SilentLuminary Reviews

  Genre: Romance/ Drama Time: 1h 50mins Director:  Sofia Coppola Quick Summary:  When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. Well, that was rather dull. I'll be honest, I didn't think this was going to be the most exciting film. Don't get me wrong, It was interesting to see how awful Elvis actually was without him being idolised. It's sad to watch it too, as we learn that Priscilla was groomed from a young age to be exactly how he wanted her to be, how he liked things such as dying her hair, telling her what to dress, not allowing her to work so that she can always be at his beck and call. She became a possession to him, one that he picked up and threw away constantly.  That said, I don't think that was enough to keep this film interesting as a lot of it is super slow and hone...

  Genre: Comedy/ Fantasy  Time: 2h 21mins Director:  Yorgos Lanthimos Quick Summary:  The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. I might have to try this working on one's self  Honestly, I don't even know where to start with this film as it was such a wonderful and fantastical experience. I adored every single second of this. It's weird to its core unapologetically and I'm loving it. As an autistic woman, I have never related to a film so much, with the complexity of "polite society" and the nuances that come with people, the yearning to learn and experience new things all the time, our naivety getting the best of us when it comes to people who know how to use that to their advantage, frustration towards those people and the real upsetting world, people treating as children, how we like to learn about taboo subjects or indulge in them and ...

  Genre: Horror/ Sci-fi Time: 1h 51mins Director:  Richard Stanley Quick Summary:  A secluded farm is struck by a strange meteorite which has apocalyptic consequences for the family living there and possibly the world. I now have PTSD over a single colour. Nicolas Cage, my man. Can you do anything wrong? Honestly, he was brilliant in this and absolutely hilarious as he lost his mind. Any time he was on screen was just pure enjoyment, even if he was absolutely bonkers. I loved watching him slowly get more and more insane over time and just go on rambles about his family. Aside from him, the rest of the cast is pretty good admittedly. They all had their parts and they all worked. I mean, once you're in a film with Nicolas Cage you know you're going to be overshone.  The special effects in this are brilliant and I can actually say they're up to the same standard of The Thing (1982) . Honestly, a lot of them are very gross and super twisted in one case. As a fan of cos...

  Genre: Thriller Time: 1h 48mins Director:   Neil Burger Quick Summary: (Highlight to show spoiler)    A woman seeks revenge against the man who kidnapped her mother     You know what, That wasn't awful  This isn't really my type of film I'll be honest as I usually find them pretty boring but this kept my interest for a good portion of it. At the start of this film, I wondered if I was going to be suffering or not as it was pretty slow and I wasn't really sure where this film was going. Then it pulls out a twist out of nowhere which was pretty good actually, it was shocking and really did a 180 on the story.  The problem I have with this twist, is we never actually get any backstory on it which I guess is so we're in the shoes of the main character, but it leaves a lot of story missing and we don't actually get to understand how horrible the situation previously was. It was a thing and then it was gone. Even during the brief moment of it,...

Genre: Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Time: 1h 31mins Directors : Albert Birney, Kentucker Audley Quick Summary:  In a future where the government records dreams and taxes them, a dream auditor gets caught up in the dreams of an aging eccentric. Who let the worm in my brain make a film? Never in my life have I seen the concept of fever dreams be put into a film. I loved every single second of it. Honestly this is such a missed gem for all of you who also love weird films. It's not perfect, but that doesn't mean I adore this any less. This film takes you on a insane and hectically beautiful journey through a fantastical dreamscape that leaves you absolutely glued to the screen. The whole thing is quirky, odd and just bizarre. It's like someone combined Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. The Weirdness level just breaks the scale. It has cute little stop motion moments, a grass man and a guy who forces you to eat fried chicken in your dreams. Which a...

  Genre: Romance/ Comedy Time: 1h 44mins Director:  Meg Ryan Quick Summary:  Willa and Bill are ex-lovers who will see each other for the first time in years when they both find themselves snowed in, in transit, at an airport overnight. My 50-year-old Coworker would love this.  Sometimes in life, I like to experience what the older generation deems as a romance film to understand why their relationships fail so much. This was a prime-time experience. I feel like the premise of this is very wild, like who in their right mind would want to do this and find it romantic.  It was kind of funny to me to see the older generation's version of a manic dream pixie girl. But I think the paring is very confusing, a straight-laced old guy who is a music snob unless it's 90s rock and a spiritually free-living woman who travels to massage people. No boomers are like this, who are they trying to kid.  The dialogue was atrocious. It was like an AI had created a script and...

