Matchstick Men

The cons were a lot of fun, and the ending twisty, but this is actually a pretty sweet movie that I was not expecting and the script actually quite funny. The performances were fantastic and the relationship Roy has with his daughter is the heart of the movie.

Despite seemingly being considered in the “upper echelon” of Ridley’s work - this one didn’t really do anything for me.

I think most detrimentally, I guessed the ending… for a film about con-men, there’s gonna be a con that we’re not in on, that’s the rules for these films!! You put two and two together and it comes pretty quickly, so it all felt like a waiting game to get there. It’s layered and set-up well enough, writing is pretty good for the duration - it does show its age in a lot of the editing and transitions, but they’re minor gripes.

Nic Cage is tremendous here, I say it every time, but he’s truly one of the most underrated actors going. He’s in a lot of shit films, but he’s always, always putting in 110%. Sam Rockwell was pretty solid too, although despite being the biggest supporting role, it’s still minor and the character isn’t tied up very well as it comes to a close.

By no means bad, but I was perhaps expecting something a bit more “grand” from it with all the high ratings it has. But maybe that’s my expectations getting in the way of the reality.

Started off boring but really got interesting the second half of the movie. The ending really came out of nowhere so I enjoyed the twist!

The hustle and vibe push this one higher for me. Cage hones a neurotic character. Lohman is charming. Plus Rockwell throws some moves.