Flicks
| Title: | Ghost Rider (Widescreen Special Edition) |
| Director: | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Stars: | Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott |
Summary:
In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephistopheles and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson, the love of his life. Years later, Johnny's path crosses again with Roxanne, now a reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny's soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery Ghost Rider, a supernatural agent of vengeance and justice. Mephistopheles charges Johnny with defeating the despicable Blackheart, Mephistopheles' nemesis and son, who plans to displace his father and create a new hell even more terrible than the old one.
| Title: | Matchstick Men |
| Director: | Ridley Scott |
| Stars: | Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman, Sam Rockwell, and Bruce McGill |
Summary:
Despite being an obsessive compulsive agoraphobe, Roy Waller (played by Nicolas Cage) is one of the best grifters in the business. He and his partner/protégé Frank Mercer (played by Sam Rockwell) are currently running a “water filtration” scam and swindling dozens of unsuspecting victims. While each con only nets them a few hundred dollars, business is booming and Roy has put away quite a decent nest egg. Full article
| Title: | Gone in 60 Seconds |
| Director: | Dominic Sena |
| Stars: | Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, T.J. Cross, William Lee Scott |
Summary:
Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) is a cocky young car thief working with a crew to steal 50 cars for a very bad man whose nickname is "The Carpenter." Being young and cocky, Kip messes up, so it's up to his big brother, Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage), to come out of car thief retirement and save him. With a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Cage, and Ribisi, it would be easy to say this story wastes all their talents--which it does, but that's not the point. This is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. A good story and complex characters would only get in the way of the action scenes and slow the movie down. No, Gone in 60 Seconds (based on the cult 1974 film of the same name) is not about the stars as much as it's about cars. Fast cars. Rare cars. Wrecked cars. All cars. Too bad director Dominic Sena (Kalifornia) doesn't come across as more of a gearhead; he seems less interested in fast cars than fast cuts. But is this movie fun? Absolutely, and it's fun because it's so stupid. With pointless car chases and hackneyed dialogue in one of the most predictable plots of the year, Gone in 60 Seconds is a comic film that's not quite a parody of itself, but darn close. --Andy Spletzer