Getting My Feet Wet - Reflecting on This Year's Toe Dipping

For four months out of this year, I have dedicated myself to exploring movies that I wouldn't normally take a look at. They made a huge gap in my movie watching, and I thought it was time to fill those gaps. In June, I checked out French New Wave. The month after that, I looked at Anime films - which was super helpful considering I'm going to Japan next month/year. I took a break over August and September when I took a couple of breaks from blogging, but in October I was back into it with Horror films. Last month I took a deeper look into Nicolas Cage's filmography. They're all wildly different movies, but I thought I may as well rank them from worst to best, just to show how these new discoveries panned out for me. So here are all 34 movies, ranked:

34. The Wicker Man (2006), Dir. Neil LaBute - Obviously. Although Nic Cage in a bear suit is probably going to be the most memorable experience I'll have of 2012 through the eyes of movies.
33. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Dir. Dominic Sena - Purely because that car-themed sex scene between Nicolas and Angelina Jolie. It was the most awkward thing ever.
32. Ghost Rider (2007), Dir. Mark Steven Johnson - Nicolas as a fearless stuntman? Yeah...no.

Nic November: Wild at Heart and The Wicker Man

Well, here we are at the end of an interesting month of devouring a whole bunch of Nicolas Cage movies. I can't really say I'm thinking that he is now a great actor, but this experience has definitely opened my eyes to his...wide array of talents. Especially this week, as I left Wild at Heart and The Wicker Man until last.

The Hairstyle: The Carefree 90s Punk-Rock/Boy Band Cross-Over

One of the main reasons why I added Wild at Heart to the list - and why I left it until last - was because it is a David Lynch film. And I thought that Lynch + Nicolas = more craziness than you could imagine. And I was right. Wild at Heart is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen, even though I suppose it is more sane and easy to follow than some of Lynch's other stuff. To be honest, there's just a whole lot of sex. Like...a lot. Honestly, it was just the basis for the entire film. There was a story of Sailor (Cage) and his 20 year old girlfriend Lula (Laura Dern) getting chased down by a gang that Lula's mother (Diane Ladd) assembled because she doesn't approve of Sailor. The gang itself is pretty crazy, mainly because it involves Willem Dafoe being crazy. But at any rate, this is just an interesting take on a road trip movie melded with a love story.

Nic November: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Face/Off

First of all, my apologies. I've been away from the blog for the past few days to focus on studying, and now those exams are all over. I did put a status up on Facebook, but because they've brought in those retarded new things so only 10% of my 'likers' can see my stuff pop up on their newsfeed, I doubt anyone saw it. Yay Facebook. Alas, Nic November is a day later, but I think Nicolas Cage films are just what I need to empty my brain out of all the biology stuff I've taught myself in the past three days. Now, aside from my Drama exam which won't take a lot of effort, I can run around the streets shouting out that "I'm a vampire!", reciting the alphabet in a very angry way and generally yelling and tearing stuff down. People underestimate the awesomeness in which Vampire's Kiss has bestowed upon people who no longer have to remember a whole lot of foreign terms.

Alas, we ain't talking about Vampire's Kiss here. We're talking about one of Nic's 'last good roles' in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and one of everyone's favourite 90s action films Face/Off. Which I apparently should have seen ages ago. Oops.

The Hairstyle: The Carefree Wind Sweeping

So anyway, I suppose that The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was the last real meaty Cage Rage role. Seeking Justice, Trespass and Stolen all kind of melded into one, no-one remembers that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance exists, Drive Angry, Season of the Witch and The Sorcerer's Apprentice were all fairly muted and apart from the "now SWIIIIIIITCH, to KRYPTONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" scene in Kick-Ass, there wasn't a lot of Cage Rage to be had over the poorly chosen places to put emphasis on his words. So yes, Werner Herzog's non-remake Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans it is.

Nic November: Ghost Rider and Adaptation

Here we are, back with some Nicolas Cage movies. I think I've already come to realise that the majority of his films aren't that bad - but then again, I am mixing the good with the bad: last week with Gone in 60 Seconds and the considerably better Lord of War, and this week with the awful Ghost Rider and the brilliant Adaptation. We can still have faith in good old Nicolas!

The Hairstyle: Get Me in a Boy Band/The Intense Ginger

I think that Nic should stay away from films that have him spending prolonged amounts of time in/on a vehicle. Gone in 60 Seconds was terrible. Ghost Rider was even worse. Basically, Nic is Johnny Blaze, a stunt man who likes to ride his motorcycle in dangerous ways and everyone resents him for it but he does it anyway. Oh, and he sold his soul to the devil. Mhm.

Nic November: Gone in 60 Seconds and Lord of War

Just in case you didn't get the message in my last "Dipping My Toes" post, November will be dedicated to the work of everyone's favourite actor, Nicolas Cage. Throughout the month, I will be subjecting myself willingly watching eight Nicolas Cage movies, so I can figure out whether I love him or I hate him. Starting off the month I have 2000's Gone in 60 Seconds and 2005's Lord of War. Brace yourself, this is going to be an interesting month...

Also, while we're at it, this month I'll be giving all of the Nic November movies their own specialised ratings. They're called the "Cage Rage" scales, which I used a long time ago, but am bringing back for this. You'll see them below, but the more on the Cage Rage scale, the more raged it is. It isn't a reflection on how good the movie is, just how crazy Cage is.

The Hairstyle: Yes, Peroxide Makes Me Look More Badass.

Gone in 60 Seconds is exactly the kind of movie that they play thousands of times on TV, pretending like it is a "Premiere Movie" when in reality, it has been a "Premiere Movie" the first 13 times they played it on a Saturday night. But that doesn't matter, because it is so forgettable that people will go on thinking that it is a "Premiere Movie" until the Friends reruns stop being aired at 6.30pm every weeknight.