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.

The Sisters Brothers (2018)

I look at genres of film and sometimes I like to think of them like genres of music. For example, I think of comedy as pop music, horror as heavy metal, action films as rock music, and Westerns is country music. It takes a unique kind of taste to be into Western, but sometimes Western stars are held in the same regard as Country legends, but there are westerns being made today that are interesting enough like The Sisters Brothers which was written and directed by Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone). The film stars Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as The Sisters Brothers, a couple of Oregon hitmen for hire that are tasked with bringing back someone who has a key to finding Gold, but what happens when a familiar face to the brothers is on the side of their hunt. The film also stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Bubble Boy) as John Morris, Riz Ahmed (Venom) as Hermann Warm, Rebecca Root (Last Christmas) as Mayfield, Carol Kane (Addams Family Values) as Mom, Richard Brake (3 From Hell) as Rex, the late Rutger Hauer (Hobo With A Shotgun) as Commodore, Patrice Cossonneau (The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc) as Blount, and Ian Reddington (Highlander) as The Father.

One thing is definitely for sure and that is the film definitely had an amazing cast behind it and they all did a wonderful job from Gyllenhaal all the way to Riz Ahmed. It was this story of two brothers who have to cope with the fact that there time as hitmen should end before they ultimately do. They may seem like they have it all together, but that couldn't be further from the truth in this film as you will see when you watch it. It's kind of a coming of age story for one man and that is John C. Reilly's character of Eli Sisters. He starts off just like his brother Charlie being all gung ho about the job, but as the film progresses so doesn't his character. I would have included Gyllenhaal's character in this category, but what happens to him in the film is just awful. If you are into westerns, I definitely think that this is one worth checking out because the acting is great as you'll see, but the cinematography is where it's at with the natural scenary and the sets. The funny thing is that the movie was filmed in Spain and Romania, but it worked for what they needed it to be. Phoenix and Reilly made a great onscreen duo that I wouldn't mind seeing again in the future. Check out the film yourself right now on Hulu, but for now I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.