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'Left Behind': Movie review
Nicolas Cage thriller about the Rapture is so bad it's also a mystery: Why did he make it?
This failed epic — really, an epic failure — would barely be noticed, were it not for former Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage taking on a “Sharknado”-quality remake of a Kirk Cameron movie.
If you saw the 2000 original, you know that “Left Behind” is based on Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye’s evangelical novel about the Rapture. Director Vic Armstrong seems to have hustled up his budget for this Z-grade rehash by rifling through couch cushions, which is too bad. A big-deal event like the coming of Armageddon deserves some big-time special effects.
Instead, Cage plays a pilot on an aircraft that was seemingly shot in someone’s basement. As Capt. Rayford Steele, he’s as shocked as anyone when half his passengers disappear. Where did they go? Why are they gone? His deeply religious wife, Irene (Lea Thompson), could have told him. But being a believer, she’s gone too.
Fortunately his daughter Chloe (Cassi Thomson), a proud skeptic, is still around to help the survivors. So is investigative journalist Buck Williams (Chad Michael Murray). Journalists, after all, rarely take anything on faith.
Instead, we tend to ask a lot of questions. For example, what has gone so horribly wrong in Cage’s career that he is forced to accept any paycheck that comes his way? There’s no reason he shouldn’t make a religious movie, if that’s what speaks to him. But why would he make such a terrible one?
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/left-behind-movie-review-article-1.1959634
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zappaman
(20,606 posts)Might be an explanation...
MADem
(135,425 posts)immoderate
(20,885 posts)
--imm
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Not do that great so why do this? I mean if be wanted to do something out of ordinary. I don't think he has done a religios film before, but the Family Man was close. Couldn't he pick something that might at least be interesting and not done before.
Narraback
(648 posts)NT
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)Nicolas Cage.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)I mean think about it. Nicholas Cage is wealthy. He's got it made forever, basically. He's rich enough that he bought a castle... so he could flip it two years alter.
So, you've got it made. Why not just take the dumbest, goofiest-sounding scripts that come your way? If it sounds like fun, why not? And i imagine Cage could make damn near ANYTHING fun for himself. Running around the set, literally chewing the scenery and everything.
I mean really, if you could get paid a few million just to show up and do this:
Wouldn't you jump at the opportunity?
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Well no kidding.
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)... as his income went up so did his spending habits. Actually, to be fair, as his income increased Nick's spending habits SKYROCKETED. Between 2000 and 2007 Nick went on a spending spree that would make the Sultan of Brunei blush. During that time Cage made the following purchases:
15 Personal Homes: Cage's property portfolio included an $8 million castle in England that he plunged millions more into remodeling. He never spent a single night in the castle. He also bought a second castle in Bavaria, two multi-million dollar mansions in New Orleans, a $17.5 million palace in Bel Air, a $10 million Malibu beach house, a 24,000 square foot home in Rhode Island, a mansion in Las Vegas and a getaway property on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.......
A Private Island: Apparently having a house on Paradise Island didn't fill Nick's penchant for the Bahamas because in 2006 he spent $7 million on a 40 acre private island 85 miles south of Nassau.
Four Luxury Yachts: Cage at one time owned four luxury yachts including one called Sarita that had 12 master bedrooms that was valued at $20 million.
When you total everything up, it becomes pretty clear that Nick was living well beyond his means even for a guy who makes $40 million a year. To make matters worse, while he was spending money like there was no tomorrow, Nick wasn't paying his taxes. By 2009, his unpaid tax bill and penalties totaled more than $13 million! Nick immediately began attempting to dump as many of his assets as possible, starting with the houses. It didn't help that 2009 was quite possibly the worst time in the last 100 years to try and sell a house in a pinch....
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)he a great actor .
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)
JustAnotherGen
(32,010 posts)Tim LeHaye - http://www.amazon.com/The-Unhappy-Gays-Everyone-Homosexuality/dp/0842377972
^Thats another book he's written^
I hope this movie goes the way of the Ayn Rand flicks.
JHB
(37,166 posts)
brooklynite
(94,933 posts)
Liberal_Dog
(11,075 posts)He will proudly follow in the footsteps of Nugent,Grammer,Rogers,Miller,Sorbo and others
Pisces
(5,603 posts)
AnnieBW
(10,472 posts)What he did to Pagans in his horrific remake of "The Wicker Man".
gollygee
(22,336 posts)Not that much of a mystery.
hunter
(38,346 posts)
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)I just saw the ad for this and when it said "Nicholas Cage" I thought "perfect fit".