HIS HAIR IS A DEMON AND YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID
March 23rd, 2009 |
(13 votes, average: 7.62 out of 10)
At this point there have been so many B-grade thrillers starting Nicholas Cage and his mighty-morphin’ hairline, it’s almost become a sub-genre within the comic!
I’m kind of fond of the idea that Cage is host to some kind of demonic, mousse-infused demon hairpiece. It would certainly justify a lot of the decisions he’s been making lately.
Knowing was the big box office winner this weekend, bringing in almost $25. I know some people who liked it, but the general consensus is that the film is not good. I’m intrigued by the concept, but it looks like a rental to me so long as no one spoils the whole number thing. I have to admit I am curious to see what happens when they run out.
…But not so curious that I have to run out opening weekend and drop $10 on it.
What’s been interesting is reading the articles about Cage that basically said he’s sold out. Jeffery Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere suggests some kind of virus has gotten into his system, “like a pod was placed next to his bed in ’05 or ’06 and another life form took over.”
John Anderson from The Washington Post cuts to the bone when he suggests that “Cage, once held up as an example of the intrepid artistic impulse, has become something of the poster boy for blind ambition, cynical role selection, questionable judgment and, worst of all, humorlessness: He glowers, he hunches, he looks meaningfully into the distance without it meaning anything at all.”
Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly doesn’t even attempt to hid his contempt, asking in his article’s headline: Nicholas Cage: Artist or hack?
This could very well be a case of critical dog-piling. These guys could all be feeding each other in terms of their theories. But could the also be reflecting a sense of general disappointment with Cage and his choices?
Not that it’s any business of ours, I suppose. But I think Gleiberman is onto something when he points out that Cage makes movies that people want to see. But Gleiberman is quick to point out that, for some, “Cage has become something of a joke, a proud I don’t give a f—! hack-for-hire who sells out his gifts with such unabashed promiscuity that it’s almost as if he were daring you to call him on it.”
I’m curious what the rest of you have to say about this topic. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. I cringe when Cage shows up in movies like Bangkok Dangerous and Next. But I won’t front when I say I really enjoyed him in straight-up-the-middle family entertainment like the National Treasure movies.
What’s your opinion about Cage? Is he selling his gifts short? Has he been doing these B-grade films for so long that you can barely remember his Oscar winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas? Leave your comments below.
In the meantime, don’t forget to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe.com. We’ll be talking about Knowing and the other box office winner this weekend, I Love You, Man.
I managed to see I Love You, Man over the weekend and I liked it. But I spent a lot of time cringing at the awkward social situations Paul Rudd’s character puts himself in the middle of. I saw a little bit of myself in that character. I don’t have a lot of guy friends and I can certainly identify with the challenge of trying to cultivate friendship in adulthood. It’s friggin’ hard! Seriously – I’ve you don’t set yourself up with at least one or two guy friends early on in life, you’re kind of screwed.
To be notified of when The Triple Feature is about to start recording live, start following my Twitter feed. I always make sure to post an announcement about 5 to 10 minutes before we start the show. If you’re online, you can join in the conversation! We hope to see you there!
Yeah. Save your money.
I went online and read a spoiler.
You really want to know what happens when the numbers run out?
Oh, no. The numbers have run out and it's the end of the world!
FOOMP!
IT IS I! FOLLICLULOUS, THE DOOM-BRINGER! I REQUIRE ALL OF YOUR MOUSSE OR I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!
Man I was in England all last week and missed all this movie news. But I still don’t wanna see Knowing. I was never a Cage fan. He just seemed so blan and boring. I mean National Treasure was entertaining but not because of him. I do agree he has beeen selling out lately. He either needs to find a really good script soon or just retire.
I actually really enjoyed Knowing. Not really because of Nicolas Cage, though. He just happened to be in it and not completely suck for once.
But man, on man, Tom. I do love a good joke at Nicolas Cage’s hair’s expense. Bravo.
Lately? I can’t think of more than three or four movies he’s _ever_ done that I care about. Raising Arizona, Adaptation, and, umm…. Lord of War was okay. I think he’s a talented performer with the right material, but he’ll never draw me to a movie all on his own. As for Knowing, Cage pretty well outweighed my like of Alex Proyas, so I passed.
I agree mostly with Alex. Except the Crow is one o f my top 5 and Dark City is an underrated classic in my mind. So Proyas trumps Cage.
