SilentLuminary Reviews

  Genre: Thriller/ Action Time: 1h 35mins Director:  Elizabeth Banks Quick Summary:  An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converge on a Georgia forest where a huge black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine. I loved how outrageous this was, it was silly and fun. This knew exactly what it was doing and went full force. Somehow it manges to keep you laughing and equally on the edge of your seat, you're curious to see what is gonna happen next.  One thing I did not expect to be so good was the soundtrack, full of 80's jams that really add to the silliness of this film. One scene, the bear is chasing an ambulance while "Just can't get enough is blasting from it" and it is just so funny to watch but it throws in a bucket-full of gore which never feels out of place within this. It's all very energetic, and very much an experience.  This goes full out of campy fun, and everyone smashes their roles. I did think ...

  Genre: Action/ Sci-fi Time: 1h 30mins Director:  Barry Sonnenfeld Quick Summary:  Agent Jay is sent to find Agent Kay and restore his memory after the re-appearance of a case from Kay's past. One good note about this, the special effects have gone up, which I really liked.  Everything about this kinda felt similar to the first film, except they changed it up a slight bit. I didn't mind this completely, as the humour was the complete same which I'm glad about because it worked really well in the first one. A lot of the plot is copied too, a villain is trying to attack, Will Smith and Tommy Jones work together again to save the world. Except they chuck in a potential romantic interest in for Will Smith, which felt a bit forced and not needed by the end of the film. Even though this is simply a redo of the first film, I still enjoyed it a lot. It didn't lose its charm. All the aliens are cooler than the first and are more visually appealing. There is a lot more dial...

  Genre: Action/Sci-Fi Time: 1h 38mins Director:  Barry Sonnenfeld Quick Summary : A police officer joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth. Overall this is an entertaining movie that is actually really funny. The good thing about this is it doesn't take itself seriously, it basks in all the silliness producing jokes through subtlety that really works. It's all done through side glances or nudges which I really liked. Will Smith and Tommy Jones work really well together and have amazing comedic timing, whilst being opposites of each other.    The world-building is actually incredible in this, with tons of unique aliens that never need explaining. I like that they just existed with humans, in secret, and all the secret agents act as if this absolutely normal tops it off. Danny Elfman doing the soundtrack was both surprising and amazing, and he did a fantastic job of it with Will Smith's added rap songs, this ...

  Genre: Family/Musical  Time: 1h 17mins Director:  Gary Halvorson Quick Summary:  A tug-of-war between Elmo and his friend sends his blanket to faraway Grouchland, a place full of grouchy creatures and the villainous Huxley. Elmo embarks on a rescue mission, learning important lessons about sharing and responsibility. Absolutely adorable. Elmo is just so cute throughout this, and you can't help but love him more. I would say the plot is incredibly simple, but this is actually a kid's film, so it needs to be simple. The good thing is, it doesn't completely ram it down your throat if you're watching as an adult, and I think it teaches things really well throughout this. The action is fairly well-paced, it's very bright and bubbly. As expected, the script is pretty funny, even though it is toned down for kids I still enjoyed it. All the characters are so fun as well, there's absolutely nothing to hate about this. Elmo even does a few little silly dances througho...

  Genre: Drama Time: 2h 11mins Director:  Paul Verhoeven Quick Summary:  Nomi, a young carefree drifter, arrives in Las Vegas, Nevada to become a dancer and soon sets about clawing her way to the top of the Vegas showgirls. I don't really know how to feel about this movie, I don't hate but, but I don't like it either. The "sexy" scenes and erotica points of the film were done relatively well, they made their point. It is very loud, crass and overly colourful. But behind all that, there is actually a point. Exploitation and satisfaction. It's satirical. Nobody gets to the point of satisfaction in life. Everyone wants more out of life. People will do anything and use any/all exploits they can to get there. This film revolves around one woman who is treated like an actual slab of meat, and she likes it because she believes it will get her somewhere. I thought this was clever, but I really did not like how this film showed that. Everyone overacts. The main chara...

  Genre: Fantasy/Family Time : 1h 32mins Directors :  Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass Quick Summary:  A unicorn finds out that she may be the last surviving species of her kind. She decides to find the other unicorns. A magician and a woman join the unicorn in her mission. This is unlike most films I've seen, as it is incredibly unique and I will never stop talking about it. To add this the soundtrack is done by America and it is purely fantastic.  This Film doesn't really have a happy ending, but it's incredibly bittersweet and I liked that because it felt realistic and brought realism to this fantasy story. It's mature and emotional, treating its audience like adults showing them emotions such as loss and regret but in a good way, that hopefully, they would learn from it. Don't even get me started on the animation. It's stunning. After 40 years now, it still comes across as delicate and full of the beautiful background art. Everything is so soft, with thi...

