Nicolas-Cage Movie Reviews

Okay, I saw this movie for the first time MANY years ago when I was in my early 20's...say in 1986. I remember thinking this was such a good movie! Well, since 1990, we have had no television and watched no videos. Just recently we got a video player (still not wanting tv). I was at the library looking for the old classics (what I watch) when I ran across this movie. It made me think of how I had liked it, and I wondered if I would like it now, so I brought it home.

What I thought of it was...this is a nothing movie. Okay, maybe that's harsh, but I kept thinking, "what exactly was it that I had liked about the movie back in 1986?" for I found it boring, disturbing and sad. I did not like the bad language in it. Or the fact of the Nicholas Cage character drinking all the time. Or his inability to be kind to the girl he impregnated... The portrayal of nudity bothered me. Even bare chests on men I find inappropriate. The love scenes I just skipped over on fast forward. I got to thinking, when will this movie end?... none of this movie really moved me, except to feel sad... I think the story had much potential to be a good story. One can tell a story very effectively and not shove all the sin in your face. After viewing this... for some reason it made me feel sad, and it was also upsetting to witness the nudity etc. From now on I will stick to the old classics, and leave the modern movies I thought I liked, just memories in my past.

Although the superficial theme of this film is young love, the heart of the film is in the subtle ways that Henry (Sean Penn) tries to come to terms with the harsh realities of his impending military service. Henry knows that, in less than a year, he will probably be on some remote Pacific island, fighting one insane Japanese soldier after another to the death. While he has no idea of the horrors to come, he definitely feels a sense of impending doom.

The movie's most telling scene is after Callie (Elizabeth McGovern) is angred by Henry & Nicky (Nicolas Cage) when they make fun of their school's emergency preparedness drill. Callie takes Henry to a veteran's hospital, where she delivers library books to soldiers recovering from amputations (and likely worse). Henry is visibly scared at the sight of these guys, not much older than he is, who will now go through life with a new, horrific perspective.

After the visit, Henry becomes angry with Callie. He shows her - and the audience - that bravado DOES have a place in dealing with impending terror, and that there are many ways to look at the complexities of war. At the end of the film, when both boys jump on the train that may take them to their deaths, the resilience of the human spirit goes with them, and they impart some of their courage to those left standing at the station. A classic film, with a timely message.

This appealing 1984 comedy-romance stars Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn as buddies right before WWII. Sean Penn is falling in love with one of the richest girls in the county (Elizabeth McGovern), yet he doesn't know that she's falling for him too.

"Racing With The Moon" is a light, generally appealing film that shows of loss of teenage innocence and pleasure, when Penn and McGovern go skinnydipping in a lake and make love for the first time....

My first reaction was-this is for teens or twenty-year olds but I stayed with it and found some thing worthwhile. The female character taught a valuable lesson to two horny boys.: that women are to be respected for what they are- and are not objects for what men fantasize about them. Played by the beautiful Claudia Christian, the female lead is a lesbian, a woman with the aspirations of allwomen;viz, a good job, a loving relationship, compassion, fun. This film is a credit to the director who took a locale and filled it with comedy, danger, and pathos so that one'sinterest held. That was a trick. All actors were well cast. I did like the film.

Three unlikely characters become stranded in the desert when the boys slam into Tuesday's car. She's a photographer on her way to an assignment and the crash is a real irritant, as are the boys in the other car, who are on their way to California to meet GIRLS on the beach. There's a great scene when the boys see Tuesday exit her car legs first and they stare at her in complete awe. They start out as an unlikely trio waiting to be rescued. Both boys are dismayed to learn that Tuesday is a lesbian (she probably breaks all their steroetypes of what a lesbian is) but Eddie is sure he can "change her". The boys have some great fantasy scenes. It is interesting to watch Eddie's macho image break down as time passes. The casting is great. There are some cameos that are really funny. All in all a quirky, fun comedy.

The movie is so lame and boring!! And what irritated me the most was the character played by Nicolas Cage - Charles Kaufman. He is such a pathetic loser, halfway thru I wanted to jump into the movie and slap him hard !

