SILENCIO: Lorena Villarreal's sci-fi fantasy proves heavy on manipulation and coincidence

Most science-fiction/fantasy combos have a certain manufactured quality, with some -- if not a lot of -- coincidence tossed into their mix. SILENCIO, a new Mexico/USA co-production written and directed by Lorena Villarreal, offers perhaps more than the normal amount of both. Ms Villarreal's movie takes a few "facts" about a desert area in Mexico -- famous for the myth that no radio signals can be received there and where, in actuality, a U.S. rocket launch crashed back in 1970, releasing in the process a small amount of radioactive cobalt 57 -- and runs with them.

The filmmaker, shown at left, initially seems to cleverly weave this scenario into her tale of of a meteorite with magical powers, radioactive time travel, a family tragedy, and a handsome young fellow who sees and hears ghosts who just happens to be a patient of the pretty young therapist who is the sole survivor of that family tragedy. And that's but the beginning of all the manipulation and coincidence on hand. And an awful lots of cliché, too -- like the young child in peril who of course has asthma. (Note to filmmakers: Can you please give this one a rest?!)

So, yes: What we have here is very coincidental and also sentimental (especially the musical score by Leoncio Lara), but overall relatively fun viewing, thanks to the plotting, cinematography (Mateo Londono), and decent performances, even under some rather trying circumstances. The latter is shown us during a would-be climax/action scene in which our seeming villain manages to shoot and kill two characters while our heroine, who has a shotgun pointed right at him, just can't seen to pull the trigger.

Yes, there's a good reason for this, but the scene is staged so poorly that you may not really care much. Still, the actors -- who include John Nobel (above, right) as the grandfather/scientist, Rupert Graves (below) as a little-too-helpful friend, as Melina Matthews (two photos above) as our feisty heroine -- do what they can.  The movie also include the best performance from a very large tortoise that I have seen in many a year.

The pacing is very up and down, with the post-climax, last-quarter-hour awfully slow. That said, the actual finale may draw a surprise tear from your eye, as it did from mine. The movie may finally remind you of an after-school special crossed with an endangered family film crossed with a time-travel scenario crossed with a shoot-'e-in-the-head blood bath. Yeah, it's weird. But it almost works. Sort of.

From Tulip Pictures and Barraca Producciones, Silencio opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, October 26. Click here to find the theater(s) nearest you.

Marc Fusco's THE SAMUEL PROJECT opens in South Florida theaters

The Holocaust meets an After-School Special, and the results are actually a bit better than you might expect in THE SAMUEL PROJECT, a new film co-written (with Chris Neighbors), directed and edited by Marc Fusco. Yes, this is what we like to call "Holocaust-lite," yet as easy-going, obvious and predictable as the movie often is, it is not insulting nor stupid.

And if the idea of a Holocaust survivor not wanting to share his story of family murder and Nazi genocide with his son, let alone his grandson, this kind of secrecy was certainly not that unusual amongst survivors.

Filmmaker Fusco, pictured at left, does a decent, if standard, job of bringing his story to life, helped along by some classy cinematography (Stephen Sheridan), good performances from his cast, and some nice animation/illustrations by Donald Wallace. The movie is a mix of melodrama, slight comedy, animation art and generation gap, as its tale of grandfather (Hal Linden, above and below, right) and grandson (Ryan Ochoa, above and below, left) get to know each other and help each other out.

The two actors, both long-time professionals (young Mr. Ochoa already has 26 imdb credits, Mr. Linden 74), bounce off each other pleasantly and charmingly, with good supporting work provided by Michael B. Silver (below) as the middle-generation dad,

and Mateo Arias (below, left) as Ochoa's bizarro school-chum musician. The plot involves grandson, a hopeful artist still in high school, who begins questioning his grandfather regarding the latter's life during World War II, which leads to a long-buried story unfolding -- which is slowly turned into "art" via the grandson's drawings and some accompanying music, courtesy of that best friend.

While the tale, as well as its telling is quite unsurprising, the finale -- which is the showing of the grandson's complete video -- is charming and worth the wait. And the pretty and not-so-oft-seen San Diego shooting locations are attractive, too.

From in8 Releasing and running a swift 92 minutes, The Samuel Project, opens this Friday, October 12, here in South Florida in the Miami area at the Regal Southland Mall, in Fort Lauderdale at the Tamarac Cinema 5 and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood, and in West Palm Beach at the Movies of Delray & Movies of Lake Worth.