especially like Mowgli and how he formed friendships with the animals in the forest. It was interesting to see him refer to the animals as having different languages… and I would have liked to see a bit more about that, since he seemed to have no trouble understanding the languages of any of the animals, even Shere Khan, who Mowgli probably hadn’t met before.

I did think it was interesting to see the way fire was referred to and I felt that wording worked better than the original Disney version of the Jungle Book.

I did think that both Baloo and King Louie were at very impressive sizes… and I especially liked that Mowgli was able to use what was around him, despite being told not to. And I really liked seeing him and Bagheera interacting together.

There was a lot about this movie that kept me on the edge of my seat, involved with the storyline and the characters. This is a film I wouldn’t mind seeing again… but I wouldn’t recommend taking very young children to see it.

(This review may contain spoilers).

This movie was, I felt, entertaining to watch. However, I felt like I was partway through the story and that I’d missed the beginning. While there were some explanations given through the film, I did find that, by the end, I was still left with an awful lot of questions.

It was interesting to see the scenes with the cult interspersed with Alton being taken by Roy and Lucas. I would have liked to see more details of the relationship between Roy and Sarah, especially with more details about their history.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Alton in this movie and it was interesting to see a bit of explanation for his apparent abilities, though what he could do was one of those things I was left confused about by the end. I was a bit surprised that none of the other characters asked questions or had doubts… apart from Lucas, but even then, I didn’t really learn anything.

I did like seeing Alton’s relationship with his parents and it was good to see that there was a lot of action in the movie. I did, however, feel that a lot of the interesting details were left by the wayside. One scene in particular is referenced after the fact… and although there are some hints of a deeper emotional feel (having to give up their child as the best thing for him), those aren’t explored as fully as they might have been.

I also felt that Alton didn’t really act like a child. While there were certain parts where he did (reading the comics, for instance), for a lot of the film, he seemed more adult-like and not necessarily attached to the adults around him.

I would have liked a little bit more background and some more in the way of the relationships between the characters. I didn’t like the information dumping, such as when Lucas tells Sarah how he’s involved. And there’s no detail about what Alton shows the members of the cult and other characters.

This film was entertaining to watch, but one I felt could perhaps have been expanded into a television series, where there could be more character development. I don’t think I’ll be watching this movie again or buying it on DVD.