list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Raising Arizona on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Raising_Arizona/28069/default.aspx Title: Raising Arizona
Year: 1987
Director: Joel Coen
Plot: Combining influences from Tex Avery cartoons to Sam Raimi horror movies to 1940s B-movies, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen followed up the stylish film noir of their debut, Blood Simple (1984), with this frantic screwball comedy. H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicholas Cage) is a philosophical but slightly dim career criminal who has been arrested so often that he gets to know "Ed," short for Edwina (Holly Hunter), the officer who takes his mug shots. Hi takes a shine to Ed and promises to go straight if she marries him. She accepts, and they move to the Arizona desert, where Hi holds down a factory job and blissfully watches the sunsets with Ed. Their serenity is shattered when the couple decides that they want a child and discover that, as Hi puts it, "Ed's womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." (One of the film's many delights is Hi's unexpectedly flowery dime-novel narration.) Ed goes into a severe depression until she sees an item in the news: Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson), owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores, has become the father of quintuplets, and he and his wife joke that they now have more children than they know what to do with. In what seems like a perfect "helps you, helps me" situation, Hi and Ed kidnap one of the Arizona infants, figuring that they'll have a baby and the Arizonas will have less of a burden. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 115
Number of Lists: 106
Number of blog posts: 15
Number of discussion threads: 19
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:58:24 GMTRaising Arizona1987Joel CoenCombining influences from <a href="/players/P_____2959/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tex Avery</a> cartoons to <a href="/players/P___107427/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sam Raimi</a> horror movies to 1940s B-movies, <a href="/players/P____85375/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Joel Coen</a> and <a href="/players/P____85372/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ethan Coen</a> followed up the stylish film noir of their debut, <a href=/films/3698/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Blood Simple</a> (1984), with this frantic screwball comedy. H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicholas Cage) is a philosophical but slightly dim career criminal who has been arrested so often that he gets to know "Ed," short for Edwina (<a href="/players/P____34013/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Holly Hunter</a>), the officer who takes his mug shots. Hi takes a shine to Ed and promises to go straight if she marries him. She accepts, and they move to the Arizona desert, where Hi holds down a factory job and blissfully watches the sunsets with Ed. Their serenity is shattered when the couple decides that they want a child and discover that, as Hi puts it, "Ed's womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." (One of the film's many delights is Hi's unexpectedly flowery dime-novel narration.) Ed goes into a severe depression until she sees an item in the news: Nathan Arizona (<a href="/players/P____76822/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Trey Wilson</a>), owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores, has become the father of quintuplets, and he and his wife joke that they now have more children than they know what to do with. In what seems like a perfect "helps you, helps me" situation, Hi and Ed kidnap one of the Arizona infants, figuring that they'll have a baby and the Arizonas will have less of a burden. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide115Tag Target (>10)10615194http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u49135vauwq.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Raising_Arizona/28069/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_movies_with_a_US_State_name_in_i/657/43253/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 7/24/2009 1:06:27 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania. [/quote] Hahahaha, oh Ris, that's why I love ya. Always thinking. [/quote] I'm glad you enjoyed that Merc! Although sometimes it is nice to try to stop thinking and relax if my mind would let me.
]]>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:06:27 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls7/24/2009 1:06:27 PM[quote user="mercurial"] [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania. [/quote] Hahahaha, oh Ris, that's why I love ya. Always thinking. [/quote] I'm glad you enjoyed that Merc! Although sometimes it is nice to try to stop thinking and relax if my mind would let me. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_movies_with_a_US_State_name_in_i/657/43249/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 7/24/2009 3:09:21 AM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania. [/quote] Hahahaha, oh Ris, that's why I love ya. Always thinking.
]]>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:09:21 GMTmercurialMovie Polls7/24/2009 3:09:21 AM[quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania. [/quote] Hahahaha, oh Ris, that's why I love ya. Always thinking. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_movies_with_a_US_State_name_in_i/657/43246/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 7/23/2009 4:47:07 PM
Body: [quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania.
]]>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:47:07 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls7/23/2009 4:47:07 PM[quote user="leeroy711"] I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... [/quote] I actually have reasons for not including all of those. Although you might not consider them valid. There really are no rules here, so I guess I just made the rules. In this case, Arizona and Montana are both references to surnames rather than states. Kalifornia is not an accurate spelling of the state California. New York is a reference to New York City rather than the state of New York. And (probably the weakest reason) PA is only the postal abbreviation of Pennsylvania. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_movies_with_a_US_State_name_in_i/657/43245/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 7/23/2009 3:45:39 PM
Body: I voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie.....