 Genre: Horror/ Sci-fi Time: 1h 36mins Director:  Paul W. S. Anderson Quick Summary:  A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years. "Welcome to Hell Motherfucker"-The ship (Made up by me) You know what makes me sad, they were worried that this film wouldn't do good so they toned down how brutal this would be, and I wished they didn't. I loved how just straight-up violent this was, and it was terrifying. The special effects with the more gory moments were so well done, I want to see how brutal this could have been because it would have added so much to this with how horrifying the situation was. Maybe it was ahead of its time and people weren't ready for it. Though I can imagine for people who just want to watch a Sci-Fi film, the gore would have been way too much for them even once toned down. Beyond the gore, this has a dark and claustrophobic ambience that enhances the overall sense of...

  Genre: Horror/ Crime Time: 2h 18mins Director : Damien Leone Quick Summary:  After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the timid town of Miles County where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night. Seriously someone should check on the director. Who gave this a budget? Because thank you. If you liked the gore in the last one then you will certainly love it in this one as it is amplified by a million. Honestly, it has some of the most extreme gore scenes I have ever seen, and I've seen some intense horror films. This is one of the most violent clowns I have ever seen, but he's equally as silly. Our silly little murderous goober is more extra in this one as he really hams up the campy humour. I'm so glad they decided to give him more screen time in this. I could just watch him for hours and be content.  Even though they made those things so much better, unfortunately, it's like they took what was bad in the la...

  Genre : Horror/ Crime Time: 1h 26mins Director:  Damien Leone Quick Summary:  On Halloween night, Tara Heyes finds herself as the obsession of a sadistic murderer known as Art the Clown. He's just a silly goofy guy. Somebody should check on the director because the gore in this is incredible. Like scary incredible. Sure the blood might be over the top, but that really just adds to the effect. It was actually horrifying watching this clown rip apart people and like rummage through their bodies. Though at the same time, everything was like over the top violent, like yeah I'm a fan of that, but not everyone is. So keep that in mind.  Moving on to the clown himself. I really enjoyed him and he really made the film worthwhile, as even if he is terrifying he's also very very silly and funny through how he reacts to things. I assume he's mute as he has no dialogue at all. Which is actually really impressive. I loved the moments he just acted out some silly shenanigan or ...

  Genre: Biopic/ History  Time: 1h 58mins Director:  Jon S. Baird Quick Summary:  The story of how one of the world's most popular video games found its way to players around the globe. Businessman Henk Rogers and Tetris inventor Alexey Pazhitnov joined forces in the USSR, risking it all to bring it to the masses. Who knew Tetris was involved with politics.  Okay, this had my interest for most of the runtime, as it was really interesting. I didn't realise how much backstory there was to this simple little game, but sadly, the longer this film went on, the less I was interested. It has a promising start with lots of flash visuals and really upbeat, quick pacing to hold your attention, but as soon as it hits the halfway mark it loses it. I understand it's due to the more serious nature of that part of the film, but we need something when the story is a bore. I really think this should have only been one hour and a half, the story would have fit together really ni...

  Genre: Horror/ Drama Time: 2h 20mins Director:  Sam Esmail Quick Summary:  A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door. Mr Obama Sir, are you trying to tell us something? I don't know how I feel about this film. It is difficult to explain really what it is. It starts off really well, with the setup but the more this film goes on, the more confusing it gets. Maybe some parts of the story were missing, or got cut? Who knows but I know I certainly needed more information. And then, as soon as we start to get some information finally that clicks together, it ends. It's like some sort of joke that we don't get to see what happens. Don't get me wrong, I find it funny how it ends because it literally follows "Leave the world behind", but it doesn't make it less annoying.  It is very interesting to watch everything unfold, and there are many ways you...

