Every Monday I will be reviewing a movie new or old, must see or must not, direct to dvd or big budget. Check back weekly. Ratings are A-F without the E.
I love Nicolas Cage and I love most of his movies. He does make some bad decisions when it comes to picking projects (Weatherman and World Trade Center are a couple of snoozers that come to mind), but hey the man is in a lot of debt all the time because he has spending problems and he has to be working year round to please his creditors. Anyways, I have seen at least 70 percent of his movies and all of the releases he has put out since 2002. Matchstick Men is a lesser known movie of his that did make 65 million in the box office, but is not mentioned in his greatest hits list. I would beg to differ.
The movie follows a Con Man named Roy Waller (Cage), who meets his long lost daughter that he did not even know he had. Waller struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it just adds a little bit of a challenge to the role for Cage. The OCD part of the story can get a little annoying, but it adds something and it plays an important role in the movie as you will see. Waller becomes rejuvenated and wants to start a long con with an old friend after meeting his daughter Angela. The events begin to twist and turn from there.
This movie has a really good story and the ending even surprised me a little bit. They set you up to believe something the entire movie and then you find out all you believed may be a con. I really enjoyed Cage in this movie and thought he balanced the OCD without letting it get in the way of the real story, and also Cage is great at playing strange people. Sam Rockwell does a decent job as the friend, Frank, who is Waller's friend. You may recognize him from the recent "Iron Man 2" role. He is not funny like that in this movie. Alison Lohman, who was in the more recent "Drag Me To Hell", does a really good job as the daughter and sells herself as an innocent child. She brings the biggest surprises to the movie and she had me believing that the movie was real.
I really enjoyed this film and I think you would as well, especially if you enjoy a good story and you enjoy surprise endings and a constant situation where you find yourself guessing what will happen next. You can get it here for only $.01 plus shipping. Matchstick Men purchase link Rating: B+
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