by Felipe Rosa
12 Minutes: Filmmaking is deceptively time-consuming. Coming out with a story, writing a working script, shooting, editing, it all takes much more time than it looks. A good friend of mine recently produced this short for the 48 Hour Film Project. The end result is a very fun short, all the more impressive because of the restraints. Enjoy!
Categories: Non-Reviews • Tags: drama, horror, short
by Felipe Rosa
The Wolverine: the choices of playing this over a smaller scale and setting were wise. The main character is conflicted and interesting enough and the intimate scenes resonate (for the genre); smaller action scenes make sense, as well as being a relief compared to the overblown sequences from other recent movies of the genre. However, the excess of villains muddy the waters, making the proceedings more confusing than they could be. While Hugh Jackman by now knows how to play […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero
by Felipe Rosa
Summertime: while the story doesn’t pick up, this film resembles a travelogue of Venice more than anything else. The upshot is that the city looks lovelier than ever, colorful and alive. However, when the characters are introduced and the situation set, the cast shines as one would expect. Katherine Hepburn is great and heartbreaking, playing a bit against type (but she could play it all, and well). David Lean chose to let many scenes play themselves, without cuts, giving enough […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: romance
by Felipe Rosa
Gravity is to be released later this year. This is one impressive trailer; if you have read me for a bit, you probably will know why I think so. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who has a penchant for doing that. Update: They released another one. Also looking great.
Categories: Non-Reviews
by Felipe Rosa
Red 2: the main reason to see this film is to see the cast, who for the most part is acting in something sillier than their usual métier, and having some fun at it. However, they are the ones having the most fun. The story is, expectedly, over the top and doesn’t make much sense. Action scenes, mostly, are also uninteresting. Unremarkable, usual summer fare.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, comedy
by Felipe Rosa
Lolita: this story is not an easy one to tell, both because of the taboo subject matter and the generally unsympathetic characters. The relationships between the characters, however, is an interesting one. The detached, cold approach may ease the process, but it also makes it harder to relate to anyone. Acting is generally very solid; Peter Sellers makes use of his powers to create a great manipulative creep. The standout is the camera work, meticulous and rich without being excessively […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Pacific Rim: there is nothing subtle in a film about giant robots fighting giant monsters; this is a special effects spectacle, even thought it’s disappointing that most of the fights are hidden by darkness. This is also what is considered a loud movie. (In fact, loudness is not the problem; a sound mix that buries the dialogue is.) Almost in spite of itself, however, the film ends up being a lot of (summer-ish) fun. The visual design of settings, monsters […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi
by Felipe Rosa
How to Steal a Million: it is sometimes said that “they don’t make films like this one anymore”; such nostalgia implies that the subject at hand has wit, class, naïveté unmatched in the present. This film is one that may inspire such comments. It’s light, charming entertainment; has a lovely cast (Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn displaying great chemistry) reading sparkling dialogue with aplomb, all under the solid hand of William Wyler. It’s perhaps too light, almost inconsequential, if that’s a […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, romantic comedy
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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