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It Could Happen to You starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda

Posted on October 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

It Could Happen to You starring Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez and Stanley Tucci — It Could Happen to You starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. Lovely romantic comedy from 1994. Image via moviesoftheday.com

Charlie (Nicolas Cage) is a really nice guy and a decent cop. He is honest, good with people and he definitely doesn’t mind living in Queens, New York. Unfortunately, he is married to his high school sweetheart Muriel (Rosie Perez), who couldn’t have been more different. She is a hairdresser who believes she is destined to have a much better life and a husband who makes more money. She doesn’t want kids (at least not on Charlie’s salary) and she is dying to get out of Queens. That’s why she encourages Charlie to buy a lottery ticket.

Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) is having the worst year of her life. Her actor wannabe husband (Stanley Tucci) has left her broke. So broke in fact that, she can’t even afford a divorce. To top it all, he has maxed out her credit cards and the court declared bankrupt.

It is on this day that Charlie and his partner Bo (Wendell Pierce) walk into the diner she waiting tables at. Charlie realizes that he only has enough money for the bill and not the tip, so he tells Yvonne that he has bought a lottery ticket. If he wins, he will share half of the money with her. If he doesn’t, he will come back the next day with her tip. With her luck in life, she is skeptical that Charlie will come back at all.

But Charlie’s ticket wins a total 4 million dollars. He is shocked and Muriel is over the moon. Being the decent man he is, he goes back to the diner and tells Yvonne to choose either her tip or half the lottery money. Yvonne chooses option number two and against his wife’s wild objections, he shares the money with Yvonne.

He and Yvonne become good friends – who are really attracted to each other. But 4 millions is a lot of money and Muriel won’t let go without a fight. And of course 2 million dollars suddenly make Yvonne the target of her husband…

It could happen to you is a very warm-hearted, sweetheart of a comedy that is like a modern day fairy tale. Charlie is too nice to be true – Muriel is pretty much like the evil witch and Yvonne fits the damsel in distress model. The story is too hopeful and it sounds too good even to the romantic/dreamers like me. But let’s be honest. What are the odds of your hitting the jackpot? And even you do win, would you really share it with a stranger who you made a promise to on a whim?

But despite its fairy-tale like qualities, this is a really fun movie. Made in 1994, it is the first movie I ever watched Nic Cage in – and the movie that made me a fan. Going back to this movie, I realize once more what a good actor he is. Watching Charlie, you couldn’t imagine Nic could ever be a villain or a whacky character or a depressed alcoholic or an obsessive compulsive conman…

Yet he pulls it off. Watch it if you can suspend your skepticism. And you will get a large smile on your face.

One bad thing about the movie is Rosie Perez’ character. I know she’s supposed to be annoying but the accent and the tone of voice make me cringe every time.

Written by Jane Anderson, directed by Andrew Bergman.

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Face/Off starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta

Posted on September 11, 2010 Written by ripitup

Face Off starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. Co-starring Joan Allen, Dominique Swain and Gina Gershon. Featuring James Denton.

Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) is the worst kind of criminal: he is smart, vicious, dangerous, he has great resources and he is a total psycho. The man who is closest to catching him is Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta). In attempt to kill Archer, however, Castor accidentally kills Sean’s little son. This results a determined quest on Sean’s part. He eventually catches him. Sean’s doctor wife Eve (Joan Allen) is more than relieved, as she won’t have to be feeling alone and deal with their rebellious teenage daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain) on her own. But one last assignment won’t give Sean the time to catch up with his family and finally find peace:

Castor isn’t dead, but is in a coma. His brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) is in a maximum security, top-secret prison and unfortunately he is the only person who knows the place of the bomb they placed in the city: So despite how impossible and difficult it seems, Sean has to agree on an advanced but reversible surgery, which will allow him to “be” Castor: the doctors remove Castor’s and Sean’s faces and implant Castor’s face on Sean. This top secret mission is known only by his doctor, and 2 colleagues.

