2003 | Wanderings and ... wonderings.

Jul 14 2025

Matchstick Men (2003).

I was dreading this movie would be too reliant on the standard As Good as It Gets (1997) OCD schtick to drive the narrative but it smartly sidestepped all the easy mechanisms. A highly entertaining dramedy with two plots going on seamlessly, a con and a character study intertwined, this is another solid entry in the Cage compendium.

One wishes Ridley Scott would make inconsequential but breezy fare like this rather than all his insipid train wrecks of late, which are too numerous.

And Bruce McGill is in it, showing once again that he’s in everything.

Tagged 2003, Cinema, Film, Images, Matchstick Men, Movie, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell

Feb 27 2023

Oldboy (2003).

A movie almost unique in its seamless harnessing of script, characterisation, and style, Oldboy (2003) is two-in-one, arthouse and popcorn cinema. Its influence international and far-reaching, one must be conscious of not just lifting a few stand-out scenes for praise, but the corridor scene is immense. Not only did it connote the visual delights of Donkey Kong on the SNES (or is that just me?), it gave a whole new dimension to the sequence shot, one that went beyond just an aesthetic achievement.

No matter how many times I’ve watched this, it still impresses. And that score. Wow.