The Coen brothers did not suffer from the sophomore slump as their second film, Raising Arizona, is a complete 180 from their first. My rewatch of Raising Arizona over the past weekend was my first viewing in just over 15 years. I went back to my original notes from the 2009 viewing in which I wrote that it was funnier than Fargo. To be fair, the AFI 100 Years, 100 Laughs list has this film…
"Raising Arizona: Coens Go For Humor in Second Film"Tag: Nicolas Cage
John Woo’s classic 1997 action thriller, Face/Off, is now available on 4K Ultra HD by way of Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film has been available on 4K UHD since December 12, 2023. What follows is my original review from last summer’s 25th anniversary: Face/Off, the John Woo action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, marks its 25th anniversary since its June 1997 release. I was too young to appreciate Nicolas Cage for his…
"Face/Off Gets A 4K Ultra HD Upgrade"
A professor is in for a shock when he learns that people are seeing him in their dreams and then it becomes a nightmare in Dream Scenario. That’s the gist of the new horror-comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli. The filmmaker also finds a way to use the film as commentary on cancel culture. It’s got a solid mix of comedy and horror as we watch the incredible rise and tragic fall of Osler professor Paul…
"Dream Scenario: Nicolas Cage Gets Cancelled"
Butcher’s Crossing is a low-key Western that follows a Harvard University dropout as he seeks a new adventure hunting buffalo. Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) is probably the last person you would expect to find hunting buffalo. But sure enough, he’s dropped out of college and looking for a new adventure to take on. A trip west to Kansas in 1874 sees him run into Miller (Nicolas Cage) and join his team of buffalo hunters, for…
"Butcher’s Crossing – Toronto 2022" Face/Off, the John Woo action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, marks its 25th anniversary since its June 1997 release. I was too young to appreciate Nicolas Cage for his mannerisms when I first saw this film in 1997. In hindsight, I was probably a few years too young to see the movie, what with the R rating and all. But then again, I had already watched dinosaurs tear apart two different islands by…
"Face/Off: Action Film Marks 25th Anniversary"
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a blast and a whole lot of fun as the film teams Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal together. One of them is the Mandalorian. The other one left Las Vegas, infiltrated The Rock, flew on Con Air, and discovered a national treasure not once but twice. Put them together in one of the wackiest comedies of 2022 and the result is just pure joy and entertainment. Nick Cage…
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Is A Blast"
One cannot write a list of the best rom-coms of all time if the list of movies does not include any films released prior to 1970. The amount of times I hear that someone refuses to watch movies from before a certain year is just mindboggling. Like why? How can anyone write about film without at least making an effort?!? If you’re especially writing about film history, you MUST make an effort to study film…
"The Best Rom-Coms Ever: Watch Movies Before 1970"
Kick-Ass gets the exclusive Best Buy 4K Ultra HD SteelBook treatment in honor of the comic book film’s tenth anniversary. The film was initially released on 4K UHD back in October 2017. For this particular Best Buy exclusive, a new cover is provided with Tracie Ching’s illustration on the SteelBook cover. Only one bonus feature is limited to the Blu-ray and there will be more on that later. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is just your average…
"Kick-Ass Gets 4K SteelBook For 10th Anniversary"
National Treasure: Book of Secrets suffers from the same problem that seems to plagues many sequels by offering more of the same. The film does manage to up the stakes and increase the action. This time, the legacy of the Gates family is on the line. But rather than keep it simple, the clues take Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage) and company overseas to Paris and London. The film’s prologue puts Thomas Gates on the scene…
"National Treasure: Book of Secrets ups the action"
National Treasure is still a fun adventure to be had some fifteen years after the adventure film was released in theaters in 2004. The film asks us to imagine a map being on the back of the Declaration of Independence. It is a fun idea no matter how preposterous that the idea sounds. But before we get to this point, a young Benjamin Franklin Gates must learn the Gates family history. It turns out that…
"National Treasure: A Fun Adventure 15 Years Later"