With notably rare exceptions...

Alan Greenspan: complete a*****e:
http://crookedtimber.org/2011/03/30/with-notably-rare-exceptions/

Alan Greenspan, regarding modern finance:
With notably rare exceptions (2008, for example), the global “invisible hand” has created relatively stable exchange rates, interest rates, prices, and wage rates

 I've extracted my favorites from the comment section in the original

With notably rare exceptions, Newt Gingrich is a loyal and faithful husband.

Though unredeemably(sic) opaque, Mr. Madoff’s operations delivered excellent returns, with notably rare exceptions.

With notably rare exceptions, the levees protecting New Orleans have held fast in the face of major hurricanes.
        
With notably rare exceptions, petroleum extraction has minimal environmental impact.

With notably rare exceptions, the New England Patriots were undefeated in the 2007-2008 season.

With notably rare exceptions, Ted Kennedy’s driving was superb.

With notably rare exceptions, Achilles was invincible.

With notably rare exceptions, atomic energy has been used to the benefit of mankind.

With notably rare exceptions (1940, for example), the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is impressively stable.

With notably rare exceptions, allowing Ayn Rand’s acolytes to serve as Federal Reserve chairmen has worked out well, both for the nation and the world.

With notably rare exceptions (e.g. 2004, 2011), living on the shores of the Pacific Ocean is perfectly safe.

Notes on Real Genius

At the end of the movie they mount a small optical component on Prof. Hathaway's house.  It looks like a retroreflector. That didn't make sense to me, at first.  But then I considered that they may have intended to fire the beam back at the source, damaging it.  This could explain why the laser fails catastrophically at the end of the movie.