Knowing: Weve given up on Nicolas Cage | 1 ½ stars

nan7nc · Veteran Member

RE: I'm confused... What is it about Cage?

jenny · Resident CRAZY Doc

hey over there,

there is another BIG FAN of imperfections.................
you are right gals....
love the idea that pencils have erasers......what a true knowledge LOL

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER AH 123 I am with you

life without imperfections is pretty borring........isn´t it?

mara · a grateful fan

That´s cool AH123! Imperfections are the spice of life, aren´t they?

AH123 wrote:

I liked Knowing too. And Tracy, like they say "No one is perfect... That's why pencils have erasers."

randy4sure · "Simplicity at its finest"

wow! look what i've been missing. great thread tracy! for the most part, i like most of his films. yes, i tend to agree that i prefer him in dark or quirky roles, as opposed to mainstreaming it. however, if he brings in the blockbusters, it would seem that this would give him leaverage with the studios to pursue passion projects. plus, perhaps he needs to prove to himself that he can do this. that he can be mainstream. an artist needs love too, and it doesn't really matter what the critics say, as long as the fans show support and turn out. look at how well knowing is doing in this messed up economy. so i call on all his fans to throw down your money, and support our nic! he has an abundance of range, and so if he is a HUGE box office draw, then he will stop being pigeonholed and allowed to have more say in his projects, including the editting room floor. just my opinion:)

mara · a grateful fan

Oh yeah Bonnie you nailed it: we need some hakuna in our lives, LOL!

And Tracy, I also am under the impression that, whatever Nic does right now, no matter how silly or sublime, will be panned anyway. That´s public opinion for you. But he´s got a cluster of faithful fans who will continue to support him until he comes back into fashion again (and he will, according to the eternal return theory and good cinematical taste, LOL!)

Tracy · Senior Member

AH123 - I can't imagine anyone including myself, disagrees with you and that "No one is perfect... That's why pencils have erasers."

AH123 · Veteran Member

I liked Knowing too. And Tracy, like they say "No one is perfect... That's why pencils have erasers." aww

Tracy · Senior Member

Inspiring Mara - very inspiring!!

Here's the pattern that I'm seeing, movie critics and most all the entertainment business have completely written Nic off (I know that's harsh) as some sellout who's no longer an actor but an entertainer like those whom you may have seen in Vegas. This pattern has been evoling for the past couple of years. Still, you have some that still believe in Nic like Jerry Bruckheimer who is a powerhouse in Hollywood and who helps keep Nic on the radar. KUDOS TO JERRY! You really gotta love that guy.

The good news is, it doesn't matter what "they" think, Nic has on his side, the only people who truly really only matter, THE FANS AND PEOPLE WHO SPEND THEIR HARD EARNED CASH TO WATCH A MOVIE biggrin

! That's who Nic has on his side and that's pretty powerful stuff. If he loses that - there are troubled waters ahead.

You know, celebs have been known to screw the fans too - i.e. Mickey Rourke, Cameron Diaz, David Carusso. The fans loved these people but these celebs gave no love back in return and now, David is back on TV, Cameron can't make a hit movie to save her life and Mickey is struggling to return after many years of being black listed.

That story we read about Nic appreciating his fans was and is imperative because what I'm feeling is, even if Nic gave an oscar worthy performance, critics and people alike will STILL pan it! They're done with our guy.

In order to survive, Nic must keep fans like us on his side. It sounds so highschool but nothing is as devastating as watching your career go down the tubes and there's nothing you can do to stop it. And, as to the rumblings of Nic leaving acting anytime soon - don't believe the hype. Nic employs, takes care of and is responsible for a lot of people and they depend on him. It sort of sucks but I think the sad truth is, I don't think he can retire even if he wanted to.

I remember being onset and some silly (in my opinion) guy was talking about Nic's demons???? I have NO idea what that's about but I have faith that Nic will figure it out. I believe he's already making a stab at it.

