Multiple viewings and hours of sober reflection have led us both to believe that Con Air is a bad movie. The plot is contrived, the accents are awful, and it's perhaps the least "Cagey" performance in Cage's entire career. And yet, maybe based on star-power alone, it remains a classic which simply must be watched.
Jul 2021
The Rock (1996) and U-571 (2000)
In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an action favourite with a lot of writers, and a war movie hit that ended up criticised in UK Parliament. The Rock (1996) utilised lots of writers, and its stars - Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris - all had significant inpu ... Show More
54m 53s
Sep 2023
The Great Escape (1963) and Rocky III (1982)
For the latest episode of the Film Stories podcast, a war movie, a boxing movie, and a few problems in the making of both.
1963's The Great Escape was a film that director John Sturges couldn't initially get off the ground, and he needed his success with The Magnificent Seven to ... Show More
56m 11s
Nov 2018
The Weather Man (2005) - Super Serious Film Fest
The Season of the Cage continues with another of Nicolas Cage's best films, The Weather Man (2005). He plays a well-payed Chicago weather man who would have the perfect life if only he could make his father proud, get the job of his dreams, win back his ex-wife, and stop ruining ... Show More
43m 20s
Mar 2024
Dunkirk (2017) and Dangerous Minds (1995)
With Christopher Nolan now an Oscar-winner, this particular episode of Film Stories begins by zipping back to 2017, when he had a his first serious drive-by of the Academy Awards. That'd be with Dunkirk, the first time he told a true story on film. It took him a long time to be i ... Show More
56m 19s