by Felipe Rosa
This Means War: one should not be surprised when the trailers sell a movie that looks bad and the movie turns our to be exactly that. Part of the hurdle is that Reese Witherspoon is the most annoying screen presence this side of Renée Zellweger. There are (very) few moments that are funny, saving this from being a complete disaster.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, romantic comedy
by Felipe Rosa
Rampart: this film follows the “rule” that, if the main character is despicable, it must also be interesting. Here we have a typical Ellroy cop, played strongly by Harrelson. But the movie comes and goes leaving something amiss.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Night Train to Munich: clearly the product of another era, more naïve and steadfast (but by all acounts, accurate to its time and place). It’s an ingenious story, well and simply told, with enough charm from its principal players.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: thriller
by Felipe Rosa
W.E.: while trying to make a beautiful, stylish movie, the story seems to have been thrown overboard. The two different settings are joined artificially, and neither is appealing to start with. The jumpy editing doesn’t make anything easier to relate to.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama
by Felipe Rosa
Bridesmaids: as a comedy, it’s painfully unfunny; as an investigation of a stressful moments in one’s life, it’s shallow as a puddle; even as a “raunchy comedy with women”, it’s tame. The whole proceeding was artificial and boring.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy
by Felipe Rosa
Safe House: nothing new here. Not the standard story, the editing style, Denzel Washington in full villainous mode, the car chases or the roof chases. Reasonably well-done for what it is, thought.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: thriller
by Felipe Rosa
A Better Life: the blueprint of this film is quite obvious, and the update to the geographical realities of Los Angeles is competent. The problem is that the acting is uneven: while Demián Bichir as the father is wonderful, the son is not as interesting to watch.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Real Steel: it should not come as a surprise that a movie about fighting robots has little humanity to it, but the lack of earnestness in here is complete. The robots look good, thought.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action
by Felipe Rosa
A Separation: deeply humane, layered, great drama. It’s the mark of its superb writing that all characters are interesting, flawed, complex human beings; all that happens is organic, a slice of life instead of a scene of a movie or a setup or payoff. Every once in a while, a movie brings joy for watching it, not because it’s built to make you feel good, but because it just clicks so well; this is one of those.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
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