]]>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:45:39 GMTleeroy711Movie Polls7/23/2009 3:45:39 PMI voted for Texas Chainsaw Massacre because you didn't include Raising Arizona, Kalifornia, Escape from New York, Scotland, PA, or of course Hannah Montana: The Movie..... http://www.spout.com/blogs/the_mow/archive/2009/5/7/42174.aspx Post By: The_MOW
Post To: The_MOW Blog
Post Date: 5/7/2009 10:50:33 PM
Body: "H.I." (Nicholas Cage), a convict who goes by the nickname "Hi", and his police officer wife (Holly Hunter), who he met while being booked on a robbery charge and courted during even more bookings on robbery charges, have been trying to have a baby. They soon learn that she can't have a baby. They try the adoption route, with her appearing at the adoption agency in uniform, but they are denied because of "Hi's" huge criminal record. Soon after, the couple learn that a local businessman and his wife have just brought home a set of quintuplets, and because she wants to be a mother so bad they decide to take one of the children and raise the kid as their own. I have heard a lot of good things over the years since this movie came out, and I have to disagree with what people have said about this film. The first problem with the movie is the script. It's basically not funny at all, and the performances all around suffer from it. None of the characters were memorable, and were all a bit over the top. None of the jokes, with exception of two, made me really laugh. In fact the jokes were not real funny at all. Maybe if they were set-up better, the jokes may have worked. Like I said earlier, the performances are bad all around. Not one of the characters are performed with any intelligence. Every character is one step up from an idiot. Maybe this was done because the writers thought it would be funny, but it wasn't. Even the wardrobe was pretty boring, as was the sets. If you ask me, the movie was also poorly developed, as were the characters. If you ask me, this movie should only be seen on TV. I wouldn't rent this one, unless my first five choices were not available.
]]>Fri, 08 May 2009 02:50:33 GMTThe_MOWThe_MOW Blog5/7/2009 10:50:33 PM"H.I." (Nicholas Cage), a convict who goes by the nickname "Hi", and his police officer wife (Holly Hunter), who he met while being booked on a robbery charge and courted during even more bookings on robbery charges, have been trying to have a baby. They soon learn that she can't have a baby. They try the adoption route, with her appearing at the adoption agency in uniform, but they are denied because of "Hi's" huge criminal record. Soon after, the couple learn that a local businessman and his wife have just brought home a set of quintuplets, and because she wants to be a mother so bad they decide to take one of the children and raise the kid as their own. I have heard a lot of good things over the years since this movie came out, and I have to disagree with what people have said about this film. The first problem with the movie is the script. It's basically not funny at all, and the performances all around suffer from it. None of the characters were memorable, and were all a bit over the top. None of the jokes, with exception of two, made me really laugh. In fact the jokes were not real funny at all. Maybe if they were set-up better, the jokes may have worked. Like I said earlier, the performances are bad all around. Not one of the characters are performed with any intelligence. Every character is one step up from an idiot. Maybe this was done because the writers thought it would be funny, but it wasn't. Even the wardrobe was pretty boring, as was the sets. If you ask me, the movie was also poorly developed, as were the characters. If you ask me, this movie should only be seen on TV. I wouldn't rent this one, unless my first five choices were not available. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_April_20_Abducted/625/41807/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 4/27/2009 12:30:03 PM
Body: [quote user="leeroy711"] Well it seems lots of other people liked it but I thought Taken was really rather weak. But we can talk about it anyway because it fits the theme. On of the most drastic differences between the quality of an original film and it's remake has got to be Spoorles and The Vanishing. Unfortunately for me, I had the misfortune of seeing the remake first, which kinda ruined the original for me. So far my favorite Kurosawa film is still High and Low, which is a gripping story about a kidnapping and ransom of a young boy. Everyone should watch this film. It works on pretty much every level imaginable. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant. And y'all know by now that I can't talk about kidnapping (or any other theme) without bringing up the Brothers Coen. These guys have somewhat of a kidnapping trilogy of sorts with Raising Arizona, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. These films together raise the most important question: If you were kidnapped, who would you rather have looking for you. [/quote] You are right, the Coens are the kings of kidnapping movies. And more in general their films usually involve some kind of scheme for getting money, if not kidnapping, then some kind of ransom, blackmail, heist, scheme, robbery, etc... In fact, looking over their filmography, the only movie of the 13 they have directed that doesn't involve something like this that I can think of is Barton Fink. And even that I think has some element of businessmen trying to manipulate for more money. I would be surprised if their next film A Serious Man doesn't feature someone attempting to scheme for huge sums of money, even though the descriptions of it make no mention of anything like that. Spoorloos is a great mention in this category! I think I will avoid seeing the remake ever. Doesn't sound like there is any reason to. When mentioning that movie I always have to mention that the music at the end is probably the creepiest music I've ever heard. Also, the bad guy is so identifiable, to me at least. I am always wondering what would happen if I took that step from imagining these occasional strange compulsions in my head to actually doing them! Not that I think I ever will, but maybe that's why this movie is good to watch. Have you seen Buffalo '66? That is one of the stranger kidnappings in a film. You almost start to forget she was actually kidnapped after a while.
