This is How Movies Should Be Made

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

At last Nick Cage had a good character for redemption for such bad roles in late years,Ridley provides a great plot with a disturb leading role which is the best of the picture,the whole sting stay in backdrop or in second plane,this kind of disorder is very usual nowadays,the behavior obsessive compulsive reach around 20% of population,and how it is great bring it a movie as shown in this one,great approach by Ridley Scott and magnificent acting by Cage!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) is a con man in Los Angeles with partner Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell). They sell over the phone and then even con them in person. Roy suffers from OCD about cleanliness. He suffers a panic attack and his psychiatrist Dr. Harris Klein (Bruce Altman) ask about his ex-wife Heather (Melora Walters). She was pregnant at the time of their divorce fourteen years ago. He contacts his daughter Angela (Alison Lohman) and he's rejuvenated. Roy agrees to work with Frank on a long con against businessman Chuck Frechette (Bruce McGill).It's a great con movie. Nicolas Cage's jittery performance is quite effective. Alison is terrific. She makes Cage's performance more than just weird mannerisms. They develop a great father daughter relationship. It was a bit of a surprise that she was in her 20s in real life. Although I didn't think she was that old, maybe that was part of the reason that I did foresee the final twist which detracts from the shock. There's something a little off with her. Sam Rockwell can't be overlooked. He's also terrific.

Generally, I like this movie. Not a huge fan of Nick Cage most of the time and Matchstick Men is no exception. But he's likable enough once you get over the often-bad acting.I won't labor the plot - 300+ other reviews do that very well. And I am one of those who actually liked the "big con" twist - and no, I didn't see it coming (I can be plot-dense sometimes LOL!). I retrospect, it's so obvious - but so was Sixth Sense and a lot of people bought that one too.What really bugs me about this movie are two things:1. Cage's character is supposedly massively OCD about cleanliness. And yet he is a horribly messy chain smoker. In countless scenes he's flicking ashes on the floor, in the house and car. His car ashtray is overflowing. And everyone comes in his house and comments on how it always smells "clean" from cleaning products.... has anyone ever visited a chain smoker's house? EVERYTHING would be coated with goo that would then be collecting massive dust. And you don't just wipe that away! As a long-ago heavy smoker I can attest to this. No OCD-Cleanliness person would smoke much less chain smoke.2. I'd have to count, but I'd bet there are only a handful of scenes where someone isn't blatantly smoking. It's so annoying and so unnecessary to the plot. The little girl even is seen smoking, the shrink smokes a pipe, Frank smokes, the big con guy smokes, and they smoke everywhere - Cage even smokes while eating breakfast. The Tobacco industry must be proud of this - either that or Cage (who in fact is a chain smoker) demanded he be able to smoke in every scene or he wouldn't do it.I'm no radical "anti-smoking" person (typing this from a Casino bar in Vegas in fact LOL!) - but it's such a laughable plot item and clearly not an accident.But otherwise, I still like the movie

There is this notion Matchstick Men is a minor curiosity in Ridley Scott's filmography, some little comedy about a con artist bonding with his daughter... for me it's one of his best movies since the incredible starting streak (The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner). A director with an amazing eye for visuals, Scott can shoot very pretty pictures but has no quality control when it comes to choosing scripts, with often disheartening results.Matchstick Men, however, has a strong screenplay, with vivid characters and sharp dialogues. Cage, who can be a calamity in the wrong part (The Wicker Man), is smartly cast as a phobic weirdo, which allows him to unleash one of his amiably over-the-top performances. In the right role he can still knock it out of the park - I am thinking of a moment near the end, where his heartbroken sobs morph into a bark of hysterical laughter. Alison Lohman is perfect in a tricky role; Sam Rockwell and Bruce McGill give solid supporting turns.8/10