every Nicolas Cage movie...

[CTTT]

On RAISING ARIZONA, I get uncomfortable when I feel like the directors are punching down. I come from a segment of the population that the smart set, like these directors, punch down on. So it put a burr in my saddle when I got the feeling the directors were punching down on my kind of folks. Maybe if it had been really funny--but I thought the jokes were hackneyed and obvious. It wasn't Nicholas Cage that bugged me so much. Holly Hunter was the one who got on my nerves the most.

Well, the movie is a comedy, hence the accents are supposed to be exaggerated. Look at the way Holly Hunter says SOB during the scene where Cage's character bungles the diaper robbery. She's originally from the south. I saw an interview with Cage where he thought his character was like a Woody Woodpecker type. Which explains why he's kinda wacky in the movie too. The Coens got kind of annoyed with Cage reportedly because they don't like to deviate from their script and he was won that liked to improvise a lot.

[Scott Taylor]

Yep, if there is one weakness about the Coen movies, its that they like to play to stereotypes. They get away with it by picking the ones that society has deemed its ok to mock, like prisoners, used car salesmen or various "ne'r do wells."

[DanMad1977]

I like Nic Cage, but I don't like his movies.

His best role was in Kick Ass.

And why did he won an academy award for Leaving Las Vegas? The acting wasn't good.

[j9ac9k]

Wow, Leaving Las Vegas on the bad list? Cage was really good here and Elizabeth Shue too.

The execution transcended the material, but it had very well worn Hollywood tropes that some people might be fine with, but bug the ever living hell out of me. When you break it down it's a very cliche story about a guy falling in love with a hooker with a heart of gold.

I'm in the second camp. I also thought "LLV" was overrated and cliched. I was a self-destructive guy who drank way too much and consumed with self-hatred, but nobody thought that made me a romantic figure to fall in love with. (and I was drunk when I saw it in the theater - seemed appropriate)

I would also put FACE/OFF in the great category. Yes, it's over the top ridiculous--but that's what makes it great. You will believe doves can fly. A perfect example of the John Woo form. Students will be studying it a hundred years from now.

I thought Cage and Travolta had a blast portraying each other and their characters were seamless despite the switch - they did a great job with that aspect. Other body-swapping type movies don't pull it off as well. BUT, for perfect John Woo, I'd definitely go "The Killer" or "Hard-Boiled." Woo's American movies all seem watered down to me.

My fav Cage films: "Peggy Sue Got Married", "Valley Girl", "Red Rock West", "Raising Arizona", "The Rock", "Face/Off", "Adaptation."