Film reviews | Fifth about The Seventh

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

March 20, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Gentleman’s Agreement: this film’s theme, by all means an important issue, is dealt with at turns elegantly and heavy-handedly, making this a movie that is both good and “important”. The great cast defends beautifully an interesting, rich set of characters, that are above all very well-written (particularly the female ones): Celeste Holm, in particular, lights up every frame she is in: her character is probably the best written and sympathetic of the whole bunch, and she plays it beautifully. Gregory […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

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The Professionals (1966)

March 19, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Professionals: one would expect that, with a cast of this charisma (Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Lee Marvin) and a story with its roots on a classic setup, this would be a great Western. However, the writing falters early on: despite the limited number of characters, they are neither well-developed nor particularly interesting, and both the drama and the action are pedestrian, at best. The whole cast seems to be playing small and lesser varations of other roles they […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: western

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From Up on Poppy Hill

March 18, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

From Up on Poppy Hill: while the old-school 2-D animation style fits perfectly with the feeling of nostalgia and innocence that permeates this lovely, delicate film, it’s also a good reminder that it doesn’t matter much the style a story is told, if it’s earnest and heartfelt. As is generally the case in Studio Ghibli’s films, the heroine is well conceived and written, and action unfurls in a natural, unforced way; the (for them) unusual realistic setting doesn’t prove at […]

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

Twelve O’Clock High

March 17, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Twelve O’Clock High: solid military drama, with good, if unspectacular, acting and story. The sparing and effective use of actual archival footage for aerial battle scenes increases the drama and excitement; on the ground, the film caters to an old bias as Henry King, many times, let whole scenes unfold with long takes. When that happens, the camera is not static, but using dolly movements to re-frame the action as needed: it’s both economical and effective.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, war

Upside Down (2012)

March 15, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Upside Down: an interesting concept does not a good film make. While the idea allows for some mesmerizing visuals (even thought the way colors are dealt with almost put those to waste), there is little else that works here. The love story, which should be the core of the film, is poor and unengaging (as well as metaphorically unrelated to the original concept); the writing further shows its limitations by telling rather than showing at least one crucial piece of […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romance, sci fi

I Was a Male War Bride

March 15, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

I Was a Male War Bride: there really isn’t a secret for making a good romantic comedy, but it seems to have been lost over the last 60 years or so. One starts with a good, funny story (if preposterously true, so much the better); create an engaging central pair of characters; write them smart dialogue; find a good cast that can read the dialogue properly and voilà! Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan, in this case, have great chemistry and […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romantic comedy

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People Will Talk (1951)

March 14, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

People Will Talk: great film, which has its sheer humanity as the strongest suit. Very well-written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz: the dialogue is sparkling and it requires good actors to read it well; Cary Grant made a career of screwball comedies, so he is more than up to the task, but the whole cast is uniformly great. It’s a lovely story (even if it has a somewhat contrived set-up). The camera work is elegant, non-intrusive without being simplistic.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama

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D.O.A. (1950)

March 14, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

D.O.A.: a rather run-of-the-mill whodunit, despite the attention-grabbing plot (or story) twist, which allows for some interesting (but ultimately underwhelming) character dynamics. The real problem here, however, is how mishandled the cast is: Edmond O’Brien is not bad, but pretty much everyone else is either stiff as a board or over-acting. Curiously enough, this film has the opposite problem that Rudolph Maté’s other film I watched recently, since this one is visually engaging at times. Read also: Union Station

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime

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Quartet

March 12, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Quartet: a number of good things about this nice little, light drama. First and foremost, the acting is excellent: Dustin Hoffman, despite directing a feature for the first time, knows a thing of two about the subject (and shows some surprisingly interesting camera work); but with a cast of that quality, it would need a director trying to ruin the experience to make the acting bad. The collection of characters, fleshed out and alive, fell true to the story, a […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama

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