#43 8MM

#43 8MM

Year: 1999

Director: Joel Schumacher
MPAA Rating: R

Epic Co-stars: Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Carl Hungus, Catherine Keener

Running Time: 123 mins
Cage Time: 99%
Cage Kills: 2
Cage Flip-outs: 5

Group Review:  When sitting down to watch 8MM I thought, "Isn't Joel Schumacher a good director?"  I looked on IMDB and saw such gems as "St Elmo's Fire" and "Batman Forever" on his resume, which was encouraging... and then I saw "Trespass." So... that doesn't bode well. I guess 8MM could go either way...

This picture is quite possibly the best thing to come out of this film.

Tom Welles (Cage), a private investigator, is summoned to the home of a wealthy widow. The widow reveals to Cage that after the death of her husband, a prominent member of the community, she found among his things an 8mm film of the rape and murder of a young girl. She asks him to investigate the legitimacy of this film and the people involved in its creation. Posing as a federal agent, Cage discovers the identity of the girl, a runaway, and meets her mother, who says that no matter what, she needs to know the truth about what happened to her daughter. Dun-dun-DUNNNN.

Nic Cage almost vomits when initially viewing the film.  It serves as a nice reminder  of a time before the internet when people could still be shocked or offended by stuff.

Although I stated earlier that this movie could go either way, it really didn't.  While it was nowhere near the total swill that is Trespass, it was also nothing that will be getting unanimously positive reviews on this blog.  The ending does bring some decent suspense and there are some "scary" characters, but most of the time I just felt like it was taking a bit too long to get to where ever the hell this movie was going.  This feeling wasn't helped by the fact that a scene that would normally come at the end came in the middle, which made the remainder of the movie "drag ass".

The look of a truly passionate swordsman.  Little know Cage fact: This scene single handedly landed his role in Season of the Witch.

Cage's acting was on point with the general style of the movie.  Pretty middle of the road; nothing  worth the praise of an academy award or worth the self loathing he must have had after his initial viewing of Ghost Rider.  Some of his high points include delivering all of his lines like a man who's had the blood drained out of him and being the worlds worst deliverer of bad news over the phone.  Everyone he makes a phone call to ends up sobbing on the floor.  In the end I only came away with two things:  Never use the word "snuff" when talking to Latino porn lords and that there is a dark side of George Costanza that we never saw on Seinfeld.  Use that information however you see fit.

Movie quotability:

• "Wait, so we're watching a Nic Cage film??" -Martine
• "Why is every word that comes out of Nicolas Cage's mouse so... goddamn... amazing?" -James
• "His wife is bullshit." -James
• "Is that painting a picture of Jon Voight?" -Geoff
• Nic Cage: "Mrs. Christian." Nathan (sings): "Sister Christian..."
• Nathan: "There's no lights in this movie." Skyler: "That's why it's a dark comedy."
• "I'd hate to see you caught in one of those every day situations that calls for a battery-operated vagina, and you don't have one." -Joaquin Phoenix
• "Hey! It's like a gas station, you pay before you pump." -JP
• "There's things that you're gonna see that you can't un-see. They'll stick in your brain." -JP
• "That's great. Snuff 2: The Resurrection." -JP
• "What if it's not the right guy? He's like, 'Hey, you know how you got stabbed? Now I'm going to kick the shit out of you.'" -Shauna
• "You dance with the devil, the devil doesn't change. The devil changes you." -JP
• "George Costanza!" - Martine

Plot Holes:

• Why did he need to go out of town to investigate this? If he didn't know anything about the film, how would he know where to look for the girl?
• Man has two sons named Warren.
• What humans talk this way?
• It's dark all the time in Hollywood.
• Cage loiters aimlessly in back yards looking like a real creeper and nobody seems to care.

	CAGEamatic	Cinamatic
Skyler	Poor	Acceptable
Shauna
James	3.19/5	3.26/5
Martine	!Christmas shopping 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!