]]>Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:30:03 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme4/27/2009 12:30:03 PM[quote user="leeroy711"] Well it seems lots of other people liked it but I thought Taken was really rather weak. But we can talk about it anyway because it fits the theme. On of the most drastic differences between the quality of an original film and it's remake has got to be Spoorles and The Vanishing. Unfortunately for me, I had the misfortune of seeing the remake first, which kinda ruined the original for me. So far my favorite Kurosawa film is still High and Low, which is a gripping story about a kidnapping and ransom of a young boy. Everyone should watch this film. It works on pretty much every level imaginable. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant. And y'all know by now that I can't talk about kidnapping (or any other theme) without bringing up the Brothers Coen. These guys have somewhat of a kidnapping trilogy of sorts with Raising Arizona, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. These films together raise the most important question: If you were kidnapped, who would you rather have looking for you. [/quote] You are right, the Coens are the kings of kidnapping movies. And more in general their films usually involve some kind of scheme for getting money, if not kidnapping, then some kind of ransom, blackmail, heist, scheme, robbery, etc... In fact, looking over their filmography, the only movie of the 13 they have directed that doesn't involve something like this that I can think of is Barton Fink. And even that I think has some element of businessmen trying to manipulate for more money. I would be surprised if their next film A Serious Man doesn't feature someone attempting to scheme for huge sums of money, even though the descriptions of it make no mention of anything like that. Spoorloos is a great mention in this category! I think I will avoid seeing the remake ever. Doesn't sound like there is any reason to. When mentioning that movie I always have to mention that the music at the end is probably the creepiest music I've ever heard. Also, the bad guy is so identifiable, to me at least. I am always wondering what would happen if I took that step from imagining these occasional strange compulsions in my head to actually doing them! Not that I think I ever will, but maybe that's why this movie is good to watch. Have you seen Buffalo '66? That is one of the stranger kidnappings in a film. You almost start to forget she was actually kidnapped after a while. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_April_20_Abducted/625/41680/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 4/21/2009 10:37:32 PM
Body: Well it seems lots of other people liked it but I thought Taken was really rather weak. But we can talk about it anyway because it fits the theme. On of the most drastic differences between the quality of an original film and it's remake has got to be Spoorles and The Vanishing. Unfortunately for me, I had the misfortune of seeing the remake first, which kinda ruined the original for me. So far my favorite Kurosawa film is still High and Low, which is a gripping story about a kidnapping and ransom of a young boy. Everyone should watch this film. It works on pretty much every level imaginable. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant. And y'all know by now that I can't talk about kidnapping (or any other theme) without bringing up the Brothers Coen. These guys have somewhat of a kidnapping trilogy of sorts with Raising Arizona, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. These films together raise the most important question: If you were kidnapped, who would you rather have looking for you. &lt;a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1558712/" mce_href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1558712/"&gt;Which Coen Bros, character do you want looking for you when you get abducted&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:9px;" mce_style="font-size:9px;"&gt;(&lt;a href="http://www.polldaddy.com" mce_href="http://www.polldaddy.com"&gt;online surveys&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;
]]>Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:37:32 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme4/21/2009 10:37:32 PMWell it seems lots of other people liked it but I thought Taken was really rather weak. But we can talk about it anyway because it fits the theme. On of the most drastic differences between the quality of an original film and it's remake has got to be Spoorles and The Vanishing. Unfortunately for me, I had the misfortune of seeing the remake first, which kinda ruined the original for me. So far my favorite Kurosawa film is still High and Low, which is a gripping story about a kidnapping and ransom of a young boy. Everyone should watch this film. It works on pretty much every level imaginable. