Favorite Scene Friday: Vampire’s Kiss – Because Nicolas Cage is a Joke

This week’s installment of Favorite Scene Friday features yet another stunning, yet blasphemous, performance by none other than the joke that is:  Nicolas Cage.  Why such a harsh beginning to what very well could be a glorious weekend, you ask?  Well . . .

Maybe it’s because we share the same moniker.

Maybe it’s because I fancy myself logical and somewhat sane.

Maybe it’s because he keeps finding work in Hollywood.

Or maybe it’s just because Nicolas Cage is a goddamned talentless farce. 

Yeah, I’m gonna stick with that last one.  As I was flipping through channels last night, I came across IFC and they were showing Vampire’s Kiss, in particular the scene below.  I’ve never actually seen Vampire’s Kiss and I’m fairly certain I never will, unless I’m looking for a B-Movie that’s trying really, really hard.  I should admit that IMDb has it listed as “comedy, fantasy, horror” but I don’t know.  I’m a bit skeptical on the comedy part as I’ve seen the same type of reaction throughout too many Nic Cage films, most of which are not comedies, or at least not meant to be.  I’m utterly dumbfounded when I hear/see people discussing how “good” the latest Nicolas Cage movie is.  I don’t get it.  Even back in 1997 when I sat in the movie theater taking in the hodgepodge of stupid that materialized as Con Air I couldn’t take Cage seriously.  I’ve got a southern accent that I’m not very proud of, but listening to him talk was like sticking rotten eggs in my ear canals.  Pointless and stinky.  My brothers and many others sure liked it though, and now they’re still pumping money into theater chains for the latest “I … said … put … the … bunny … back … in … the … box,” type of lingo. 

I often hope and pray that said people are just doing it to get a good, solid laugh, but who knows.  Every dog has his day, hell I kinda like 8MM and I love the Coen Bros so Raising Arizona is an obvious plus in my book, but someone needs to keep Nic behind the camera from now.  Let him produce the cheese that he's used to giving instead of screaming it at us.  "NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES!"  Not the cheese.  I'm sure my efforts here will be ignored by those who know what they're doing in Hollywood, but I've enjoyed the rant anyway.  Here's to you, Nic, just keep punching ‘em out there, you weird, goofy ass bastard.  Happy Friday Everyone!  And be sure to laugh.

Favorite Scene Friday! Adaptation.

Alex from And So it Begins...dropped by the Escape Hatch to share one of his favorite scenes with us, a great piece from Spike Jonze's Adaptation.

When not reviewing practically every new release and spotlighting great, oftentimes under appreciated actors in his In Character feature, Alex shares some of his own favorite scenes. You can follow him on Twitter at @shiftingPersona.

The opening scene of Adaptation. is a combination of the two things I hate most in movies: extended opening credits, and narration. Leave it to Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman (and, of course, Nicolas Cage) to make something that should be so bad, anything but.

The first two minutes of Adaptation. represent one of the greatest film openings of recent memory. Its minimalist approach (an off-camera monologue against a black screen with Courier credits), tells you everything you need to know about the film’s main character, Charlie Kaufman. It perfectly encapsulates his thought process, lack of humor and pathos better than any on-screen rant possibly could.

The monologue (which, for the record, is arguably the funniest part of a very, very funny movie) has nothing whatsoever to do with the film’s plot. Yet, at the same time, it has everything to do with it. Ingenious.