The Runner

I don't know what's wrong with film critics these days, but it's another good movie a lot of them decided to kill... It may be a low budget one, but Nic Cage shines (as basically always... because he is an outstanding actor, whether someone likes it or not) and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The plot is decent, all actors did a good job and you can immediately relate to the main characters. Also, it's a pretty precise sketch of not only how how the politics work, but also how a lot of relationships work... in case somebody didn't know. Definitely time well spent and a must watch if you're tired of the Hunger Games and the kind...

I always appreciate films that juxtapose important issues with a fictional human element. The Runner successfully did that, mixing a documentary insight into the BP oil spill's effects while also remaining a character study of a corrupt politician. This film came at the right time – the spill happened 5 years ago, and people have forgotten about the trauma it caused. I hope this film reminds people of the spill's lasting effects. Nicolas Cage is a mesmerizing actor, who has done a ton of crap lately, but here he displayed that he can still act. Similar to Joe, Cage strayed away from his typical madman role, playing a vulnerable and human version of Frank Underwood (House of Cards). There are a few other good character actors in this, especially Peter Fonda. The movie runs on the short side – it's definitely worth a watch.

Fully engulfing itself to mimic real situations, a congressmen attempting to save the fishermen of Louisiana who just suffered a crisis from an oil spill attempts to use this to run for senate, but a scandal ruins his chances, but he still has a cause to finish while fighting his personal demons.

It's a great political drama, but I feel it suffers by exploiting real life events trying to pull on our heart strings for sentimental value. If the fishermen where army troops, it would be an exploitation film rather than a political drama. It also suffers form a lot of down time where nothing is really happening and moving too slowly for nothing to be going on.

The movie is a tangled weave about how good deeds by positive people can be over shadowed by a media scandal that exploit their negative vices.

It's an interesting look on how politics work and the necessaries of certain evils and how that works.

The Runner is a different point of view on a familiar story. It's a bit grim when you soak it all in, but once again the slow pace and the stretching out of a story that could have been told in less than 90mins made it dull and incoherent at times weakening all the good qualities.

It's too bad, cause Cage could have used a good movie were he's putting to use the acting chops that won him an Oscar.

Cage plays a man struggling with personal demons, some his own vices. Some vices pass down from his father, played by Peter Fonda who becomes the center of attention the moment he comes on screen.

Overall, it's not a bad picture, but it could have been better.

I don't know what the problem is with movies these days other than it seems that only fast paced, herky jerky camera work and shock value entertainment draws the masses in..... but this movie was very, very good and sadly, terribly overlooked. Maybe it was overlooked because Nic Cage isn't on the flavor of the month list anymore but it's a shame that it was totally ignored by the critics and audience both.

Cage did a wonderful job of playing a conflicted, somewhat tortured train wreck waiting to happen but good hearted politician who truly cares about the people he represents during the BP oil spill in the gulf. He delivers a truly human and well measured performance and you couldn't see the "acting" in his performance one iota. To me, that's a very good, if not great performance.

On a side note, I loved the music in the movie. Especially the Tom Waits song "Picture in a Frame".

Well done, Nicolas!

In The Runner, Nicolas Cage plays a Louisiana politician who has to deal with a sex scandal and other personal issues. His performance is appropriately subdued and introspective; he also uses a Southern accent fairly convincingly. This is as close to watching Cage play Frank Underwood as we will ever get. The supporting cast is good too.

The problems lie in the production value. It looks cheap, the supporting characters are underwritten, and the direction is just baffling. There are so many unnecessary closeups, shot after shot, and it's all flat - no visual flair whatsoever. It doesn't help that the pacing is sluggish, so there's no way for the movie to gather momentum. It starts off running in quicksand and never gets out. There are brief moments where you care about the characters and that's solely because of the actors.

It could have been an engaging character study if there was a liveliness to the filmmaking and some semblance of pace. As far as Nic Cage performances, this is definitely one of his better recent ones. But it's not worth sitting through this slog of a movie.