Movie #192 - Face/Off

Face/Off
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 18 min
Director: John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Tommy Flanagan

John Woo can't help himself.  There must be doves. There must be artsy, self-indulgent cinematography. There must be gratuitous explosions. 

Obviously, this movie has all three. It also has one of the weirdest premises ever. Two men, the criminal and the man he wronged, switch identities...faces, bodies, voices. All of it. And then, OH NO! The good guy's trapped in the bad guy's body, cuz the bad guy killed the doctors that did the procedure and burned all the evidence that it even took place. No one will ever find out! And the bad guy, dressed as the good guy, is sleeping with the good guy's wife!

Still with me?

Nicolas Cage plays the bad guy, but when the bad guy's in John Travolta's body, he actually does a better job.  Nic Cage is better when he's got the good duy trapped in his body.

I'm getting confused now, so I'm gonna stop.  But you get the idea.  It's confusing, and we're nowhere near this kind of science. Besides, who would EVER do this? EVER?!  It seems like someone had a crazy idea and built a plot around it, just to shoot some of the action scenes and the who's-who stuff.

Ugh.

Movie #61 - Be Cool

Be Cool
MGM
2005 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 58 min
Director: F. Gary Gray
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Andre Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne Johnson

Want to learn about the seedy underbelly of the music industry? Here you go.

As the sequel to Get Shorty, this movie stands alone without leaving you confused. I know first hand, since I originally saw this one before I saw Get Shorty. I've seen both now and I feel like they can each stand on their own. Which is a good thing for me since they're alphabetically so distant.

So John Travolta is a big time movie producer who just had a big hit with Get Leo and now he wants in on the music business. Christina Milian plays his first client and a whole host of other big music names show up here and there, like gangster Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000 from Outkast). And of course, as you might guess, everyone wants to kill him. Mostly, they kill each other in the process. Vince Vaughn plays a hell of a pimp, Dwayne Johnson is his gay, star-struck body guard, and Uma Thurman plays the hip, cool music exec.

This one is lots of fun to watch. Travolta is his charming, mischievious self, which is always a good time. It takes on hit-and-runs and hired killers with a certain nonchalance that helps this movie not to take itself too seriously. It's just a good time.

Movie #53 - Basic

Basic

Sony Pictures

2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 38 min

Director: John McTiernan

Starring: John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs, Harry Connick Jr.

Ok, I feel like I've been watching a lot of "mindless" entertainment so far, but here's one that will get you thinking for sure. Military intrigue is always a good time, and Basic does not disappoint.

If you haven't seen this one, I don't want to give too much away. I really recommend giving it a peek. Basically, the plot centers around the murder of Samuel L. Jackson and the special ops team that's accused of killing him. From beginning to end there are many twists and turns, and you'll be surprised to find out what's really going on here.

Travolta is great, Jackson is so good you want to punch him yourself, and the supporting cast are spot on. Well done all around. Definitely a favorite!