BTW, many have said to me: "Seriously, Nic in a movie about magic - this guy is done!" I always take a no-nonsense approach about things and I have to say, at first I wasn't feeling this movie but after seeing the pictures, I'm actually looking forward to watching Nic pull this one out of the hat!!!

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

LOL.............love the NICname dear Mara. BTW....most of us are ChickenSheets when it comes right down to it. Very few people have kahunas like our Nic does. Maybe that is what draws us to him? His devil may care attitude in picking his projects and in what he brings to the screen.

mara · a grateful fan

A true artist puts himself at the service of his imagination, not his public. And, feelings of inadequacy and fighting for one´s individual stance against a misunderstanding world kind of encourages creativity.

I have this fantasy that Nic is a cursed artist. Maybe he is or maybe he´s not, but.... I admire his guts nevertheless. Doing your own thing throwing caution to the wind, that must be so freeing... Signed: the chicken-**** gal.

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

Personally I loved the movie KNOWING. I might have tweaked the ending but I can understand the ending knowing that Proyas is a Sci-Fi geek. I didn't think Nic was overacting. In fact, I think his acting was spot on for character in this movie.

So........it really distresses me and boggles my mind that so many movie critics came out against this movie. It's like they all have it out for Nic, irregardless of what he does or doesn't do.

It's like he's the flavor of the DECADE for being slammed. And I don't get it.

Like I kinda said before........maybe people don't like Nic because he refuses to be pigeonholded into what others want to see him become or act in.

Non-conformists always rub people the wrong way. Let's just hope that Nic has a thick hide.

BTW......I fully agree with you Jelly. Much of a movie and it's success depends on the editing of it. What is envisioned from the start of a film isn't necessarily achieved by the finish of it.

-- Edited by Oom on Thursday 9th of April 2009 01:41:35 PM

jelley85 · Newbie

I too have noticed the bad film choices the our beloved Nic has been involved in..
but has anyone considered that maybe it's not the film choices he makes but what happens on the editing floor?

I also saw Knowing and although I liked the movie as a whole, Nic was overacting and the ending was totally pointless....as though the audience couldn't figure out what was going to happen.

Although his past movies haven't been the greatest, I will still go see his movies.

Tracy · Senior Member

That makes perfect sense Oom. You know, I'm not sure if you've seen the reviews for "Knowing" (after it was released) but critics are ripping this movie to shreds! Most of the stuff critics are writing about, is almost as bad as the reviews for "Bangkok Dangerous" and I cried when I had to read those reviews for my entertainment blog!

THEY WERE OVERLY VICIOUS. For example, I thought this critic wasn't as harsh as all the others:

Nicolas Cages determination to turn himself into an action-thriller hero is not matched by his ability to find the right project. In the sci-fi movie Knowing, however, he is less out of place than simply unnecessary, bedecked in bland mall clothing and constantly looking on like a wide-eyed supporting character, so unaffecting he might as well be computer-generated.

What is interesting is, the daily estimates have "I Love You, Man" now beating out "Knowing" though "Knowing's" gross is still higher.

Oh well, with Nic selling his castle and losing his prized jet, it would tend to explain why he had been looking so bummed until recently cry

.

-- Edited by Tracy on Thursday 9th of April 2009 11:05:42 AM

Oom · Soon to be retired blabbermouth

Hmmm.....Good question Tracy. But..... if Nic said he has a tendency to piss people off then he, himself, must have noticed it and it must be true.

So.....then the questions are......What is it that pisses people off about Nic? And why doesn't he try to please the people (viewers) he alienates?

For question #1.......Maybe it's his tendency to choose projects......that are pleasing only to him. Maybe he has no interest whatsover in pleasing others (the viewers).....as in.... giving them what they want.....ie projects they'd like to see him do?

For question #2......Most people DO try to please those who are valuable to them in some way. In this case, ya'd think he'd be trying to please the viewers/fans by choosing projects that appeal to the mainstream audience. (Not to say I don't myself enjoy the projects he chooses.....it's just most people don't...from what this article is saying).

