Is this going to be better than the barely mediocre Burn After Reading? It doesn’t matter. I will fork over money every time these guys make a movie because they’ve rarely let me down.
A Serious Man is a black comedy set in 1967 and centered on on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Richard Kind) won’t move out of the house.

Cage makes a pretty easy target. Whether it be his ridiculous ever changing hairpiece choices or his long list of craptastic films, he’s just an easy mark. With the release of the already critically panned Knowing this weekend I thought it might be a good time to remind you that Nic Cage didn’t always suck.



Example #1
Raising Arizona
This is the Coen Bros. second and probably still one of their best films. Cage’s Iconic performance as the babynapping H.I. McDunnough made this movie. It also features a great supporting cast that includes Randall “Tex”Cobb, John Goodman, William Forsythe, and of course his costar Holly Hunter. It’s an absolute must see if you haven’t already.



Example #2
Valley Girl
“Gag me with a spoon!” Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl is one of the most underrated 80′s comedies around. Cage punks it up for his performance of the loud but ultimately sweet Randy who falls for a girl from the valley. Cage is hysterical this might be his best role ever. Great soundtrack too.



Example #3
Wild at Heart
Cage as Sailor Ripley in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart is nothing short of amazing. The story, about two young lovers Sailor and Lula who are on the run from a variety of seedy characters hired to kill Sailor by Lula’s mother, is completely ridiculous and 100% entertaining. If you’re a Lynch fan and haven’t seen this dig it up. The scene where Cage’s character crushes a guys skull with his bare hands during a fight might be one of the coolest scenes he’s ever done. Watch this movie!



Example #4
Red Rock West
John Dahl’s Noir Western about a drifter, Nicolas Cage, who takes advantage of being mistaken for a hitman is a reminder that Cage isn’t just good at being quirky. Cage’s low key performance sets the tone for a great thriller with solid supporting performances by Lara Flynn Boyle and Dennis Hopper. The movie didn’t get much in the way of a theatrical release but critical acclaim helped give it new life on home video when it was released. Highly recommended film.

There are four solid reasons not to hate Nic Cage. Check back tomorrow for the second half, and if you have Cage films you think might be worthy of this list feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Finally a remake to get excited about! Having just wrapped A Serious Man the brothers Coen have announced that they will next tackle remaking John Wayne’s 1969 classic True Grit. The original is about a drunken U.S. Marshall, a texas ranger and a young woman who track the killer of the young woman’s father through hostile Indian territory. The Coen’s version will be told through the eyes of the young woman’s character rather than the U.S. Marshall originally played by John Wayne. Robert Duvall played Ned Pepper in the original. I think the Coens should consider brining him back. What say you?

It had been previously reported on a few sites that the a third X-Files film was in the works an was in fact headed Direct-to-DVD. Fortunately Frank Spotnitz (Producer/Writer) has dubunked this rumor on his official blog which you can read here.
The Coen’s made some interesting casting choices for their new flick A Serious Man, Richard Kind,(Mad About You,Spin City) and Michael Stuhlbarg a Tony award winning stage actor have been cast in the leads. SERIOUS , set in 1967, centers on Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor whose life begins to unravel when his wife sets out to leave him and his socially inept brother (Kind) won’t move out of the house. Here’s a link to the JoBlo article I stole this from.
Is there anything that Tom Cruise hasn’t been at least attached to at one point or another in his career? AICN says that Tom Cruise is talking with Sam Raimi (yes the guy who is reviving Jack Ryans lame ass) about bringing DC Comics/Windstorm’s “Sleeper” to the big screen.
“Sleeper” written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, ran from 2003-05 and centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain and allows him to pass it on to others through skin contact. He is placed undercover in a villainous organization by an intelligence agency and falls for a member of the group, named Miss Misery.
And finally the awesome Dread Central has an interesting interview with Todd Farmer the screenwriter responsible for the new “My Bloody Valentine” remake…in 3-D. Yes I said it, in 3-D. If ever there was a film that deserved a 3-D treatment this certainly wouldn’t be it. I can’t get over what an awful idea this really is, but check out the interview anyway. It’s a crappy idea, but maybe it will be the kind of crappy that will make us all giggle. The interview is here.