This is one of those attempts to show a messed up movie and characters, try and make a mix of fantasy-n-reality. Some directors know how to do it and it works, but Spike Jonze is not one of them.

And to top it all, the ONLY special which the DVD contains is the theatrical trailer!!!!!!!!! Nothing else. Run away, faaar faaar away.

Hmmm..one thing which I wanted to say that there are 2 car crash sequences in this movie which were like - friggin' amazing. Gave me quite a jolt. Just mentioned, that's all...

Spike Jonze's new movie, "Adaptation," is a funny and entertaining look at insecure screenwriters, Hollywood hokum, and the lengths to which people will go to get what they want.

Nicholas Cage is terrific in a dual role. He is Charlie Kaufman, a real-life screenwriter who has been commissioned to write the movie script for Susan Orlean's acclaimed novel, "The Orchid Thief." Unfortunately, Charlie has a monumental case of writer's block. He is also an insecure, nerdy guy who has trouble connecting with women and who is ashamed of his unkempt appearance. He is chubby and he wears a flannel shirt with the tails hanging out throughout much of the film. Cage also plays Charlie's twin brother, Donald, who is confidently writing a screenplay of his own. Donald's screenplay is formulaic and derivative, but he manages to sell it for a bundle. In addition, Donald has no trouble getting a beautiful woman to be his girlfriend.

The conceit of "Adaptation" is that Charlie proceeds to write a screenplay about his inability to write a screenplay. There are hilarious vignettes with the wonderful Meryl Streep, who plays the writer, Susan Orlean, as a repressed journalist who is depressed because of a lack of passion in her life. Chris Cooper almost steals the movie as the eponymous orchid thief, a toothless, lowdown individual who somehow connects with Orlean.

Jonze and Kaufman are making several statements here. They are saying that Hollywood is a place where desperate people will do anything to succeed, include writing formulaic potboilers. The way to survive is to adapt, to become whatever the public wants at the moment. You need to "get with the program" in order to succeed in Hollywood and in life.

"Adaptation" is also a movie about passion, about loving what you do, loving someone else, and loving life itself. You need to take risks, even if you wind up falling on your face, or else your life is meaningless.

"Adaptation" is confusing, exhilarating, beautifully acted, and one of the most intriguing films that I have seen in a long time. See it, and you will understand what all the fuss is about.

"Adaptation" is not a film for viewers who gravitate toward conventional movies. Charlie Kaufman (Nicholos Cage) is a sweating, overweight screenwriter prone to voice-overs and fantasy. Given the coveted job of writing an adaptation of Susan Orlean's THE ORCHID THIEF, he struggles mightily with his art and the downturn of his personal life, which is also desperately in need of adaptation. When his twin brother Donald (also Cage), the archetypical mooch, decides on a whim that he, too, will become a screenwriter, Charlie is pushed to the edge. The movie begins to twist on itself, showing scenes from the story of "The Orchid Thief", Charlie's struggle with it, and, most comically, Charlie and Donald's head-banging exchanges about writing screenplays. It soon becomes evident that we are watching the finished screenplay of Charlie's (and Donald's) adaptations, with all its quirks and dramatic license.

Cage makes the real screenwriter Charlie Kaufman hilariously pathetic, and argues with his wide-eyed (and thinner) alter ego with equally comedic success. Meryl Streep is great in the role of Susan Orlean, especially as she takes her character from Charlie's to Donald's genre. Chris Cooper is incredible as LaRoche, the charming but strange orchid thief himself; I had to keep reminding myself that he was an actor and not the real-life Laroche himself.

Viewers who enjoy the type of weird ride that the screenwriter/director combo of Kaufman and Jonze ("Being John Malkovich") provide will find it hilariously clever; others will be left shaking their heads. If you like films by the Coen brothers such as "Fargo" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", you'll probably appreciate the humor and ambition of this film.

The movie is so lame and boring!! And what irritated me the most was the character played by Nicolas Cage - Charles Kaufman. He is such a pathetic loser, halfway thru I wanted to jump into the movie and slap him hard !

This is one of those attempts to show a messed up movie and characters, try and make a mix of fantasy-n-reality. Some directors know how to do it and it works, but Spike Jonze is not one of them.

And to top it all, the ONLY special which the DVD contains is the theatrical trailer!!!!!!!!! Nothing else. Run away, faaar faaar away.

Hmmm..one thing which I wanted to say that there are 2 car crash sequences in this movie which were like - friggin' amazing. Gave me quite a jolt. Just mentioned, that's all...

Spike Jonze's new movie, "Adaptation," is a funny and entertaining look at insecure screenwriters, Hollywood hokum, and the lengths to which people will go to get what they want.

Nicholas Cage is terrific in a dual role. He is Charlie Kaufman, a real-life screenwriter who has been commissioned to write the movie script for Susan Orlean's acclaimed novel, "The Orchid Thief." Unfortunately, Charlie has a monumental case of writer's block. He is also an insecure, nerdy guy who has trouble connecting with women and who is ashamed of his unkempt appearance. He is chubby and he wears a flannel shirt with the tails hanging out throughout much of the film. Cage also plays Charlie's twin brother, Donald, who is confidently writing a screenplay of his own. Donald's screenplay is formulaic and derivative, but he manages to sell it for a bundle. In addition, Donald has no trouble getting a beautiful woman to be his girlfriend.

The conceit of "Adaptation" is that Charlie proceeds to write a screenplay about his inability to write a screenplay. There are hilarious vignettes with the wonderful Meryl Streep, who plays the writer, Susan Orlean, as a repressed journalist who is depressed because of a lack of passion in her life. Chris Cooper almost steals the movie as the eponymous orchid thief, a toothless, lowdown individual who somehow connects with Orlean.

Jonze and Kaufman are making several statements here. They are saying that Hollywood is a place where desperate people will do anything to succeed, include writing formulaic potboilers. The way to survive is to adapt, to become whatever the public wants at the moment. You need to "get with the program" in order to succeed in Hollywood and in life.

"Adaptation" is also a movie about passion, about loving what you do, loving someone else, and loving life itself. You need to take risks, even if you wind up falling on your face, or else your life is meaningless.

"Adaptation" is confusing, exhilarating, beautifully acted, and one of the most intriguing films that I have seen in a long time. See it, and you will understand what all the fuss is about.

"Adaptation" is not a film for viewers who gravitate toward conventional movies. Charlie Kaufman (Nicholos Cage) is a sweating, overweight screenwriter prone to voice-overs and fantasy. Given the coveted job of writing an adaptation of Susan Orlean's THE ORCHID THIEF, he struggles mightily with his art and the downturn of his personal life, which is also desperately in need of adaptation. When his twin brother Donald (also Cage), the archetypical mooch, decides on a whim that he, too, will become a screenwriter, Charlie is pushed to the edge. The movie begins to twist on itself, showing scenes from the story of "The Orchid Thief", Charlie's struggle with it, and, most comically, Charlie and Donald's head-banging exchanges about writing screenplays. It soon becomes evident that we are watching the finished screenplay of Charlie's (and Donald's) adaptations, with all its quirks and dramatic license.

Cage makes the real screenwriter Charlie Kaufman hilariously pathetic, and argues with his wide-eyed (and thinner) alter ego with equally comedic success. Meryl Streep is great in the role of Susan Orlean, especially as she takes her character from Charlie's to Donald's genre. Chris Cooper is incredible as LaRoche, the charming but strange orchid thief himself; I had to keep reminding myself that he was an actor and not the real-life Laroche himself.

Viewers who enjoy the type of weird ride that the screenwriter/director combo of Kaufman and Jonze ("Being John Malkovich") provide will find it hilariously clever; others will be left shaking their heads. If you like films by the Coen brothers such as "Fargo" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", you'll probably appreciate the humor and ambition of this film.