Whatever it is...........it can seem like career suicide if you look at it long enough.

Then again...................from a personal standpoint......GAWD........it must be utterly refreshing to be able to enjoy the luxury of trying to please yourself first and foremost and to not give a damn about what other people think or want.

It must be liberating in the extreme....yet I would also think....lonely.

Tracy · Senior Member

So, I'm seeing a pattern that I wasn't sure I believed. Nic said, he has a tendancy to piss people off... Hmmmm... You think?

Knowing: Weve given up on Nicolas Cage | 1 ½ stars

Knowing 1/2

Rated PG-13 | Time: 2:02

Thats it. I am officially through with Nicolas Cage.

I accepted his decision to make entertaining fluff like the National Treasure movies. I even tolerated that execrable Wicker Man remake because I thought his performance (along with the rest of the film) might have been a joke.

With Knowing it has become clear that the movies themselves arent the joke. Cages career is. Instead of building on his 1995 Academy Award for Leaving Las Vegas, he has wasted most of his time giving bad performances in worse movies. With only a couple of minor exceptions, Cages post-Oscar output has been abysmal.

Knowing takes this trend to its own special level. Directed by Dark Citys Alex Proyas (who has also seen better career days) this is a strange, scatterbrained hybrid of disaster movie and theologically minded science fiction. Its like The Happening with math.

Cage plays John Koestler, a widowed MIT professor who lives with his precocious son, Caleb (Chandler Canterbury). When Calebs school opens a time capsule buried 50 years earlier, one of the discoveries is a sheet of paper filled with seemingly random numbers.

John quickly notices patterns in the mad scribbling and becomes obsessed with understanding their apparent links to major disasters. Including some that havent happened yet.

Proyas and the four credited screenwriters take a potentially clever idea and run backward with it, filling the movie with clumsy plotting and laughably bad dialogue. The characters actions make no sense, leaving Cage and his co-stars to fill the void with amateurish overacting.

Some creepy sequences involve pale figures who could have walked off the Dark City set. The disasters are intense and creatively staged, offering some elaborate stunts we havent seen before.

Actually, there are a lot of things in Knowing we havent seen before, but the stunts are the only good ones. The rest of the movie especially the endless ending is almost too ridiculous to process.

In other words, its just like everything else Cage has done lately. And Im through with it.

Check out some of the comments:

rmutt1917 wrote on 3/24/2009 11:15:54 AM: I liken this guy's career arc to someone like Eliott Gould - lotsa choice roles early on, hits a high note in a Film Noir (Altman's The Long Goodbye for Gould, Red Rock West for Cage), then takes anything and everything to stay in the biz, leading to a long and drawn out lull. In both cases, maybe voice work is the only way we'll recognize them in the future (I see Cage has a voice role in the upcoming Astro Boy movie). Now, can anyone explain the persistence of Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan to me?

regthorn wrote on 3/24/2009 10:43:31 AM: Nicholas who?

Bohica wrote on 3/24/2009 10:42:28 AM: I saw this at the first show on Friday. I have to admit that I was expecting the movie to be something else... like where he decyphers the codes and saves people... Like Dee said... the airplane crash was just... well... WOW.... But I left the movie feeling really depressed.

Blackacre wrote on 3/24/2009 8:41:50 AM: Yeah, this movie was just awful. You'd have more fun reading the tax code.

ChiliDavis wrote on 3/24/2009 8:07:44 AM: Check out his last 7 movies: Knowing, Bangkok Dangerous, Ghost Rider, National Treasure 2, Next, The Ant Bully, The Wicker Man. The easy math here: Nic Cage in a movie = save those $ for something more pleasant, you can stab yourself in the retinas for free.

So why does Cage piss people off so passionately? Seriously - the man has had two movies back to back that have been #1?

-- Edited by Tracy on Thursday 9th of April 2009 10:30:22 AM