The Hurt Predictions

The Hurt Locker stole the party Sunday night as it won 6 awards including the top honors Best Picture and Kathryn Bigelow winning for Best Director. It came as a big surprise to me, as I predicted that Avatar would win those awards, but it only won 3 and they were all technical awards. But looking back at my predictions blog, it is clear that I missed my calling. While I only got 3 of my predictions correct I did provide some interesting insight. Christoph Waltz won for best supporting actor, Mo'Nique won for best supporting actress and Jeff Bridges won for best actor (all 3 I correctly predicted). And while I got the other 3 predictions wrong, I did have some words of the wise, including.....

What Should Win: Avatar is the clear cut favorite, and I have to agree. It's an amazing achievement in film, but let's not forget that the Academy loves artsy, human interest movies. That's why The Hurt Locker has a great chance for the upset, which I recently saw. It's very good

Yes I was wrong in picking Avatar, and yes I excluded the end of that sentence that said "but I don't think it was better than Avatar", but I'm counting this as a partial victory. I then went on to say that if Avatar lost it would be an upset along the lines of Cash Warren landing Jessica Alba. Well now I see that anything is possible because The Hurt Locker did beat Avatar, Cash Warren did land Jessica Alba and I am still incredibly jealous of him. (We'll always have Paris Jess)

I was also incorrect in picking the best director. I thought Cameron had this in the bag, but here's what I said...

Darkhorse: Kathryn Bigelow. She made a very tense, very real war movie that wasn't over the top and didn't glorify the violence or the war (like a lot of war movies tend to do)....this award is usually a lead in for best picture, so whoever wins this award, look for the respective movie to take the top award.


Again I'm counting this as a minor victory as I was spot on about the director award being a lead in for best picture. While I am surprised I must say that I'm not disappointed. Unlike some other years in which the best picture won over a more deserving movie, (ie Chicago beating Gangs of New York, or Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan to name a few) The Hurt Locker is a very deserving, good movie and Bigelow did an excellent job. It is also vindication for one of my favorite "good, bad movies" Point Break starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Bigelow was the genius director behind it, and from now on Point Break isn't just an awesome surfing/bank heist movie...it's a stylish, innovative movie made by an Oscar winning director. Thank you Kathryn Bigelow, thank you.

And now we switch gears from award winning movies to Nic Cage movies. Our long lost correspondant, Steamin' Willie Beamen is back with a great installment of movie debates. They are so interesting and intruiging that I am releasing them one at a time so as to give them their proper analysis.....


All Signs Point to Nic Cage

The Rock v Con Air v Face Off

Wow. Wow. Wow. This is an epic battle that can only be called an Ode to Nic or TNT/TBS Wet Dream. It is three of the best action movies that have ever been lead by the same man. Nic Cage had a three movie run here that you don’t read about because it doesn’t happen. All three have great second fiddles and all three have good third fiddles. These three movies were released back to back to back all within 12 months. The issue under debate is not their greatness but instead their relative success against each other.

The Rock (1996): Great plot, great cast, great setting. Mike Bay. Everyone loves the disgruntled military takeover. The movie starts with a great third fiddle Ed Harris. Maybe I am the only person who loves Ed Harris but the guy is good. Nic Cage playing the epic Stanley Goodspeed is an awesome unassuming lead. Sex scene with Vanessa Marcil that was PG, but in '96, when I was 12 was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Enter the great second fiddle Sean Connery as an unknown spy with secrets of JFK and Roswell. Great chase scene through San Fran and an awesome trolley scene with a huge dude yelling “save yourselves!!!!!”. Did I mention that most of the movie takes place on the most mysterious, amazing island on the planet?.?.? Alcatraz.

Con Air (1997) Great cast, ok plot, great cast. I mean anytime you can take Nic Cage and put him ahead of John Cusack and John Malkovich you should be good. Add in the Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhymes, and Dave Chappell. You have a hit. Great battle scenes both in air and on ground. Love the prison underdog story. It has tons of cops getting killed and the noble Cameron Poe trying to save the day. Add in the plane landing on the Vegas Stip and the movie has all the makings. Cyrus the Virus. Classic.

Face/Off (1997) Great idea. Two great actors. John Woo. No second fiddle in this one. Two main guys who have the unique and difficult task of playing both parts. I love the shift in the roles and I love how the movie plays out. Must suspend a little disbelief to think that you can take your face off but at the end when Travolta tries to cut off his face is sick in both ways. Tons of gun fights and a cool prison make this another solid action film with the solid Nic Cage.

Verdict: The winner is The Rock. Combo of Sean Connery, the best of the three Nic Cage characters (Castor Troy of Face/Off would win but he switches faces half way through the movie and turns into a puss), and it takes place at Alcatraz. All three are solid movies and the fact that they came out all within the same 12 months is simply amazing

Here's my take on the debate. Cyrus the Virus might be the greatest nickname/bad guy combo in an action movie. If Hans Gruber had a nickname he would take the cake, but since he doesn't I've got to hand it to the Virus. Con Air has Nic Cage rocking some kind of disguistingly amazing mullet thing that you can't take your eyes off of. And I agree with Steamin's take on Castor Troy in Face Off. He would have been the best Cage character but since he switches faces he becomes the sympathetic father his performance is just not as  good in the end of the movie. But the best of those movies has got to be The Rock. It's a legitimate action movie full of great quotes and the rewatchability factor is off the charts. Stan Goodspeed, what a characters. Such great cheesy lines like "do you like music? Have you ever heard Elton John, the Rocketman. I was just wondering because its you, you're the Rocketman". Or what about "I'll take pleasure in gutting you, boy". Classic.

The next post will have the rest of Steamin' Willie Beamen's debates, and they are very interesting. So keep an eye for that and let me know what your thoughts are on the Nic Cage action trifecta. So until next time, as always.....STAY SWEET!