I have said for years now that it seems like if Nic was walking down the street and a script fell out a window and hit him on the head, he would do the movie. I hear that Christopher Walken will not turn down any role he is offered and it seems Cage is the same. The only other thing I can think of is that since Nic is a self-admitted comic and gaming nut He may just take parts based on the kewl-ness of the concept. From the prospective of a die-hard 14 year old fanboy the concept of most of his movies does sound AWESOME!!!!! Its just once you consider the process. it all falls apart.
I saw Knowing on Friday and despite walking into the theather KNOWING that his hair determines the movie… i have to say it was a little bit better than i actually expected. (strictly due to the CGI… that’s what saved the movie) Personally i would’ve edited out the last 30 seconds of the movie… it really was just a friggin filler of excess CGI that made everyone in the theater “boo” and “hiss” (they should’ve saved their money for a more convicing hair stylist for Mr. Cage) However the movie was pretty exciting due to the action sequences. To me, it had a very “War of the Worlds” feel to it…. it was drawn out in the begining slowly pulling you into a story that you honestly could care less about… and then when the action started it slowly made up for your sitting there for the first half of the movie… the action builds each time getting better and slightly more ridiculously attention grasping and then as soon as it gets interesting in the end and you’re satisfied for where the movie is heading… the director pimpslaps you with a “D’oh!” ending that really could’ve saved the movie from an “eh… it was merely interesting” reaction. Like i said… the Action segments due to some very impressive stunt work as well as CGI was actually really really good. Like the airplane scene that they show in the trailer… it’s scarily accurate and realistic to watch… They definitely had my attention
If anything the movie made me realize 2 very interesting points:
1. Don’t stare at the sun… it’s dangerous… you’ll hurt your eyes.
2. Don’t stare at Nicholas Cage’s hair… it’s dangerous… you’ll hurt your eyes.
i rest my case.
The hair kinda looks like an owl ;D
Colleen gets it! 😀
it was a fun and exciting movie up to 15 minutes before it ended. then the movie “jumped the shark”… 6 times. i lost my innocence that day.
i do enjoy most cage movies.
Demon looks like an owl but it is well known owls don’t eat moose, owls eat squirrel.
Also maybe unintentionally funny but the comment says that the move made almost $25. I realize that it is supposed to be 25 Million but it looks like 25 dollars especially when you reference the $10 tickets a few sentences later.
so Mercury Rising.. Uh… I mean Numbers sold one full adult and one senior ticket? Does that mean only Nicolas Cage and his mom went to see it?
Personally, I’ve little to no respect for Nic, regardless of my like for Lord of War. He has talent given the right material, but apparently he has NO IDEA what the right material is.
I love Nic Cage…. Ok well not love but I like most movies he has been in…. except the wicker man was kinda bleh and his performance as ghost rider was totally wood. ;.; But he was great in National Treasure and face off. 😀
Nic Cage in any role is always Nic Cage. His demeanor, mannerisms, vocal inflection – none of them ever change. The *only* movies I’ve ever seen of his where I thought he did a passable acting job were the National Treasure flicks, and that’s just because the character was basically written to be just like Nicholas Cage. So…the moral of the story is this: don’t ask Nic Cage to become a character. Instead, write the character to be just like Nic Cage and you’ll like him much better.
Ok, so everyone here doesn’t like the Cage. I personally do. The only movie recently of his I missed was Bangkok Dangerous. My buddy told me not to see it. I thought Next was pretty cool, mostly cause I thought it awesome to use to pick up on woman and win at scratch off lottery tickets. He’s definitly a good actor; he’s just hit one of those points where either he’s in high demand or he just wants to make a lot of movies.
At least he isn’t Samuel L. Jackson. I can’t stand him, He’s in three or four movies a year and then cameos like six, and he’s always the exact same character. When that happens to Cage I’ll be a fan no more.
Nic Cage is one of those actors now who only does it for the paycheck, at this point and with the most recent films he’s put have turned me off his movies. I almost expect him to star in the next direct to dvd version of national lampoons, thats how much of a joke he is to me.
While some of his older movies (Lord of War, Leaving Las Vegas and even Con Air) were great in their own right his new stuff will never be nearly as popular.
And for the record I did not like him as Ghost Rider either, way too camp for my tastes.
On a side note I also saw I Love You Man, I agree with you Tom some of the situation Paul Rudd put himself in maybe be squeamish because it’s like that with me. Not that I don’t get along well with people or having trouble meeting people, it’s just that I don’t like most people so it makes it awkward.
hehe.. nice your blog… thanks. 🙂