Be Warned! Opening This Post Eats Your Bandwidth
Nicolas Cage does not aged too beautifully. He gets bald. In between projects he even sometimes gets fat and scruffy. His private life out of the screen can readily be accessed through the internet at any given time. At least the part of life that's captured by the paparazzi aiming for a picture worth thousands of dollars.
wtf... ...where was I? Oh yeah, I was going to write...
My fondness to Nicolas Cage as an actor does not have a clear beginning. When I was a teenager, I saw several films with him starring in. Some of those films I couldn't quite understand the plot, and most I nearly forgot the story lines, but apparently I had decided since very early that he is a good actor. I didn't watch all his films, though. I haven't got to that point of obsession with any actors/actress or director be it Holywood, Bollywood or Indonesian.
Oh, there is this one Nicolas Cage film that I do not want to see, though. Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I saw the sneak peak and thought, "yargh?" Set on World War II, the mandolin playing captain was supposed to be Italian, and Cage was just not it. I learned later that he is actually of Italian descendant with the last name being Coppola, related to the clan of great directors, which he decided not to use as a leverage. Still, the sneak peak said a great deal of no-no's. Also later, I learned the film was based on a high-selling novel, and the novel's readers scorned the film adaptation. Until today I do not bother to try read the novel or watch the film adaptation to prove my hunch of 'yargh' was right. Just, not.
To my opinion, the film should be aptly titled Captain Corelli's Spanish Guitar
But Nicolas Cage is a good actor. I braced myself to see Adaptation, a serious and mind baffling film (baffling in a good sense), which was not really my cup of tea since I prefer simple and if possible funny-comedic films. Adaptation is an attempt to adapt a book titled The Orchid Thief, an incredible true story of horticulture adventure with a journalistic approach written by Susan Orlean, into a film. Cage wore prosthetics for the part. And he played twins. The character he played is based on real life person, the screen writer of the film, and it was just brilliant! He's insecure, he sweats, he's disgusting, he's mad, he's a genius, all in one film from beginning to end.
Nicolas Cage as Charlie Kaufman
The real Charlie Kaufman. Hmm... : \
When the film ended I was shaking my head, trying to stop "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!" from booming repeatedly in my mind. Don't get me wrong, the fuck in this sense was an awesome fuck. Nicolas Cage RAWKS! (Merryl Streep RAWKS too in this film. If you are like me, easily deterred with arthouse genre flicks, I suggest you to give this film a try, it won't bite your tender soul)
Although,
Nicolas Cage in Con Air. This dude is waaay more dangerous than Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His fashion crime is so severe and dangerous that the whole squad has to be there to guard him.
Yes, sometimes, I don't know why, thus it remains a mystery to me, he chose to act in the yargh and no-no films. Most people said The National Treasure was one of those yargh-ey film, and since I haven't seen the two installments I still haven't decided. Con Air was kind of "blergh" but still a nice entertainment in B-class film kind of way. One thing is sure as I found out just now: Ghost Rider is 'yargh'.
Yes I had been warned by many people, including good friends who deserves decoration of honor for being avid comic fans, that this film shucks. Yes, the film is adapted from a Marvel comic series about a man who sold his soul, was tricked by and thus became the Devil's bounty hunter. The hero-anti-hero, not quite sure which and what, has to do whatever the Devil bids, the task mainly had to be done at night, and to achieve the task he transformed into a skeleton covered in flames. The ghost rider, the name is apt due to the appearance, rides a badass low-ride big bike, which comes to assist him upon being summoned by a whistle. Uh huh.
Silly though the character might seems, Nicolas Cage put a lot of effort to it that he wears toupee to cover the thinning hair line (which looks good and real unlike the silly hair Tom Hanks sported for The Da Vinci's Code, thank God), and he toned up realllll good for the character who's life profession is a dare-devil rider cum ghost rider. Oh yeah, he toned up so good he looks so, so, so scorching hot (and about 10 years younger thanks to the remarkable toupee) with or without his shirt on, no additional digital flame is necessary to burn his female fans.
And that, was the only good thing about the film. Nicolas Cage looking bad-assedly hot. The storyline itself ranging from meh to ROFLMAO. Sure, the real bikes in the film looked really aweshum and the digitally enhanced Ride from Hell looked quite badass. Some of the actors and actress seemed to be properly casted (I love the guy playing the police chief), and somehow it still doesn't help the film. It doesn't even come up as an awesome B-class film.
Am telling you, Belalang Tempur has got nothing compared to this Hell Cycle. Hell! Even WimCycle would bend it's wheels, whimpering in fear!
So, if you're up to a good (cynical) laugh, Ghost Rider is the entertainment you're looking for! :) And after watching it, please bear in mind that Nicolas Cage *is* still a good actor. You just need to find the right film that shows his best quality :D
Oh yeah, this is what I meant by Quality!
Yeeaa!
Jason Statham ain't got nuthin on you, Nicolas Cage!
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