I see an alarming trend in the movies these days; a big budget movie with a tremendous cast and absolutely no script. "Gone in 60 Seconds" is one of those films. You look at a movie with Nick Cage, Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo, and Angelina Jolie, and you would have to think it was going to be good, but you'd be wrong. From a purely visual standpoint the film is slick and entertaining, but in reality it is a poorly written mediocre action movie. Nicholas Cage plays Randall "Memphis" Raines a legend in the auto theft community who is forced out of retirement to save his kid brothers (played by the always strange Giovanni Ribisi) life. Raines must recruit a group of car thieves (Jolie, Duvall and others) who are capable of stealing 50 rare and exotic cars in 72 hours while the crafty police detective (played by Lindo) is hot on their trail. From there the movie goes on to be a disappointing mix of bad one liners and stale dialogue. Duvall's talent is absolutely wasted in this picture, and Angelina Jolie's physical appearance is down right frightening (what ever happend to that pretty girl from "The Bone Collecter"?). As a guy I have to admit that I loved the action and the car chases especially the final chase with Cage, but the ending is so far fetched that you wouldn't believe it. Overall I have to admit that the car chases, explosions and hot cars appealed to the guy part of me enough to say that I liked the movie, but as a movie lover I have to say that I felt a bit cheated.

Great cast. Competent direction. Some very funny dialogue (written by the guy who wrote Con Air-A way better movie). The problem with this movie is there isn't enough car chases or car wrecks like the original. The characters and dialogue was okay but for a movie like this to not have more action is unforgiveable. See 2 Fast 2 Furious if you want a good car chace/racing flick with good pacing.

For all those people who knock this movie so badly, I have to ask. Why do you take this movie so seriously? Gone in 60 Seconds was not meant to be Oscar material. It was meant to be an exciting action movie with impressive stunts. Starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Duvall, Will Patton, the movie boasts an impressive cast that is underused. Still the movie is great at what it set out to do. The car chases are some of the best since Bullit.

The plot is a simple one. Memphis Raines, a famous car booster, has to steal 50 exotic cars or else his kid brother(Giovanni Ribisi) will get taken out by a mob boss. It isn't the deepest plot but it works in this movies. Memphis(Nicolas Cage) puts together a team to help him steal the cars. Obviously the plan doesn't go perfectly as Memphis and crew run into rival boosters, police chasing after them, and the ever elusive "Eleanor," Memphis' unicorn.

Gone in 60 Seconds is a fun movie to watch with good performances, exciting action sequences, and an awesome soundtrack. Sure the movie isn't great moviemaking but it succeeds at what it set out to do. The movie has its mistakes but anyone who goes through and makes a long list of them needs to lighten up. It is just a movie. The DVD is great with piles of extras that talk about the cast and the stunts.

Life is not perfect and neither is this film. Having been a 911 dispatcher at one time and now, having just watched this movie twice, I can tell you that that is the whole point.

Closer to "Taxi Driver" than any of Scorsese's other films, this movie is far better: Better camera work, better screenplay, better supporting actors, and more interesting and sympathetic characters. For those of you who like a movie that ties everything up in a nice little bow - this ain't it! If you want to see a movie that treats you like an intelligent human being and challenges you, then see it. I liked how this movie presents it's characters with ambivalence, not in Hollywood stereotype. The viewer gets to develop his or her own perceptions of the characters and events.

This movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Joe Connelly. It follows paramedic Frank Pierce over the course of 3 hot night shifts in a scummy part of NYC, and he is gradually coming apart at the seams. Nicolas Cage gives such an honest, moving, and believable portrayal of Frank that it's amazing. In other roles, John Goodman is his first partner and is (as usual) instantly engaging and interesting. Ving Rhames is Frank's second partner and he gives a stirring, forceful and poetic performance - larger than life yet still believable. Tom Sizemore then comes along as that crazy guy you knew at some point in your life and you can't believe he wound up a paramedic. I have to deduct one star for Patricia Arquette's performance: Compared to the performances of everyone else it seemed she was "acting" while they were "being".

I suggest watching "Bringing Out The Dead" twice, because the first time around it may seem to have no real ending. But, if you look at the movie as you would look at real life, you'll see their's only one true ending.

I really like Scorcese's work, and this is one of my more favorites. In this darkly humorous film he returns to NYC to tell several stories, the primary being that of Nic Cage playing a paramedic determined to quit his job, but who just can't let go. We see how he spends his nights, amidst the flotsom and jetsom of NY, saving a few, losing some, and mostly, as he says "bearing witness" to the injury and death that surrounds him.

