by Felipe Rosa
Haywire: the most rewarding aspect is how straightforwards this film is. There’s no pretending it’s anything else: it’s an action movie centered in the fighting abilities of Gina Carano. She can throw a mean punch and kick, but not smile or read lines.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action
by Felipe Rosa
Contraband: a standard actioner. There is not character in sight at all, only cardboard models running around and doing criminal deeds. Nevertheless, it’s fun enough if you happen to forget your brain somewhere.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action
by Felipe Rosa
Hugo: a review doesn’t change much that I thought and said before. It brings a question up, however: given the nature of the story, how much of the good feelings come from being a film buff? It doesn’t change my perception at all, but it may change what I think other people may think of it. See what I wrote previously: Hugo
Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: fantasy
by Felipe Rosa
The Iron Lady: while the structure allowed Meryl Streep to once again give a wonderful performance, it also makes for a very uneven film. The narrative jumps feel artificial, and the whole informs surprisingly little about the subject. It almost feels like that it’s about no one in particular instead of one of the great leaders of our lifetime.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic
by Felipe Rosa
War Horse: characteristically well done, with amazing production values, this is an emotional, rousisng spectacle. However, the episodic structure takes out all the chance of the film having characters, as opposed to people (and animals) things are happening to.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: every film is manipulating. (In fact, every piece of art, every human relation is.) The trick is not letting the wires be seen. This film fails, expectedly given the combination of a touchy event in recent history and a sick, problematic kid. Compounding to the problem is how unsympathetic the protagonist actually is. Everything related to him feels too artificial; the wires are exposed.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
We Bought a Zoo: it’s hard to judge a feel-good movie, particularly when it succeeds in its objective. By one hand, this one has an attractive cast, capably directed in general. (The daughter may be a bit too cute, but that’s easy enough to live with.) By the other hand, with so many characters, we wish to know some of them a bit better than we get to.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
The Artist: a review confirms, even strengthens the original opinion. Nowadays the public takes some elements for granted, and to see, so effectively, the story be told, is a pleasure to behold. The story itself is a great crowd pleaser as well, and the film ends on the highest of notes. My bias should also be made explicit: films about films and filmmaking generally attract me. See what I wrote previously: The Artist
Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: drama, romantic comedy
by Felipe Rosa
Pi: as a study of unhealthy obsession, this film works. But, in the process, it becomes a very unpleasant film to watch.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
Fifth about The Seventh