Register  |  Sign In
View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:48 pm



Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
 Army of One (2016) 

Rate this film:
A 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
B 25%  25%  [ 1 ]
C 25%  25%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 50%  50%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 4

 Army of One (2016) 
Author Message
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Army of One (2016)
Image

Quote:
Army of One is an American comedy film directed by Larry Charles and written by Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rainn Wilson, Russell Brand, Ken Marino, Denis O'Hare and Paul Scheer.

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:40 pm
Profile
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Re: Army of One (2016)
In Army of One, frequently unemployed and fervently patriotic Colorado repairman Gary (Nicolas Cage) travels to Islamabad on a self-proclaimed quest from God (Russell Brand) to find and capture Osama bin Laden. The comedy, inspired by a stranger-than-fiction true story, features a more-madcap-than-usual performance by Nicolas Cage. With his untidy gray hair and nasal bellow, his performance is dialed to eleven, half hilarious, half incredibly annoying, and suggesting a Trump voter on mescaline at a Phish concert. Beyond Cage's ravenous devouring of the scenery, there is not much else. The plot cannot help but lead to an anticlimax (as many viewers may recall, Gary did not in fact capture bin Laden), and director Larry Charles (Borat) never finds a consistent pace, point-of-view, or tone. He often turns to maximum-volume mania to disguise the dearth of actual heart or well-delivered humor. The picture never decides whether Gary is a tool with which to satirize egotistical American adventurism, a lovable simpleton, or a man with mental illness; the best scenes involve not the specter of bin Laden or Brand's portrayal of the Almighty as...Russell Brand, but rather a sweet and redemptive, if enabling relationship Gary has with a single woman (a terrific Wendi McLendon-Covey) and her adopted daughter with Cerebral palsy. It is also worth noting real archival footage during the end credits shows a Gary far less braying and bug-eyed, and presumably more nuanced, than Cage's version.

C

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:26 pm
Profile
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Re: Army of One (2016)
This is also one damn ugly movie. Larry Charles is fine chasing Sacha Baron Cohen with a hand-held camera, but he has no cinematic flair when in a more conventional narrative mode. There are so many missed opportunities here for a bit of atmosphere or visual interest.

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:40 pm
Profile
Keeping it Light
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am
Posts: 11185
Location: Bright Falls
Post Re: Army of One (2016)
I thought was just too terrible. Cage might play the role fine, but the part is so unlikable. There's a kind of interesting true story in there, but aside from a few flashes it feels so dull. So Larry Charles did most of the Baron Cohen type films and most of them are alright, with Borat being great actually, laughed my ass off with that. But this film is painfully unfunny, I wanted to turn this off, but felt I wanted to see it through, those 90min. felt very long though. Cage finds himself making many ill-attempts to get to his goal, capture OBL, but it they all feel very uneventful. The only things I did enjoy were some of the CIA dialogue; American Ninja and Timothy Dalton's Living Daylights Bond reference, loved those as well as the Nic Cage should play me, a bit corny but still fun I thought. But those fleeting moments are the only things and don't redeem anything for just a bad film. Rainn Wilson is one of the CIA officers in just a small role, he was great as Dwight in the office, but he falls flat in all his big screen roles I've seen and so does here. Despite a funny premise, the film isn't and offers no engagement with the story arc whatsoever, making it one of the year's worst.

F


Sun Jan 08, 2017 11:10 am
Profile
Forum General

Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 pm
Posts: 8942
Location: Houston, Texas
Post Re: Army of One (2016)
The character Nic Cage was playing in this was so fucking grating. It was literally like nails on a chalkboard everytime he opened his mouth. Maybe this could have been funny with a better script/director eventhough I really don't think it was worth it. This will definitely be in my top five worst of the year.


Mon Jan 09, 2017 2:19 am
Profile
now we know
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm
Posts: 67000
Post 
Army of One

Enjoyed this. It's a bit odd and zany, and that's just Nicolas Cage's performance! Glad he's back and actually acting again! Great crackpot performance by Cage. I was not aware of this story, so I am pleased that Larry Charles (Religulous) brought it to my attention. The film went for that whole Me, Myself and Irene-style commentary, and although it didn't quite nail it the film is a blast, and consistently produces effective and quirky humour.

The part where he says that he would like Nic Cage to play him in a film about him because he looks like Cage from Con Air. :funny:

B


Sat Apr 07, 2018 12:38 pm
Profile WWW
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 6 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 46 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.