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant. And y'all know by now that I can't talk about kidnapping (or any other theme) without bringing up the Brothers Coen. These guys have somewhat of a kidnapping trilogy of sorts with Raising Arizona, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. These films together raise the most important question: If you were kidnapped, who would you rather have looking for you. &amp;lt;a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1558712/" mce_href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1558712/"&amp;gt;Which Coen Bros, character do you want looking for you when you get abducted&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span style="font-size:9px;" mce_style="font-size:9px;"&amp;gt;(&amp;lt;a href="http://www.polldaddy.com" mce_href="http://www.polldaddy.com"&amp;gt;online surveys&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;)&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt; http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/3/27/41301.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 3/27/2009 5:00:55 PM
Body: This has been quite the week for me to wish Nicolas Cage still made good movies. Besides crying over the fact that his latest sci-fi action thriller involving disaster prophesy was #1 at the box office despite being panned by critics, some of my unrelated experiences over the past seven days have coincidentally included the following: watching Wild at Heart for the first time; learning from locals that Moonstruck was partly shot in my neighborhood; discussing, at a party, not only the merits of The Rock, but also its qualifications for inclusion in the Criterion catalog. I’m now thinking I should stay home tonight and watch a marathon of Raising Arizona, Face/Off and Adaptation. Or, maybe I can just lay back and think about how Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is going to be Cage’s return to quality. I know, I know, those of you who didn’t stop reading at my profession of love for The Rock are now wondering if I’m crazy. “Certainly this movie is going to be terrible,” you’re saying to yourself (as you plan your derisive comment). And besides, Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant “remake” shall be his next good film. Well, maybe, but after seeing the new production photos from Apprentice circulating the net (originating at JustJared), I’m prophesizing that the Fantasia-inspired film will be the Moonstruck to Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans‘ Raising Arizona, or the Face/Off to Lieutenant’s Con Air, or the Adaptation to Lieutenant’s Windtalkers. Perhaps I am soiling my reputation by confessing my overextending appreciation of Cage’s career, but you have to respect a guy who allows himself to look and be so ridiculous for his art. The rest of the film blogosphere’s responses to the photos after the jump: As usual, Dan Hopper at Best Week Ever has the best jokes: “…on the set of his new movie Something Surely Worth Seing Dangerous. He’s about to change out of his normal clothes and hairpiece and into his costume (zuhhhh-zinggg!!!).” Pajiba headlines that this could be Cage’s “Most Hilarious Role Ever.” Let’s hope so. Mark at I Watch Stuff compares the look to WWE wrestler The Undertaker and Sega video game character Chakan: The Forever Man. Cinematical’s Elizabeth Rappe sees Cage instead as “apparently ripping his look off Hugh Jackman’s Gabriel Van Helsing” in the site’s “LOL of the Day” post. “The only thing that has me curious about this movie,” she adds, “is how Baruchel ends up as his apprentice. Because if I was approached by a ‘magician’ who looked like that, I’d run screaming the other way.” Rob Bricken at Topless Robot agrees with Rappe’s comparison but seems a tad more hopeful of the film: I admit, despite my utter hatred and fear of Jerry Bruckheimer movies, I did really enjoy the first Pirates of the Carribbean movie. And I love Fantasia, so I’ll — very regretfully — be giving this a shot. But the fact that Cage is dressed exactly like Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing means I probably won’t be watching sober. Jeremy at We Are Movie Geeks also agrees: “Looks like Cage is trying out for ‘Van Helsing 2.’” Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com sees Cage more as a “geriatric Criss Angel” and tells us how to respect this film: if I hear any “raping my childhood” crap, I’m gonna reach through the computer screen and smack you across the head. This movie has nothing to do with the Mickey Mouse cartoon. The story is a German poem written by Goethe. Get that in your head now and you’ll be OK. Somehow Josh Radde at Film School Rejects thinks Cage “appears to be doing his best Kris Kristofferson,” before once again concentrating on the actor’s hair: Add this hairdo to the pretty amazing collection of Cage ‘Dos so far. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes created a game linking a pic of his hair to the movie it appears in and it’ll surprise you how many twisted coifs this man has sported over the years. The typically optimistic Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net argues on Cage’s behalf: I would say, don’t be so quick to judge these and Cage’s new hairdo and leather outfit, but I’m sure you’ve already made up your mind. I don’t know if these will help Cage any more, or potentially ruin him entirely again, but honestly, I’m still looking forward to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. And Sean at FilmDrunk also defends the powers of Cage, at least as box office gold: “In all seriousness though, you can make fun of Nicolas Cage all you want, but if the past has taught us anything it is that America loves his movies. National Treasure + Harry Potter = $$$.” In additional Nic Cage-is-nuts bloggery from today: Graeme McMillan at io9 shares the actor’s recent statements regarding his preference for science fiction, abandonment of gratuitous violence and overall desire to go more “into the abstract”: Does this mean that Cage sees science fiction as a gateway drug to take audiences into indulgently abstract movies? I hope so, if only because I’d love to see just how abstract the man behind Ghost Rider, Bangkok Dangerous and Adaptation can get when he puts his mind to it. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:00:55 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com3/27/2009 5:00:55 PMThis has been quite the week for me to wish Nicolas Cage still made good movies. Besides crying over the fact that his latest sci-fi action thriller involving disaster prophesy was #1 at the box office despite being panned by critics, some of my unrelated experiences over the past seven days have coincidentally included the following: watching Wild at Heart for the first time; learning from locals that Moonstruck was partly shot in my neighborhood; discussing, at a party, not only the merits of The Rock, but also its qualifications for inclusion in the Criterion catalog. I’m now thinking I should stay home tonight and watch a marathon of Raising Arizona, Face/Off and Adaptation. Or, maybe I can just lay back and think about how Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is going to be Cage’s return to quality. I know, I know, those of you who didn’t stop reading at my profession of love for The Rock are now wondering if I’m crazy. “Certainly this movie is going to be terrible,” you’re saying to yourself (as you plan your derisive comment). And besides, Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant “remake” shall be his next good film. Well, maybe, but after seeing the new production photos from Apprentice circulating the net (originating at JustJared), I’m prophesizing that the Fantasia-inspired film will be the Moonstruck to Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans‘ Raising Arizona, or the Face/Off to Lieutenant’s Con Air, or the Adaptation to Lieutenant’s Windtalkers. Perhaps I am soiling my reputation by confessing my overextending appreciation of Cage’s career, but you have to respect a guy who allows himself to look and be so ridiculous for his art. The rest of the film blogosphere’s responses to the photos after the jump: As usual, Dan Hopper at Best Week Ever has the best jokes: “…on the set of his new movie Something Surely Worth Seing Dangerous. He’s about to change out of his normal clothes and hairpiece and into his costume (zuhhhh-zinggg!!!).” Pajiba headlines that this could be Cage’s “Most Hilarious Role Ever.” Let’s hope so. Mark at I Watch Stuff compares the look to WWE wrestler The Undertaker and Sega video game character Chakan: The Forever Man. Cinematical’s Elizabeth Rappe sees Cage instead as “apparently ripping his look off Hugh Jackman’s Gabriel Van Helsing” in the site’s “LOL of the Day” post. “The only thing that has me curious about this movie,” she adds, “is how Baruchel ends up as his apprentice. Because if I was approached by a ‘magician’ who looked like that, I’d run screaming the other way.” Rob Bricken at Topless Robot agrees with Rappe’s comparison but seems a tad more hopeful of the film: I admit, despite my utter hatred and fear of Jerry Bruckheimer movies, I did really enjoy the first Pirates of the Carribbean movie. And I love Fantasia, so I’ll — very regretfully — be giving this a shot. But the fact that Cage is dressed exactly like Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing means I probably won’t be watching sober. Jeremy at We Are Movie Geeks also agrees: “Looks like Cage is trying out for ‘Van Helsing 2.’” Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com sees Cage more as a “geriatric Criss Angel” and tells us how to respect this film: if I hear any “raping my childhood” crap, I’m gonna reach through the computer screen and smack you across the head. This movie has nothing to do with the Mickey Mouse cartoon. The story is a German poem written by Goethe. Get that in your head now and you’ll be OK. Somehow Josh Radde at Film School Rejects thinks Cage “appears to be doing his best Kris Kristofferson,” before once again concentrating on the actor’s hair: Add this hairdo to the pretty amazing collection of Cage ‘Dos so far. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes created a game linking a pic of his hair to the movie it appears in and it’ll surprise you how many twisted coifs this man has sported over the years. The typically optimistic Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net argues on Cage’s behalf: I would say, don’t be so quick to judge these and Cage’s new hairdo and leather outfit, but I’m sure you’ve already made up your mind. I don’t know if these will help Cage any more, or potentially ruin him entirely again, but honestly, I’m still looking forward to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. And Sean at FilmDrunk also defends the powers of Cage, at least as box office gold: “In all seriousness though, you can make fun of Nicolas Cage all you want, but if the past has taught us anything it is that America loves his movies. National Treasure + Harry Potter = $$$.” In additional Nic Cage-is-nuts bloggery from today: Graeme McMillan at io9 shares the actor’s recent statements regarding his preference for science fiction, abandonment of gratuitous violence and overall desire to go more “into the abstract”: Does this mean that Cage sees science fiction as a gateway drug to take audiences into indulgently abstract movies? I hope so, if only because I’d love to see just how abstract the man behind Ghost Rider, Bangkok Dangerous and Adaptation can get when he puts his mind to it. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_January_12_What_Went_Wrong/625/39485/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Smooth_J
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 1/13/2009 6:42:31 PM
Body: [quote user="leeroy711"] Sam Raimi used this in his very aptly titled A Simple Plan. And my favorite filmmakers, the Brothers Coen have used this beautifully in Blood Simple and Fargo. [/quote] I feel like most of the Coen's movies fit into this category...you got The Man Who Wasn't There, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, and even No Country for Old Men. Bottle Rocket is a pretty good heist-gone-wrong movie, and it's about as simplistic as movies can get. It's one of my personal favorites. Another one that may work is Dog Day Afternoon...a routine bank robbery turns into a televised sideshow starring a gay Al Pacino.
]]>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:42:31 GMTSmooth_JWeekly Theme1/13/2009 6:42:31 PM[quote user="leeroy711"] Sam Raimi used this in his very aptly titled A Simple Plan. And my favorite filmmakers, the Brothers Coen have used this beautifully in Blood Simple and Fargo. [/quote] I feel like most of the Coen's movies fit into this category...you got The Man Who Wasn't There, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, and even No Country for Old Men. Bottle Rocket is a pretty good heist-gone-wrong movie, and it's about as simplistic as movies can get. It's one of my personal favorites. Another one that may work is Dog Day Afternoon...a routine bank robbery turns into a televised sideshow starring a gay Al Pacino. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/23/38772.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/23/2008 4:00:40 PM
Body: Christmas is a time of peace and harmony, where we remember baby Jesus, born into a manger. There were shepherds, wise men, sweet hay and swaddling clothes. But we often forget how dark the Christmas story actually is. First of all you’ve got poor Joseph, convinced that his fiance has been knocked up by another man. Then she gives birth in a barn, which would not be sweet or pleasant in any way. If that weren’t bad enough, the wise men tip Herod off to the fact that a new king has been born, and he goes and kills all the first born sons in Judea, forcing the Holy Family into exile. Real smooth, wise men, did you miss the star that told you to keep your mouths shut? There are plenty of movies about Christmas, a few about the nativity and plenty more about Santa. But there aren’t any that capture the despair and desperation of the original tale. Placed within the larger narrative of the Christian gospel, the nativity is about a god being subjected to the vulnerability of an infancy, in order to enter a cruel world whose purpose it is to kill him. Sure, it all works out in the end, but it’s still a pretty dark story. This lack of grit in Christmas movies became clear to me two years ago. Around Christmas, 2006, both The Nativity Story and Children of Men were released. I saw them both within a few days of one another. I was struck by how boring The Nativity Story was, especially compared to Cuarón’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece. When I think of a baby bringing peace on Earth, I can think of no better image than Clive Owen stumbling out of a shattered building with a screaming infant, its cries literally silencing tanks. In that spirit, here are five gritty movies where everything rides on the tiny shoulders of a baby. Children of Men The sweet little child in this movie is the inspiration not only for this list, but for all of humanity (at least in the film). Cuarón creates a brutal world of the near future where women no longer get pregnant, and society crumbles. One reason I like thinking about this movie as an alternate nativity is that it illustrates what Jesus’ second foray into humanity could look like. According to the Bible, the baby in the manger was only part one, Christ is coming back. While I don’t think that Cuarón meant the child to be seen as the second coming, a miraculous birth giving hope to a world in the midst of the apocalypse serves as a nice illustration of God’s ultimate Christmas