Selma
by Felipe Rosa
Selma: Ava DuVernay has a very powerful story in her hands, and she tells is confidently
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama
Tag: biopic / historic
The Imitation Game
by Felipe Rosa
The Imitation Game: Morten Tyldum tells a story that is worth telling; it has the dubious quality of being important (the direct historical value as well as the implications championed). It is entertaining and efficient; it’s also edulcorated, excessively traditional, unengaging (almost something that would be produced by a Turing machine). It’s well done; Óscar Faura’s cinematography is unsubtle, but displays the production values to their full. Benedict Cumberbatch plays his character well, even if it feels a manufactured, forced performance; the same […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, thriller
Wild
by Felipe Rosa
Wild: when portraying a journey, as Jean-Marc Vallée is doing in this film, it helps if the landscape is spectacular (and it is, as well as beautifully captured by the cinematography of Yves Bélanger). However, even more important than the outer journey is the inner journey, and it’s merely serviceable here; the most interesting aspects of the story are not in the journey at all. Reese Witherspoon is solid, but unspectacular; the rest of the cast (including Laura Dern) aren’t given much screen […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama
Unbroken (2014)
by Felipe Rosa
Unbroken: Angelina Jolie’s film portrays a journey that is very interesting on paper; however, the many different parts don’t match well (and the arbitrary structure doesn’t add much) and are not particularly engaging or exciting. There’s not much sense of the characters, which is further aggravated by the generally indifferent acting. The film is, however, very well crafted, even if somewhat squarely so; Roger Deakins’s cinematography is, as usually is the case, beautiful and classical.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, war
Kill the Messenger (2014)
by Felipe Rosa
Kill the Messenger: Michael Cuesta tells a powerful, interesting story; the sort of fact-based tale that should be too hard to believe, except it’s not. The pace, however, is somewhat uneven, which degrades from the overall experience (in particular as the first half of the film is the most memorable one). Jeremy Renner is solid as the central character; the rest of the cast, attractive as it is, doesn’t have all that much to do.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, thriller
Foxcatcher
by Felipe Rosa
Foxcatcher: Bennett Miller’s film is a ponderous (brimming with silence and emptiness), rigorous, almost cold look at a very complex triangle of relationships. Beautifully shot by Greig Fraser, it gives the trio of actors the chance to disappear in their characters; beyond the simple physical transformation (which all of them go through), they are able to shed their usual screen personas. Steve Carell is the standout (and goes through the most radical make-up changes, almost to the point of distraction), but Channing […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama
Life Itself (2014)
by Felipe Rosa
Life Itself: before getting into the film itself, a note: I wasn’t much a Roger Ebert fan, as I always thought that his reviews were, for the most part, spoiler-heavy and opinion-light (to be fair, that is something that plagues the great majority of mainstream critics). Steve James’ film reinforces the notion that Ebert loved films, obviously (something I respect and relate to, in spite of); but it goes beyond that, and informs much about the subject, his relationship with cinema and with […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, documentary
Jersey Boys
by Felipe Rosa
Jersey Boys: most of the entertainment value of Clint Eastwood’s film (which, at least, is existent) comes from the music; otherwise, as a film experience, this is surprisingly flat. The main problem lies in the story and most of the character gallery, which are nondescript and unfocused; another issue is that the film meanders among many genres without convincing at any of them. The performances are usually too broad, theatrical (betraying the origin of the material in a different way than usual, […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: biopic / historic, drama, musical
Million Dollar Arm
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
Fifth about The Seventh 