SilentLuminary Reviews

Genre: Horror/Fantasy                Time: 1h 26mins          Director:  John Carl Buechler Quick Summary: A wicked troll king in search of a mystical ring that will transform him into human form invades a San Francisco apartment complex where a powerful witch lives The first five minutes are all opening credits. That’s it, just credits for five minutes. I'm not joking. The plot plays on different generic fairytale tropes and just grounds them into one storyline that is a little unsatisfying. Overall what made me love this film is just how chaotic it was. The little girl in this runs around screaming 'rat burgers' for a solid five minutes. In general, the whole cast is overacting but that just adds to the goofy nature of this film. The thing that really makes Troll a blast is the special effects. While the story is good, the practical effects and puppetry really stand out giving the movie a creepy realism th...

  Genre: Thriller/Horror              Time: 1h 34mins                 Director:  Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Quick Summary:  In the future, prisoners housed in vertical cells watch as inmates in the upper cells are fed while those below starve. This is a very clever Spanish film that really makes you think about your own habits.  To start off, this is entirely set in one location and relies on dialogue. Honestly, I like that, it helps us focus on the characters a lot more, although this film was way too fast-paced for that. I feel like not a lot of characters got proper development and became very plain. Another reason I liked this is that it creates a very claustrophobic environment leaving you sightly suffocated. There is a very clear message portrayed in this, the imbalance of the world's food system. People at the top get to eat, and people at the bottom will either struggle or not ea...

  Genre: Musical/Romance                Time: 2h 8mins               Director: Damien Chazelle Quick summary:  When Sebastian, a pianist, and Mia, an actress, follow their passion and achieve success in their respective fields, they find themselves torn between their love for each other and their careers. This is a beautiful film about how two different people can impact each other.  Overall this is very whimsical and dreamy, there is an incredible amount of care and thought put into this and you can really see it. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have amazing chemistry together, going from two people who very much dislike each other to then absolutely adore each other. Nothing is forced between them they very naturally meld with each other. Both of their performances ooze with emotion and texture, and they convey so much expression with their songs They're honestly such a delight to watch. Th...

  Genre: Comedy/Crime             Time: 1h52mins                    Directors:  Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Quick summary:  Two goons mistake 'the Dude' Lebowski for a millionaire Lebowski and urinate on his rug. Trying to recompense his rug from the wealthy Lebowski, he gets entwined in an intricate kidnapping case. This film is perfect at showing a procrastinator at its best as well as funnily enough, the main urgency within the plotline is overshone by bowling. The main dude simply floats his way through the story, managing to dodge any extreme stress and chaos by a pure miracle but he still finds himself involved in these types of situations. Plot-wise, it is very messy and ambles about though its quirkiness really makes up for it. It's a weird ride but it's still enjoyable.  To be honest, a lot of these characters are so memorable because of how weird they are with well-written l...

  Genre: Family/Musical                          Time: 1h 25mins                    Director: Jim Henson Quick Summary:  Scrooge, an old miser who dislikes Christmas, is visited by spirits who foretell his future and share secrets from his past and present, which helps change his view on life.     This is absolutely flawless and I adore it. Honestly, this film embodies the spirit of Christmas. Micheal Caine's performance as scrooge is wonderful! He fits in perfectly with the puppets, never upstaging them or being overshone. Starting off cold and unapproachable he is able to smoothly meld his character into one with warmth and joy, oozing with charm throughout.  One of my favourite parts was the narration, done by Gonzo and Rizzo, who are ever so charmingly funny. They bounce off each other like ping-pong balls, and show wonderful slap...

  Genre: Family/Comedy                            Time: 2 hours                                 Director:  Alex Zamm Quick Summary:  After marriage, Chloe and Papi, a couple of Chihuahuas, face various parenting challenges while taking care of their five puppies. The movie is cute but I was really disappointed that they changed out actors like that. And though it really is a heartwarming little movie, it still lacks a lot compared to the first one. Now, this isn't really that creative in the sense of plot, but it held itself up with its comedic elements. Which additionally suffers from the decision to turn the dogs into secondary comic-relief characters, neglecting their intended audience right from the start. The script is pretty predictable, but there are several plotlines going on, which might gra...