  Genre: Sci-fi/ Action Time: 1h 25mins Director: Nelson Shin Quick Summary: The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons. Killing off some of the most iconic characters was a big move, and I'm not sure I liked it. Then they went on a killing spree, which I wasn't sure about either. Being someone who hadn't watched any of the cartoons beforehand, I was glad they introduced everyone. They didn't assume I'd come straight in knowing everyone, that was really refreshing.  The first quarter of this film is basically montage after montage filled with 80's ballads, which I did enjoy for a while, and then I got really tired of them. They just kept happening back to back. It felt a bit mindless, watching all the transformers jump into one battle after another filled with flashy lasers and action. Obviously, this was to ...

  Genre: Adventure/Comedy Time:  1h 40mins Director:  Joel Crawford Quick Summary:  When Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll and he has burned through eight of his nine lives, he launches an epic journey to restore them by finding the mythical Last Wish. Bursting with colours and life, this is definitely a must-see.  Familiar voices including Antonio Banderas (Puss), Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws), Florence Pugh (Goldilocks) and Olivia Colman (Mama Bear) bring the tale of The Last Wish to life in pure comedic spirits. The humour that Dreamworks is known for delivers jokes for younger viewers and plenty for adults! The animation was absolutely stunning with lots of intricate details and small little extras that really brought this film to life as well. Everything is so warm and bright, full of richness. It was like it came right out of a children's book. One thing I really liked, the visuals always reflected the mood. Bright a...

Genre: Mystery/Horror Time: 1h 40mins Director:  M. Night Shyamalan Quick Summary:  While vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse. This was very very disappointing to me. I understand this was essentially a look at human morality, but it came across as sloppy and uninteresting. Honestly, I was highly bored watching this, and the rest I was disappointed because of how nicely shot everything is. Covered in a warm earthy tone contrasting the actual plot of this movie, it feels inviting. The camera work was really solid too with very up close shots of people's faces which honestly I liked, it took a while for me to like it but it grew on me. One thing I did really like was Dave Bautista and how he used this character wonderfully. Being such a large and broad guy, he created this personality that was soft and gentle, approachable and caring. This was contrasted with the fact that his ...

  Genre: Family/Action Time: 1h 56mins  Directors:  Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman Quick Summary:  After gaining superpowers from a spider bite, Miles Morales protects the city as Spider-Man. Soon, he meets alternate versions of himself and gets embroiled in an epic battle to save the multiverse. First of all, the animation. Stunning. It is so sleek and smooth, blasting right out of a comic book surpassing anything any live-action movie could do. It's fresh, intricately textured with halftone dots and cute little squiggles when spidey senses go off. What I also loved was how expressive everything was, even though it was cartoonish there was subtly layered within it. There seems to have been no limit allowed here, and the end result is an animation style that feels completely and totally new. What impressed me about this film is that it set a reminder to the viewer that Spider-Man is in fact, Human, and it explores all the emotions that come with...

  Genre: Action/ Sci-fi Time: 2h 17mins Director:  James Gunn Quick Summary:  After a successful mission, Quill and his team of galactic defenders meet Ego, a man claiming to be Quill's father. However, they soon learn some disturbing truths about Ego. I was curious to know how they could have topped the first one, but somehow they did and played all their cards right.  Like the previous, this is full of 80's iconography and fun, hyper, witty humour. Somehow it manages to make everything better in this one and a lot smoother when it came time to transition to the plot.   Visually it is equally as stunning as the first, all the colours pop. The action scenes are extremely flashy and know how to keep the balance between humour and seriousness. The opening scene really throws you into what this film will be like right off the bat, spectacular and grand with a little bit of silliness.  Dave Bautista really shines during this movie, his trait of being ver...

  Genre: Action/ Adventure Time: 2h  Director: James Gunn Quick Summary:  A group of intergalactic criminals must pull together to stop a fanatical warrior with plans to purge the universe. If this isn't one of your top Marvel Films, get out. It’s big, bright, loud and weird, but most importantly of all, it’s just about the most fun you can hope to have during a movie. This is such a genuinely funny movie that is refreshing, it doesn't play on the same (Marvel) comedy tropes and really knows its target Audience. Rightfully so, the first quarter of the film is crammed with exposition but this is really needed since there are a lot of characters and places and just overall background lore that needs context. It can come across as boring if done incorrectly, but this didn't. It spoon-feeds you this information while keeping you entertained which can be hard to do especially with a film so bombastic as this one. The cast is perfect if I'm honest. Chris Pratt brings th...

  Genre: Action/Crime Time: 1h 55Mins Director:  Edgar Wright Quick Summary:  Doc forces Baby, a former getaway driver, to partake in a heist, threatening to hurt his girlfriend if he refuses. But the plan goes awry when their arms dealers turn out to be undercover officers. I have never witnessed a film that was so audibly so pleasing. Wild and energetic I don't think you'll forget this one anytime soon. The soundtrack for this is perfection. The scenes are made to fit around each song, editing, camerawork and pacing. It's all about movement and rhythm and it's so entrancing to watch as cars speed by and guns shoot in time to the music.  This film isn't too heavy on the plot, it's actually really simple and easy to follow. You can kinda predict the beats of what will happen, and sadly I didn't care for any of the characters except our main, Baby. Really thinking about it, can be good, since you want to see him get out of this messy situation but that also ...