  Genre: Fantasy/ Adventure  Time: 2 hours Director:  Hayao Miyazaki Quick Summary:  A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning.  I went through the entire film not understanding a single thing.  It seems like every 5 minutes, the scene just moves on regardless of whether it has explained anything or if it is ready to move on. Even then it moves onto something that seems random and doesn't connect with the last scene, or even the rest of the film. Even though I was fully paying attention to everything, I felt like I was constantly missing information so much that I had no clue that a person the boy meets is a very important character that I cannot explain or I will spoil. But they're there for a good portion of the film so you'd think it would tell you explicitly at least. It's nothing for a surprise twist, you just have to guess who...

  Genre: Action/ Sci-fi  Time: 2h 5mins Director:  Takashi Yamazaki Quick Summary:  Post-war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb. I found this so boring that I actually forgot the whole existence of this film after leaving the cinema and forgot to review it. You know this was my first time watching a Godzilla film and I actually expected to see more than 30 mins worth of Godzilla, silly me. What we actually got was a very over-the-top drama film which, I'm sorry to say isn't worth your time. Everything is so drawn out and dramatic, as well as for some reason cheesy? I really couldn't understand it. Don't even get me started on the child in this. Never in my life have I witnessed something that breaks my immersion through irritation. It just randomly bursts into full of tears with a screech of a cry that just went right through you.  Now onto actually about Godz...

  Genre: Comedy/ Adventure  Time: 1h 40mins Director:  Andrew Stanton Quick Summary:  After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home. Right away I can say this is a classic for Pixar. It is so pretty to watch, and being someone who isn't a big fan of the ocean that's a big deal. Honestly, it's so breathtaking and mesmerising to watch these fish flick about through the colourful world that has been created. The attention to detail in every frame is awe-inspiring as there is so much to look at every single second, from colour coral reefs to areas teeming with all sorts of fish all doing various things.  The most impressive thing to me in this is the characters. Each and every one is unique and animated so well. The facial expressions, body language, and honestly how they move through the ocean, make them feel real. I actually forgot I was watching an animated fish film.  Most...

  Genre: Comedy/ Adventure  Time: 1h 32mins Director:  Pete Docter Quick Summary:  To power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think. I'm sad to say I've never had Steve Buscemi come through my closet door. I thought Billy Crystal and John Goodman were great. I like them anyway, but now whenever I hear them I can't unsee these characters. John Goodman comes across as a warm, fuzzy teddy bear regardless so he was pretty much perfect for Sully. I don't think I can actually say if I preferred one or the other as I really enjoyed both of them. They had brilliant chemistry and no matter the scene they bounced off each other as if they had known each other for years. This plus a brilliantly written script makes a wonderful film experience. Even if I am a big fan of Steve Buscemi, he was also incredible as the villain ...

  Genre: Comedy/ Adventure Time: 1hour 35mins Directors:  John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton Quick Summary:  A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe. Flik is the type of guy I'd marry. For a first-time production film, this was okay! It was fun and sort of simple. It was pretty easy to predict what was going to happen. But who cares? This is a kid's film, so it's a bonus that adults can enjoy it too. Speaking of the humour in this was really funny, especially through the delivery of things. They manage to slip in a ton of adult jokes as well. Though many of the gags are directed towards kids, they didn't always land with me, an adult. Flik is the only one I remember fully. The rest, well I wouldn't say they were bad, it's just they weren't that interesting. Flik on the other hand was adoreable, trying his best to help out and improve no matter...

  Genre: Crime/Thriller Time: 1h 35 mins Director:  Sidney Lumet Quick Summary:  In a hot jury room in New York City, 12 men discuss the innocence or guilt of a teenager accused of murdering his father. As time passes, they begin to question their own values and morals. Never in my life have I been so engrossed in a film that is set in one room I'll be honest the first fifteen minutes I wasn't really feeling this, it takes a while to really get going but once it does you'll be hooked. It manages to keep the space fresh with characters constantly moving around, the camera following them and panning to various others as they mull around the room. It goes from observer to a target as it focuses on various characters as the story goes on. The sheer brilliance of this is just outstanding because it doesn't just keep your interest, it demands your attention from start to finish, and I promise it's for the best. The writing is snappy and the pacing is perfect, the story j...