Nine Nights of Nic Cage

Nic Cage is a fascinating actor. I sort of love him and I sort of hate him. He's more polarizing than any other actor out there. So many people I know boycott his movies for one reason or another. I don't think he's a bad actor; I think he makes bad choices in terms of what films he does. Picking things like Ghost Rider and Next and The Wicker Man in about a two year span does not bode well.

I found a great description of Cage by Roger Ebert in a write-up in regards to why people hated the moving Knowing. Let me paste it here:

Let's start with Cage. Some readers said they avoid his movies on principle. Many found him guilty of over-acting. A critic was quoted who referred to his "fright wig," which is just mean-spirited snark. I found this reaction puzzling. Cage has two speeds, intense and intenser. I like both speeds. I find him an intriguing actor because he takes chances. He's an actor without speed limits. You want an Elvis who parachutes into Vegas? A weatherman whose viewers throw fast food at him? An explorer of the national treasures buried far beneath Washington? He's your go-to guy.

He is also a superb actor. I cite "Leaving Las Vegas," "Moonstruck," "Adaptation," "Bringing Out the Dead." I have great affection for Harrison Ford, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. But can they go rockabilly like Nic did in "Wild at Heart?" Not that I liked the movie, but it's a good question. With him it's a lion-tamer on a high-wire. Anybody can play the ringmaster.

Knowing was the ninth movie in my Nine Nights of Nic Cage -- a mini-film festival that featured five Cage movies I'd never seen before (Face/Off, The Rock, Con Air, Leaving Las Vegas, Knowing) and four I hadn't seen in a while (Adaptation, Matchstick Men, Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart). I planned to watch one a day for nine straight days, but veered off course. Anyway...

I'm glad I ended with Knowing. It's the movie that left the biggest impact on me, for the simple reason that I'm not sure whether I really liked it or really hated it. Let me step back.

I love Dark City (1996). Director Alex Proyas made this incredible environment that engrossed me from the start. Looking back at it now, it strikes me in a similar vein to Blade Runner, but I hate Blade Runner and love Dark City. Proyas strikes back with Knowing, and I have to say that he does a great job of making the movie engrossing.

But the plot. Oh, the plot. It's so, so, so dumb. I was able to ignore that throughout the entire film (believe it or not!) but looking back, I can only shake my head. Plus there are biblical overtones -- something I'm in no way against in practice but hate seeing forced into any form of media.

So the question is whether the film's artistic merits are overshadowed by the stupid plot. Right now, I'm leaning toward no; describing it, I might feel dumb, but I was hooked at the time.

With that said, here's a brief write-up of each film I saw / a grade I felt applied.

Face/Off: A weird yet fitting way to start things off. There's only about 20 minutes of Crazy Cage (the first 20 minutes at that) with a little more peppered throughout, but it's a fantastic '90s action movie with a very solid script that melds things together really nicely. B+

Adaptation.: Even though he plays two roles, Nic Cage isn't the star of this one; it's Charlie Kaufman that takes center stage. I'm not sure why I liked this more than Being John Malkovich on my first time through; BJM is superior to this. B

The Rock: Were it not for the last half hour, The Rock would pretty much be a total waste of time. Sure, there are Michael Bay action scenes in the first hour and a half, but it's a poorly paced political action/thriller. But boy, that last half hour almost makes up for it. C+

Matchstick Men: As enjoyable as I remembered. Somehow, I forgot the twist. Whoops! But a 23 year old Alison Lohman playing a 14 year old girl is the most shocking thing of all. B

Con Air: A worthy companion in the 90s action genre to Face/Off. No real Crazy Cage, just real-bad-southern-accent Cage. Malkovich and Buscemi steal the show. B

Raising Arizona: This movie is basically perfect. I either forgot how good it was or never appreciated it as much as I should have. One of the Coens' best. Also, probably the best chase scene I've ever seen (I forgot about it, too). A

Leaving Las Vegas: Tender, powerful, you could say, but it seems more like it's Elisabeth Shue's movie than Cage's. Who knows. He leaves a big impact, though. A-

Wild at Heart: "My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you might even picture Toto, from 'The Wizard of Oz.' But I can tell you, my dog is always with me. BARK!" A

Knowing: What a way to end the journey. I've read four articles since I finished this movie and I'm still not sure if I really liked it or thought it was super dumb. Throwing aside a stupid premise, it's pretty enthralling. Plus, we have Nic "Bug Eyed" Cage. GRADE: Incomplete