Felipe Rosa

Behind the Candelabra

May 28, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Behind the Candelabra: this film tells its story by-the-numbers, conventionally. The consequences of this choice are two-fold: by one hand, it humanizes the characters as they are showed respectfully; however, the flip side of stripping the story of elements that make it distinct also begets a less interesting experience in general. Nevertheless, the story is told well and tastefully; visually, the camera work is sleek but the colors are a bit off putting (this has been haunting Steven Soderbergh’s films of […]

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

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Frances Ha

May 25, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Frances Ha: films that have just a sliver of a story to tell, such as this one, must have an interesting character or group of characters; as a comedy, there are brief moments when it works. The main character here, however, is apathetic, uninteresting and almost annoying; furthermore, the character arch is unconvincing and rushed, almost inorganic. Greta Gerwig plays the character apathetically and uninterestingly, which may be the point but doesn’t help to make the experience better. The main […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama

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Kon-Tiki (2012)

May 21, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Kon-Tiki: there’s not much space in this film for any characters to really show up. The story, however, is a good one, as “based on fact” stories tend to be, particularly when they are inspirational tales of faith and persistence against (apparently) insurmountable odds, but it lacks a stronger punch. It certainly looks pretty and is well done. It does not, however, address the intrinsic differences of a journey which you know the destination and the path and a journey which […]

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

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Star Trek Into Darkness

May 21, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Star Trek Into Darkness: fun film that, however, feels somewhat generic. (Not an intellectual property that I know much, it felt that to understand the characters and the universe they were part of, one had to have some previous familiarity.) In spite of the excess of distracting lens flares (a mark of JJ Abrams) and the below-average 3D, the film in general looks slick enough. Benedict Cumberbatch creates a strong villain and is the stand-out of the capable but unremarkable cast.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi

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Thieves’ Highway

May 17, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Thieves’ Highway: a very unusually set noir, but an effective one nevertheless. The particulars of this film make it fresh while the general themes make it recognizable. The grim and simple story is very engaging, as are the characters, grey and interesting, well played by the solid cast. Visually, it doesn’t set itself apart but the camera movements are elegant and serviceable while not being attention-grabbing.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, noir

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The Great Gatsby (2013)

May 16, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Great Gatsby: Baz Luhrman, well-known for his excesses, may be a perfect choice to tell a tale in such an era of excesses. The assault on the senses are not as intense as expected: while there are moments where colors, movements, sounds, music explode or the editing is lightning-quick, there are also quieter moments that allow the sad tale to move along. It’s a nice story and it’s nicely told. Leonardo DiCaprio defends his role admirably. I should add […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

Mud (2012)

May 16, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Mud: a beautiful, quiet, slow-burning film. It takes its time to let the characters breathe and develop, the world their live in present itself and the touching, strong story grow. The whole cast is also solid in an unspectacular way (I mean this in a good way: there are no showboating scenes, just opportunities to develop the well-written characters), Matthew McConaughey being the stand-out. Visually, the film is non-intrusive.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

Iron Man Three

May 4, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Iron Man Three: an excessively busy story (having to contend with being a sequel to not one but two movies) with a lot of sound and fury, but not much else. The main selling point continues to be the main character (and, perhaps more importantly, how he’s played by Robert Downey Jr.) and how he doesn’t take anything seriously. In fact, the whole film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and this sense of humor is most welcome. Entertaining enough, if […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero

The Avengers – Revisit

April 29, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Avengers: a review of this film only reassures what was thought before: this is a purely entertaining film. This is meant a bit as a backhanded compliment: there is nothing wrong in just trying to be fun (and this film is, in spades), but aiming somewhat higher is always welcome. Extremely well done, for what it’s supposed to be. The cast is very good in playing the one-noted characters; not having to spend much time introducing the characters, but […]

Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: action, super hero

Fifth about The Seventh

Author Archives: Felipe Rosa

Behind the Candelabra

Frances Ha

Kon-Tiki (2012)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Thieves’ Highway

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Mud (2012)

Iron Man Three

The Avengers – Revisit