5 On Top: Nicolas Cage Movies

attends a screening of Summit Entertainment's "Drive Angry 3D" at ArcLight Cinemas on February 22, 2011 in Hollywood, California.

Nicolas Cage has gotten a bad rap over the years, be it for his questionable role choices, or for his dry, monotone delivery. I once saw a short cartoon that pokes fun at Cage for his apparent inability to turn down much of anything that comes his way. In the cartoon, you see an animated version of Cage sitting in a chair, with text on the screen reading something to the effect of “Nicolas Cage After Reading Any Movie Script.” He looks up from the script and simply says, in his signature drawl, “Sure.” What is not questionable, however, is that the man has had some gems peppered about his resume throughout his long tenure in Hollywood. Here, five of his best movies (in my not-so-humble opinion) will be discussed. It’s not that these movies would be nothing without him, but Cage brings a quirky charm to these obvious selections (no, Raising Arizona did not make the list). So, without further adieu, I present in no particular order, five must-see Nicolas Cage movies… Continue reading

Movie Review: Suicide Squad

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Before I saw this summer’s long-awaited and nauseatingly-hyped antihero ensemble movie Suicide Squad, I was having a difficult time processing all of the venom with which the Internet had become flush over it. I’m going to preface my review by stating that although I may be in the minority, I enjoyed the film overall. That certainly does not mean the movie was without its flaws, because there was plenty that the audience at large, myself included, did not like about it. Here I will paint an honest picture of the Suicide Squad – the good, the bad and the ugly will all be analyzed in this review. Continue reading

The Die Hard Movies: Worst to Best

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In 1988, Die Hard, the godfather of action movies was released in theaters, and New York City cop and everyman John McClane (Bruce Willis) has been battling terrorist baddies on the big screen ever since. Much to the chagrin of the movie-going public after the fifth installment, Die Hard has become the series that just won’t, well, die.

On February 13th, 2013, along with a couple of my best friends, I sat in a movie theater in Hamilton, New Jersey to take in a marathon of the whole series leading up to the release of that fifth movie, A Good Day To Die Hard, which killed everything for which John McClane and the series at large always stood.

The time has come at The No Seatbelt Blog to rank the five Die Hard films from worst to best, from the embarrassing to the monumental. Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: Nerve

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Are you a watcher or a player? That’s the question that lies at the premise of this summer’s hip and unique thriller Nerve. In this 2016 film starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, an online game has been created in which players win money by performing increasingly dangerous tasks out in public, and those prizes are funded by people who pay to watch them accept dares that range from the embarrassing to the potentially deadly.  Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: Hush

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At the suggestion of a friend, I recently watched the movie Hush. Although I viewed this film on Netflix, there was no chill. Hush is a horror film that revolves around deaf writer Maddie (Kate Siegel) who has retreated to in a cabin in the middle of nowhere to live a life of isolation, and to pound the keys for her new book. The solace she thought she would enjoy soon turns to terror as a masked psychopath shows up outside her house and begins to engage in psychological warfare. Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: No Escape

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When I first saw the trailer for No Escape, I was intrigued enough to say “That’ll be one for RedBox,” and that’s precisely how I’m watching it as I write this. An action movie set on foreign soil, featuring Owen Wilson as the unlikely hero admittedly comes from more than a little out of left field, but I was still drawn to it. I rented the movie thinking it was going to be one of those turn-your-brain-off, over-the-top action flicks with a clear protagonist and villain, but it was more complex and actually packed a heavy message.  Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: Jason Bourne

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Jason Bourne is back. It’s been nearly a decade since Matt Damon played the title role in this incredible thriller series, and it’s more than safe to say he hasn’t lost his touch. Damon takes up the mantle again in Jason Bourne, as his character, a former assassin for the U.S. government lives on the run while the secretive government agency that made him what he was tries to bring him back in, or better yet, kill him. This time, he finds out some more than unpleasant news about who was involved with the program that in the name of patriotism transformed him into a killing machine. That revelation hits entirely too close to home, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down.  Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: The Secret Life of Pets

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I have a soft spot for adorable animated movies, so I was excited about The Secret Life of Pets from the moment I first saw the trailer. What better way to hook an audience than with a trailer that makes pet owners of all kinds shake with laughter and nod in agreement when they see pixelated depictions of the shenanigans (albeit greatly exaggerated ones) in which they imagine their non-human companions participate when those pets are left to their own devices. Pets is the story of Max (voiced by comedian Louis C.K.), a loyal pup whose world is turned upside down when his dog-loving owner brings home a large and graceless mongrel, with whom he is forced to share their Manhattan flat. Continue reading

Mini Movie Reviews: London Has Fallen

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Welcome to the first edition of “Mini Movie Reviews” at The No Seatbelt Blog! I love movies more than most things in life, and when I write about them, I tend to be longwinded. I’m starting this series to present small, digestible reviews of movies that I enjoyed, but on which I don’t feel the need to compose a novel. I’m kicking the series off with London Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, which was one of two 2013 flicks that revolved around a terrorist attack on The White House (the other being White House Down). Continue reading

Movie Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

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Remember when Jay-Z said “ladies is pimps too”? Well, now ladies is Ghostbusters too. For the first time in 27 years, a full-length Ghostbusters film is in theaters, and the foursome of paranormal investigators and eliminators is played by an all-female cast, and the world is better for it. While I want to spend the majority of this review discussing the actual movie, I feel obliged to address the obnoxious political tantrum that has been thrown over this film’s existence. No, not liking or even wanting to see the new Ghostbusters because of your allegiance to the original two films, or because you harbor some illegitimate fear that your childhood will be “ruined” does not make you a misogynist. Conversely, not liking or wanting to even see the new Ghostbusters because you feel that women should not be Ghostbusters, or that they are incapable of being scientists (even just on film) or are similarly unable to be funny, then indeed, that makes you a sexist asshole. Moving on. Continue reading