30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 26- Mandy (2018)

Everyone knows that Nicolas Cage's (Gone In 60 Seconds) career has taken an interesting turn over the years with the kinds of choices he has made over the years as far as what films, but there was a huge buzz about one of them. Today's challenge for the 30 day movie challenge was to watch either the film that won the Saturn Award for best Independent film or to check out one of the nominees in case you had seen the winner. Unfortunately, the awards show for 2020 was canceled and I had to go with the winner from 2019 and that is 2018's Mandy which was written and directed by Panos Cosmatos (Tombstone) with Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks) as well. Nicolas Cage plays Red Miller, a regular guy who enjoys his house in the woods with his girlfriend Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough). One day there life is rocked upside down when they meet a mysterious hippy cult with very bad intentions that will send Red on a hunt for revenge. The film also stars Linus Roache (Batman Begins) as Jeremiah Sand, Ned Dennehy (Peaky Blinders) as Brother Swan, Olwen Fouéré (This Must Be The Place) as Mother Marlene, Richard Brake (The Sisters Brothers) as The Chemist, Bill Duke (Deep Cover) as Caruthers, Line Pillet (Little Black Spiders) as Sister Lucy, Clément Baronnet (La colle) as Brother Klopeck, and Alexis Julemont (Raw) as Brother Hanker.

By the time I was done watching this film, all I could think to myself was what in the hell did I just watch? Why was it so awesome? Why is this the first time I watched this film? Take the film for what it is and analyze the story all you want or just say that it's your typical revenge story with a family that reminds you of Manson or better yet the Firefly clan from The Devil's Rejects. The fact of the matter is that the film was beautifully shot and I know it's weird because of the type of film, but once you start watching it's like one giant trip of LSD from beginning to end with all of the vibrant colors whether they are warm colors or dark colors. The film is so full of color and it's absolutely beautiful to the point that it kept me hooked and the cinematography itself was well done. The cinematography department and the editing team deserve an A+ for the work they put into this film and I love the mixture of animation which I believe are either hallucinations or dreams that Cage's character has in the film that connects him to Mandy. I absolutely loved the biker gang which definitely was a nod to Hellraiser and the Cenobites and while there are theories behind who they really are, you just have to click on this one if you are on the Shudder app and sit back and relax. They are going to take you on one hell of a ride especially when Nic Cage gets started. I am honestly going to give this film an A- for a final grade because I absolutely loved it.

Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)

I like doing these challenges because it gives me a chance to check out films that I otherwise probably wouldn't have and to be honest when it's free on VUDU, it makes it a little more enticing. The film I chose for today was one that I had been avoiding for 20 years and to be honest I don't know why, but I decided to check out Gone In 60 Seconds which was directed by Dominic Sena (Swordfish). The film stars Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) as notorious retired car thief Memphis Raines who had to leave town when things got too hot. The only problem is that his kid brother has decided to follow in his footsteps, but with poor results. You see he promised a very bad man 50 exotic cars and he failed to do so and now Memphis has to step in and try to save the day by stealing 50 cars in three days or else his kid brother dies. The film also stars Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan) as Kip Raines, Angelina Jolie (Mr. and Mrs. Smith) as Sway, T.J. Cross (Showtime) as Mirror Man, William Lee Scott (The Butterfly Effect) as Toby, Scott Caan (Varsity Blues) as Tumbler, James Duval (Donnie Darko) as Freb, Will Patton (Armageddon) as Atley, Delroy Lindo (Malcolm X) as Det. Castlebeck, Timothy Olyphant (Rock Star) as Det. Drycoff, Chi McBride (Waiting) as Donny, Robert Duvall (Stalin) as Otto, Vinnie Jones (Snatch) as The Sphinx, and Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World) as Raymond Calitri.

This film has quite the collection of actors contained in it and it was to be the who's who of young Hollywood at the time mixed with some seasoned players. It is however another film that took the caliber of the cast and made it work for them in a very positive way because this at face value was actually an enjoyable film. Nicolas Cage was Nicolas Cage complete with his signature wig out moment, but it actually worked for this film. There was a time when he was actually making decent films and that was because some of the roles were tailored made for him and his acting chops and this was one of them and not so much The Wicker Man. I love Angelina Jolie and at this time I had the hugest crush on her, but I have seen her in better films like Gia. The comedy in the film was on point and it felt so natural and was delivered so smoothly that it worked when it needed to and the action scenes were superb. That is truly when the film gets really good is when we get to the stealing of the cars and some of the police chases that come with some of them. Some of the cars they steal in the film I have only dreamed of owning and they are marvelous including the Shelby GT Mustang that is "The Unicorn." The cinematography is great because it still has that rough 90's look mixed with the gloss look of the 2000's Hollywood blockbusters. I am definitely kind of mad at myself for waiting this long to see this film, but in the end at least I finally got around to it. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.