Film reviews | Fifth about The Seventh

Flags of Our Fathers

August 20, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Flags of Our Fathers: the back-and-forth structure muddies the story of this film (of one of the iconic images of its century); it is, nevertheless, a delicate war movie which avoids the typical jingoistic tone as it portrays the hell of war (not only the combat, but also ancillary aspects of it). Clint Eastwood extracts subtle performances from his cast; but other than the main group, most of the other characters are virtually undistinguishable (even physically, which aggravates the confusion created by […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, war

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Il Sorpasso

August 18, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Il Sorpasso: in some ways, an archetypical road movie; Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant play the odd couple perfectly (particularly the former), making the whole journey very entertaining and interesting to watch; at the same time, it’s not simply comedy for comedy’s sake, as there is great care for the all the people in the film, not simply the main characters. Dino Risi makes great use of the locations, both the eerily empty Rome and the enchanting countryside; Alfio Contini’s camera work, of […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama, top

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Red River (1948)

August 9, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Red River: Howard Hawks (I wrote about my appreciation of his work before) weaves a great tale; it contains elements which are very particular about the place and time (the hardships of that life, the arrival of civilization) and also universal (the indomitable human spirit, sense of honor and companionship). It’s also, more relevantly, supremely entertaining; it has both tight action scenes and lots of low-key funny moments. The flawless cast is a big reason for that: a great gallery of […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: top, western

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Guardians of the Galaxy

August 5, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Guardians of the Galaxy: James Gunn’s film is very entertaining, thanks to the light tone (it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but doesn’t fall into parody territory) and the inspired choice of soundtrack. The relentless pace (the action scenes are varied and efficient) hides somewhat the fact that the story is formulaic (and suffers from an excessive number of villains and/or antagonists, not allowing most of them to feel well-developed), but still gives enough space for the characters to display […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

July 28, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: Elio Petri’s film certainly is politically charged and courageous; very much a product of its time and place, thematically. Gian Maria Volonté creates a character that is unpleasant to watch, but at least is interesting; his acting is borderline histrionic, but that’s part of the aesthetics chosen to tell the story, alongside Ennio Morricone’s stylized score, Luigi Kuveiller’s interesting camera work and Ruggero Mastroianni’s editing (all a reminder that the story is a satire, should […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama

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The Freshman (1925)

July 27, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Freshman: the strongest aspect in Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor’s film is the character created by Harold Lloyd; he is very relatable common man, with desires and fears that all know, unremarkable in every sense except how he is remarkably like someone the viewer knows. The story, simple and sweet, is not just a bridge between comedic set pieces, but something well-conceived. That said, the film is very funny, showcasing Lloyd’s physicality. (While it’s not a piece of the original film, Carl […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, top

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Umberto D.

July 24, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Umberto D.: the simplicity of Vittorio De Sica’s film begins in its title; it presents the focus of the story without any shred of a doubt. It’s not the story of its time and place, but of the central character (who happens to live in that time and place). Carlo Battisti plays him with touching simplicity, and makes the connection all the more powerful for it. The result is a very emotional and humane journey. G.R. Aldo’s camerawork is unadorned, but far […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

I Married a Witch

July 21, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

I Married a Witch: while the high concept of René Clair’s romantic comedy is interesting enough, and the central characters are attractingly played by Veronica Lake and Fredrich March, this film unfurls too quickly, too suddenly for it to be fully enjoyable. There are certainly many interesting moments, but the story seems almost an afterthought. Visually, the film has a cute solution on how to present the characters, which match perfectly the overall feeling.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: fantasy, romantic comedy

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Safety Last!

July 19, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Safety Last!: while this film has just a sliver of a plot, what matters the most is that the character played by Harold Lloyd is both engaging and relatable; a common man with some of the physical prowess of Buster Keaton and the mischief of Charlie Chaplin, but somehow still quite unique. Nevertheless, the set piece at the center of this film is what makes this iconic; extremely well-done (shot and edited beautifully), taking turns being hilarious and thrilling (quite often, […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy

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