Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

More corny than enthralling, and constantly overacted, Full River Red fails to emotionally invest the audience in the narrative. Lamentably, Yimou didn’t put enough effort into this one to provoke or engage the viewer. Review

At times, the story may follow predictable patterns, but it remains consistently fascinating, steeped in lyrical enchantment and fierce determination. What truly lends the film its mesmerizing atmosphere is the quietly radiant black-and-white cinematography by Brazilian cinematographer Lílis Soares. Review

The material offered the potential to create something thought-provoking and didactic, but he squandered the chance by allowing an invertebrate scenario. Review

Silva's direction falters while striving to shock the audience at every juncture, and the repetitive scenes never compensate the lack of ideas. Review

Bottoms provides gay-themed material aimed at teens with a level of insight that rarely rises above standard parody. It didn’t resonate with me, but at least the cast appears to have had a blast in this feminist celebration of love, youth, and friendship. Review

Equipped with daring shots, classical arias, religious chants, and a fair dose of madness, the ultra-hype El Conde is delirious and violent. Review

Provocative without being excessively flamboyant, Cassandro is endowed with remarkable performances, underlining themes of freedom, courage, and ambition in most scenes; it offers an engrossing exploration of Saul’s duality in life. Review

The director remains on the surface, weaving a crass hodgepodge of elements that don’t fully coalesce. However, respectable performances by Asante Blackk, Kylie Rogers, and Tiffany Haddish were a positive surprise, and that paid off in places. Review

While employing some familiar horror tropes and encountering minor stumbling blocks in the plot, the film masterfully maintains a grip on the audience, evoking a sense of unease throughout. Review

Even with some deviations from historical truth, the director provides a fair view of the artist and his personality, in a ballsy move that avoids the pitfalls of academicism and period dramas. Review

Playing with twisted dimensions and labyrinthine layers, Aster squanders the chance to lead a few good ideas to fruition. The result, much less fascinating than expected, is congested and appalling. Review

I found myself struggling to find the laughs while observing avid women battling one another fiercely for dominance and acceptance. Review

Amerkatsi doesn't transcend drama or comedy conventions, but uses the steep contrast between injustice and human values to bolster its narrative; all with the help of a full-blooded direction, a gently satirical tone, and fine performances. Review

The realistic depiction, clarity of purpose, occasional gallows humor, and crucial message - with equality and freedom of choice at the center - are the reasons for the movie’s success, but the execution is a bit tacky, when it could have been aesthetically cinematic. Review

Carrying a rare intensity in the narrative, which recalls literary works by Dostoyevsky and Bulgakov, the film is overwhelmingly painful; an original moral tale that, in the guise of a survival thriller, seeks for a trace of humanity. This is grim yet powerful cinema. Review

Huesera, a downright effort composed with trenchant expressions and a spellbinding atmosphere, prefers subtle suggestions to overt statements. Review

Sadly terrifying and often repulsive, Sick of Myself is not a film I'm likely ever to revisit but is well directed, acted, and observed, even if it takes that observation to a deliberately disturbing satirical degree. Review

One of those cases where the tedium outweighed the anticipation. Review

Despite an unnecessary coda that contributes nil to the outcome, Before, Now & Then is a lingeringly rich and unsentimental period drama that expresses more with looks and gestures than with words. Review

The tension builds up right from the start, and the story flies at full speed, electrifying everything around its path. And yet, this subversive audacity gives way to different feelings as the events unfold in a low-key manner. In the end, it falls short of the expectations... Review

Carrying all the ingredients of a solid film noir, Limbo has a startlingly unusual climax, shrouded in thick mystery and a sulfurous tone that, at the end, suddenly veers to bittersweet. Review

The well-acted Palm Trees and Power Lines is not perfect but frankly impressive. It succeeds in plunging us into the psyche of a teenager, and does it with captivating introspection. Review

Elevated by a great performance, this tale only seems possible on screen, but the uncanny undertones of humanity and perversity infused by the protagonist keep us centered on her self-created nightmare. With that said, the whole thing feels familiar, moodwise, without ever veering into cliché. Review

Some moments of emotional truth within the uneven parts don’t avoid a forgettable whole that translates into a minimalist procession of despair with an overall mediocre payoff. There’s simply not enough material for a feature here. Review