Movie #194 - The Family Man

The Family Man
2000 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 5 min
Director: Brett Ratner
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek

At least in this movie, Nicolas Cage is the good guy. Well, most of the time. He's a real jerk in the beginning, but he comes around.  And the transition is well managed, not forced or unbelievable.

The premise is like a backwards It's a Wonderful Life or a version of that parallel universe movie Sliding Doors (I kinda wish we had that one, actually).  Nic Cage left behind his college sweetheart to pursue his big time career as a broker.  A chance encounter with Don Cheadle earns him a "glimpse" at the alternate reality, where he stayed with the college sweetheart and started a family.  Gone are his power and success, gone are his life's luxuries, and gone is his freedom (and whorish lifestyle).  SPOLER ALERT...

But he soon starts to see that life with a wife and kids, living in a suburb, and working a retail job aren't so bad.  He's still in love with Tea Leoni, he learns. And his kids are pretty adorable, too.  The sad thing is that it's just a "glimpse" and he has to leave, has to return to the real reality where he left this option for his career.

The ending is a bit disappointing.  Yes, it would be super Hollywood of them to let him stay in the new reality.  And yes, the ending they did go with leaves a nice fill-in-the-blank for you. Do they get married and have those kids?  Probably not, since the odds are against them.  I do feel bad for him that he has to leave those kids behind after growing to truly love them.  I got really hung up on that and so the movie left me with a bad taste in my mouth.  Those poor unborn kids... Maybe I'm too worried about this movie.

Movie #193 - Fallen

Fallen
1998 - Rated R - 2 hr 4 min
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland

I like this one, although it's pretty creepy and doesn't exactly have a happy ending... The whole thing is one big deception, so that's cool. And Denzel Washington does a good job, playing the man who sacrifices everything to capture one "criminal." Or whatever you want to call it.

Yeah, it's creepy.  There are some questions I have, namely, why can this "being" pass to everyone BUT Denzel? It's a bit strange how long it plays with him and then, all of a sudden, it can possess him no problem.  Maybe I missed something.

Either way, the whole movie hinges on one twist at the end, so you might get there and be disappointed.  Unless you enjoy the ride, the payoff's not enough to watch the whole thing.  Fortunately, I did enjoy it, even knowing what the big finish was.

Movie #192 - Face/Off

Face/Off
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 18 min
Director: John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Tommy Flanagan

John Woo can't help himself.  There must be doves. There must be artsy, self-indulgent cinematography. There must be gratuitous explosions. 

Obviously, this movie has all three. It also has one of the weirdest premises ever. Two men, the criminal and the man he wronged, switch identities...faces, bodies, voices. All of it. And then, OH NO! The good guy's trapped in the bad guy's body, cuz the bad guy killed the doctors that did the procedure and burned all the evidence that it even took place. No one will ever find out! And the bad guy, dressed as the good guy, is sleeping with the good guy's wife!

Still with me?

Nicolas Cage plays the bad guy, but when the bad guy's in John Travolta's body, he actually does a better job.  Nic Cage is better when he's got the good duy trapped in his body.

I'm getting confused now, so I'm gonna stop.  But you get the idea.  It's confusing, and we're nowhere near this kind of science. Besides, who would EVER do this? EVER?!  It seems like someone had a crazy idea and built a plot around it, just to shoot some of the action scenes and the who's-who stuff.

Ugh.

Movie #191 - eXistenZ

eXistenZ
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 37 min
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley

Last of the E's and it's a good one too! It's been a good six or so years since I've sat down to watch this classic mind-twist movie. Then game-within-a-game-within-a-game that goes on to an Inception-level of intricacy.  Jennifer Jason Leigh is fantastic as Allegra Gellar, the "game designer" (or is she?) And Jude Law is so young, it's adorable.

I can't say too much without giving this plot away. But gaming has gone to an all-new level in this futuristic movie.  You "port in" through a "bio-port" directly into your spine. The concept makes me shiver just thinking about it.  But that's how you play the game, so everyone has a bio-port and people don't do any real activities anymore, since you can now simulate just about everything in your mind.  Cool concept. Possibly a real prediction of our future. I guess we'll have to see.

In the mean time, watch this one if you like twists, mind games, and intrigue.  Enjoy!

Movie #190 - The Ex

The Ex
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 17 min
Director: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Charles Grodin, Jason Bateman, Mia Farrow, Donal Logue, Amy Poehler, Amy Adams

Here's a first-time watch. And I'm still kinda scratching my head about this one. I have many questions. For example, why was it made? And what happens to Jason Bateman at the end? That's it?! Problem solved? Is he OKAY?!

So Zach Braff and Amanda Peet are young, married, and have fallen upon hard times that lead him to work with her father.  Despite their honest effort, they can't seem to be happy in their new roles: Braff as marketing ad guy, Peet as full-time mom.  And Jason Bateman, an old boyfriend of Peet's and new coworker of Braff's, is not making life any easier for both of them.

My big problem with this was it's general mean-spiritedness. It's not that funny and, at times, it's just awkward.  There's also a lot of wasted talent here. These people are funny and they're not allowed to act like it. Amy Poehler, Amy Adams, and Donal Logue are mostly wasted here. It could've been so much better. 

Now, I love a good awkward comedy scene as much as the next guy, but scenes in this movie made me cringe.  Not to mention that Zach Braff is incapable of playing any character other than J.D. on Scrubs. Amanda Peet and Charles Grodin were good though.

That's all I've got on this one, folks.

Movie #189 - Evolution

Evolution
2001 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 41 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Julianne Moore, Seann William Scott, Dan Aykroyd, Ethan Supplee, Michael Bower, Ted Levine

Another movie I love! The letter E has been very good to me thus far, possibly my favorite letter yet!  Although the G's look promising :)

So aliens come to Earth via a meteorite which crashes and creates a little habitat underground.  Has-been scientist David Duchovny and hack scientist Orlando Jones are first on the scene, then get tangled up in some government red tape (via Julianne Moore and Ted Levine.) But when aliens escape and attack the mall, all hell breaks loose.  Sides will be switched, shampoo will be purchased, and aliens will (eventually) be vanquished.

How can you not love this movie?

Movie #188 - Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty
2007 - Rated PG - 1 hr 36 min
Director: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, Jonah Hill, Molly Shannon

Technically, this is the sequel to Bruce Almighty but it has very little to do with Bruce.  And Jim Carrey's not even in it.  But Evan Baxter, a side character from the first movie, gets his own God encounter in this movie. But instead of being God himself, he gets to play the underrated role of Noah.  Set in modern day, poor "Noah" gets a bad rap, but I'm sure it must have been tough for him to get people to believe him, even back then.  Now, talking to God is a symptom of insanity, so Evan's lucky he doesn't get locked up.

I'm glad Morgan Freeman is in this again, since he's an excellent God. (hahaha) And it provides some consistency as well.  The flood scene is fun, but a bit disappointing after all the buildup.  I mean, do we really need gazelles and giraffes for this? But the good guys win in the end, and Evan's family becomes stronger for the experience. Also, they adopt a homeless dog. Everyone wins.

And so they get to do the dance.