John Carter - 7 to 8 out of 10
I'm glad I saw this. If only Disney knew how to market this film as a swashbuckling adventure film and not some badass action film, then maybe it might have done better. Which is why I really liked this film. It took me back to the old swashbuckling adventure films of the 40's and 50's. It had this Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes, slight Lucas/Spielberg feel to it that I just really liked. It felt like an actual adventure. An epic journey this character goes on inside and out. Kitsch proved himself as a lead and the surrounding cast managed to stand out among the story and special effects, everything of which looked expensive. It's about the only word I can use, especially Disney who know must be biting their fingers off. It didn't need to be made for over $200 million, but I respect Disney for taking a huge risk.
Now the film has its flaws in the plot, as there are some unclear things and things that didn't really come full circle like they could have. You could have cut out the opening scenes with Carter delivering the message to Burroughs.
Plus, by the end, it's understandable why Stanton didn't mind the title change. It actually makes a lot of sense and adds to John Carter's journey.
Is it good enough to have legs and possibly survive? Maybe. It's an odd film with odd things. But I liked it for that and Stanton managed to make me care.
Face/Off - 9/10
Cage Rating 10/10
This is just a testament fo Nic Cage's and John Travolta's acting ability. With Cage, not only does he have to play a character who has to be someone else as a good guy, but he also struggles to retain his humanity while also trying to convince his enemies around him. Oh, and he also played a psychopathic terrorist before all of this. That's five different kind of roles right there. With Travolta it's vice versa, except I mention Cage only because he's playing a bad guy as the main character. And he pulls it off so effortlessly that we care for him as Sean Archer, but also strangely as Caster Troy. It's quite paradoxical. For an action film, there's great themes and symbolism throughout. Thankfully John Woo sticks to what's good and doesn't have all those good things lost in his action. But it all joins together as one intense and exciting punch. This could be my favorite Nic Cage performance.
Knowing - 8/10
Cage Rating - 9/10
When I saw the commercials it looked like some dumb thriller, but it's actually more than that. I was so surprised by it. It's actually a well directed, written, and acted disaster film. But it has heart and feelings of actual human emotion. Part of that credit goes to Nic Cage who you really buy and like as a father professor who goes from a man who is a skeptic based off of his wife's death, to someone suddenly plunged into these epic proportions of potential disaster. Regarding the ending, it's great. It ends on a peculiar but hopeful note. It all felt right to me.