but I went in thinking it would be disastrous. 

Like the part where he gets into the barenuckle boxing match. 

but some of it was much cleverer than I thought it would be. 

That bit was the beginning of the dislike for me. :)

I too liked some bits, like when he had those explanation moments, but then those were chopped together so quickly and weird, and his voice is super hard to understand. 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Another movie that showed me how US centric IMDB ratings really are. Music was rare and when, it was devastating (imagine watching an action scene with something like http://www.jamendo.com/track/636806 ). Beginning was so boring and then annoyingly "hollywood romantic" (with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" playing, yeah, that's the 1969 equivalent of The White Stripes opening a James Bond wannabe movie) I almost quit, but I saw nitin's review and gave it a try. Story was good in the middle, then they got to bolivia and it dragged along, not deciding to be funny or serious. Bah.

5/10

Funny tidbit: The part when they jumped into the water has been borrowed in Resident Evil 5 (or whatever generic PS3 game that was, maybe Uncharted?). 

yes the music doesnt quite fit but otherwise, its a classic film in all respects. 

Bad movie, or WORST movie? Discuss. 

Bad movie. Not worst because it was totally to be expected especially considering the cast. While we're at it Iron Man 2 is extremely bad too. 

they're making a real movie out of this, and it starts Rutger Hauer:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Hobo-With-A-Shotgun-Trailer-Is-Rutger-Hauer-The-Next-Machete-20478.html

Speaking of which, still need to see Machete... 

havent seen it but how can it be worst when the expectations arent that high?

Iron Man 2 has a good first half, bad second half. 

... on my next long haul flight, with the accompaniment of as much wine as I can sweet talk out of the cabin crew. 

Four Lions is hilarious. Thoroughly recommend it. Good example of 'british humour' that's not benny hill.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341167/

(It's the new Chris Morris film, he of Brass Eye, etc) 

National Treasure (2004)

So dramatic. So patriotic. Such vibrant score. A Treasure.

Utter crap. The story is so bad it could be a videogame plot. Ok, it is still better than HL2 but come on. I like Cage so no idea about acting. Music is videogame quality, sounds like Call of Synthsized Orchestra with Drums and Bass #56. Wait, I am writing too much already. This is not worth it. 3/10 for me, seriously.

Dear god, they made a sequel. 

yeah, the national treasure movies weren't amazing or anything. since i'm not american, i can watch them more objectively, because the patriotism doesn't apply. :P

still, they are very fun movies that move along quickly and deliver action with more than just guns and explosions, but a sense of adventure. in a lot of ways they remind me of indiana jones which is still a favourite of mine. :) 

Vaguely-Interesting-Facttruth of the day;

Nicholas Cage is Francis Ford Copolla's nephew. It makes his entire career make sense. Like the fact he has one... 

...not that I'm arguing he hasn't been in some pretty iffy movies, but he's been in some good ones too. Wild At Heart is one of my faves. 

stop being so generous, we all know it's a 1.009 and the squeal is a .000000000001 

saw that a few weeks ago and I really disliked it. Being a Lynch fan, I was up for some good fucked up stuff, but my reaction to it was similar to Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me, the only other Lynch film I have really disliked.

But it had enough qualities to make me keep it and try it again some day. 

I'm not saying he hasn't been in some good films. It's just they tend to be good despite him. I can't really think of any that are good because of having nicholas cage in (or at least that wouldn't be improved by replacing him with another actor). 

is the only one I can think of where he made the movie. Otherwise I generally agree about Cage. 

He was good in that one, too I think - his style of acting fits the role there. And there is one scene in tricks (the pharmacy scene) where he redeems the whole stupid movie by playing a guy with lots of ticks who finds out that the medication he received from his doctor for weeks was in fact supplements. Too bad I can't find it on youtube. 

The movie is called Matchstick Men and there scene is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM6X_wdZJaE 

Matchstick Men is good too, as is something like Bringing out the Dead but I think Adaptation's the only time I couldnt imagine anyone but Cage in the role. 

I thought it was predictable and contrived... but then it has the above scene and Sam Rockwell, who is pretty much always great. 

My fave Cage flick though is Raising Arizona. He fits that style perfectly.

TBH he is a bit of an enigma - how his career is still intact after that movie Ghost Rider, and stuff like The Sorcerers Apprentice, I will never unhderstand. I guess it's cause Fun Family Blockbusters sell well.