crime | Fifth about The Seventh

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

October 2, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s work is more of a charicature than a film; it’s a very profane and violent experience, but far from an interesting one. While its stylized visuals adhere to the original source, they are interesting for only a while. Which is more than can be said about the characters (with one notable exception) and storylines, truth be told. The cast, for the most part, is not given much to do; Joseph Gordon-Levitt […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: action, crime

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Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

July 28, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: Elio Petri’s film certainly is politically charged and courageous; very much a product of its time and place, thematically. Gian Maria Volonté creates a character that is unpleasant to watch, but at least is interesting; his acting is borderline histrionic, but that’s part of the aesthetics chosen to tell the story, alongside Ennio Morricone’s stylized score, Luigi Kuveiller’s interesting camera work and Ruggero Mastroianni’s editing (all a reminder that the story is a satire, should […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama

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No Country for Old Men

March 21, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

No Country for Old Men: a solid, grim film. It has no-frills, simple story which is made special by a great gallery of characters. The cast is, therefore, of great importance, and they deliver in spades; while Javier Bardem has the meatier role, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin are both equally good. While it’s the darkness that dominates, there’s also a great sense of irony that is present; it’s a serious film made by people who have a sense […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama

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True Detective – Season 1

March 10, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

True Detective – Season 1: curiously, as a reverse to what is usually seen, the mystery at the center of this series is almost a MacGuffin; the two central characters and their relationship is what matters the most.

Categories: Non-Film Reviews • Tags: crime, drama, top

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Goodfellas

January 30, 2014 by Felipe Rosa

Goodfellas: this film tells a story that is, at the same time, very entertaining and revealing of

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

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American Hustle

December 14, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

American Hustle: this story, particulars aside, has been told many times before (sometimes even better); what sets this film apart and puts it (quite) above the average heist movie is the rich, well-written and, above all, entertaining gallery of characters and their relationships. Indeed, the bonds, rivalries, romances turn out to be more relevant than the plot itself. The whole cast is making the best of the material; Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper stand out because their characters are flashier, […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama

The Counselor

November 2, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

The Counselor: gloomy film that, on paper, seems to be great fun. The reality is different, as it’s as drab as it can be. The main culprit is the writing, where all characters are both unappealing and uninteresting, always a bad combination; the great-looking cast can do very little with the material they are given. The dialogue, pretentious and monotonous, doesn’t at all help matters, and it’s treated with too much respect.

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime

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Ocean’s Eleven (1960)

September 19, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Ocean’s Eleven: charming film that oozes camaraderie, but ultimately falls short. The main issue is that the story is long on set-up and short on payoff, so what is left is mostly the Rat Pack interacting with each other; and while that is entertaining, it’s also somewhat vacuous. Other issue is that the characters (and there’s a bunch of them) are not easily identifiable (beyond the famous faces playing them, of course), so it’s harder to relate to them individually. […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime

Charley Varrick

August 31, 2013 by Felipe Rosa

Charley Varrick: Walter Matthau is surprisingly good (for those used to his grumpy comedic roles) as the title character in this solid, taut film. The plot is not novel, but it unfurls in such a way that the characters have time to be showcased, even if a bit; it’s also very earnest with the brutality of the world they live in. Don Siegel was economical, also, in the way he had the movie shot; the long takes aren’t there to call […]

Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama

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