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Life & Arts

Latest options look slim for film audiences 

Moviegoers get pick of Nicolas Cage telling future, 
a ghostly teenager yelling and wrestler fighting for life

by JACOB BRISSE 
The Daily Cougar

Convicts, magicians and ghosts will all share screen time this weekend, though unfortunately not in the same movie. That might save time.

The Invisible follows the life and death of Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin), an average teenager who's as good to his friends, girlfriend and widowed mother as possible. So when he's beaten into limbo and awakes to find himself all ghostly, he's a bit confused. Nick must quickly come to terms with being "invisible" and hunt down the people who attacked him so that he can live again (or so says an old man in a coma). Eventually, Nick figures out that Annie (Margarita Levieva) thought he had tipped off the cops about a heist and had him beaten and his body hidden. Nick, reduced to yelling at people and hoping they hear him, is left to drop supernatural hints and haunt Annie until they both become better people. 

Next stars Nicolas Cage as Cris Johnson, a magician with the ability to see a few minutes into the future. Sick of being subjected to experiments and the attention this gift naturally brings, he takes on an assumed name and lays low in Las Vegas, performing tricks and living off his gambling winnings. Cris' shot at a normal, easy life is interrupted when a terrorist group threatens to nuke Los Angeles and agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) is sent to find him and convince him to help someone else for a change. "With great power…" and all that.

The Condemned is the latest production by WWE Films. If that doesn't deter you, consider the movie's premise: Unscrupulous producer Ian Breckel (Rick Hoffman) pits 10 death row convicts against each other in a fight to the death. Their motivation is bombs attached to their legs that are set to go off in 30 hours. The last one standing will walk away with his or her life and a substantial reward. Of course, the whole thing is filmed by hidden cameras and broadcast over the Internet. In steps our hero "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who isn't really a criminal, just a victim of a government cover-up that will be brought to light if the FBI interferes. It sounds like a straightforward, bad exploitation flick, but it gets worse. When Ian's crew and viewers of the battle royale start to have second thoughts, the audience is continually subjected to the "debate" over the ethics of what they're doing. 

To paraphrase: Don't watch things like this, or you're part of the problem. 

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