The supporting characters in this film were all strong. From the confused girl he tries to connect with, to the wild and crazy medics he works with, to the cynical and depressed doctors he interacts with, even the suave drug dealer are all fully fleshed out and intriguing.

This is not a feel-good movie. It's not a date movie. It's not a chick flick. It's a movie that will make you think, that will swirl around in your head for a while and even disturb you a bit. But that can be a good thing, and makes this movie all the better, in my opinion. Well worth the rental, or purchase on DVD.

Scorsese takes Connelly's work and makes perhaps the best EMS movie ever. Nicolas Cage's performance as a burned-out medic gave me chills, having seen that look in the mirror more than once over the years.

Life is not perfect and neither is this film. Having been a 911 dispatcher at one time and now, having just watched this movie twice, I can tell you that that is the whole point.

Closer to "Taxi Driver" than any of Scorsese's other films, this movie is far better: Better camera work, better screenplay, better supporting actors, and more interesting and sympathetic characters. For those of you who like a movie that ties everything up in a nice little bow - this ain't it! If you want to see a movie that treats you like an intelligent human being and challenges you, then see it. I liked how this movie presents it's characters with ambivalence, not in Hollywood stereotype. The viewer gets to develop his or her own perceptions of the characters and events.

This movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Joe Connelly. It follows paramedic Frank Pierce over the course of 3 hot night shifts in a scummy part of NYC, and he is gradually coming apart at the seams. Nicolas Cage gives such an honest, moving, and believable portrayal of Frank that it's amazing. In other roles, John Goodman is his first partner and is (as usual) instantly engaging and interesting. Ving Rhames is Frank's second partner and he gives a stirring, forceful and poetic performance - larger than life yet still believable. Tom Sizemore then comes along as that crazy guy you knew at some point in your life and you can't believe he wound up a paramedic. I have to deduct one star for Patricia Arquette's performance: Compared to the performances of everyone else it seemed she was "acting" while they were "being".

I suggest watching "Bringing Out The Dead" twice, because the first time around it may seem to have no real ending. But, if you look at the movie as you would look at real life, you'll see their's only one true ending.

I really like Scorcese's work, and this is one of my more favorites. In this darkly humorous film he returns to NYC to tell several stories, the primary being that of Nic Cage playing a paramedic determined to quit his job, but who just can't let go. We see how he spends his nights, amidst the flotsom and jetsom of NY, saving a few, losing some, and mostly, as he says "bearing witness" to the injury and death that surrounds him.

The supporting characters in this film were all strong. From the confused girl he tries to connect with, to the wild and crazy medics he works with, to the cynical and depressed doctors he interacts with, even the suave drug dealer are all fully fleshed out and intriguing.

This is not a feel-good movie. It's not a date movie. It's not a chick flick. It's a movie that will make you think, that will swirl around in your head for a while and even disturb you a bit. But that can be a good thing, and makes this movie all the better, in my opinion. Well worth the rental, or purchase on DVD.

Scorsese takes Connelly's work and makes perhaps the best EMS movie ever. Nicolas Cage's performance as a burned-out medic gave me chills, having seen that look in the mirror more than once over the years.

Life is not perfect and neither is this film. Having been a 911 dispatcher at one time and now, having just watched this movie twice, I can tell you that that is the whole point.

Closer to "Taxi Driver" than any of Scorsese's other films, this movie is far better: Better camera work, better screenplay, better supporting actors, and more interesting and sympathetic characters. For those of you who like a movie that ties everything up in a nice little bow - this ain't it! If you want to see a movie that treats you like an intelligent human being and challenges you, then see it. I liked how this movie presents it's characters with ambivalence, not in Hollywood stereotype. The viewer gets to develop his or her own perceptions of the characters and events.

This movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Joe Connelly. It follows paramedic Frank Pierce over the course of 3 hot night shifts in a scummy part of NYC, and he is gradually coming apart at the seams. Nicolas Cage gives such an honest, moving, and believable portrayal of Frank that it's amazing. In other roles, John Goodman is his first partner and is (as usual) instantly engaging and interesting. Ving Rhames is Frank's second partner and he gives a stirring, forceful and poetic performance - larger than life yet still believable. Tom Sizemore then comes along as that crazy guy you knew at some point in your life and you can't believe he wound up a paramedic. I have to deduct one star for Patricia Arquette's performance: Compared to the performances of everyone else it seemed she was "acting" while they were "being".

I suggest watching "Bringing Out The Dead" twice, because the first time around it may seem to have no real ending. But, if you look at the movie as you would look at real life, you'll see their's only one true ending.

I really like Scorcese's work, and this is one of my more favorites. In this darkly humorous film he returns to NYC to tell several stories, the primary being that of Nic Cage playing a paramedic determined to quit his job, but who just can't let go. We see how he spends his nights, amidst the flotsom and jetsom of NY, saving a few, losing some, and mostly, as he says "bearing witness" to the injury and death that surrounds him.

The supporting characters in this film were all strong. From the confused girl he tries to connect with, to the wild and crazy medics he works with, to the cynical and depressed doctors he interacts with, even the suave drug dealer are all fully fleshed out and intriguing.

This is not a feel-good movie. It's not a date movie. It's not a chick flick. It's a movie that will make you think, that will swirl around in your head for a while and even disturb you a bit. But that can be a good thing, and makes this movie all the better, in my opinion. Well worth the rental, or purchase on DVD.

Scorsese takes Connelly's work and makes perhaps the best EMS movie ever. Nicolas Cage's performance as a burned-out medic gave me chills, having seen that look in the mirror more than once over the years.

Life is not perfect and neither is this film. Having been a 911 dispatcher at one time and now, having just watched this movie twice, I can tell you that that is the whole point.

Closer to "Taxi Driver" than any of Scorsese's other films, this movie is far better: Better camera work, better screenplay, better supporting actors, and more interesting and sympathetic characters. For those of you who like a movie that ties everything up in a nice little bow - this ain't it! If you want to see a movie that treats you like an intelligent human being and challenges you, then see it. I liked how this movie presents it's characters with ambivalence, not in Hollywood stereotype. The viewer gets to develop his or her own perceptions of the characters and events.

This movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Joe Connelly. It follows paramedic Frank Pierce over the course of 3 hot night shifts in a scummy part of NYC, and he is gradually coming apart at the seams. Nicolas Cage gives such an honest, moving, and believable portrayal of Frank that it's amazing. In other roles, John Goodman is his first partner and is (as usual) instantly engaging and interesting. Ving Rhames is Frank's second partner and he gives a stirring, forceful and poetic performance - larger than life yet still believable. Tom Sizemore then comes along as that crazy guy you knew at some point in your life and you can't believe he wound up a paramedic. I have to deduct one star for Patricia Arquette's performance: Compared to the performances of everyone else it seemed she was "acting" while they were "being".

I suggest watching "Bringing Out The Dead" twice, because the first time around it may seem to have no real ending. But, if you look at the movie as you would look at real life, you'll see their's only one true ending.

I really like Scorcese's work, and this is one of my more favorites. In this darkly humorous film he returns to NYC to tell several stories, the primary being that of Nic Cage playing a paramedic determined to quit his job, but who just can't let go. We see how he spends his nights, amidst the flotsom and jetsom of NY, saving a few, losing some, and mostly, as he says "bearing witness" to the injury and death that surrounds him.

The supporting characters in this film were all strong. From the confused girl he tries to connect with, to the wild and crazy medics he works with, to the cynical and depressed doctors he interacts with, even the suave drug dealer are all fully fleshed out and intriguing.

This is not a feel-good movie. It's not a date movie. It's not a chick flick. It's a movie that will make you think, that will swirl around in your head for a while and even disturb you a bit. But that can be a good thing, and makes this movie all the better, in my opinion. Well worth the rental, or purchase on DVD.

Scorsese takes Connelly's work and makes perhaps the best EMS movie ever. Nicolas Cage's performance as a burned-out medic gave me chills, having seen that look in the mirror more than once over the years.

