I have commented before that Nicholas Cage is not one of my
favourite actors and, what's worse, at one time I disliked the films he was
making to the point that seeing his name on the credits was enough to put me
off watching them. However, he has more recently produced a number of films
that I have rather liked. I reviewed Knowing
here in September last year, and I have previously enjoyed the National Treasure duology, a
lightweight but fun blend of Indiana Jones and Dan Brown.
Next (yet another
film based on a story by Philip K Dick) continues this trend. Cris Johnson
(Cage) is able to see two minutes into his own future, a secret talent that
enables him to make a living as a stage magician and gambler. His life becomes
a lot more complicated when the FBI, in the form of Agent Ferris (Julianne
Moore), discovers his ability and wants to recruit him in an urgent search to
locate a nuclear bomb thought to have been smuggled into the USA by terrorists.
Further complications arise when Johnson meets the woman he believes to be the
love of his life (played by Jessica Biel) while he is being hunted by both the
FBI and the terrorists. The plot is complex and well-handled, and the ending is
unexpected. This didn't get good reviews, but I found it well worth watching.
*******************************************
Cloudy with a Chance
of Meatballs is an animated film concerning the adventures of unsuccessful
but determined young inventor Flint Lockwood, who devises a machine that is
able to convert water into food. This accidentally ends up in the sky, from
where it promptly begins to suck in the clouds and shower whatever food Flint
specifies onto his home town. This promises to save the town from economic disaster
and makes him a hero – but inevitably, things start to go wrong. The film has
fun lampooning targets such as the ambitious politician who wishes to become
bigger than his job of town mayor permits (and he does…) and the condescending
sexism of a TV presenter, and it must be commended for making the hero a
science nerd. Furthermore, the cute weathergirl sent to report on his efforts,
with whom he instantly becomes smitten, turns out to be a science nerd herself,
and who secretly wears (shock, horror) glasses!
I find that I have a patchy relationship with animated
films, which although aimed at youngsters vary greatly in their appeal to
adults in general (and me in particular). Leaving aside the marvellous
stop-motion products of Aardman Animation (especially the Wallace and Gromit series), animations which I have enjoyed include
Ratatouille (particularly) and Wall-E, those I haven't persevered with
include Toy Story and Up. Cloudy falls just on the favourable side of that divide.
*******************
Season three of Game
of Thrones has at last become available on DVD, so I've taken a deep
breath, gritted my teeth, stiffened my sinews and plunged in to yet another few
hours of grim and nasty action. With dragons. I'm not at all sure that I actually
like this series because it's so dark,
but it is such a magnificent production that I can't stop watching.
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