by Felipe Rosa
Battleship: a headscratching choice of property, based on a story-less, nondescript game; and of all stories they could choose from such a free-form idea, they had to pick up a generic knock off of a bad franchise (That the creators are able to use the game mechanics on screen is simultaneously amusing and annoying). Despite all that, the film is somewhat more fun than it deserves to be.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action
by Felipe Rosa
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: well represented by its solid, veteran cast, this film has a story that doesn’t bring much new to the table. Originality, however, can be overrated. The film treats all its characters, if not equally, at least fairly; so much so that it seemingly neglects what could be evidence of a character growth. By the other hand, such minutiae aren’t needed, the audience can fill some blanks. In one word, pleasant.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama
by Felipe Rosa
The Avengers: mindless fun, but oh boy, what fun it is. Not needing to spend much time to introduce characters (even because they are set in stone, unchangeable throughout), time is spent introducing and developing chemistry instead, which makes for nice one-liners. The levity here and there shows that Joss Whedon does not take the material too seriously, a common issue in the genre.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero
by Felipe Rosa
Dark Shadows: for a story about eternal love and familial loyalty, supposedly strong emotions, this comes accross as flat. In other words, this is a typical entry to Tim Burton’s filmography: unengaging emotionally, unusual characters, rich art direction and costume design, lots of pale makeup.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, fantasy
by Felipe Rosa
The Sting: supremely entertaining film to watch, shot and made with great class and elegance; every element fits right in, from the acting to art direction and costumes to the editing; music, in particular, deserves a special note. Also, it’s an interesting film that the experience of watching it for the first time is radically different (and equally engrossing) from additional views. To see all the story’s moving pieces fit so well is a marvel.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, top
by Felipe Rosa
To Have and Have Not: an interesting case; if judged as what this film tries to emulate and reminds of (look a few entries back), it doesn’t really work all that well. But if instead of judging it by what it is not the film is judged by what it is, this movie is entertaining. Its value comes much from showing one of the great screen chemistries of all time, not often rivaled.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romance
by Felipe Rosa
Rio Bravo: a great, solid story quite well told by one of the greats. Certainly one of the strong suits of this film is that Hawks allows the film to breathe, giving time for us to see a part of the living world where the story is set and the characters (no mere cardboard figures) develop and showcase their personalities. Walter Brennan is, always, a pleasure to watch.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: top, western
by Felipe Rosa
The Big Sleep: one of the great serpentine plots to ever be shot. Of course, the plot is simply part of the greatness of this film; there aren’t many better examples of tough-guy dialogue out there, all of it read to perfection; also, and more importantly, the screen chemistry is off the charts (and it is one of the great examples of mid-flight course corrections). Needless to say, acting and directing are top notch. (Full disclosure: if anyone ever wondered […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: noir, top
by Felipe Rosa
Casablanca: the perfect storm of a film, everything working as well as it’s possible. The setting (which gives space to the wide array of wonderful characters to shine); the acting; the directing; the dialogue (every line remains in the memory); the romance (it goes without saying); the use of music (idem); all of the above is above top notch. To top it all off, probably the most perfect ending one can think of.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romance, top
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