Filipe Freitas

Besides the main character, we see a bunch of loners attempting to fill a bit more of the unfocused main plot with distracting sub-plots that feel more ludicrous than fulfilling. Even with promising pouches of intrigue and an interesting, atypical character, we don’t get a full delivery of that promise.

Shadow is a sumptuous sensory feast filled with spectacle, surprise, and madness.

Ruizpalacios, who did a more consistent job in his 2014 debut drama Gueros, combines adventurous theft, archaeology lessons, family aloofness, and a vitiated friendship all in one. The lens of cinematographer Damián García attractively captures all of this, but part of the energy accumulated during the journey wasn’t always canalized in the right direction.

Economic struggle, crime, intimidation in a variety of forms, and, above all, the lack of affection and joie de vivre, are factors strongly influencing the course of the story. Hu Bo, who could have been a true artist of the cinema, put his spellbinding camerawork at the service of a brutal social exposition with plenty of anger and frustration. The effect is intimidating but very real.

The film’s narrative arc demands attentiveness. It’s dense and talky, with a lot to absorb and almost no time to reflect. The deep meaning of the words blended with the pure, hyper-realistic filmmaking style of Ceylan, makes it a very rich experience.

Heavy Trip is an absurdist, powerhouse folly, which feels spunky enough to honor the musical genre and comes filled with deadpan hilarity to please comedy addicts.

Farhadi fails to provide startles and thrills, relying solely on the dramatic side of things to impress. But even that factor is disastrous as he tiresomely attempts to suggest connections between the past and the present.

Pelted with tragicomic scenes, Thunder Road, an acceptably funny slice of drama, depicts anxious times by carrying a furious tone and bitter pathos. However, not everything shines here.

A lot was left behind in this depthless account of a disaffected ghostwriter who wanted to affirm her artistic gift, freely and publicly. She actually did it with bravery and conviction, but this film doesn’t do her justice. Hence, my suggestion is: save your ticket money and read Colette’s biography instead.

Rohrwacher’s work is brilliant and very much recommended.

As a violent, supernatural adventure, the film should attract both action and horror enthusiasts alike, yet Evans ends up slightly short of thrills and ambiguity, which are always valuable aspects of the genre.

More inanimate than haunting, The Little Stranger is Abrahamson’s least interesting feature.

Beautifully shot, this character study fascinates in an almost perverse way, building up adequate levels of tension throughout and bursting with disturbing scenes of violence. It is also a tale of solitude, equally tragic and funny, heavy and whimsical.

Filled with situations that mirror the social and racial preconception of the time, this hypnotic tale of punishment and atrocious colonialism is an engrossing experience.

Wrapped in deepest melancholy, Cold War has no idle or frivolous scenes since everything fits and flows under Pawlikowski’s masterful direction.

The only reason to watch The Kindergarten Teacher is Ms. Gyllenhaal’s performance, whose quality makes us resist until it’s possible.

A Gentle Creature is an arduous watch indeed and will leave you a certain nausea that takes a while to go away. However, its mysterious ways, bolstered with a bit of psychedelic surrealism, makes it notable.

What saves Adrift from an instant wreckage is Woodley’s performance, but still, it’s preferable to read the facts than cope with its cinematic adaptation.