As much as he hates looking like his son’s killer, Sean (now played by Nicolas Cage) goes to the prison to pretend to be Castor. He gets the info he needs, but he gets a big shock: Castor has woken up and he is more than willing to be Sean for a while, to use his resources. So he gets the surgery, and then kills everyone who knows about the mission. So know, Castor (now played by John Travolta) gets to be with Sean’s wife. As impossible as it might seem, now Sean’s only way out is to break out of the prison, pretend to be Castor to those who don’t know Sean is indeed Castor and he also has try to persuade his wife that he might look like their son’s killer but he is in fact her husband…

Face/Off is a really decent and glorious action film. And once you suspend your disbelief to believe that the technology that allows facial implants/replacements to exist the way it does in the movie, you are in one hell of a ride. It is also fun to have a movie where John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play both of the lead characters for a certain period of the movie and both get to show their acting chops as a villain and the ultimate good guy. It is directed by John Woo (Mission Impossible 2, Broken Arrow), who just knows how to make an action film look good. Written by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary.

It is that over-the-top, full-of-explosions/chases/gun fights action film that keeps you glued to your seat for more than 2 hours. And it is not about how it will end (you know how it will end); but watching how the movie will get there. It helps that the supporting cast is great well. Castor’s girlfriend is played by Gina Gershon. And in a very small role, there is James Denton (Mike Delfino of Desperate Housewives). Intellectual? No. Mind-bending? No. Fun as hell? Oh, yeah.! See it . It never gets old or boring. Yes, I have seen it more than twice.

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Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke

Posted on August 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage. Co-starring Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto and Bridget Moynahan. 2005. Stunning, in-your-face, stylish, tragic and fun all at the same time.

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) comes from a Ukranian family who has moved to Brooklyn. His parents are running a restaurant and his brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) is helping them out. However Yuri knows he always wanted to achieve something big and he soon realizes that arms dealing is his calling. He starts from scratch and enlists the help of Vitaly, who is not exactly enthusiastic about his older brother’s newly chosen career path. But Yuri tells him that the money will be great and Vitaly can just open his own restaurant after that.

While Yuri gets a kick out of his job, Vitaly can’t quite handle the fact that they are helping people kill other people and it is happening right in front of them. He “deals” with it by abusing drugs and alcohol so Yuri has to leave him to a rehab center.

In the meantime, Yuri is building himself one big reputation.He decides it is time to get the girl of his dreams, Eva Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan)- a model/actress. He makes sure he is richer than he actually is and that his business is “legit”. Eva falls for the charming and romantic side Yuri shows her and tries not to dwell too much into what he does for a living. Even though she is probably guessing he is not exactly a saint, she has no idea what he is really up to.

You don’t get nicknamed Lord of War without attracting some attention from Interpol. Young, ambitious and incorruptible Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) is onto him. However Yuri is an expert at legal loopholes, quick adaptations and getting rid of evidence. But Valentine is intent on catching Yuri and make the world a bit safer so he will let Eva know what her husband does for a living.

Can his wife and young son be enough for him to go straight? Or does he love his reputation and “calling” way more?

****

Lord of War is by far my favorite Nicolas Cage movie. It is a very impressive crime/thriller with a touch of drama. Yuri is about as grey,interesting and complex as a character can get. He seems to love his brother, parents, wife and kid. When he finds a toy gun in his kid’s room, he takes it and throws it into thrash. So here we have a guy who doesn’t even let his son have a toy gun but who sells thousands of weapons that kill other people’s children. His rationalisms are chilling but they make perfect sense. He tells his brother Vitaly that he should be able to leave his work in the office just like a car salesman or a cigarette manufacturer does. After all, they both sectors kill more people than his line of work, right?

He is proud of never having shot anyone. He is also proud of having no “moral” obligations. He sells guns to anyone. He says he’d have sold to Bin Laden even, but his checks weren’t reliable at the time.

Juri is also the film’s narrator. The movie never gets dull or slows down for a bit. Right from the opening credits, you are told a very engaging story. You are horrified by how Yuri can do all those things and still like himself but you can’t help but admire his intelligence. You feel the frustration of Agent Valentine.

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol. by All around great film- especially the style, dialogues, storyline and music. Hard- hitting ending too. Way underrated at 7.6. on IMDB.

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