  Genre: Family/Adventure                    Time: 1h 31mins                Director: Raja Gosnell Quick Summary:  Chloe, a Beverly Hills chihuahua, gets lost in Mexico while on a vacation with her owner. She relies on her new friends and a lonesome German shepherd who vows to help her get home safely. Truth be told, the movie is effective at holding anyone's attention and the entertainment it offers is pretty painless. The directing is good and the script is lots of fun, with many twists, turns and enjoyable moments. While the human actors do a great job, the stars are really the dogs as from what I can tell they're pretty well trained. As well this film has some very positive themes. The first is that Rachel learns to be more responsible as she searches for Chloe. Delgado often sacrifices his plans to help Chloe. Chloe herself learns to stop judgi...

  Genre:   Romance/Fantasy             Time: 2h 3mins              Director: Guillermo del Toro Quick Summary:  Elisa, a lonely janitor, stumbles upon an amphibious creature that is held captive in a secret research facility. She then develops a unique relationship with the creature. To say this film is stunning would be a gross understatement as del Toro easily used every shade of green out there and then invented some more, but they also managed to turn the bleak world of the 1960s into a place where you could believe a magical love story between a humanoid amphibian and a woman was not only possible but ever so dreamy. The world-building is absolutely amazing in this and it is full of equally amazing characters who are fully fleshed out and layered in metaphors. Sally Hawkins, though, as Elisa delivers a lot of heart to the movie. She’s an emotional powerhouse witho...

  Genre: Action/Adventure                Time: 2h 33mins                Director: Joss Whedon Quick Summary:  Nick Fury is compelled to launch the Avengers Initiative when Loki poses a threat to planet Earth. His squad of superheroes put their minds together to accomplish the task. This was a hard film to pull off since it squeezed in so many characters it can be difficult to get all of their personalities to shine, but it managed to do it fairly well.  One thing I like actually was also a weakness of the movie: the internal conflict between the Avengers. Not all of them wanted to be there, and once together, they argued about what to do. This made the movie feel more realistic since it didn't make the team-up part feel too easy. The other great thing about this movie is the compelling nature of its villain, Loki. H is naked ambition for power becomes so dest...

  Genre: Action/Fantasy                     Time: 1h 54mins                    Director:  Kenneth Branagh Quick summary:  Thor is exiled by his father, Odin, the King of Asgard, to the Earth to live among mortals. When he lands on Earth, his trusted weapon Mjolnir is discovered and captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. On paper, the premise for this film sounds like a recipe for disaster with its tale of an otherworldly warrior being transported to modern America; but while the film isn’t mega outside the box or sophisticated, it’s at least a very enjoyable watch. Yes, there are culture shock jokes here and there, but not to the point where it becomes obnoxious, and the “Thor doesn’t understand Earth customs” gags are surprisingly funny. There wasn't a time when I didn't laugh at them. If anything, it’s Chris Hemsworth that holds this film together through his sheer chari...

Genre: Family/Animation                Time: 1h 13min               Director:  John Kafka Quick Summary:  Cinderella finds it difficult to adjust to her new life after marriage. Later, Jaq is turned into a human and lives as Cinderella's page boy while Anastasia, Cinderella's stepsister, finds true love. This was very much an obvious cash grab, but I still enjoyed this.  Okay to start off, this film is three short stories all shoved together that are barely connected and are very much disjointed.  They're all kinda weak, except the last one. This film is good for mindless entertainment as I did find it rather cute at times.  The first one has Cinderella organize a party on her own. That made her clash with others in the palace, but other than that interesting storytelling possibility, the end result is boring and far from substantial. I do think it was supposed to get the m...

  Genre: Drama/Romance                     Time: 2h 11mins                     Director:  Michael Haneke Pre-warning: EXPLICIT Quick Summary:  Erika Kohut teaches piano at the Conservatory in Vienna. In her early forties, she lives at home, cooped up with her mother, whose influence Erika escapes only on her regular visits to porn cinemas and peepshows. Her sexuality is an affair of morbid voyeurism and masochistic self-mutilation. Erika and life travel separate paths. Until one day, one of her students gets it into his head to seduce her. Among the laundry list of things played out in “The Piano Teacher” are sexual repression, madness, loneliness, career jealousy, depression, obsessive behaviour, and kinky sex. You Have been warned. Man, this film really sticks with you and not for good reasons.  This was an intense watch. I wasn’t too familiar wit...