gift to humanity. Tsotsi This 2005 South African film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It tells the story of young Tsotsi and his gang of Johannesburg thugs. A car-jacking goes bad, and Tsotsi kills a woman. He then discovers her baby in the back seat of the car. As movies like Three Men and a Baby and Raising Arizona make clear, there’s nothing like a baby to inspire self-improvement. Confronted with the shame and guilt of his violent lifestyle, Tsotsi goes on a mission to make things right. Maybe this relates to why the image of baby Jesus is so popular, even though it’s such a small part of the Bible. No one wants to do wrong if they think they’ll hurt a baby. Pan’s Labyrinth This movie is full of pseudo-nativities (spoilers ahead). Young Ofelia and her pregnant mother go to live in the mountains with Ofelia’s new stepfather, a cruel fascist general in Franco’s Spain. While the baby’s birth is a turning point in the climax of the film, the more fitting parallel to the Christ child is actually Ofelia. The opening scene tells the story of Princess Moanna of the Underground Realm, a supernatural being who takes human form. Throughout the film, Ofelia has encounters with fantastic creatures and locations, including a faun. The faun gives her various missions, the last of which is to shed innocent blood of her baby brother in order to open the portal to the Underworld, so Ofelia (Princess Moanna) can go home. She refuses to let her brother be harmed, and is shot by her stepfather shortly after. The baby is saved, but as Ofelia dies, her innocent blood opens the portal and she rejoins her father, the king, in the supernatural Underworld. Granted, it’s not a Sunday school lesson, but it’s pretty close, right down to Ofelia’s (Christ’s) blood being the link to the heavenly father. If you want to go even further, you could start looking for parallel’s between Franco’s Spain and the Roman occupation of the Holy Land during the first century, but for our purpose here we’ll leave at the innocent blood thing. Kill Bill While not nearly the gospel-like parable of Pan’s Labyrinth, Quentin Taratino’s revenge epic does use a child as the central motivating force. A pregnant Beatrix Kiddo is shot and left for dead by Bill, the baby’s father. Four years later the wakes from her coma, assumes her baby is dead, and seeks revenge against her former team of assassins. Kill Bill isn’t about the redemptive effect of an innocent baby as much as it’s about motherhood, and what a mother will do to protect that innocence. Beatrix’s similarities to the Virgin Mary probably end there, but it’s still worth noting the central role that the maternal instinct plays in the film. Kill Bill is gratuitous in every way: it’s violent, it samples from an absurd amount of source material, and the total run time of the two volumes is over four hours. The plot is pretty spare, but Tarantino never has trouble sustaining a sense of urgency. In Kill Bill, as in the nativity, looking out for the welfare of a child is a motivation that never needs to be explained. Rosemary’s Baby Rosemary’s Baby isn’t an alternate nativity as much as it’s an anti-nativity. A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, move into a spooky old apartment building. Their meddlesome old neighbors, Minnie and Roman, seem harmless at first. After eating a few bites of Minnie’s chocolate mousse, Rosemary faints and has a dream where she is raped by a demonic presence.  Minnie and Roman suggest an obstetrician who tells Rosemary her pains and cravings of raw meat are totally normal. Clearly something sinister is afoot, but will Rosemary forsake her own child, or join the dark conspiracy? Blood is thicker than water, as they say. And while giving birth to God must have been burden for Mary, how much tougher would it be to give birth to the Devil? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:00:40 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/23/2008 4:00:40 PMChristmas is a time of peace and harmony, where we remember baby Jesus, born into a manger. There were shepherds, wise men, sweet hay and swaddling clothes. But we often forget how dark the Christmas story actually is. First of all you’ve got poor Joseph, convinced that his fiance has been knocked up by another man. Then she gives birth in a barn, which would not be sweet or pleasant in any way. If that weren’t bad enough, the wise men tip Herod off to the fact that a new king has been born, and he goes and kills all the first born sons in Judea, forcing the Holy Family into exile. Real smooth, wise men, did you miss the star that told you to keep your mouths shut? There are plenty of movies about Christmas, a few about the nativity and plenty more about Santa. But there aren’t any that capture the despair and desperation of the original tale. Placed within the larger narrative of the Christian gospel, the nativity is about a god being subjected to the vulnerability of an infancy, in order to enter a cruel world whose purpose it is to kill him. Sure, it all works out in the end, but it’s still a pretty dark story. This lack of grit in Christmas movies became clear to me two years ago. Around Christmas, 