Let me say right off the bat that I sympathize with those of you who gave this one or two stars (though I personally could not give it that low a rating). The movie is severely flawed in a number of areas, this is true. The acting, though very good in some scenes, tends to be a bit staged if not exaggerated in some scenes, but this I would have to attribute to the epicly poor direction of Mr. Schumacher. You can all but hear him pleading with Mr. Cage to "emote!" after the 10th take of Mr. Cages CU of him seeing the snuff for the first time. The film, which had some very good lighting, did not (in spite of what some claim) did not have exceptional, or remarkable cinematography. The direction seemed disjointed, and one got the impression that Mr. Schumacher had refferred constantly to his WWDFD bracelet (what would David Fincher do?). This worked for him in some scenes, (i.e. Cage walking through a house with a skipping record player in the background) but did not in others, (i.e. excessive dialogue based exposition to MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHY WHY WHY THESE PEOPLE ARE BAD BAD BAD!!)

Now here comes the important issue, and the main reason why I cant give this a 1 or 2 star rating. The screenplay - the screenplay was written by the no-less-than-brilliant Andrew Kevin Walker, and I highly advise any pending fans of this movie, to go out and read the script to this, to see what could have been. Hence I urge any of you out there who have screamed at the "bad writing" of this movie not inherrently blame "the writer" who had a well publicized falling out with Mr. Schumacher. Certainly the writing is bad in SOME scenes, but anyone who has read the script, or knows Mr. Walker's style will recognize the certain elements tacked in there by ghost writers - (i.e. "If you dance with the devil, you don't change the devil, he changes you." Hahaha!)

In anycase, long story short, this was a potentially fantastic movie, which was through the hollywood system (which Se7en for the most part, managed to luckily survive/escape) dumbed down, over-dramatized, and watered down. It is evident however, that there were some very talented people at work here, trying to make this great. Mr. Cage showed a very ernest enthusiasm for his part, as did many other actors who were a credit to their characters. But alas that is not enough to save a raped script.

After looking through some of the reviews of this film it seems to me that a lot of people disliked it for being too graphic. Well, being a huge fan of horror myself, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't as graphic as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong - I don't get any pleasure from watching a young girl being tortured to death, but I found the middle road taken by director Joel Schumacher utterly disappointing.

If you want to make a disturbing movie, you can basically choose either of two options. The first is to not show anything at all - best showcased in the great "Blair Witch Project" - or you can show *everything* - as in "Seven" or many of the extreme (and I mean EXTREME) Japanese horror movies. It seems to me that Joel Schumacher wanted to make a movie that would appeal to hardcore horror fans as well as the general public, and thus used a few graphic scenes, but never too many or too graphic.

The plot is simple: a private investigator (Cage) is hired to investigate if film of a young girl being murdered is real or not. His search takes him into the murky swamps of the Los Angeles porn industry. Jaquin Phoenix is fantastic as a clerk working in an adult bookstore.

I think this movie would have been much better if Schumacher had been brave enough to make this even more graphic. I wanted a full-on splatter-fest; something to completely shock the audience. I want to see people leaving theaters because they can't bear it anymore; I want outraged critics saying it's exploitation at it's worst. When dealing with a subject matter this disturbing, at least make sure it *feels* disturbing, nauseating and gross. As it is, it loses a bit of the impact it could have had.

For a better film on the same subject, try to get a copy of "Tesis" (a Spanish film with basically the same plot, directed by Alejandro Amenábar). While not at all graphic, it's a disturbing movie, and better than "8mm".

Joel Schumacher was panned horribly for the goofy "Batman and Robin", so he went to make "8mm", a decidedly more adult and bleaker movie. Nicolas Cage is Tom Wells, a private investigator hired to check out a snuff film, where a young girl seems to be savagly raped and the killed even more horribly. Many people didn't like the movie, and I can't blame them to be honest, but I liked the edgy and gritty subject matter, the seedy side of an already notorious pornography industry. I thought Cage did a good job as a smart man who falls deeper and deeper into the slimy underworld of vice. The end is a little too fronteer justice style for my taste, I would have liked to seen the culprets get arrested. Machine was an interesting charactor.