The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - More than any Cage fan deserves

In recent cinematic history it's been hard to believe that once upon a time Nicolas Cage was a massive Box Office draw and a major A-list actor who even won Oscars for his performances.  Yet, no matter how great an actor he is, he obviously wasn't too savvy when it came to his finances.  He spiralled into debt and was forced to take one B-list straight-to-DVD film after the next, just to pay off his massive bills.  Then came 2022 and he made it quite clear that he was now... debt free!

And the oddly-titled 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' seems to be one of his first films made now he can properly choose his projects, rather than just using them to cash a pay cheque.  Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage.  Now, when an actor plays themselves, there's a tendency for them to exaggerate their performance in order to make it clear that, although they're playing themselves, they're not really like this in real life.  In this film, I'd almost beg to differ.

Nicolas Cage plays a role that, if not directly based on him, is certainly based on his fans' perception of him.  He's a washed up actor who riddled with debt and takes a gig attending some rich Spanish man's  (Pedro Pascal) birthday party just to pay the bills.  However, what he doesn't know is that the man in question - besides being an uber-fan of Cage's work - is also the prime suspect in a CIA investigation for kidnapping a politician's daughter.

What transpires is a 'bromance' between Cage and Pascal - and it works really well.  I know it's not supposed to be a 'laugh out loud' comedy, but I certainly found myself letting loose more than a few chuckles in the empty cinema I was watching it in.  The two actors definitely have chemistry and most people should appreciate that, even if they don't get every moment of 'fan service.' And there is plenty of fan service contained within.  Hopefully general audiences will enjoy this, but, if - like me - you're a fan of Nicolas Cage throughout his highs and lows then you'll get so much more out of it.

The first two thirds of the film contain the laughs whereas the final act kind of goes a little more serious, while straying from 'comedy/bromance' to straight out action with less comedy.  I found this the only (minor!) let-down in the film as it did feel like a bit of a shift in tones.  However, this was just a minor gripe and shouldn't take away the fun you can get from this film.  If you're a fan of Nicolas Cage then you HAVE to watch this film.  Although, hopefully it will appeal to a wider audience as well.  It certainly deserves to.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one

The Bubble (2022) - Nice little satire

I didn't know much about 2022's 'The Bubble,' but I have watched (and enjoyed most of) Judd Apatow's movies throughout the years, so when I saw this one on Netflix I thought I'd give it a go.  It's certainly a product of its time and follows a typical bunch of spoiled celebrity-actors who are forced to isolate together during the pandemic we've all been through over recent years, while shooting the latest instalment of an action franchise that's well past its prime.

It takes more than its fair share of potshots at the celebrity lifestyle, not to mention how they (and us?) reacted to the new rules that were imposed on us during the pandemic.  And, unlike many online reviews I read, I actually enjoyed it.

Most of the jokes land and, seeing as we cannot help but know about the rules and restrictions imposed on us all, its easy to relate to their plight (even though they approach the subject from the aspect of those who have it all and find not having a mini entourage at their disposal as a 'hardship').

However, as with many of Apatow's films, it does go on rather long. 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' was actually quite long for a comedy and yet somehow you wouldn't say it would benefit from a good editing.  However, 'The Bubble' does feel like there were some scenes here and there that could have been left on the cutting room floor and the film would have benefited from being shorter.

There are a fair few names on the cast that you're (semi!) recognise, but no real stand out stars (sorry, David Duchovny!), yet the best laughs come from two (glorified) extras who play the motion capture monsters who seems to steal every scene.

I think anyone who is well into their films, i.e. how films are constructed and the 'behind the scenes' darker aspect of the 'Hollywood machine,' plus those into satire will definitely like this.  However, as relevant as this film is to today (and I'm amazed as to how quickly they managed to get this out!) I'm not sure how well it will hold up over time, as there are plenty of pop culture references that may go over future audiences' heads.  Or is that me just hoping that Tik Tok becomes a thing of the past as soon as possible?

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

A Classic Horror Story - Not that classic

I was really diving deep through an online streaming service's list of horror films.  I've pretty much watched (and forgotten) most of them, so I came across this one.  It's a low budget Italian film (you can watch the dubbed English version if you like) where five strangers share a ride in a camper van across country... with disastrous consequences, as they say.

With a title like 'A Classic Horror Story' I wasn't sure what I was getting.  I remember 'Cabin in the Woods' was deliberately marketed as 'the same old horror story (but with a twist!)' and deliberately subverted expectation in a good way.  Naturally, our heroes (who I can't remember any of their names, but one was British, one was fat and one was old, so they're all just about visually different enough for you to pick out when they start dropping like flies) run into trouble (no spoilers here, but you know the type) when the camper van crashes and they have to fight for their lives.

So far, so samey.  By about the hour mark I was wondering whether the title should simply be taken literally and this was deliberately trying to copy pretty much every similar movie in the genre.  And that's how it kind of went on.  The the final act started.  Now, I'm not classing 'the final act' as the final third, I'm talking roughly the last twenty minutes.  That's when you actually found out what was really going on.

It was then when the title kind of made more sense.  I got what they were going for and it was a nice enough touch.  However, this brings me to the phrase 'too little too late.' Yes, the ending was different enough to just about be memorable, but that doesn't make up for the fact that by then you've spent over an hour watching what could be any other film in the horror catalogue.

So, if you can stick with it until the end, you should feel happy about the pay-off.  Otherwise you've basically seen everything this film has to offer - and probably done better.  Unless you're really that desperate to watch a slasher-style film that's set in Italy.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights