filipe-arte Reviews

Comeback: Um Matador Nunca se Aposenta (2016)

Slow, intense and bold.

[8/10 · 26 July 2018]

Comeback sold itself as a neo-western, a genre-reference movie. But I have to tell you that its insides adds up its own aesthetics, a pace that resembles more the "Brazilian New Cinema" school from the 70´s than anything else that's is certainly there: Tarantino´s "going nowhere" dialogues, slow panoramas, minimalist music and the ghost suburban town of Anápolis.

A ride that truly pays off due to its uniqueness than to its clear references.

Miami Vice (2006)

Moody, visually astonishing and thrilling

[9/10 · 2 June 2015]

Saw this one back in 2007, the theaters here in Brazil didn't seem to make money out of it so I waited until the DVD release.

And now I just came from a unrated version that sincerely blew me away even more than the first time.

You have to see it as more than a simple action flick and embrace the audacity of the cinematography - the noisy shots from pre-4k- cameras are a charm for themselves.

The characters are also very strong and they are nothing like the heroes that we usually see in pure commercial-action movies. They are the heroes of Mann's world: strong, relentless, intense.

The storytelling does not tell you more than the wide camera shots, the moody blueish noir, the sad and deep look from the actors or the amazing sound design. It is a movie that exists deeply in the details way more than it does in the surface.

A hidden masterpiece.

Neighboring Sounds (2012)

A great achievement!

[10/10 · 6 January 2015]

Being not only a Brazilian but a northeaster as well, I have to tell you that it is strange to see that so many people around the world actually enjoyed this film.

I though to be very concerned to those who would understand the language, the situations and the causes of all of this. Well, seems that I was wrong and the themes exposed here are bound to be more universal than I expected.

Every moment of Kleber Mendonças'Neighboring Sounds could be opened for discussion as subject of semiotics. The symbolism is so present and so meaningful that I was overwhelmed.

A truly masterpiece, that have to be seen with very opened eyes.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

How Underestimate this classic is nowadays!

[10/10 · 30 September 2014]

I could not believe that a movie with this artistic proportions cannot have this place now days.

7.5? Only? Seen reviews like the one on top right now that simply says it has not honored the book - a book so rich and explored in so many ways -, makes me just think this about how people is held by adaptations these days.

Marvels'films, Game of Thrones and others minors examples made the world a dump place for those who enjoys (at least some) artistic freedom.

And I'm talking about really artistic choices and not these "nodes" that makes an adaptation "better on screen".

This movie is definitive in the horror genre. A peace of art from the exuberant Oldman's portrait of Dracula to the atmospheric art direction, not to mention the soundtrack that keeps with you forever.

People should show more respect.

What's happening to viewers these days?

After Earth (2013)

I don't get these people at all. It's was a nice ride!!

[8/10 · 16 October 2013]

First, After Earth is a very good scifi-action-drama and I might say: better and more interesting than others that took the screen this year (Oblivion or Elysiun, for example).

I really don't understand why people keep underrating the story and the details about it. It is all very understandable: the reality shown in the movie is not to be explained but interpreted.

The art direction is simply superb! The choice of build not only the residences but also the ships and all technology with a mix of rustic material and high-end vfx graphics is not new or top-creative but shows that someone provided some nice details, very important ones for a scifi.

The acting is OK from both Will and Jaded, specially the first. Anyone here is playing for an Oscar but they help the movie go ahead with the action and the drama.

About the editing I have to say it gives a nice touch by inserting flashbacks as the movie goes and seems to not care if the audience is there just for entertainment: it contemplates the landscapes, the camera movement and the angles chosen by M. Night.

James Newton Howard is a genius and brings us a score to not only point out the plot but also insert us into the story.

About the director all I have to say is that: underrated, misunderstood, creative and brave.

I really enjoyed this movie, a very good example of its gender.

9/10

Filipe.

Project X (2012)

This a master-piece of bad behavior!

[8/10 · 25 June 2012]

This film is not for everyone, it was not made for win an Oscar or palm 'dor, the point here is celebrate bad behavior at its max level, period.

It's a very well shot movie, a creative mix of pro and amateur cameras (including iPhones) and edited without any worries involving video quality - sometimes we can see some footages with big pixels squares.

The story is silly, I know but is not the "cake" that matters but the way it was made.

It's a good cinema experience although only a few will see its real beauty.

When Strangers Appear (2001)

Very nice one!

[8/10 · 15 December 2011]

I saw this one years ago and it was a nice discovery.

This is a pure film. All built on its characters and storytelling development.

It's a B movie from Australia - which makes me happier, this is a country that I used to live in - that has nothing but a good story to tell and a good acting.

All set in basically three or four locations in which the art direction and the cinematography took the best out of them, transforming the loneliness and the emptiness of the places in a excellent element of the film.

The editing is very intelligent, always helping the twists of the movie getting more intense and also giving that motion and never letting the tension down.

Bottom line, it's a "old-time-kind-of-movie" in which no rush is seen and things happen when it has to happen.

8/10.

Nokas (2010)

Not a master-piece but it's a very good a movie

[8/10 · 1 April 2011]

I just finished seeing this one I found it very worthy to have a look at it.

The story is told in a different way Hollywood uses to do and a different view of a action movie is kind of rare.

