My Year of Nic Cage UPDATE

School started and now my leisure time is slipping away faster than this bottle of wine. I'm falling behind on My Year Of Nic, but I've managed to squeeze in two Nic Flicks.

'Crazy Eyes' Leto.

Lord Of War - An implausibly entertaining "biopic." LOW follows the "Blow" model of stuffing a trillion stories into one narrative. Is he a loving father, caring brother and devoted husband? Or is he a genocidal sociopath? Don't wonder. LOW is all about pretty African landscapes, Central Park skylines and badass motherf***ing weapons.

I should have hated LOW, but the only truly bothersome aspect is Jared Leto. He plays a sniveling cokehead like a sniveling cokehead (he puts "Requiem For a Dream" on his resume, obviously). But it was largely enjoyable. Ethan Hawke is great and Nic makes good use of his tough-but-distant family man.

Lord Of War
Nics - 5/10

Rumble Fish - OK, confession time. I have not seen "The Godfather." But am I qualified to write this? Of course!

My point is I'm not familiar with Coppola. Rumblefish is doggedly surreal. It enjoys playing with symbolism and a nearly experimental tone. Stewart Copeland provides a nifty soundtrack, even if it feels anachronistic. The whole film is a potpourris of distinct visual elements, but there's enough emotional charge and fine acting to make the narrative relatable.

Plus it's got an amazing cast - Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke (both awesome), Diane Lane, Nic Cage (duh), Chris Penn, a super-young looking Larry Fishburne, Tom Waits, Dennis Hopper - RIP.

Rumble Fish - 1983 
7/10 Nics