Rio, I Love You
by Felipe Rosa
Rio, I Love You: short films are a tricky format, well-deserving of a variation of the old saying
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama, romance
Chinatown (1974)
by Felipe Rosa
Chinatown: Roman Polanski’s masterpiece (a word not used lightly) starts with the writing. Robert Towne’s screenplay echoes from the work of Hammett-Chandler-Macdonald (mostly from the last of this great triad), presenting complex characters and a serpentine but irresistible plot. Jack Nicholson plays with great charm his rascal (making an unpleasant character one interesting to watch); Faye Dunaway and John Huston are also tone-perfect in their own presences. Production and costume design are top-notch, and Jerry Goldsmith’s moody score fits the bill perfectly. John A. Alonzo shoots […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: noir, top
The Hundred-Foot Journey
by Felipe Rosa
The Hundred-Foot Journey: the mix of diverse, but equally interesting, cultures, the lovely setting and the well-done combination of genres in Lasse Hallström’s film makes for an engaging and entertaining, if somewhat fluffy, experience. While the plot is somewhat busy, there is an underlying thematic consistency that is commendable. The older pair, Helen Mirren and Om Puri, is nearly magnificent; the younger counterpart, Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal, is given less to do, but are nevertheless solid. Beautifully shot by Linus Sandgren, both the […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama
Magic in the Moonlight
by Felipe Rosa
Magic in the Moonlight: Woody Allen’s film is a pleasurable if breezy experience, harmless fun in the best way; the story, little more than an excuse to display immaculate, rich art and costume design, beautiful cinematography (by the great Darius Khondji) and justifiably use a jazzy score. This being an Allen’s film, there is the usual assortment of amusing one-liners. The cast is very attractive, and perfectly capable to reading the smart dialogue; Colin Firth makes a perfect curmudgeon, and Emma Stone is equally fine […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romantic comedy
Lucy (2014)
by Felipe Rosa
Lucy: in equal measures vapid, pretentious and needlessly violent, Luc Besson’s film is an unpleasant spectacle. The high-concept plot feels almost an afterthought, simply being the vessel for a lot of philosophic mumbo-jumbo. Scarlett Johanson plays not so much a character, but an all-powerful cypher; not much is known about her, making it hard to care, relate or worry about her fate. Morgan Freeman is not given much to do. Visually, the film is slick; the early interludes end up being distracting […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
by Felipe Rosa
The Magnificent Seven: John Sturges worked out of a fantastic blueprint for this western (not that it’s a guarantee of anything, of course), and the results show. The action is fast, furious and exciting (both well shot and edited); that leaves plenty of time for the story to unfold, and for the group of characters to display what they are made of. The large cast respond in kind and is generally strong; Eli Wallach creates a great villain and is the […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: top, western
The Great Escape
by Felipe Rosa
The Great Escape: John Sturges makes one incredibly entertaining film, all the more impressive since the story (against all appearances) is based on historical fact. One of the factors that make this such a spectacle is the great, instantly recognizable, score by Elmer Bernstein; in particular the main theme, but all of it resonates (even if he borrows from another collaboration with Sturges, another great action score). However, it’s undeniable the film would not connect so well if not for the […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, top, war
Letters from Iwo Jima
by Felipe Rosa
Letters from Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood sets the mood beautifully in this war film, with (his own) simple, delicate score and great all-around acting from the cast, in particular from the two central actors, Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The classic, linear structure and the respectful, balanced tone were good choices to tell the story, furthering the themes. Tom Stern, once more, shoots this film beautifully, but the color palette (excessively cold and desaturated, for the most part) is distracting. Read also: Flags […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, war
Flags of Our Fathers
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
