Next (2007)

Next is another of those movies that have been on my watchlist since the dawn of times because of Julianne Moore but kept putting off because it's a Nicolas Cage flick, and I have to be in the right mood and mentally prepared to deal with the insanity of them. 

This one follows Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage), a small-time magician who can see a few minutes into the future. There's an exception though as he once had a vision of a beautiful woman (Jessica Biel) walking into a diner at 8 and he makes it his mission to be there and meet her. In the meantime, a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles so the FBI, led by Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore), tries to capture Cris and convince him to help them prevent the attack. 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

I'm not going to lie, I was not interested in seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at all after seeing the trailer, it just didn't click with me. Then the movie hit theatres everywhere but my country, people were loving it and I decided I'd give it a chance. Too bad my city had screenings only on Christmas and Boxing Day, I was busy with family and stuff, and I missed it. 

This umpteenth movie about your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man follows Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a teen from Brooklyn struggling with school and friends. One night he sneaks out of his dorm room to visit his uncle, Aron (Mahershala Ali), who brings him to paint graffiti in an abandoned subway station. Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and Spider-Man. There's already a Spider-Man (voiced by Chris Pine) but he's killed by Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber). Luckily, Kingpin's dimension-crossing super-collider brings in Spider-Man from other universes, and Miles must team up with them to stop Kingpin. 

Con Air (1997)

It's been almost four years ago since I first heard of Con Air —I remember it so well because it was a popular pick for one of my first weeks of Thursday Movie Picks and I joined the series in 2015— but I never gave it a try because, being honest, Nicolas Cage is not my cup of tea. 

The story follows United States Army Ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) who, after serving eight years in prison for manslaughter, is getting out on parole and goes home to his wife (Monica Potter) and the daughter (Landry Allbright) he has never met. Unfortunately, Poe has to share a plane with some dangerous criminals and when the prisoners, led by Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich), take control of the plane, he must find a way to stop them while playing along.

Mandy (2018)

When I first heard people saying how great Nicolas Cage's latest movie, Mandy, was, I thought they were kidding. Then I checked on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, I saw it had a good rating on both sites so I checked it out. 

Set in 1983, Mandy tells the story of a loving couple, Red (Nicolas Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), who lives in a cabin in the woods. Red is a lumberjack; Mandy is an artist who works at a nearby gas station. They lead a happy, quiet life until one day the crazy leader (Linus Roache) of a cult lays eyes on Mandy and conjures a group of motorcycle-riding demons to kidnap her, leading to Red spiralling into a madness-fueled revenge. 

Looking Glass (2018)

After wasting 5 minutes to decide which movie to watch, my choice fell on one of the several movies Nicolas Cage has done this year so far, Looking Glass, because it was listed as a thriller and it has Robin Tunney as I was interested in seeing her other than playing Theresa Lisbon in CBS's The Mentalist. 

After losing their child, a couple, Ray (Nicolas Cage) and Maggie (Robin Tunney), buys an old motel in the desert looking for a new beginning. While exploring the motel, Ray discovers a two-way mirror that allows him to see what is happening in one of the rooms --things such as prostitute sex and lesbian encounters-- and he starts spying the occupants. Until he witnesses a murder and finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game.

Adaptation. (2002)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Spike Jonze

Country

USA

Cast

Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Judy Greer, Bob Yerkes, Jim Beaver

Storyline

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) has just taken on a new assignment: to adapt Susan Orlean's (Meryl Streep) non-fiction book The Orchid Thief, which is the story of John Laroche (Chris Cooper), a plant dealer who clones rare orchids then sells them to collectors. While his easygoing twin brother Donald (Nicolas Cage), is writing scripts with ease, Charlie finds himself on a perpetual struggle that never seems to end.

Opinion

Needless to say is that the screenplay plays a major role in the making of a film. But when it comes to creative genius Charlie Kaufman is fundamental to give him most of the credits for the success of the film.

Delightfully bizarre, funny, unique, and well paced, Adaptation. is one of the most intelligent and original films I've ever seen.

Kaufman seems to the best master of destroying the line between reality and fiction - as seen in Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The story sounds kind of crazy - I mean, a writer trying to adapt a book for a screenplay, not succeeding, yet writing a screenplay about his inability to adapt the damn book - but it's pure genius. Equally brilliant is Charlie Kaufman's idea of creating an imaginary twin brother, Donald, that helped both fictional Kaufman, and real like Kaufman writing the screenplay. Also, not only Donald Kaufman is credited as co-writer, but he also got a real Oscar nomination. Isn't that even crazier?

The story revolves around four main characters, seemingly very different from each other, but they can be basically divided into two contrasting groups. Charlie and Susan, both boring and neurotic characters, find balance with Donald and John, both funny and interesting characters.

In his second collaboration with Kaufman, director Spike Jonze, who seems to have left the puppets' wires to Kaufman - see what I did there? -, does a good job, still the direction is outshined by the story.

The acting is surprisingly good, and you know who I'm talking about. Despite the lack of facial expressions, Nicolas Cage brilliantly plays both of the Kaufman brothers, and easily separates them in his portrayal. He has a consistent depressed manner as Charlie, the less confidant and more withdrawn, and he is consistently funny as Donald, the more outgoing and relaxed brother. Meryl Streep is equally excellent as Susan Orlean, the New Yorker journalist that want to understand what it feels like to be passionate about something. Chris Cooper does a wonderful job as John, the Orchid Thief, and brings humanity to the role.

Quotes

Donald Kaufman: You are what you love, not what loves you.