2006, both The Nativity Story and Children of Men were released. I saw them both within a few days of one another. I was struck by how boring The Nativity Story was, especially compared to Cuarón’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece. When I think of a baby bringing peace on Earth, I can think of no better image than Clive Owen stumbling out of a shattered building with a screaming infant, its cries literally silencing tanks. In that spirit, here are five gritty movies where everything rides on the tiny shoulders of a baby. Children of Men The sweet little child in this movie is the inspiration not only for this list, but for all of humanity (at least in the film). Cuarón creates a brutal world of the near future where women no longer get pregnant, and society crumbles. One reason I like thinking about this movie as an alternate nativity is that it illustrates what Jesus’ second foray into humanity could look like. According to the Bible, the baby in the manger was only part one, Christ is coming back. While I don’t think that Cuarón meant the child to be seen as the second coming, a miraculous birth giving hope to a world in the midst of the apocalypse serves as a nice illustration of God’s ultimate Christmas gift to humanity. Tsotsi This 2005 South African film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It tells the story of young Tsotsi and his gang of Johannesburg thugs. A car-jacking goes bad, and Tsotsi kills a woman. He then discovers her baby in the back seat of the car. As movies like Three Men and a Baby and Raising Arizona make clear, there’s nothing like a baby to inspire self-improvement. Confronted with the shame and guilt of his violent lifestyle, Tsotsi goes on a mission to make things right. Maybe this relates to why the image of baby Jesus is so popular, even though it’s such a small part of the Bible. No one wants to do wrong if they think they’ll hurt a baby. Pan’s Labyrinth This movie is full of pseudo-nativities (spoilers ahead). Young Ofelia and her pregnant mother go to live in the mountains with Ofelia’s new stepfather, a cruel fascist general in Franco’s Spain. While the baby’s birth is a turning point in the climax of the film, the more fitting parallel to the Christ child is actually Ofelia. The opening scene tells the story of Princess Moanna of the Underground Realm, a supernatural being who takes human form. Throughout the film, Ofelia has encounters with fantastic creatures and locations, including a faun. The faun gives her various missions, the last of which is to shed innocent blood of her baby brother in order to open the portal to the Underworld, so Ofelia (Princess Moanna) can go home. She refuses to let her brother be harmed, and is shot by her stepfather shortly after. The baby is saved, but as Ofelia dies, her innocent blood opens the portal and she rejoins her father, the king, in the supernatural Underworld. Granted, it’s not a Sunday school lesson, but it’s pretty close, right down to Ofelia’s (Christ’s) blood being the link to the heavenly father. If you want to go even further, you could start looking for parallel’s between Franco’s Spain and the Roman occupation of the Holy Land during the first century, but for our purpose here we’ll leave at the innocent blood thing. Kill Bill While not nearly the gospel-like parable of Pan’s Labyrinth, Quentin Taratino’s revenge epic does use a child as the central motivating force. A pregnant Beatrix Kiddo is shot and left for dead by Bill, the baby’s father. Four years later the wakes from her coma, assumes her baby is dead, and seeks revenge against her former team of assassins. Kill Bill isn’t about the redemptive effect of an innocent baby as much as it’s about motherhood, and what a mother will do to protect that innocence. Beatrix’s similarities to the Virgin Mary probably end there, but it’s still worth noting the central role that the maternal instinct plays in the film. Kill Bill is gratuitous in every way: it’s violent, it samples from an absurd amount of source material, and the total run time of the two volumes is over four hours. The plot is pretty spare, but Tarantino never has trouble sustaining a sense of urgency. In Kill Bill, as in the nativity, looking out for the welfare of a child is a motivation that never needs to be explained. Rosemary’s Baby Rosemary’s Baby isn’t an alternate nativity as much as it’s an anti-nativity. A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, move into a spooky old apartment building. Their meddlesome old neighbors, Minnie and Roman, seem harmless at first. After eating a few bites of Minnie’s chocolate mousse, Rosemary faints and has a dream where she is raped by a demonic presence.  Minnie and Roman suggest an obstetrician who tells Rosemary her pains and cravings of raw meat are totally normal. Clearly something sinister is afoot, but will Rosemary forsake her own child, or join the dark conspiracy? Blood is thicker than water, as they say. And while giving birth to God must have been burden for Mary, how much tougher would it be to give birth to the Devil? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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