20s Movie Review - Pig

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Genre: Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 13: A FILM FROM 2021
 
Description: A truffle hunter (Nicolas Cage) who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his part in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.

Review: Nicolas Cage is either very over the top or really subdued. For “Pig” it’s the latter. It’s a fairly quiet film with a meandering style. Cage plays Rob, a man who was once the best chef in town, but now lives a reclusive life in the woods of Oregon. There he lives, along with his pig, who helps him search and root for truffles. But then his quiet life gets disturbed and his pig gets stolen. Rob has to go back to the city and find her.

In core the film is about learning to care about something and not fall prey to hypocrisy. I absolutely loved this film. It’s a slow film, no action, just a man looking for his beloved pig. And Nicolas Cage is wonderful. His rage is now very contained and it works perfectly for “Pig”.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Longlegs

Director: Osgood Perkins
Genre: Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage,
 
Description: In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.

Review: There is one every year. A movie that makes you go “WTF”. And the honor goes to “Longlegs” this year.

In the 1990s, Lee is an unremarkable FBI agent until, during a mission, she can intuitively pinpoint which house their target is in. her gift gains recognition and she is assigned to the search for a serial killer who has struck sporadically for decades. This turns out to be a wise choice, as Lee deciphers riddles that others have been pondering for longer without success. That is no accident, however, and Lee will discover why.

“Longlegs” is not for everyone. It’s an unusual film with a slow pace and much focus on atmosphere. The hunt for a serial killer will appeal to more people though. And horror fans will definitely not be disappointed. Director Osgood Perkins has an unusual approach and it promotes unpredictability. There is no way anyone can predict where the story is heading.

Maika Monroe, who we know from “The Guest” and “It Follows”, is fantastic in this film. She plays a completely different role in this, almost apathic. And then there is Nicolas Cage. A man that eithers brings it home or absolutely fails. Luckily for us his overacting works here. Super creepy looking, Cage’s performance is thrilling and entertaining.

Comparisons to “The Silence of the Lambs” are easily made. A rookie FBI agent is assigned to an ongoing case involving a lurid serial killer who leaves a puzzling trail. But in time, that feeling disappears and “Longlegs” becomes a totally different film. One that you really can’t compare to anything you’ve ever seen.

In the end, you’re left speechless and thinking “what did I just watch”. Not for everyone, but a must for horror fans.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - 8 MM

Director: Joel Schumacher
Genre: Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 123 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Catherine Keener, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald, Norman Reedus

Description: A private investigator (Nicolas Cage) is hired to discover if a “snuff film” is authentic or not.

Review: A snuff film is a real-murder film within the porn industry. It’s a persistent myth. This thriller by director Joel Schumacher cleverly plays on the hint of mystery surrounding the phenomenon.

Nicholas Cage plays private detective Tom Welles who gets his hands on a sniff film via the widow of a recently deceased prominent business. She want Tom wo find out the source of this misery. While investigating, Tom sinks deeper and deeper into the dark world of the porn industry, searching for the maker of the film and if it’s real.

I always believed “8 MM” was an underrated thriller, I think I like it more then most people. It’s a pretty disturbing topic, a gritty film. Maybe not the best acting, but the mystery is really interesting and compelling.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Review - The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Director: Tom Gormican
Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Crime
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Neil Patrick Harris, Ike Barinholtz, Lily Sheen
 
Description: Nic Cage (Nicolag Cage) is channeling his iconic characters as he’s caught between a superfan (Pedro Pascal) and a CIA agent (Tiffany Haddish).

Review: The past decade did no go very well for actor Nicolas Cage. He seemed to be in every movie he was offered. This created a huge stream of bad movies, with some exceptions of course. With that, Cage became a joke on the internet. The sometimes it’s best to go along with the joke. In “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, Cage plays a version of himself, Nic Cage, and shows why he is still one of the most beloved actors of his generation.

Things are not going well for Cage in this film either. He has just gone through a divorce and is living in a hotel. Films are no longer offered to the actor, but there is a millionaire who wants to meet him, to show up at his birthday, for a large sum of money. Since Cage is desperate for work, he decides to accept the offer. The eccentric millionaire, Javi, has a plan to make a movie with Cage.

However, Javi is also being followed by the CIA. They suspect him of being a ruthless criminal. For example, he allegedly kidnapped the daughter of a prominent politician. The American spies more or less force Cage to work for them and spy on Javi. The result is a hilarious comedy with a nice pace, funny dialogues and above all a delightful interplay between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal, who are constantly outdoing each other in craziness.
You never know it with Nicolas Cage, he’s sometimes super good, sometimes super bad. In this movie, it’s him the way we love him the most. He always does something unexpected and does not shy away from self-mockery. The film is a joy to watch, has great humor and action in it. Only the subplot of the kidnapping and the CIA didn’t always work for me.

