Next (2007)

I just went to see it this morning and a huge pot of macadamia nut brittle vanilla ice cream wasn't enough to soften the bitterness (yes), I am thus compelled to write my first ever movie review in order to try and keep people from giving their hard-earned cash to whatever evil corporation struck this movie upon us.

This "movie" is about Chris Johnson, a guy who can see up to two minutes (except when the plot suddenly decides it's three hours) in the future. He uses this power in a cautious manner as to not attract too much attention on him and lead a peaceful life until he can finally meet True Love (tm), since he saw in a vision that a hot woman would one day enter his favorite restaurant at 8:09. So one day his dream finally comes true, although it turns out the girl in question is a gigantic prick. Not to worry though, Chris Johnson can see in the future WITH HIS MIND POWER and thus imagine every possible way to win the hot woman's heart, since everybody knows the sure-fire way to long term relationships is to hide your personality and put up an act. Sure enough when night comes up they end up in the same bed, and thus become lovers forever. Unfortunately this is the exact time European terrorists decide it's a good idea to bomb LA. At least I assume they are European, sadly there only was the dubbed version of the movie at my local theater but I think I heard one of them speaking German and another had his lips perfectly in sync with his voice, so he was probably French. Their motive is never explained. Thus begins a convoluted (by which I mean SHITTY) plot involving the two main characters making huge sacrifices for each other since they are True Loves and the bad guys being terribly retarded, accompanied by some of the worst CGI I've seen in the last few years along with horrible acting (although admittedly judgement is always clouded in dubbed movies). To top it all off, the ending is OBVIOUS.

Apart from Jessica Biel's beautiful body and the comic relief brought by Cage's haircut there is absolutely nothing remotely interesting in this movie, it simply is a gigantic waste of time and money. Tamahori made Mullholand Falls, Cage made, hell, he's acted great in tons of awesome movies, so I can only assume Next was intentionally made in order to crush the very minds of its viewers, then Tamahori can make a movie about it and get tonsa cash, there I discovered the whole plan. I will never sleep again until I get my 6 euros back.

Fmovies: When a group of terrorists threatens to explode a nuclear weapon in Los Angeles, FBI agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) sees in the Las Vegas magician and smalltime crook Cris Johnson a.k.a. Frank Cadillac (Nicolas Cage) the hope to find where the device is hidden. Cris has the ability to foresee and change his future up to two minutes ahead, but is not receptive to the government proposal afraid of the experiments he was submitted when he was a child. While escaping from FBI, Cris meets the gorgeous Liz Cooper (Jessica Biel) in a cafeteria and he recalls that he had dreamed on her. Liz offers a lift to Cris and they immediately fall in love for each other. But agent Ferris wants to force Cris to help her at any cost while Liz is abducted by the terrorists.

"Next" is one of the best action movies I have recently seen, with an excellent and unpredictable story of the awesome Philip K. Dick; gripping screenplay with many twists that inclusive provides a hook for a possible sequel; and fine performances of three of my favorite contemporary actors and actresses: the sensational Nicolas Cage, the wonderful Julianne Moore and the sweet Jessica Biel. I really liked a lot the hilarious sequence when Cris is "studying" the best way to approach to Liz in the restaurant. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Vidente" ("The Fortuneteller")

While I enjoyed the premise of this film, I felt like I so often do. You've got this neat idea; what are you going to do with it? Nicolas Cage plays a man who can see two minutes into the future, which allows him to move to different places to avoid danger, protect people in danger, and so on. The problem comes with the immutability of time. If you change things, what you saw really wasn't true; hence the plot hole. It was fun watching him dodge bullets and punches. What is hard to swallow is the mind that can put order to all this. Is this going on constantly or can he truly control it. If the mystery is out of his life, can he know the mystery. Part of my problem is that I never really understood what the bad guys were up to (I don't mean on a grander scale but on the details). Cage's relationship with Biel is nice but can he even have a relationship. The two minute thing was convenient. What if it had been a half hour or a day. How would that affect things. Anyway, when the ending comes, it seems satisfying but sad.

Someone said that people booed at the end. I'm sure it's because for some people, leaving a little too much to imagination is quite a stretch. It was a fun couple hours, but one shouldn't think too much. As for Philip K. Dick, he can provoke us pretty well.

Next fmovies. A lot of people say it was boring with no plot twists. Well they must of been watching a different movie. First the ending was really unexpected and you don't see it coming. Second there was a LOT of suspense. You get so into the movie the time goes by very fast. The movie runs smoothly and I didn't see anything left out. And the way they use his ability to see into the future doesn't confuse, or get rid of suspense. The end of the movie what makes it great and no one saw it coming. The locations in the movie were all very cool too. The only complaint I had was in most of the car scenes, the actors aren't in a real car, and you can tell it's fake, but it's overall okay. I thought it was great and I recommend it. Go see it.

I completely disagree with the last review. This movie is one of the best action movies I've seen in a while. The action is not overwhelming, and all the scenes are well done. The best part of all is that, unlike most movies these days, the previews don't give away every good scene. Given, the previews give away almost all of the entire plot, but we are talking about the same author who wrote Minority Report. So, why not a 10? The only downside would have to be that some of the acting is not as good as you would hope. Jessica Biel is not unconvincing as a love interest, but she's not entirely convincing. The plot is somewhat predictable, but there are surprises. Don't forget, this is an ACTION film. Not a romantic comedy; not a love story. It serves its point as an action film, and it serves it well. Very well, indeed.

Philip K. Dick has been the resource of stories for some very exciting films (Minority Report, Total Recall, Blade Runner), but in NEXT, his short story 'The Golden Man' as adapted by Gary Goldman and directed by Lee Tamahori, the concept of precognition as a human feature in altering the future falls into a video game format that becomes more action film and less human interest tale.

Cris Johnson AKA Frank Cadillac (Nicholas Cage) is a sloe eyed Las Vegas grungy magician who has found a way to hide the fact that he has the gift to see two minutes into his future, a gift that rewards him at the gambling tables but draws attention from the FBI after a thwarted attempt on Cris' part to stop a robbery is captured on video tape. The FBI, especially Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore), knows that a nuclear device has entered the USA by terrorists headed by 'Mr. Smith' (Thomas Kretschmann), and that if the device cannot be traced, a nuclear bomb threatens the lives of millions of citizens. Agent Callie observes Cris' talent and engages him to aid in the discovery of the site of the device. But Chris' powers lead him to a beautiful young woman Liz (Jessica Biel) with whom his powers to see into the future can be extended for more than the requisite 2 minutes. After a series of 'attempts' at introduction, Cris and Liz bond, allowing Cris' expanded powers to be of more help to the persistent Agent Callie. From that point on the film dissolves into yet another combustible crashing action flick with endless CG special effects, all but erasing the character development. And the ending is as one might expect - not very Philip K. Dick in style.

Cage and Biel do well, Moore seems bored with her character, and Kretschman yet again embodies the evil of terrorism and beyond. There are some rather extraneous scenes on an Indian reservation that add little except the beauty of the Grand Canyon to the story, and there are some truly funny scenes of themes and variations on the chances we take in approaching a potential love source. But in the end all gets rather lost in the explosions ad infinitum that mark the film as a routine action flick. Grady Harp