QuoteReplyTopic: MEMBER DISCUSSION of MAN ON A LEDGE... Posted: December 30 2012 at 3:38pm
I dunno guys, it only got a 40 on Metacritic, a 6.6 on IMDb, and a 32% critic's rating on RT. As much as you feel this movie is bad, it doesn't seem it's bad enough. The only reason this movie will appear on the ballot is because Sam Worthington also starred in the wretched Wrath of the Titans.
To wet people's appetite while I work on my multi-part Dark Knight Rises review (first part for non-spoilers, second part is going to be completely white other than the grade) I'm posting a little review for this pile of crap. Since I'm linking this to my Twitter account, I should explain how my reviews work to my followers who aren't forum members. The first paragraph is devoted to things that I feel work about the movie, the second is about things that aren't good, and the third is for extremely horrible parts of the movie.
The first half of the movie is genuinely suspenceful. The first time I watched this was on a crappy bootleg that stopped working halfway through. I thought that the critics were giving it a hard time after this. When I eventually finished it a few weeks later, I realized that they were right. And for a crappy action movie, the direction is surprisingly good. Asger Leth has a pretty good eye for action for someone whose only previous film was a documentary.
In general, the acting is crap. For starters, Elizabeth Banks is hilariously miscast as a detective who has a tragedy in her past. She's all wrong for the role. According to imdb, Amy Adams was sought after and considering how she has three Oscar nods, she may have made this work. Jamie Bell is annoying as Sam Worthington's brother and Genesis Rodriguez is on hand because she's hot and that's the only reason. And Edward Burns needs to realize that his strength is writing, not acting.
The script is an absolute mess. The characters are absolute morons, especially when Worthington tells Banks (a detective remember) that the ring that Bell proposes to Rodriguez with was stolen from David Englander. And she does nothing about it. And speaking of Worthington, he's as bad as usual here. I find it hilarious that his best performance was as a robot in Terminator: Salvation. He's not as bad here as he was in the Clash Of The Titans movies, but that's not saying much. Just as bad is Ed Harris, who, as a four time Oscar nominee, shouldn't have to be compared to Sam Worthington! He plays corrupt executive guy, David Englander and it's obvious that he's only here for the money.
Grade: D+
Joel Schumacher is history's greatest monster!-Robot Chicken https://twitter.com/SchumacherH8r Next-up: The Oogieloves
I agree with most of your points. Sam Worthington showed the same behaviour in Wrath of the titans, it's like he is reciting his lines without any emotion. I don't feel anything watching him, no joy, no excitement, no sadness, nothing. About Banks though: I didn't really think of her as playing a cop, more of a psychologist or profiler. I don't think her portrayal is the problem, more like the way the character acts and what she says are. When he counts down for the first time, she keeps way to quiet to be believable, and after he doesn't even jump, she should have known he's just pretending and something else is going on. FYC: WA for Sam Worthington for both Man On A Ledge and Wrath Of The Titans
Originally posted by Dun-Ida
Sam Worthington is very Razzie-worthy. He's not really acting in this movie. He sounds like he's just reading the script. Worthington isn't even trying to hide his Australian accent. Elizabeth Banks is miscast as a cop who's negotiating with Worthington's protagonist. Banks does not sound like a cop at all.
Pablo F. Fenjves's screenplay is half-baked, and that's describing it nicely. It's full of dialogue that's either laughable (it's supposed to be serious) or just plain boring. The screenplay is something a six-year-old with a crayon could come up with.
For your consideration: Worst Picture, Actor (Sam Worthington), Supporting Actress (Elizabeth Banks (not for THE HUNGER GAMES)) and Screenplay. Not Worst Director. Although Asger Leth clearly had some trouble directing actors, he made a few sequences truly suspenseful.
The only movie that Worthington doesn't hide his accent is Rogue, which took place in Australia. It's a good movie that got its release screwed over because it looked like Primeval, which had a forum here.
Joel Schumacher is history's greatest monster!-Robot Chicken https://twitter.com/SchumacherH8r Next-up: The Oogieloves
Sam Worthington is very Razzie-worthy. He's not really acting in this movie. He sounds like he's just reading the script. Worthington isn't even trying to hide his Australian accent. Elizabeth Banks is miscast as a cop who's negotiating with Worthington's protagonist. Banks does not sound like a cop at all. Genesis Rodriguez (I think that's her name) is just a wooden as Sam Worthington. The only (and obvious) reason Rodriguez is cast is because she's hot. Jamie Bell is also unconvincing as a burglar.
Pablo F. Fenjves's screenplay is half-baked, and that's describing it nicely. It's full of dialogue that's either laughable (it's supposed to be serious) or just plain boring. The screenplay is something a six-year-old with a crayon could come up with.
Asger Leth's direction sucks. He didn't seem to care that Sam Worthington's Australian accent keeps sticking out. Leth didn't even care that the supporting cast kept displaying wooden acting.
Unless there are movies worse than this one in 2012, I'd say it's a likely Razzie contender!
Directed by Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan comes a movie guaranteed to win Razzies.
Looking at the two leads, Sam Worthington MIGHT be a contender if Wrath of the Titans is worse than Clash of the Titans [remake]. Elizabeth Banks has another 4 films coming in 2012. The most likely of them to be one of ours is What to Expect When You're Expecting. Because of its oversized Ensemble Cast, Movie 43 will either be make or break. I'd expect her more than Worthington to get RAZZED because she has more opportunity.
BTW, HeadRAZZ: You still don't have your official take on this film. It doesn't even say "TEXT TO FOLLOW".
RAZZIE Dirty Dozen: Battlefield Earth, F G Fingered, Pluto Nash, A Sound of Thunder, Alone in the Dark, Dirty Love, Rise Silver Srfr, Daddy Day Camp, IKWKM, The Love Guru, All About Steve, Airbender
Ironically, the only reason I know of the film and decided to see it is because of word of mouth. I wanted to see films that were similar to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Wait Until Dark, and Lady in a Cage was among the list of recommendations. While I don't think the film is a classic or regarded by anyone as a classic, I think it certainly has more of a cultural impact on people than the forgettable B-movie you two make it out to be. If it was truly forgettable, I wouldn't even know the film existed, and, thus, wouldn't have seen it in the first place. Even compared to villains in films these days, I found the villains in Lady in a Cage to be quite sadistic and truly unlikable which, arguably, is a compliment for the film.
Originally posted by saturnwatcher
Lady in a Cage is nearly 40 years old and it isn't exactly regarded as a classic...in fact, it is basically a piece of crap B movie -- I've seen it.
In this case, I don't think we need 200 RT reviews to evaluate it.
RESPONSE from Head RAZZberry: I, too, have seen LADY IN A CAGE (decades ago) in which 2-time Oscar winner Olivia deHavilland (and the audience) are trapped in an elevator and tormented for 90+ minutes. It was one of dozens of "older female star in a semi-horror film" movies that were made in the wake of the 1962 unexpected smash hit WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, which co-starred the agingBette Davis and Joan Crawford. I concur that CAGE is a "piece of crap B movie." If it's remembered at all (which it isn't by most people) it's only for the fact that it features one of the first major roles that cast James Caan. If you have to ask, "Who's James Caan?" then I think my point's been made...
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Topic: MEMBER DISCUSSION of MAN ON A LEDGE...
