04/11: Face/Off

In one of the most oddest of action films, Face/Off was one of the most successful among both so-called professional critics and fans. With two big-name stars, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, one would have to wonder if its just going to be another action film with explosions and drama. That's what I thought when this movie came out and for the longest time, until I recently watched it. That's when I knew Face/Off was literal!

Nicolas Cage plays Castor Troy, an aggressive civil terrorist who accidentally kills top FBI agent Sean Archer's (Travolta) 5-year old son. Years later, Troy is still on the loose and finally Archer's team catches him at an airport as soon as his plane moves. Troy is captured, but he also reveals that a buried bomb is placed somewhere in Los Angeles, but fades into a coma shortly. While at the hospital, a co-worker of Archer's gets him to do a face transplant surgery since nothing is said as to where the bomb is. Archer then successfully completes surgery as he poses as Troy, by trying to get details from people Troy knew in prison. However, the real Troy wakes up and kills the doctor after he gets him to pose as Archer.

Needless to say, confusion ensues as at times during the movie it is easy to forget who is the real bad guy and good guy. But nevertheless, the movie is very entertaining while being fast-paced as the main subplot is Archer's family (wife and teenage rebel daughter). It's a struggle in a situation no one would understand for Cage's version of Archer. It's definitely quite an adventure for both as they pose as their nemesis. Come to think about it, it's quite a fantasy. So wouldn't that make this a fantasy film? lol

Great action film, and just one warning, if blood and knives (surgery way) freak you out, you may want to turn your head!

My rating: 7 out of 10

03/08: 8mm

An odd name for a film, I must say. But the 8mm film (for all you younguns, yes this was at one point a medium before people owned personal camcorders!) has a lot to do with the plot. Nicolas Cage plays a detective in this 1999 dark thriller.

Cage plays Tom, a surveillance expert, who is out to investigate the whereabouts of a young woman who was an apparent murder victim. See, the murder was caught on an '8mm film' which was found in her late husband's private safe. Tom goes to impressive lengths to solve the mystery, including going from Pennsylvania to a Los Angeles underground illegal pornography deal. But things seem to backslide as some revelations come about. I'll just stop right there....

Spoiler: The ending is actually very sad, as even though the mystery and crime was solved, the female victim's mother writes a letter to Tom, saying that both of them were the only people to care about her. After all, the girl wanted more out of life by heading to Hollywood and try for fame and fortune. Tell me that kind of thing wouldn't depress you. Good movie if you like murder mysteries with a little hardcore mixed in.

My rating: 5 out of 10

02/07: Moonstruck

Here is a movie that is labeled as a 'romantic comedy'. But to me, I didn't find that many comedic elements  in it. I believe it was more serious-toned and dark more than anything. Maybe it was the ethnicity of the majority of the characters that was supposed to add to the humor, not sure.

But, nonetheless, Moonstruck did win over all the so-called professional critics, and moviegoers alike. Maybe its because there are some odd traditional values of love and relationships in this movie. It mostly focuses on Loretta's (Cher) superstitious beliefs, in which she believes the reason her husband was fatally run over by a truck (and not with a man since beside her fiancee Johnny) was because she didn't have a 'real wedding'. She traces every little detail of what she believed went wrong. Loretta is even willing to accept anyone's hand in marriage as long as everything is 'done right'. While Johnny is away, she meets with his brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) and reluctantly falls in love with him.

I say if you do like anything with Cher, Nicolas Cage, or anything set with Italian-Americans (who add a lot of character), then this is recommended. I found this one to be more of a serious film more than a comedy, as mentioned above. There are great performances and great quotable lines. Though I'm still trying to figure out what made Cher's quote in the middle of the movie "Snap out of it!" a memorable one. It's not like that line wasn't used in our daily vocabulary before. A lot of people may have thought it was funny, who knows.

My rating: 6 out of 10