Bad US Movies on South American Buses #4

i couldn't be blogging about my experience in south america without keeping my ol' reliable thread of bad US movies infiltrating my experience. and since we are talking about bad movies from the US, it was only a matter of time before Nicholas Cage had his say. i wish he hadn't. the film is Next.

while you could stress certain aspects of this film to make it sound potentially good - based on source material by Philip K. Dick! Julianne Moore in a large role! - these kinds of things are ultimately misleading. Mr. Dick's material has turned into disreputable flicks in the past and i suppose Julianne Moore has bills to pay too. alas.

so what we get instead is an insipid star vehicle for the dimmest of astrological phenomena. the plot loosely follows a vegas magician who actually has the ability to see brief glimpses into the future. what does he use this miraculous power for? cheap shows and to pick up women. in a coincidence of coincidences, a nuclear bomb is somewhere in the US and eff bee eye agent Julianne Moore wants him to look ahead, see where it is, and stop it from exploding on native soil. what never is explained is why Nic Cage's character wouldn't want to help a significant portion of his nation from being exploded by terrorist acts.

aside from poor plotting, acting, special effects, and direction, the movie would be mostly inoffensive if not for Nic Cage's haircut.

high point: when Nicolas Cage gets punched in the face by a jealous ex-boyfriend

low point: apparently Nicolas Cage received special permission from american indians to film in certain parts of arizona. and this is how he repays them. shame on you Nicolas Cage.

"yeah, right" moment: at the end of the film you find out that about two-thirds of the movie never happened. and then it ends. neat.