Film reviews | Fifth about The Seventh

Jack Reacher

July 12, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Jack Reacher: unremarkable mix of thriller and crime procedural, with a flavour of Western showdown and attitude to boot. While it’s slickly made and has at least a few strong names in its cast (Richard Jenkins and Robert Duvall in particular), the plot makes so little sense that it’s hard to bother for what is going on after a while. It all boils down to how much fun the ride is, but the general lack of tension and uninteresting characters […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, thriller

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The Way, Way Back

July 10, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Way, Way Back: a story is often dismissed out of hand if it’s not considered original; however, while freshness is desired, a heartfelt, well-though tale will more often than not generate a better film. This one has a story that is universal in its broad strokes and distinctive in some of the particulars. It also has some of the usual indie quirkiness, but the characters are rich, well-rounded and interesting to watch. The cast is uniformly great; Steve Carell […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama

The Attack (2012)

July 9, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Attack: while the starting point for this drama is interesting, even strong, the way it unfolds leaves a bit to be desired, given the choice of trying to stir up a controversy instead of telling its story organically. While that’s part of the premise, the characters feel detached from their actions, making it harder to sympathize. It’s not particularly well shot or edited (jump cuts abound, for no particular reason) either.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

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The Lone Ranger (2013)

July 6, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Lone Ranger: generally misguided film, from the story to the general tone that borders the disrespectful towards itself to the bad pacing. There’s simply too much meaningless action, too many poor attempts at humour, too many villains; it’s all empty, however. It’s well done with good production values, but when all is said and done, the only reason to watch this is to be reminded of better films by the wonderful setting (Monument Valley) and Hans Zimmer’s references to […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, western

Barbary Coast

July 6, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Barbary Coast: strong drama which is very frank in dealing with the realities of the time and place of its story. Characters are well-rounded and complex; not one is unblemished (even thought, of course, some are more than others). Such realism is refreshing. The cast is generally good, but the highlight is Walter Brennan. The film is well shot, making the fogginess almost a character.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

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Unfinished Song (AKA Song for Marion)

July 3, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Unfinished Song: watching great actors at work is always an enormous pleasure; in this case, particularly Vanessa Redgrave (not many are greater, no matter the role) and Terence Stamp. When the story helps and allows the viewer to connect to the characters, so much the better. It’s easy to call this touching film manipulative (even if all films, perhaps all forms of art, are trying to tug the public one way or another), but it’s organically done (the real crime […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

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Hobson’s Choice

June 29, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Hobson’s Choice: interesting little farce that, however, ends up being a bit disappointing. The issue here is that the main characters are not engaging enough, so establishing an emotional connection with the story is hard. They are, nevertheless, well-played by the cast, that showcase all the buffoonery with gusto; few actors could play the title character as well as Charles Laughton. It is very well made; David Lean, known mostly (but not only) for the big (and also intimate) epics […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy

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World War Z

June 26, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

World War Z: solid, if unspectacular, entertainment; the action sequences are exciting and visually impressive, but with one exception, different versions of the same situation in varied settings. The story is the weak link, as can be expected in films of this nature; while there is nothing wrong with it, it’s not engaging or thought-provoking. It is a striking feat that for a film with so much violence (and where so much of it is by nature happening in close […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action

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Monsters University

June 22, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Monsters University: it’s part of the game that a sequel (or a prequel, as the case may be) will be judged not only on its own terms, but also compared to the original work. The best ones will expand the story and the universe, organically, while still maintaining a sense of identity. By such measure, this film doesn’t work all that well, as the characters are not quite formed or aligned with their future selves; to its credit, it plays […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: animation, fantasy

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