Calling Nicolas Cage peerless is kind of like calling Martin Scorsese talented: technically, it’s accurate but it doesn’t come close to capturing the incomparable dossier of performances - some good, some great, some wretched, all pretty much unhinged – that Cage has let loose over the years.
All of which makes the arrival of a new, late-night series at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Bangkok Dangerous: The Cinema of Nicolas Cage, worth noting. Starting January 28 and running at 10 pm over consecutive Saturdays until April 7, highlights of Cage’s cinematic career grab the spotlight.
If ever proof were needed of how versatile our man can be, this is it. We swing from sweet teen rom-com (1983’s Valley Girl, January 28) to loony-tune baby burglar (1987’s Raising Arizona, February 25) to action hero (1997’s Con Air, February 18) to über-neurotic nerd (2002’s Adaptation, March 24) while hitting just about every other archetype in between.
Also playing: The Rock (February 4), Face/Off (March 3) Wild at Heart (February 11), The Wicker Man (March 10), Snake Eyes (March 17) The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (March 31 and Vampire’s Kiss (April 7).
The series is worth it just for the stylistic range of directors on offer, from John Woo to Neil LaBute, Joel Coen to Michael Bay to David Lynch. Sure, you could rent any of these titles, but there is no comparing Cage – all hangdog eyes, wild hair and itchy movement – on the big screen.
anybody who's ever seen the opening scene of Face-Off and saw Cage come dancing in wearing priest's robes would swear that he's completely mentally unhinged. . . . and they might be right but the man's a great actor. agree with cynic's comments above, his crap movies would be crap with or without him, but give the man his due, he's got talent
Nick Cage is a seriously under-rated actor. Sure he made some bad movies, but they would have been bad without him. The great movies he's done (wild at heart, leaving las vegas, 8mm, raising arizona) more than make up for them. I have a theory that he just agrees to do every project that's proposed to him without reading the treatments - that would explain the vast spectrum of crap-through-to-excellent that is his film resume.
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anybody who's ever seen the opening scene of Face-Off and saw Cage come dancing in wearing priest's robes would swear that he's completely mentally unhinged. . . . and they might be right but the man's a great actor. agree with cynic's comments above, his crap movies would be crap with or without him, but give the man his due, he's got talent
Posted by: dude17 | 02/12/2012 at 08:57 PM
Nick Cage is a seriously under-rated actor. Sure he made some bad movies, but they would have been bad without him. The great movies he's done (wild at heart, leaving las vegas, 8mm, raising arizona) more than make up for them. I have a theory that he just agrees to do every project that's proposed to him without reading the treatments - that would explain the vast spectrum of crap-through-to-excellent that is his film resume.
Posted by: cynic | 02/04/2012 at 11:36 AM