Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

With something pertinent to say, Vengeance normally breathes pocket-sized suspense into a story that also benefits from a good sense of pacing and unusual characters. Attentive viewers will definitely extract something from this neo-noir experience. Review

Ineffectively blending different cultures to make a concoction of Japanese yakuza and manga styles, Mexican fury à-la Robert Rodriguez, an American stroke of nonsensical serendipity, and British Trainspotting-like tantrum, the film fails to drum up any kind of interest. Review

There’s absolutely nothing charming or pleasant in this bleak slow-burner, and what remains is both shocking and creepy-crawly enough to make us remember it. Review

By planning to cover too many topics, the director makes his mockery inevitably episodic, scattered, and sometimes too histrionic to fully captivate. It’s like if he had got lost in the smoke of his inspiration’s auteurism, incapable of propelling the story beyond the minimum basics. Review

Flawed as it is, with a minimal narrative and a charismatic heroine, Prey is a suitable entertainment for a Sunday afternoon, doing simpler but better than those previous spinoffs and turgid sequels such as Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), and The Predator (2018). Review

Portending great things for the director, Earwig is somber and quiet, a canvas exquisitely painted with the talents of cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg, and with something undeniably effective about its creepiest moments. Review

Peele expects us to react to disturbing energetic fields and intermittent power outages that never cause uneasiness. More audacity was expected from him. Do I recommend it? The answer is in the title. Review

A better script might have helped, but without it, this one shapes up as another manipulative nonsense that rarely dares to be smart. The characters don’t convince and the film ultimately frustrates by not knowing its own limitations. In the face of these predicaments, I’m actually upset about how little the movie even tried to escape inveterate clumsiness. Review

Despite glimpses of a hard-earned affection, Koreeda’s road movie is a soulless exercise that sinks the cast in a dry land of forced, melodramatic resolutions. Review

One can easily connect with the young women’s personal conflicts thanks to the sensitivity of the acting and a concern for realism in the direction. Even pedestrian in places and smeared with a jumble soundtrack, Girl Picture is an observant coming-of-age picture with real substance. Review

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is both funny and full-bodied, pleasurable and bouncing. It’s the type of cozy, uplifting film that can easily brighten someone’s day. Review

Anchoring his period drama with a killer cast, Giannoli expresses his desire to mix lyrical and satirical spark, but he draws the film out and comes nowhere near Balzac’s serial novel. A word of praise for Belgian cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne, whose refined taste for visuals is remarkable. Review

While the film's goal is to pay homage to Saint Nectarios, it never goes beyond stilted representation. The narrative plummets with its conventional tone, and then the whole film with its stiff formality. Review

Bringing a fair share of lingering images and scares, the director also makes it too long and stuffy, in a typical case where less would be better. Nonetheless, the acting is pretty decent and the sound design by Chatchai Pongprapaphan plays effectively throughout. Review

Not reaching extraordinary levels but eluding sentimentality thanks to the director's taste for realism and the accuracy of the performers, the film observes clinically and documents appropriately the particularities and difficulties of bipolar patients. Review

Superiority, mercy, compassion, and atonement are dutifully stitched into a diagrammatic patchwork that captures better the gut-ache of a broken 12-year marriage than anything else. A restrained, tepid tone is maintained throughout a drama film that should have added a little extra bite. Review

Colorful but with no major throbs, this uninspired walk in nature seems content with a few vaguely droll sketches that can get excessively wearisome. Review

The performances hit the right notes and both the scenario and the moral dilemma are credible, and yet they lost the battle with 152 minutes of slow pacing and silences that cause a certain boredom. Review

In the absence of a formal audacity, the result, limited yet not unpleasant, comes without surprise: a finger of golf, talented actors and 105 minutes of popcorn movies. Review

This Thor flick is the compendium of all things that should not be done when it comes to superhero movies. And the ludicrous parody keeps rolling at the sound of Guns N’ Roses’ powerful hits. Review

Even generating some character-driven circumstances, Rhino can’t sustain its momentum. Review

The choppy editing denies the film a rhythm, making it a little stiff. Even missing great opportunities and far from mind-bending, this more-lugubrious-than-austere doc is pelted with an eeriness that lingers after the final credits roll. Review

The only reason to see it is Tom Hanks. At first you won’t believe your eyes, seeing him buried under prosthetic facial work. His performance is so appropriate, contrasting with that one of Austin Butler, who never convinces as the title character. Review

It’s eccentric, noisy, provocative, and punchy in the social commentary; the visual aspect is disciplined; the sound processing is disorienting; and the ensemble cast is simply phenomenal (what an off the wall chemistry between Asa Butterfield and Gwendoline Christie). A bit out there, indubitably, but totally worth a watch if you're into gritty cinema. Review