Million Dollar Arm
by Felipe Rosa
Million Dollar Arm: Craig Gillespie’s film has an interesting story; it is, however, one of
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama
Author Archives: Felipe Rosa
Chef (2014)
by Felipe Rosa
Chef: while the main storyline is cute (and simple) enough, it is the sweet father-son relationship that is told in parallel that raises this film above the usual for this genre. The nice cast cruises along, without much to do, but Jon Favreau is a nice presence and Robert Downey Jr. almost steals the movie in his scene. Visually, it’s crisp and clean; the highlights are the cooking scenes, which are attractive and hunger-inducing, but almost excessive. Also deserving some mention […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy
The Grand Budapest Hotel
by Felipe Rosa
The Grand Budapest Hotel: despite its peculiar brand of humor, emotional detachment and gallery of weird characters, the intricate story told by this film touches the right (mostly sorrowful) notes. Anchored by a convincing performance by Ralph Fiennes, the whole (enormous) cast is all a pleasure to watch. Visually, as one can expect in anything by Wes Anderson, this is a great example of precise and stylized (but not overly precious) filmmaking; the same can be said about Alexandre Desplat’s score. […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy
Getúlio
by Felipe Rosa
Getúlio: in spite of the name, João Jardim’s film offers little insight into the main character, his motivations and actions; in fact, while there is a large gallery of characters, little reason is given to get connected to any of them. That, in addition to an uneven pace, makes this film somewhat monotonous. Acting is unimpressive at best; Tony Ramos, in particular, doesn’t have the acting chops or the physique du rôle to be convincing. Walter Carvalho’s restless camerawork is competent and […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, thriller
Mad Men – Season 4
by Felipe Rosa
Mad Men – Season 4: as this season progresses, it becomes clear that not only the story and the characters are evolving, but the series itself is; in subtle, as most everything is, but in no uncertain ways. The most obvious is the growing focus on the plot, without any loss in character development and a rich portrayal of the times; the series embrace shifting shades of gray instead of black-and-white. Writing and acting continue to be top-notch (except for […]
Categories: Non-Film Reviews • Tags: drama
Django Unchained – Revisit
by Felipe Rosa
Django Unchained: violent, profane and extremely fun, this is a typical Quentin Tarantino film. The writing is partially great: it is a good story (full of references, as usual), with interesting characters speaking lively lines of dialogue; the main problem with the writing lies in the structure (linear and conventional for his standards), which has a weaker last third. Scenes balance beautifully tension and humor. The cast is in great shape, particularly Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert Richardson’s camerawork […]
Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: western
Mad Men – Season 3
by Felipe Rosa
Mad Men – Season 3: in this season, the focus veers ever so slightly towards a plot (as opposed to the characters), without any loss of quality or interest. There’s no point in repeating some of the things said about the previous seasons, as they remain in place. Writing and acting continue to be strong; Jon Hamm puts on another great season, as do January Jones, John Slattery and Vincent Kartheiser. Read also: Mad Men – Season 1 Mad Men – […]
Categories: Non-Film Reviews • Tags: drama
The Newsroom – Season 2
by Felipe Rosa
The Newsroom – Season 2: as the second season progresses, it becomes clear that the same weak points from the first season remain in place, even if somewhat less intensely: characters (particularly females, but quite a few are afflicted by this) poorly written (that they have personal problems, is realistic; the way they deal with them, not so much) and an excessively idealized world (where “bad” people turn “good” at a whim and “good” people can do “bad” things without […]
Categories: Non-Film Reviews • Tags: drama
Divergent
by Felipe Rosa
Divergent: wearing its influences in the sleeve, this film results both a minute variation and a minor version of them. The main problem is that the dystopian society portrayed in the film is dull, and its dynamics don’t seem very relevant. The lack of imagination extends to the visual aspects chosen by Neil Burger: costume and set design, as well as the action scenes, are all pedestrian. Shailene Woodley doesn’t have much to do with her role (the rest of the cast, needless […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi
