Fifth about The Seventh

X-Men: Days of Future Past

May 30, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

X-Men: Days of Future Past: the intricate, busy plot, is at the same time this film’s greatest selling point and weakness; it’s a great device to use an expanded group of characters, however as there are so many, most of them (but not all) are schematic, present only for fans to recognize. There’s some heart to the story, but (this being a summer film) not a great amount of logic. Bryan Singer’s previous films in this series were thematically consistent, but […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero

Godzilla (2014)

May 28, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Godzilla: when summer starts, the expressions “developed character” and “rich plot” usually go down the drain, as does logic. Needless to say that such is the case here: the star of the show is supposed to be the giant creatures, so human characters are left to second plan. That’s not to say that it’s not an interesting cast (there are plenty of good names around), but all they do is run from one crisis to the next or stare at […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

May 27, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: to say this film’s plot is somewhat confusing and senseless

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero

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Million Dollar Arm

May 26, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Million Dollar Arm: Craig Gillespie’s film has an interesting story; it is, however, one of

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama

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Chef (2014)

May 26, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Chef: while the main storyline is cute (and simple) enough, it is the sweet father-son relationship that is told in parallel that raises this film above the usual for this genre. The nice cast cruises along, without much to do, but Jon Favreau is a nice presence and Robert Downey Jr. almost steals the movie in his scene. Visually, it’s crisp and clean; the highlights are the cooking scenes, which are attractive and hunger-inducing, but almost excessive. Also deserving some mention […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy

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The Grand Budapest Hotel

May 21, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

The Grand Budapest Hotel: despite its peculiar brand of humor, emotional detachment and gallery of weird characters, the intricate story told by this film touches the right (mostly sorrowful) notes. Anchored by a convincing performance by Ralph Fiennes, the whole (enormous) cast is all a pleasure to watch. Visually, as one can expect in anything by Wes Anderson, this is a great example of precise and stylized (but not overly precious) filmmaking; the same can be said about Alexandre Desplat’s score. […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy

Getúlio

May 8, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Getúlio: in spite of the name, João Jardim’s film offers little insight into the main character, his motivations and actions; in fact, while there is a large gallery of characters, little reason is given to get connected to any of them. That, in addition to an uneven pace, makes this film somewhat monotonous. Acting is unimpressive at best; Tony Ramos, in particular, doesn’t have the acting chops or the physique du rôle to be convincing. Walter Carvalho’s restless camerawork is competent and […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, thriller

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Mad Men – Season 4

May 3, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Mad Men – Season 4: as this season progresses, it becomes clear that not only the story and the characters are evolving, but the series itself is; in subtle, as most everything is, but in no uncertain ways. The most obvious is the growing focus on the plot, without any loss in character development and a rich portrayal of the times; the series embrace shifting shades of gray instead of black-and-white. Writing and acting continue to be top-notch (except for […]

Categories: Non-Film Reviews • Tags: drama

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Django Unchained – Revisit

April 22, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Django Unchained: violent, profane and extremely fun, this is a typical Quentin Tarantino film. The writing is partially great: it is a good story (full of references, as usual), with interesting characters speaking lively lines of dialogue; the main problem with the writing lies in the structure (linear and conventional for his standards), which has a weaker last third. Scenes balance beautifully tension and humor. The cast is in great shape, particularly Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert Richardson’s camerawork […]

Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: western

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