by Felipe Rosa
An Officer and a Gentleman: at best, this is a movie that has not aged gracefully. Between the hammyness if the acting, the overblown story where machiavellianism rules and the bad 80’s music, this almost feels like a movie from another planet.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: bottom, drama
by Felipe Rosa
The Ides of March: while this film doesn’t really bring much that is new, either broadly (some of the ideas presented) nor more specifically (story and characters), it still does what it’s supposed to do quite competently. It is quite hard to not do so with such an all-star cast, all of them delivering; the story also plays like a chess game: cold, but well structured.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
50/50: somewhat standard story, at least in movies. The relationships are what really matters anyway, but sadly they are not all that interesting either, probably because the characters themselves are just not fleshed out enough. That leaves Anna Kendrick as being the highlight of the movie, with her well-tuned sweet vulnerability.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama
by Felipe Rosa
Moneyball: solid movie. A good story, thematically interesting, anchored by the performances of the good cast and the quality writing. Visually not all that attractive, however. Curiously, it will probably be branded a baseball movie without having much baseball at all; I hope people won’t shy away because of that.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Warrior: the sub-genre of “underdog movies” has been around forever, but this innovates a bit by having a pair of sympathetic underdogs instead of a single one. While this raises the bar in terms of excitement a bit (which one of them is going to raise to the top?), it also thins a little bit the story, as we have to spread our attention to two different lines. Tom Hardy is in top shape here, both physically and actorly.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
M: wonderfully visual masterpiece (a label that is overused, hence generally undeserved). Not much about this movie suggests that it’s been around for 80 years. The story and the way it’s told feel very contemporary, the acting doesn’t have the usual earmarkings of old movies. But it truly is the power of images, put together by an uncanny editing, that makes this what it is.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: crime, drama, top
by Felipe Rosa
The Kid With a Bike: beautiful small movie with a touching story. Not much is wrong here (the pace is brisk, the movie doesn’t waste a second with unnecessary scenes, the acting is great); the one thing that is wrong, however, is quite so. It was a purposeful choice to make the main female character as it is, but it also made her feel more of a concept than a character.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
O Abismo Prateado: beautifully shot and directed, which raises this simple story above its elements. Very solid acting, through and through. Its inspiration, a beautiful song, makes its appearance late in the movie, at the right moment. This is a small, artful movie that works.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
by Felipe Rosa
Contagion: grim, efficient, cold movie. Well directed, as one would expect. The story is told without sentimentality, as if the characters are in a petri dish; the choice makes sense given the subject. The characters are still sympathetic enough, in spite of that. Great cast, top to bottom.
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama
Fifth about The Seventh