Poster for Nicolas Cage's 'Stolen'

I know. This could be the poster for a lot of Nic Cage's movies, a couple of which have slipped lately. This one, though, will put butts in seats and Cage back...on top of the B-summer-popcorn-action cheese fests.

Directed by...wait for it...Simon West (Con Air, The Mechanic, The Expendables 2). You got to admit, the guy has a way. His movies have very pure lines. Apply that visual sensibility to this plot...:

• Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Jonah, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Jonah will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.

...and you get a connect-the-dots fun time at the movies. There's something about that synopsis. I kinda wish I had dreamed that up. Simple yet loaded with possibilities, reversals, reveals, etc.

West has it going on these days. His upcoming 'Thunder Run', about the capture of Bagdad at the onset of the Iraq involvement, stars Gerard Butler, Sam Worthington, and Matthew McConaughey and looks to have potential.

This one should work. I like the title better than, say, 'Taken'. More direct, easier to understand. And, remember: 12 hours, $10 million, and 1 kidnapped daughter -- what more do you need to know.

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