Snap Judgments Review: 'Rage' Starring Nicolas Cage

In Paco Cabezas' revenge-thriller, Rage, Nicolas Cage plays a former gangster-turned-businessman whose past comes back to haunt him when his daughter is kidnapped. Finding the cops to be less than helpful, and encouraged by his wife (Rachel Nichols), he rounds up the old crew and starts cracking skulls around town in hopes of uncovering the truth, only to learn there's more to her disappearance than meets the eye.

Also starring Peter Stormare and Danny Glover, Rage is available now On Demand and hits DVD/Blu-Ray August 12th. Check out my Snap Judgments review of Rage below!

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Nicolas Cage Shows His 'Rage' In New Trailer

So you know that big comeback Nicolas Cage made in David Gordon Green's acclaimed southern drama, Joe? Well...since nobody saw the film (I did, and loved it immensely) nobody can vouch for that comeback. And so Cage is back doing what he's infamous for, namely starring in crap paycheck movies like Rage, which had been going by the title Tokarev except nobody knew what the frig that meant.

Directed by Paco Cabezas and co-starring Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, and Danny Glover, a trio that ensures crap awaits, the film has Cage as an ex-con whose past comes back to haunt him. Russian mobsters kidnap his daughter in hopes of recovering some stolen cash, while Cage's character tries not to slip back into old criminal habits. Looks like he fails spectacularly.

Oddly enough, if you go to the film's Wikipedia page it basically lay out the entire plot for those inclined to read it. You may enjoy it more than this horrible, cheap-looking trailer. Rage is expected to open later this year and probably turn up on Blu-Ray the next day or something.

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Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick Join 'Mr. Right'; Melissa George Leads 'The Insect King'

* Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick together in a film penned by Chronicle screenwriter Max Landis? Yes, please. The duo will star in Mr. Right, directed by Paco Cabezas (Tokarev) and following "a woman whose bad luck streak at finding lasting love seems to end when she meets Mr. Right. That’s until she discovers he is a reformed hit man. When his dark past catches up, their fledgling relationship is tested as they try to save one another." This sounds like something that would have starred David Duchovny and Tea Leoni like a decade ago, but maybe there's more to it than the logline suggests. [Deadline]

* The lovely Melissa George (30 Days of Night, The Good Wife) will star in The Insect King, and no it's not as horrific as it sounds. The coming-of-age drama written and directed by Priscilla Cameron follows a 13-year-old boy in competition with his father for the affection of an exotic 40-year-old woman. Taika Waititi (Eagle vs. Shark) and Sophie Lowe (Adore) co-star. [Deadline]

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Amanda Seyfried Joins 'Flying Horse'; Nicolas Cage in Talks for 'Men with No Fear'

Gary Oldman has been having some difficulty mounting his first directorial effort since 1997's Nil By Mouth, the Eadweard Muybridge biopic Flying Horse. Last year it seemed like he was moving in the right direction with Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes coming aboard, but even with those stars, and the newly-added Amanda Seyfried, Oldman reveals to Absolutely Magazine that the lack of funding may prevent the film from happening....

Oldman: The script doesn’t fit their model. It’s called Flying Horse and it’s a real story. I have Ralph Fiennes in at the moment, Amanda Seyfried, Benedict Cumberbatch, and me. And it’s not enough because they have to make their movie for $15 million and they have got to have their model. You need someone who will actually be a risk taker. It’s set in San Francisco but you could save yourself $100k if you do three weeks in Romania and then you get a tax subsidy if you do a week in Ireland. It’s fucking eye-crossing!

Fiennes was set to play Muybridge, a pioneering photographer instrumental to the development of motion pictures, and presumably Seyfried would have been his young wife who had an affair with and had a child by Major Harry Larkyns (Cumberbatch). The discovery of the affair led Muybridge to murder Larkyns, causing quite the scandal and something of a circus trial.  Filming was set to begin later this year but it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon. [BleedingCool]

Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage is in talks to star in Men with No Fear, which would reunite him with his Tokarev director, Paco Cabezas. Produced by Bryan Singer and set to be sold at the European Film Market, the film "centers on Marty ‘The Mule,’ newly released from prison after being set up by his former boss Frank, a smalltime neighborhood crook. While Mule was locked up, Frank went big time and became a ruthless drug kingpin. But Frank also took Mule’s most precious item — his son, raising him like his own. But now Mule is back on the streets and ready for revenge." [Deadline]

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