Tricks

I just happened to come across this movie while it was showing on TV, and I decided to actually sit down and watch it, even though it is a Nicolas Cage movie. And having seen it now, I must admit that I was more than pleasantly surprised with it.

This was, hand on Heart, actually the best of all Nicolas Cage movies that I have seen so far. Why? Well, because of the movie's riveting storyline, but more importantly because Nicolas Cage delivered the best performance of his entire career in "Matchstick Men".

The storyline in "Matchstick Men" is gripping, interesting and fast paced. More importantly, though, there are some nice change of events and plot twists along the way. I didn't see those surprise twists coming before they were actually revealed on the screen, and that kind of non-predictability is good.

The acting in the movie was really good and helped further the movie quite nicely. Especially Nicolas Cage was in his ace corner here with this particular oddball character. But also Ram Rockwell and Alison Lohman were delivering good performances.

"Matchstick Men" is a very interesting movie that is quite good and should be seen, even if you, like me, are not particularly much of a Nicolas Cage fan.

Matchstick Men tells the story of con artist Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) and his protégé Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell). The status quo of their work is disrupted when Angela (Alison Lohman), the daughter that Roy never knew he had, bumps into his life.

Cage's performance as Roy is definitely the reason why you would want to watch this movie. He got very into character, a con artist with unique psychological traits where agoraphobia and OCD do not cover it all. Throughout the movie it's impossible not to feel for Roy when his eye twitches or whenever he has a nervous breakdown. This is most likely going to be the best obsessive-compulsive character performance you'll see in a while. Roy's organized and simple life is disrupted when a smart and outgoing daughter shows up, somewhat out of nowhere. Lohman's performance as Angela could be described as a unique balance between "lovable young lady with parent issues" and "sneaky little brat that wants things her way", resulting in a very solid performance (note that she was 24 at the time, 10 years older than her character). Frank, Rockwell's character, is an eager protégé trying to convince Roy into going for big hit, instead of the usual "simple is safe". Frank's passive-aggressive patience to deal with Roy's shenanigans adds a hint of comedy to the movie.

The relationship between Roy and Angela actually remembers Leon, the Professional (1994) at some point. It's always refreshing to see small homages to certain movies – and this one by Scott and Cage is a refreshing, 9 year gap fill. Also, two other things should be mentioned. First, the small but decisive aspect that Roy always uses matchsticks to light his cigarettes, overlapping a character performance with the title. Second, it's based on a novel by Eric Garcia, with the same title as the movie.

An overall brilliant performance from these three characters and starting plot would be more than enough for anyone to watch this piece. However, the plot twist at the end, even though it's not that predictable, could be disliked by many (me included). Still, it's a movie worth watching, and one that I would recommend given Cage's performance and character.

The latest effort from Ridley Scott equates to Spielberg's latest, Catch Me If You Can. It is a nice, technically simple film that follows their more epic, effects, and set piece driven movies preceding them. Spielberg followed Minority Report and AI, whereas Scott is following Gladiator, Hannibal and Black Hawk Down. It is a nice and welcome change of pace for a master director, as CMIYC was to Spielberg.

The film stars Nicholas Cage, who is making up for some lost years thanks to his role here and of course in Adaptation. Cage plays an obsessive compulsive con man who has an obsession of cleanliness and a fear germs and wide open spaces, and is hyped up on prescription drugs. Cage is superb here, it is a great performance, amusing and likeable. This is the sort of quirky character that brings the best out of Nic Cage. Co-starring as Cages partner in crime is the up and coming Sam Rockwell. I have been a fan of his since I first saw him in Charlie's Angels and then in his best role thus far in Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. He was superb in Confessions and looks like he could be a top new star. Rockwell plays his character here with panache. Also starring as Cages daughter who turns up out the blue is Alison Lohman. Lohman is playing a 14 year old, who Cage has never seen and didn't know of at the start of the film. Lohman is much older in real life and so playing a 14 year is something she can do well but with the maturity and actress of that actual age may not have. Lohman is a lovely presence, she is charming and sweet and endearing to the audience, she is also a good young actress.

The film is funny, charming and simplistic. It doesn't tax too much and is a quick and pleasant, much like junk food, only more good for you. I love it when Scott does his big epic and more elaborate films but this is a good change of pace, that Scott must have really enjoyed. It is something he could do with his eyes closed compared to say Gladiator.

The film is well paced and there is a great twist that lets the film end on a real high. This is a good use of a great cast, and imaginatively edited. Overall a pleasing viewing. ****

The little problem that 'Matchstick Men' has is that there is not a real highpoint in the movie if the ending wasn't there. I think the movie starts as a very good movie. Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) and Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell) are con artists and the movie opens with showing how they collect some money. It is not as great as how George Clooney does it in 'Out of Sight' but it's a lot of fun. After this the movie shows who Roy is, a guy with all kind of weird things. Spasms, panic attacks, compulsive behavior. He wants things clean, he wants things a certain way, or he becomes a little crazy. He has pills for these things but he loses them and this is how he meets Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman), a psychiatrist.

Because of him Roy learns he has a 14-year old daughter Angela (Alison Lohman, who was actually 24). He wants to care for her, spend time with her, and even reveals what he really is. In a great scene she shows her father and us how she would be if she had the same job as Roy. Roy and Frank have a big job planned where they would collect 80,000 dollars from a guy named Frechette (Bruce McGill). In a way they are taking money but Roy looks at it differently. He thinks, and he is actually right, that they just give it to him. Because it is all illegal they can't complain after they are cheated.

Hoe these three big stories fit in one you have to see for yourself. The middle part is a little slow, but the ending makes up for that. All characters are played very well and Nicolas Cage is great. Ridley Scott has made another fine movie.

After recently having the pleasure(?) of viewing one of Cage's latest offerings - 'Bangkok Dangerous', - I approached this one with a sense of confidence, as it already has such a great reputation. Ridley Scott - the renowned director of Bladerunner - has made a film of quite a different genre, so a real departure from his usual stuff, but I have to say he has come in with what I felt to be a very watchable film with some pretty complex characters thrown in. Nic Cage gets to display a good range of his acting skills. He really is the master of the facial tic as anyone thinking back to some of his earlier films (such as Vampyr's Kiss') will recall. To those who scoff at his recent choice of projects e.g. G-Force, just remember, he is an actor. You take the work while you can. Anyway, to summarise, for me, above all, this film was refreshing as all of the actors acquitted themselves really well. A polished piece of cinematography that I will definitely enjoy viewing again.