In a surprising turn of events, Guy Ritchie plays it safe to make one of the most entertaining action movies of 2009, using up all the elements from Conan Doyle’s classic books and adding some of his own. Don’t miss it.
From one of the few movie-freaks who no not believe Spike Jonze to be exceptionally brilliant, it is clear that he was born to adapt Maurice Sendak’s book and the result is an enjoyable experience with a brilliant sense of feeling transported to the audience.
Not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. If you watch it, don’t forget to have a little fun, and not expect to get anything more than that.
James Cameron has the cojones to do something that everybody’s been avoiding lately: he spent a lot of money on a movie that exists solely for the purpose of entertaining YOU! And at that, it succeeds like few movies have in the history of the business.
“Pandorum” is an absolute winner, with little innovation in the visual department, but an absolutely awesome and impressively consistent plot. Don’t miss it!
It’s better than “10′000 B.C.”, but don’t be fooled, this is a Roland Emmerich movie.
It is the end of the year and everybody is doing the same top 10 lists as everybody else… And while mine does have many movies that made other lists as well, I think I might be mentioning some great movies that a) got forgotten because if inglorious release dates or b) didn’t fare well with the general audience or the “general critics” or c) I won’t include movies I haven’t seen yet, like logical candidates like Up in the Air. Keep in mind that I usually don’t compile lists such as these. I’ve been trying to order my favorite films of all time since I was 17 (without any success) and have finally decided that movies should neither be summarized with a grade, nor ordered in sequential best of lists. Aside from District 9, which was by far the best film this year for me, every other movie on this list is neither better nor worse than the next, and the order is purely accidental. 1. District 9 If it were only dependent on visual effects, innovation and flair, “District... more
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s funny how it happens, when alternativo directors like Guy Ritchie get their big-budget projects, they get tame all of a sudden. Not that it’s a bad thing. When I first heard Ritchie was doing Sherlock Holmes, I though to myself that doing Holmes in “Snatch” style was a bad, bad idea. And, to my surprise, Ritchie picked the right elements that made his crazy movies so much fun, left the sarcastic, over-the-top, multi-plotting... more
Sue me, but even though I work with movies I don’t rush to the theater to see a Spike Jonze movie. It’s a question of taste, and his style is not compatible with what I love, which is a good thing, because I evaluate his films like movies, and not the work of a genius… Like some people. With that said, “Where the Wild Things Are” is brilliant! Jonze was born to adapt Maurice Sendak’s book and his unique visual style is exactly what the story needed to transport... more
I just LOVE watching movies that get bashed by critics and, as a shameful consequence, by audiences, for two reasons: the hype is low AND I hope to understand something nobody else didn’t. “All About Steve” isn’t one of those movies. It isn’t nearly as bad as the media made it out to be, but it isn’t much more than a Sunday afternoon slapstick romedy, but it never aims to be either. Sandra Bullock is getting bashed for it, but this is just the result of the movie... more
It is the end of the year and everybody is doing the same top 10 lists as everybody else… And while mine does have many movies that made other lists as well, I think I might be mentioning some great movies that a) got forgotten because if inglorious release dates or b) didn’t fare well with the general audience or the “general critics” or c) I won’t include movies I haven’t seen yet, like logical candidates like Up in the Air. Keep in mind that I usually don’t compile lists... more
Where is this world going to if having fun in a movie theater has become something that’s frowned upon? I am not talking specifically about “Avatar”… I mean, come on, the movie has more positive reviews than anything released lately and it shattered the box office last weekend, so James Cameron is not losing any sleep over the people complaining about the movie. But here are the facts: as a screenwriter I must say that from the hype I was expecting some big plot twist, some... more
When the first trailer for “Pandorum” came out, I couldn’t help but think it was one of the many “Event Horizon” wanna-bes that tried to blend horror with Sci-Fi with little budget. It was both its geatest flaw and its greatest triumph from a marketing point of view, because while it sold the movie as horror Sci-Fi with cheap production values and ideas and visual styles stolen from many other movies (aside from “Horizon”, “Dark City”, “Dead... more
Well, he did it again. I am not an Emmerich hater, but you gotta give it to the guy. It looks like he goes to great lengths to ruin the expectations of anyone with a brain in the audience. My problem with “2012″ is that it sends out a clear message that Emmerich and co. lack the cojones to go that extra mile to make his movies an enjoyable experience. Sure, “Independence Day” was cool and needed a hope filled ending, while “The Day After Tomorrow” got close to... more
Well, it seems the website has been slow lately… OK, OK!!! It’s been in a prolonged coma for months now, but there’s a close to good reason for that: it seems that Critical Film Condition suffered from a problem of becoming something that I couldn’t handle, and more importantly, being something that I do on the side, for fun, didn’t want to do. I just wanted to share what I thought of movies in a way that everybody could understand and have fun reading it in the morning... more
It’s a rare thing, to read a movie review and know, for a fact, if you’re gonna like this movie or not. Movies have existed for over a century now, and with all the changes in techniques and styles, older movies have become irrelevant as a reference for the modern public. Movie critics have become overzealous of their knowledge in cinematic history and forgotten the fact that most people watch movies just to have a good time. That’s where Critical Film Condition comes in