Adaptation

[apocrypha]

Watched this again the other night and remembered how great a film it was.

It's about Charlie Kaufman (screenwriter of Being John Malkovich) trying to write a screenplay for a book called The Orchid Thief, at least that's what it's about on the surface. I think it's actually about the dumbing down of scripts by Hollywood, among other things.

Nicolas Cage is amazing in it, showing some serious talent. He plays both Kaufman and his twin brother and does a fantastic job of portraying identical twins who are also completely different from each other. Meryl Streep is, well, Meryl Streep, but she's well cast in her role.

It's a turbulent, emotional, powerful and highly personal film. Liked it a lot.

[stray]

I thought Cage was funny as the cooler brother, but Chris Cooper is the one who's actually amazing in it. He won an Oscar for it, I think.

[apocrypha]

Yeah he was fantastic, well deserved if he did win an oscar for that. Took me a while to work out who it was when we started watching it but then I remembered him from the first Bourne film.

[stray]

Yeah, he's really good in everything he does, but he gets a little typecasted as stern cops/military types, I guess. Adaptation wasn't one of them. I wish he'd play more odd characters like that.

Check out Lonestar though, for a pretty good early flick (it's also Matthew McCoughnagheydhshflxdjg's.. fuck it.. also Matthew McC's first movie, I believe. When he was actually a pretty good actor himself).

[apocrypha]

Matthew McCoughnagheydhshflxdjg's.. fuck it.. also Matthew McC's

Rofl :p  Cool, I'll check that out.

[Abagadro]

I dug Adaptation too. And Lonestar is great. One of John Sayles' best, which is saying something because John Sayles is fucking awesome.

[apocrypha]

I dug Adaptation too. And Lonestar is great. One of John Sayles' best, which is saying something because John Sayles is fucking awesome.

Since you posted that we've watched both Lone Star and Matewan, both of which were 100% awesome. Thankyou for the recommendation!

[WindupAtheist]

Nicholas Cage pisses me off for no good reason at all. Just his face, and his hair, and his voice piss me off. He's a talented and successful actor, and probably a swell human being, but he just... pisses me off, and I don't really know why.

[Evildrider]

Nicholas Cage pisses me off for no good reason at all. Just his face, and his hair, and his voice piss me off. He's a talented and successful actor, and probably a swell human being, but he just... pisses me off, and I don't really know why.

Cuz he sucks.   

[Mattemeo]

He's an talented and successfulactor, and probably a swell human being...

Fixed that a little for you. Cage is an abysmal actor, and up until Knowing came out he's been box-office poison for about a decade.
He's a likable guy but jesus does he mangle even the most unassuming of roles sometimes. His best performance was in Raising Arizona, some 22 years ago now. His worst? I'd argue his horribly ham-fisted titular Captain Corelli from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, although as much as I hated the movie and his performance in particular, I will grant him considerable kudos for learning how to play the mandolin for the part.

[Nevermore]

up until Knowing came out he's been box-office poison for about a decade.

What?  Without getting into his talent (or lack thereof) as an actor, his movies have been at least as successful in the last decade as in the 90s.  Cage started acting in 1982.  In the 80s, he had no films that earned over $100 million in the US.  In the 90s, he had three (all in a row in a little stretch in 96-97 actually: The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off).  From 2000 to 2009 he's had four (the two National Treasures, Ghost Rider and Gone in 60 Seconds).  The same pattern holds for the worldwide numbers, with more movies making over $100 million in the last 10 years than before that.  Source

So how then has he been 'box-office poison' for about a decade?

[UnSub]

I like Nic Cage, but he has had a bit of a bad run, especially from a credibility angel. This is his second change-the-future sci-fi movie in as many years.

He is a massive nerd though, so that could be the reason for heading in this direction.

[Mattemeo]

In the 90s, he had three (all in a row in a little stretch in 96-97 actually: The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off). 

I hesitate to say good movies, but certainly decent ones. And all in a two year stretch.

From 2000 to 2009 he's had four (the two National Treasures, Ghost Rider and Gone in 60 Seconds).

I'll grant you the National Treasures have done well though I can't think of anyone who'd give a valid reason why. Call it 'the movie we wanted to see is full' syndrome. The less said about Ghost Rider the better, frankly. I've not seen Gone in 60 Seconds and can't say I plan to but again, it sits in the space of movies that do well but aren't well received. But even if we read these four movies as career box-office taking highpoints in the last decade, we're still talking four out of nineteen movies he's been in since 1999. Compare that to the three over 96-7? Those are poor numbers, even if we're not taking inflation into consideration. Perhaps 'box-office poison' was a little too harsh on my part, but the state of the takings:movies made ratio shows he's either not so much of a draw these days or really does just pull scripts out of a hat.

Incidentally I did enjoy Adaptation, definitely one of his better picks!

[ahoythematey]

I don't really get the Nicolas Cage HATE.  My taste in movies isn't your run-of-the-mill variety, so I don't think my opinions on the matter would really have much weight here, but I do think people have to remember that working-actors of every level have made some real stinkers.  It's bound to happen when you keep at it so long and so often.

[Ingmar]

Obligatory Wicker Man Highlight reel must be posted whenever Nicholas Cage is mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo

[Mattemeo]

I don't really get the Nicolas Cage HATE

I feel I need to make it clear here that I do not hate Nic Cage at all and think he's a really nice guy. I don't think he can act, but I certainly enjoy a fair few of the movies he's been in.

[ahoythematey]

I understood that, I was also talking about the acting perspective.  He's done some really good roles and they weren't mere accidents.  I just think he's not so choosy about the roles he takes.  Sort of like Samuel Jackson, maybe.

[Evildrider]

I understood that, I was also talking about the acting perspective.  He's done some really good roles and they weren't mere accidents.  I just think he's not so choosy about the roles he takes.  Sort of like Samuel Jackson, maybe.

Samuel Jackson has always said if the money is right he'll do it.  He doesn't care, its just a job for him.  That's why he's in so many damn films lol.

[ahoythematey]

Yeah, he's a crazy bad motherfucker.

[Ingmar]

That is the Michael Caine theory of roles too.

[apocrypha]

I think Will Smith falls into the same category. He's shown he *can* act with films like Ali, but he just works so damn much and seems to take pretty much anything thrown at him that he ends up in a lot of dross.

[pxib]

Apropos nothing, a weird little theory about part of the film:

[apocrypha]

Interesting, I thought a similar thing about his brother, that he was just a representation of Kaufman's self-loathing and insecurities. In fact I think a lot of the movie isn't supposed to be literally real but is more like a metaphor for internal conflict.

[Samwise]

I think Kaufman's just a bit of a wanker.