Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

The problem with The Whale is that the more Aronofsky wants to make cinema, the more it gets histrionic. In its desire to bring out emotions, the film skips over the more complex fallout of personal abandonment, in its physically and psychologically undertows. Review

Creative and unique in its conception, the film presents a dark side that haunts, scares and lingers. Review

Its machinations, despite passing a sense of fun, are based on copy-paste rudiments that wear out our patience. Review

There are a few lovely things in this film that make it easier for us to forgive its shortcomings. But so you know, Empire of Light is no magic movie. Review

M3gan remains soft at the core, contaminated by harmful robotization while following the codes of Hollywood’s easy scares. It feels like a Beta version of something that could be much bigger. Review

The Brazilian gangsta-rap and cheesy popular songs we hear also become vital for the mood the directors want to convey. This persuasive piece of filmmaking fuses crime and drama, showing not only the cost of lawlessness but also the power of these women. Review

This manipulative thriller only confirms that Shyamalan needs better ideas and smarter twists to overcome a creative crisis that has pestering him for decades. An artless film without the guts to bring the apocalyptic threat to life onscreen. Review

Even when the clouds are darker and things go wrong, the film never falls into extreme pathos and the four members of the family find the strength to fix things properly with the support of one another. On that premise, in a tender and obvious way, Martins delivers a valid message about family ties, acceptance, and hope in better days. Review

In the contemporary Pacifiction, his minimalist stance is as powerfully suggestive as the atmospherics that, lean or lush, permeate the film and can numb you into an abstruse, dark dream. This is a different kind of thriller that, capturing the sad constancy of political restlessness in a particular circuited context, feels like a delirious mania, sometimes annoying in its compulsory idée fixe. Review

That’s the problem with Causeway; it advances casually and lightly for the sake of entertainment, and you kind of know what is coming at every single turn. Review

The lack of a cohesive thesis may frustrate at times, but this baggy report, even not breaking my heart, provides illuminating insights into cultural issues and demonstrates that quality education is possible for even the most disadvantaged students. Review

The humor, dark enough to merit special attention, arrives unexpectedly in batches, making this moving ballad of fate and suffering even more irresistible. Review

There’s nothing personal or profound in this messy imagination of the early movies; it’s just a spectacle reduced to tics and gimmicks. Review

A bit more tension, characterization, and drama were required, while the unassertive directorial approach of Gina Prince-Bythewood makes it less impactant than it should. Review

Although not producing real brilliance, the systematized gothic tones and oppressive heaviness produce a quietly gripping surface. It’s a visually wow-inducing whodunit - with cinematography by Cooper’s regular Masanobu Takayanagi - that feels dour and slow at times. Review

With its derivative style and witless plot-twists, the film aspires to be grandiose, comprehensive, and clever but falls flat. Baumbach quickly loses control of his film and often struggles to keep the story afloat, leaving us on the sidelines. Review

Having said that, The Swimmers could have been a sentimental film, but it's not, because El-Hosaini bothered to assemble a canny combination of elements that resulted more fruitful than was expected. Review

Linearly plotted, Glass Onion is stunningly unfunny and desperately wacky; a barely coherent mess moved by a silly game with no thrills and no real mystery. Review

Faithful to a naturalistic approach, Simón engages in repetitive scenarios to give substance to the sad reality of an incomprehensible precariousness. Review

Aftersun is a ripe, sensitive and slightly mysterious drama film served by great actors and crystallized by a rigorous staging and a deeper sense of observation. Evolving slowly but with enchantment, the film will reward patient viewers with its magnificent unfolding and nostalgic conclusion. Review

Nadim Carlsen’s artfully unsoiled cinematography adds an air of suffocating rectitude in a sick machismo manifesto that, alternating strong and fragile sections, piles up crime scenarios with intermittent tension. Holy Spider doesn’t add up to a fully realized thriller. Review

Insensitively dark, peculiarly humorous and wildly depressing, The Banshees of Inisherin touches the puerile, the hilarious and the creepy. Review

Without being dazzled, it was, at least, inspiring to see the alien rockstar romping majestically across the stage and flirting with many types of art. Review

The magical and moving approach of Del Toro gives the title character a fresh meaning in a delightful story that, filled with perils, joys, sorrows, and compassion, works as a life lesson. The musical aspect didn’t match the technically stunning visuals, but this fable comes with enough humor, poetry, and grimness to justify the director’s childhood obsession. Review