Felipe Rosa

Thoughts on the Oscar 2013 nominations

January 16, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Nomination Morning for the Oscars (for those that follow it with any interest, of course) are always a mix of excitement and disappointment. There will always be surprises; if good or bad, it depends on how you feel about each particular case. Here’s the full list of nominees, from the AMPAS website. In a year this good, it would be simply impossible to recognize everything and everybody without expanding the field (which was what the ASC did but, case in […]

Categories: Non-Reviews • Tags: awards 2013

Top 10 Movies – 2013

January 4, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The task of making a list of favorite movies is always a thankless one; it is a common enough question and fixture, but such list is generally dynamic as one re-watches and re-evaluates films. Some years in particular, it becomes very hard as there are just too many films that must be mentioned. 2013 is one of those years. Thankfully, no matter how traditional it is, the number 10 is just an arbitrary, round quantity, so I feel perfectly comfortable picking […]

Categories: Lists

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Revisit

January 3, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: a new visit confirms that, while the action sequences

Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: action, sci fi

The Seventh Seal

January 2, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Seventh Seal: a film with this setting, group of characters and story is expected to be

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, fantasy, top

August: Osage County

December 31, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

August: Osage County: taking the idea that “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” to the point of caricature, this film ends up with a gallery of characters that are uni-dimensional and uninteresting. Perhaps a lighter hand than John Wells’ would have worked better, but the screenplay seems more interested in giving actors the chance to act broadly within a given type then let them build rich characters. It is a great looking cast, led by Meryl Streep, but […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

December 31, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: this upbeat story has been told many times before; however, the mix of genres and the specifics make this a pleasant journey. It is a bit too on-the-nose on its themes, however. The film is visually slick and interesting; the locations, in particular, are great to look at and very distinctive. The cast is in fine (if not spectacular) shape and sells the concept well; Ben Stiller registers well by avoiding, both as an […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

December 26, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Wolf of Wall Street: bold by choosing to be so forthcoming with its excesses; they are, however, either serving the story and the characters or defining the world. This film is an absolutely fun, if flawed, ride (assuming one is able to not be horrified by the excesses); the pace is somewhat uneven, but that’s because most scenes and sequences have such a high degree of energy that whenever one doesn’t reach those levels, it sticks out. Martin Scorsese is in […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, comedy, drama

Dallas Buyers Club

December 25, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Dallas Buyers Club: while it’s an interesting and inspiring story, this film is so schematic and simplistic in its approach that it almost defeats the purpose. Characters are underdeveloped, so it’s almost surprising how good the acting is; of course, a good part of the effectiveness from both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto come from the extreme physical transformation they went through, but both of them (Leto in particular) are able to infuse humanity into the roles.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama

The Past

December 24, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Past: small, powerful drama. The story itself evolves in an inorganic way, a chain of events and discoveries that is perhaps too neat, but the characters’ pain and reactions feel natural, complex and human. Here is a group of individuals that is flawed, simply trying to move forward; good (for the most part) people who have made bad decisions at one point or another; in other words, perfectly realistic. It’s a fascinating experience, even if not an easy one. […]