by John Farr
John Farr serves up some killer Nic Cage.
Moonstruck
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Loretta (Cher) is a young Italian-American widow set to marry Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). Only problem: while Johnny’s away, Loretta falls for Johnny’s younger brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage). Meanwhile, mother Rose (Olympia Dukakis) has her own romantic troubles keeping the embers burning with pre-occupied husband Cosmo (Gardenia).
WHY I LOVE IT:
Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and winning statuettes for co-stars Cher and Dukakis, this movie overflows with off-kilter charm and humor. Cher hits all the right notes as the bewildered Loretta, but Dukakis comes off best in the tricky role of Rose - a rare woman who’s as wise about herself as others and faces a challenging personal situation with grace and dignity. A flavorful, heartwarming delight from director Norman Jewison.
Leaving Las Vegas
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Depressed Hollywood screenwriter Ben (Nicolas Cage) arrives in Las Vegas with one goal: to drink himself to death. On the Strip one night, he picks up fresh-faced hooker Sera (Elisabeth Shue), who takes a liking to the self-destructive Ben. As their friendship turns into a damaged love affair, they accept each other unconditionally, with Sera agreeing never to ask Ben to stop drinking-no matter what.
WHY I LOVE IT:
Filmed on a shoestring by Figgis, who also contributed the haunting jazz score, “Vegas” is a fearlessly downbeat love story about desperation and despair that was rapturously received at the box office in 1995. Cage won an Oscar for his gritty, go-for-broke portrayal of the suicidal Ben, and Shue made the leap from TV’s “Melrose Place” to the big screen with her convincingly raw, Oscar-nominated performance-especially in one horrific motel scene. Adapted from John O’Brien’s novel, “Vegas” is one cinematic bender that leaves a strangely blissful hangover.
Face/Off
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Deranged criminal mastermind Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), currently in a coma, has planted a biological weapon somewhere in LA and only his equally psychotic brother Pollux (Allesandro Nivola) knows where. Crack FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) has a long, painful history battling the Troys, and undergoes a radical medical procedure transferring Castor’s face to his own, in hopes that once he’s reunited with Pollux in prison, the ever loyal little brother will talk. But the insensate Castor’s got life in him yet, and unfortunately, Archer has left his own face behind.
WHY I LOVE IT:
Despite the grotesque, almost preposterous premise, Hong Kong director John Woo’s second American-made actioner has all the savage bite, black humor, and balletic fight choreography of his best-known Asian films. Deliberately mythic in concept, “Face/Off” probes questions of honor, identity, and morality while giving Travolta and Cage plenty of leeway to stretch their archetypal good-and-evil personas. Ingenious, kinetic and reveling in its choreographed, over the top violence, “Face/Off” is a complex thriller that’s bloody good fun.
In just two consecutive years, 1989 and 1990, Nicolas Cage appeared memorably in one of the oddest films that I’ve ever seen, “Vampire’s Kiss” and one of the ugliest films that I’ve ever seen, “Wild At Heart”.
Could never bring myself to watch these titles.
You’re a better man than I!
John, if you really like Nicolas Cage (I don’t particularly like him), you might enjoy him in both films.
John,
I agree with you that Elizabeth Shue is great in LLV, but you should do your research better. Her brother Andrew was the Shue on “Melrose Place.” Elizabeth already had several credits in major feature films by the time of this movie.
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