This movie is mainly about Cage, but lets talks about Pedro Pascal and how amazing he is in this film. He holds up very well opposite Cage and they work so well together. I loved their growing friendship and how Javi was a Cage super fan. My favorite part was when Javi is listing his 3 all-time favorites. One of the is, of course a Cage film, another is “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, which is also a favorite of Cage. The third is a surprising and hilarious choice (although I understand why, because it’s a favorite of mine too) and they start watching it together. It’s been a while since I laughed out loud over a movie.

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” may well mark Nicolas Cage’s definitive return. With this film, Cage seems to be able to transcend all jokes and parodies. It’s definitely a favorite of 2022 for me.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Genre: Animation, Action
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Magershala Ali, Bryan Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Zoë Kravitz, Nicolas Cage, Katheryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine, Oscar Isaac, Stan Lee, Lake Bell, John Mulaney

Description: Teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.

Review: It’s pretty shocking that the movies “Venom” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” come from the same studio. Even though Tom Hardy plays a fun double role in a pretty standard superhero film, is “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” a perfect love letter to Spider-Man, his comics, his fans and everything that has to do with the character. No useless action sequences, predictable plot points or forced humor, but stunning animation, incredible style and an authentic comic book feel that you will find nowhere else. Ever Spider-Man fan, Marvel geek or animation enthusiast can expect a fantastic film adventure.
Where to begin? “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” tells a story, the way Edgar Wright did it with movies like “Hot Fuzz”. Constantly there are creative switched, comic book styles, great effects and characters that narrate the movie in their own way. It’s intense, stylish and a joy to watch.
It’s quite a challenge and a great accomplishment, because the stories of many iconic characters cross. We are talking about several ‘spider heroes’ in one animation. And each has a unique personality, animation style and life story. Without having to receive a load of information at the start of the film. Different universes clash and that’s how they meet. With this, the story is pretty surprising.
You think you know what’s will happen with Spider-Man. Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman managed to create a fantastic screenplay to write this original film. The clashing dimensions lack structure and give the well-known story some dramatic moments, nice surprises and smart plot twists.
Outside the fact that you have to be a fan to love this film, there is no critical note from my side. Film, comics and the superhero genre melt together to this unique story. It’s the best Spider-Man film ever made. Sadly enough I never saw it in theaters.

Rating: 5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 26: Adaptation

Director: Spike Jonze
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Meryl Streep, Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Brian Cox, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ron Livingston, Judy Greer, Jim Beaver, Stephen Tobolowski

Description: A lovelorn screenwriter (Nicolas Cage) becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) for the screen.

Review: Charlie Kaufman is a screenwriter and is in the middle of a crisis. He doesn’t know what to base his next film on. He is a very shy man and thinks of themes that have depth, but can’t be made exciting. His twin brother Donald is exactly the opposite. He is a beginning screenwriter and thinks of horrible cliché scripts. He is not shy at all and very extravert.
Charlie reaches his absolute low point when Donald’s script is picked up and he has no inspiration himself. He is about to write a screenplay for a book written by Susan Orlean.
Nicolas Cage is really good in this film. He plays both Charlie and Donald and even though they look the same, it’s easy to keep them apart. That’s because of Cage’s performance. I love the dialogue that Charlie constantly has with himself.
I loved the first part of the film. The second part an particularly the ending didn’t really satisfy me. Overall the film is very original and is nothing like you expect when you read the plot. The ending I just didn’t like.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 12: The Croods

Director: Kirk de Micco, Chris Sanders

Genre: Animation/ Family/ Comedy/ Adventure

Runtime: 99 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Emma Stone, Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Cloris Leachmann, Catherine Keener, Chris Sanders, Randy Thom

Description: After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.

Review: The world of computer animation has been ruled by Pixar for years. But Dreamworks shows us with “The Croods” that they are also doing well. This is probably one of their best animations in years.

Since “Shrek” Dreamworks has shown they are very creative with humor. Movies like “Madagascar” and “Bee Movie” show that too. “How to Train Your Dragon” had more emotion and combined it with amazing visuals. “The Croods” has found a perfect mix of it all.

The prehistorical Croods family spends their days in a dark cave. They only leave it to find food. Father Grug wants to protect his family no matter what. His daughter Eep is a little bit more adventurous for his liking. When an earthquake demolishes their cave, the family has to find a new place to live. The intelligent Guy helps them, but Grug isn’t happy with him at all.

It’s a very simple setup, but the creators were very creative with the execution. They put in a lot of work to bring this era to life. And the further into the film we learn it’s not just a fun comedy, but it also touches you.

“The Croods” is a surprisingly good and fun animation.

Rating: 4/ 5