Tuesday, March 31, 2009

On Nicholas Cage

Nicholas Cage is phenomenal. Nicholas Cage is a crazy guy. Nicholas Cage IS Nicholas Cage.

I have to wholeheartedly agree with Roger Ebert and his defense of Nicholas Cage when he says "Cage has two speeds, intense and intenser".

In a time when actors will take roles they could do in their sleep, we have ONE man who will step up to any challenge, and whether or not he succeeds is irrelevant. Nicholas Cage is a hard-working man, and should be applauded for his years upon years of acting.

I mean, for god's sake, people! He starred in "Raising Arizona", "The Weatherman", "Adaptation"!

Granted, when I went in to see "Knowing" I was expecting it to be a virtual repeat of "Next". I had a feeling, however, that this movie could actually be something (mostly because Cage's hair wasn't in insane mode). I was pleasantly surprised by the film, and would gladly watch it again. The plot was of course absurd, but that's what people should come to expect from Mr. Cage. He is here to try and make a plot work, to make the reality he is creating plausible enough for us to believe.

Nicholas Cage is underrated as an actor, despite the enormous amount of films he's been in, whether it's a leading role or just hanging out. He receives a lot of flak for actually trying, which says plenty to me about just how banal and plain the film industry, and contemporary mentality, has become.

In a time when people want immediate satisfaction, and don't want actors to try out roles that may "look bad" for their image, we can only hope that Nicholas Cage continues to make films that push his range as an actor, and make people think. Despite the criticisms, Nicholas Cage continues his work, because he apparently loves what he does. He wants to act, and, by god, he will.

I can only say this: Thank you, Nicholas Cage. You have made me laugh, and think, and appreciate the hard work that acting can be. You're one in a million, and I can only hope there are more like you hidden somewhere, biding their time.

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