The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Revisit
by Felipe Rosa
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: a new visit confirms that, while the action sequences
Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: action, sci fi
Tag: action
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
by Felipe Rosa
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: while beautifully realized (top-notch special effects, beautiful cinematography, great costume and set designs and, above all, outstanding make-up), this film suffers from being the middle chapter in a trilogy, somewhat aggravated by screenplay. As is often the case with adapted material from other media, how one reacts to the new work is related to how strongly one feels about the source; the film takes its time to show the world, but it also takes […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, fantasy
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
by Felipe Rosa
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: a great closing film to the trilogy. Technically, there’s no need to repeat how good this film looks. What truly matters is that the emotional payoff of the journey is present here; the story is completed and the characters given their dues without rush. Sean Astin defends quite well his character, the heart of the trilogy; most of the cast is strong as well. The tone is grandiloquent (accentuated by […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, fantasy
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
by Felipe Rosa
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: the production values in the second film as they were before (the consistency, result of the effort to treat the production as one throughout the whole series, pays out), but something else needs to be mentioned: the locations chosen are stunning. The pace on this film suffers a bit, partially because its condition of being a bridge between the beginning and the end of the overarching story; also, the extended cut has […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, fantasy
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
by Felipe Rosa
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: film adaptations of stories from another media are tricky; by one hand, the story and characters are laid down already; by the other hand, they necessarily will clash with pre-existing mind’s eye images of the material. The task gets further complicated when the original material has the scope and following of Tolkien’s writing, and Peter Jackson’s choices will be different from most others’. Costume design, set decoration, make-up and visual […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, fantasy
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
by Felipe Rosa
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: some sequels are content in repeating the story of the original work with minor variations (these generally make for less attractive experiences); others continue (in an organic way) and expand the story and the world where it takes place. This film (at least to those not knowledgeable about the source material) starts as one of the first type, but morphs into the second; the story got richer and more emotionally involving. The discomfort with the […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi
Thor: The Dark World
by Felipe Rosa
Thor: The Dark World: a coherent story in films of this genre is almost a luxury (even thought it, of course, can happen), but perhaps this time the writers went too far in that regard. They have, however, rightfully concluded that the titular character (however well-played by Chris Hemsworth, for what it is) isn’t interesting enough by itself; it is, by the other hand, a good straight man for other characters (that’s why it fits so well in The Avengers). […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, super hero
The Family (2013)
by Felipe Rosa
The Family: while it’s good to see this cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones) working, it would be better if the film was any good. As a comedy, it’s very flat and graceless, and as an action movie, it’s violent but standard-looking. All we are left with, therefore, is an undercooked story that is consciously self-referential (but misses the chance to make even that work). Luc Besson makes it look slick, but it’s all empty.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, comedy
The World’s End
by Felipe Rosa
The World’s End: here’s a film that is as silly as they come and embraces it to entertaining results. The excellent cast (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freedman in particular) is fun to watch as they build their characters somewhat slowly, but surely, to the point where they are cared for. That is somewhat rare in comedies, but the genre is looked at mostly for laughs, and here they are present; they are the result of well-read lines, by […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, comedy, sci fi
Fifth about The Seventh 