Showing posts with label dead inside. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dead inside. Show all posts

#45 Adaptation.


#45 Adaptation
Year: 2002
Director: Spike Jonze
MPAA Rating: R
Epic Co-stars: Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, that guy from Office Space
Running Time: 114 min
Cage Time: 
Cage Kills: 
Cage Flip-outs: 1
Skyler's Review: 
Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is writing a screenplay about the Orchid Thief and wants to stay true to the book and not snesationalize it with sex, action, love, just for the sake of Hollywood.

I'm already ruining this review. I can't spell. Without those red squiggles, I can't spell a thing. I'm so pathetic. No one will want to read this review. But maybe that is OK, since I am keeping with the movie. Who cares about the audience. If the audience doesn't like it they can read some other blog. It's not my responsibility to write garbage just because the average internet user has the equivalent of a 2nd grade education. I do want them to like me, though.

This movie is worth watching if just for seeing TWO Nicolas Cages on screen.

Dr. Cage also plays Charlie Kaufman's fictional twin brother, Donald. Donald lays around all the time on the ground, and wants to also become a screenwriter, but wants to go to a costly seminar about screenwriting that almost sounds like a scam. Charlie says this is stupid, because a seminar will never help you write something new, which should be the goal for all writers.

 This isn't going well. This isn't interesting at all. I wanted to write something interesting and original, and I'm just sitting here and can't even think about how to recap this movie. I can't find an anmiated gif for this review. I'm terrible.

The story Charlie is writing is about a man (named Laroche) who goes into the swamps in Florida and poaches orchids. He takes Seminole tribe members with him to try and avoid the law, saying that the natives are allowed to poach plants. The goal for Laroche is to poach the 'ghost orchid', which is very rare. Then he plans to cultivate them and sell them for a bunch of money. Then if people can buy the ghost orchid in stores, the flower would be better protected from poachers by decreasing its rarity. Also, you can make drugs.

Why don't girls look at me the way they look at Nicolas Cage. Is it because I'm bald? Women just like confidence; how can I have confidence if I am bald? Maybe I can grow a mustache. I think women like mustaches, or at least a certain kind of woman. I wonder if I would know what to do with the kind of woman that likes mustaches. What if I can't grow a mustache?

The meta-Cage of this movie is amazing. Not only is there Nicolas Cage playing two people (Charlie and Donald), but at one point you get to see Nicolas Cage play Donald acting as Charlie. Good stuff.

Laroche is all about passion and collecting. All he wants is orchids. Before that, he was obsessed with other things. At 10 years old he collected turtles  until he gave up on them and trashed his collection. Then at 17 he collected fish, then one morning woke up and said "fuck fish" and now won't step foot in the ocean. Then he moved on to collecting something else.

If I can just end this review with an exciting animated gif, people will still like it. It doesn't even need to fit with the rest of the review. The audience won't care. I'll find a gif. That's what this needs.

As some point in the movie, we realize that the movie is a meta-movie, because the movie that is playing out is the screenplay that Charlie is currently writing. This becomes clear when Charlie has a breakthrough about how to start the movie. He repeats an echo of what we actually see as at the start of the movie. Toward the end, Charlie writes something and then we see it happen on screen.

This is obviously not from the movie, but is pretty awesome.
Movie quotability:
  • Maybe if I were happier my hair wouldn't be falling out?
  • You are what you love, not what loves you.
  • I can't believe I got shot.  Isn't that fucked up?
Plot Holes:
  • None.


CAGEamatic
Cinematic
Skyler
Exceeds Expectations
Exceeds Expectations
Shauna
James
4.80/5
4.50/5
Martine
!Stayed in the CAGE!

#32 Bringing Out the Dead


#32 Bringing Out the Dead

Year: 1999
Director: Martin Scorsese
MPAA Rating: R
Epic Co-stars: John Goodman, Patricia Arquette, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore
Running Time: 121 mins
Cage Time: 99%
Cage Kills: 2
Cage Flip-outs: 4 
Skyler's Review: 

This movie was bringing out the dead in me! First, let me state for the record that Nicolas Cage did an amazing job portraying his character with the style and grace that makes doves cry. Now for the movie...


Nic Cage keeps seeing this 'Rose' as a ghost everywhere.
At the start we see John Goodman who is awesome. John is saying some funny stuff and Nic Cage is being pretty cool. Cage is playing an ambulance driver that is dead inside. He's really pulling it off, too. It's cool at first but then it starts to be a drag.


Nic Cage starts seeing Rose's face everywhere. In reflections and stuff, every time he drives, and  when looking at other people.
Dr. Cage's hair is flat long hair; he kinda looks like a zombie. John Goodman is the only actor who comes even near Nic Cage in the flip-out department. Ving Rhames is pretty awesome too. Really funny. Cage just keeps acting dead inside.


As the movie moves along you get the feeling like they are trying to make a significant point by seeing Rose's face on other people, but after a few times it seems forced.
If you liked Insomnia or Edward Norton in Fight Club then you will totally like Bringing out the Dead. My favorite part was when they started talking about "applesauce cake" since that sounds really yummy.
You might be trying to really get "into" this review but then this girl's face keeps on popping up non sequitur.  
The overall plot is something about a new drug called "Red Death" that is causing young people to OD. All of the people that Nic and his co-drivers of the ambulance try to save are either old people that are too old to be saved, or drug addicts that can't be saved from themselves. After half of the movie is over, you feel that the writers have made their point; but they keep hitting you over the head with the same visuals and situations.
Seriously, they keep showing this girl's face so much that toward the end she served as a reminder to check your watch to see how much time was left.
Really the best part of the movie happens half way through when an ambulance does a flip. The credits really should have started to roll there. But, alas, there is still a whole lot of movie left. I would recommend this movie to someone that is so happy that they want to be brought down a little bit. Otherwise, leave this movie to folks spending a Year in the Cage.


If you are tired of seeing the same non-Cage image over and over, join the club.
Here, have a Cage... you'll feel better.

Movie quotability:
  • "Hold this.  If you let go I SWEAR, I don't kill you."
  • "I'm goin', it's easier than waitin'"
  • "It's 6 am the cocktail hour.  Pass me the bottle."
  • "You're in the stomach!"
  • "Where the hell are the bandaids?  This is an ambulance isn't it?"
Plot Holes:
  • Ambulance driving is a ridiculous fraternity of ridiculous doing ridiculous things. 
  • Twins don't come out at the same time.
  • Nobody holds the railing...



CAGEamatic
Cinamatic
Skyler
Poor
Poor
Shauna
James
2.18/5
1.84/5
Martine
!Stayed in the Cage!