action | Fifth about The Seventh

The Grandmaster

August 25, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Grandmaster: a visual masterpiece that, however, has a narrative that ends up being a bit loose. Philippe Le Sourd’s camera work is gorgeous to look at; this is clearly a film by Wong Kar Wai. Part of the beauty comes from Woo-ping Yuen’s action coreography. However, as the plot evolves, there is a lack of focus (that may, for that matter, be a problem of the shorter version, by 20 minutes); it’s hard to fault it too much, as it allows […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, drama

Elysium (2013)

August 13, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Elysium: a typically grim tale (for a sci-fi movie) that has enough of both unique and the usual elements to feel fresh but not overwhelming. As it’s often the case with films of this genre, the story also serves as a comment on present times; here, it’s somewhat heavy-handed, regardless of how one feels about what is being said. Acting is somewhat uneven: Matt Damon is dependable and Sharlto Copley creates an interesting villain; Jodie Foster, by the other hand, is […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, sci fi

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2 Guns

August 4, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

2 Guns: a mismatch of two halves that don’t even work that well in the first place. As an action movie, it’s exceedingly violent and the action sequences are tired; as a comedy it fares a bit better, thanks to a decent chemistry between Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, but the banter only goes so far. Stuck somewhere in the middle is a busy, senseless plot that is an excuse to said violence and banter. It looks slick, that much […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action

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The Wolverine

July 27, 2013 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

Red 2

July 22, 2013 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

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Pacific Rim

July 13, 2013 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

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Jack Reacher

July 12, 2013 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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The Lone Ranger (2013)

July 6, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Lone Ranger: generally misguided film, from the story to the general tone that borders the disrespectful towards itself to the bad pacing. There’s simply too much meaningless action, too many poor attempts at humour, too many villains; it’s all empty, however. It’s well done with good production values, but when all is said and done, the only reason to watch this is to be reminded of better films by the wonderful setting (Monument Valley) and Hans Zimmer’s references to […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, western

World War Z

June 26, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

World War Z: solid, if unspectacular, entertainment; the action sequences are exciting and visually impressive, but with one exception, different versions of the same situation in varied settings. The story is the weak link, as can be expected in films of this nature; while there is nothing wrong with it, it’s not engaging or thought-provoking. It is a striking feat that for a film with so much violence (and where so much of it is by nature happening in close […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action

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