Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

With the ability to touch us in many ways, The Farewell plays closer to the heart. It’s a very rewarding film assembled with a disarming touch of brilliance.

The approach is simplistic in nature, oozing delicacy even in the toughest moments. Yet, although fumbling from time to time, this is a respectable first work from Mayfield, who didn’t thrill me with her methods of bringing out emotion and intimacy, but revealed a huge capacity to embrace aesthetic filmmaking.

Bolstered by the vigorous performances, a great sound design, and the mind-expanding black-and-white imagery, Eggers assembles a legitimate, weirdly fascinating pitch-dark horror picture that spirals beyond human comprehension.

Typical biopic procedures are found in a film that, just like its main character, is emotionally wobbly. Despite giving an idea of Judy’s personality and late life difficulties, this compassionate dramatic piece never punches hard. In place, it merely caresses faintly. Zellweger is the one who saves the film from the most terrible defeat.

This wildly improbable yet utterly engrossing tale packed with political connotations is very much recommended. Fully embracing the adventure, the director does a great job in designing a solid narrative based on currently compelling topics that gain extra force through funny and entertaining moments.

Praised with the Canadian Screen Award, Mozaffari doesn’t really innovate, but recreates known atmospheres and moods with new characters constantly searching for a way out in spite of the obstacles and pitfalls. Formidable performances from the young actresses.

The writers/directors adopt a simmering, low-key approach delineated with a mix of tension and languidness that works incredibly well, and the film grows emotionally as it should. The story, evenly complex and meaningful, reflects honesty in all its magnitude and was handled with attention and gravitas.

Far from mind-blowing in its hidden secrecies, Ad Astra is only modestly engaging, benefitting from the finely crafted visuals - great cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema - but failing to achieve dramatic grandeur.

Without a hint of hesitation, he injects mordantly funny moments among the torrents of sadness and makes the film thrive both as a noir drama and a clever psychological thriller. Digging deep into his role, Phoenix was the secret weapon required to make us understand the human pain behind the Joker’s wickedness.

There is no originality, tension, or creativity in Scafaria’s account, which roundly fails to succeed in both the erotic and the drama departments.

In truth, we are before a deeply nuts fusion of comedy and horror that is something you should go for, even considering its final stage sillier than expected.

Despite a slightly gradual decay as it progresses, the film is compelling and provocative, shedding light on the impacts of an abusive foreign investment.

What Midsommar lacks in originality, it more than makes up for with offbeat moments adorned with gut-wrenching eccentricities. Nonetheless, it was merely entertaining, even occasionally funny, but never truly scary.

Glamorously surreal, darkly funny, and avidly maniacal, this effort is uplifted by a turbulent and surprising finale.

Images, music, and acting contribute in equal measure to capture the atmosphere of a small mining community whose resilience to mishap is remarkable. The simple storyline and real-life backdrop were fundamental to success, in a drama equal parts tragedy and compassion.

Lords of Chaos feels like a sick extravaganza rather than an accurate and substantial account of the story/case it claims to portray. To make everything more difficult, the ending is the dumbest part of the movie. Skip it.

Inspiring? Not to me. Lamentably, this bland exercise, cooked with euphoric floridness, never goes deeper than the surface.

While flirting with some disturbing political truths, the film sometimes mistakes fatuity for freshness. If anything, it works as a showcase for the actors. Rogen is equal to himself and Theron spreads charm throughout. On the screen, they seem to be having a lot of fun together, but the film is definitely not above the ordinary.

Brilliantly shot and photographed with Kyung-pyo Hong's distinctive palette, Parasite offers a lot of wicked pleasures, providing you with a delightfully insane cinematic experience. This is pretty strong filmmaking admittedly and one of the best films of the year in its genre.

The film isn’t all bad and Buckley’s onscreen presence is significant; however, it just didn’t work out as an emotionally resonant tale, with director Tom Harper and writer Nicole Taylor playing the easiest notes without risking something outside the scale.

The film is still able to capture an interesting vibe that comes from the strong bond and trust established by the two leads. Yet, regardless of this particular aspect and the persistent anxiety-filled scenes, there’s nothing new here to be remembered. Sadly, the promise of a thrilling story fades along the way.

Bolstered with Gottsagen’s natural sweetness, and advancing with a favorable propulsive élan, The Peanut Butter Falcon mixes cliched narrative with feel-good energy.

Clocking in at 76 minutes, The Plagiarists feels much longer than it is, since it’s all too fabricated, unenthusiastic, and senseless.

The excellent performance from Bell bolsters a film that is always interesting and, on occasion, compelling.