OK, the camera is kind of shaky almost all the time but I've said it before: when there is a reason for it for me it's OK. Here the tension is printed by this moving camera and also by the fast editing - without this two elements is kind of difficult to make the film moving or interesting.

The camera closure to the actors shows an intimacy to the characters, we see their expressions constantly and without this it would be difficult because there is no so many dialogues or "shot/reverse-shot" kind of scenes, the action took all the time needed.

The point of views are interesting but sometimes confusing even with the subtitles indicating the time, not a big problem to me.

Nokas has a nice and interesting kind of storytelling that is unusually welcome - at least for me.

Battle Los Angeles (2011)

It's OK for a blockbuster but I expected much more

[4/10 · 18 March 2011]

Didn't like this one that much.

The camera was too shaky and sometimes without any reason. Yes, there's a reason to shot like that: print tension. The Hurt Locker and Rachel's Wedding are two good examples of that.

And there's a huge mistake here in the edit: the movie starts 24hhrs ahead in the story and 5min later we see how it begins - or something like that - but this choice took all the possibility of initial suspense. This is the case of Spilberg's War Of The Worlds and Save Private Ryan. In my opinion Battle of LA was suppose to be a mix of this two films and not a Cloverfield plus Black Hawnk Down.

Very sorry for that.

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Nice acting!

[7/10 · 13 March 2011]

Wonderful work with actors. Mark Rufallo is simple brilliant as a man who can't see yourself as middle age without a family built.

Juliane Moore and Anete Benning also give a outstanding performance as the two mothers of Lazer and Joni.

The reviews are focusing the idea of a "indie-movie-made-on-porpouse" in this movie but I have to tell you: it is not a master peace but is a great peace of work.

The cinematography is kind of "dry" and very bright - there are only a few scenes shot at night - and the hand-held camera gives a little bit of a tension but nothing as exaggerated as Racheal's Wedding for example. The tension here is not extreme and the director Lisa Cholodenko knows the moments to push the audience and the moments to cool up the clime.

It's a film that worth a close look for sure, well, not too close, there 's no need.

Bronson (2008)

Awnsome!

[9/10 · 12 March 2011]

Tom Hardy gives everything and more in this movie. Such a great actor in a outstanding role.

Nicolas W. Refn seduces the audience with his irony, black humor and stylish moving shots.

It is not a simple biography of one of the most violent human beings in history but a introspective trip into his mind and how the world appears to be to him: a stage. And all he wanted was to be famous.

That was an excellent experience and Im really looking forward to see Tom acting again.

Brilliant!!

Session 9 (2001)

This is a movie to remember.

[9/10 · 11 March 2011]

Just finished watching this peace of art. Incredible work of directing and cinematography.

The plot is developed with caution and although it's a complex story it give us all the peaces so we can join them ourselves.

The tension get higher and higher until the its very end. Impossible not getting involved and even blink in the last 20 minutes.

Shot on the 24p hi-definition SONY cameras - one of the first cameras used by serious filmmakers -, Session 9 has this look that seems rude in the beginning but after a while you see that is what contributes more for the creepy and trilling aspect of the movie.

Nice job!

Avatar (2009)

just a question of perspective...

[4/10 · 18 August 2010]

James Cameron has prove on thing for me: he is not a film maker, he is an engineer, a technician. Why? Because there is no film to make.

He is a guy that hires artists from everywhere in the planet and, smartly, takes advantage of it. He can afford it. He can make up any world in his mind and then tell everyone that is he new "project of my life" - he said exactly the same thing with Titanic.

He hires not only the best visual artists but the VFX people to put his idea on screen. Genius. Who need a good script when you have so much to worry about? Me. I need a good script because I grew up watching films like Vertigo, Jaws, Star Wars, Aliens (!!), Inception, etc. Films that are visually "outstading" just for one reason: tell a story. But where is it in Avatar? They forgot, they were too busy.

Want one more argument: who need to make more propaganda about "how" the movie was made than "what" this movie is about? Answer: James Cameron.

Revolver (2005)

It deserves a chance - and a second chance!

[8/10 · 18 May 2010]

OK, this movie is not for everyone. For sure.

And Im not saying that those who didn't like are less smarter.

The first time I saw it, maybe two years ago, I didn't like it so much. I found it too stylish and with some "beauty without purpose" on it. But I thought that it had a good concept.

I just finish seeing "Revolver" again and I am still trying to understand why did I get so involved this time? I really think that, firstly, is something to do with a personal link to the story I how it turns out to in the end and, secondly, I really think that the concept (not the technical stuff, neither the acting, editing, etc.), the main idea of "how do I can develop this plot to look like 'something that deserves to be watched' or 'something that could really make the audience thinks after a session'?".

Well, it can catch you right in the target if you let it, you just need an open mind: is up to you.

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Simply perfect!

[10/10 · 17 May 2010]

I think so much was said about this one that I would not help saying anything different.

The film is superb.

The acting, the editing, the shot composing: they are all unbelievably perfect.

I really don't know if it is a true story or not but we do believe in all as being a real world, within real people giving us real emotions. All the characters show a "look" that means something (to the story or to us) and this is, at least for me, pure cinema acting. They don't need nothing but they feelings and we catch them right away during the film.

Im from Brazil and I have to say that our neighbours don't play soccer as we do but they can make a better cinema for sure.

Congratulations!