Asides

Critical analysis and reviews, Films

I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much while watching a film. It’s been too long, obviously, but Nicolas Cage’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is that kind of meta treat that only comes along every so often.

It stars Cage as himself in a tongue in cheek critique of his career as he gets an appearance gig for a multi-millionaire out in Spain. Nothing is as it seems (of course) and he ends up playing himself, playing himself as he acts through one of his toughest parts to date. It is a meta film with a high dose of parody.

There’s a midlife crisis, parenting, questions about career choices and friendship. Plus action. All while Cage uniquely sends himself up using Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten’s script that could only have been written after watching a lot of Cage movies.

I suppose if you’ve not watched at least a handful of Cage films, then you might be hard pressed to enjoy his latest outing. And if you know nothing about his personal and professional life that is out there in the public domain, you might also struggle with some of the film’s plot points.

(And if you’ve never watched any of Cage’s films, you should probably rectify that. Like, go do that right now. Maybe start with Face/Off, followed by Raising Arizona and a side of Mandy, but that’s just to start with.)

One thing I did find myself thinking is that it reminds me a lot of The Disaster Artist but the big difference here is that I’d willingly watch any of Cage’s films. But The Room is not something I ever really want to see again.

Those of us who live for Cage “Going full Cage”, this film completely delights… And made me want to rewatch/watch some more of his extensive filmography.

You need to see “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”

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gishwhes

(I’ve been posting about this on my social media handles since I set up the fundraising page, but I’m writing about it here too.)

GISH (formerly GISHWHES) is the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt and has, for as long as I’ve been taking part, had a hunt item each year that’s about raising funds for a noble cause. This year we’re raising funds to clear landmines in Laos and provide prosthetics to survivors.

GISH has set the goal of collectively, across all teams, of raising at least $150,000 to help the people of Laos.

Each team is encouraged to create their own donation page that feeds into the larger campaign, as part of the hunt task. We need at least 10 people to donate to our team’s page in order for us to qualify for the item in the hunt.

So… if you have $10 to spare, please help Team Swords In Lakes to #ChangeALife this year. We’ve had 4 donations so far, putting us over 25% of our $100 fundraising goal.

Once GISH is over, I’ll share some of our highlights here (I’m not allowed to share most items before the hunt is over).

Helping to #ChangeALife with GISH

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Comics, Podcasting, TV

An open ice hockey rink.

This past week (while falling ill with one of the worst ear infections I have ever had as an adult) I started a short form, should-be-daily podcast called Hockey and Stuff. The podcast is about ice hockey and other stuff in my life.

A lot of people have been surprised that I’ve gone deep into ice hockey this year, but I think it was inevitable. I’ve been circling ice hockey since reviewing NHL 12 back in 2011, and then a combination of things happened this year that really got be interested:

  • I started playing more NHL 18
  • I started reading the Check, Please! web comic
  • I discovered you could sign up direct through the NHL’s website to NHL TV to watch games through either the site or their mobile app

Oh, and I am part way through getting an ice hockey tattoo on my right leg. Line work is done and I just need it coloured, which is happening later this month.

But with all that going on, and the new NHL season starting, I figured a short form podcast about ice hockey would be nice to do. Plus it saves me from clogging up my main podcast, Nerds Assemble, with talk about ice hockey – which it really isn’t suited to.

I chose Anchor, because the app and site have been calling to me for a while. With its smartphone recording ability, and it’s on phone editing and ability to add in various sound bits – it’s quite easy to use and versatile. Plus Anchor users can call in to a podcast and those calls can be used in episodes. It also can distribute to a lot of podcast platforms.

It’s best listened to on the Anchor app. You can listen to Hockey and Stuff here. The site also links to where else it’s available (Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, and more) and its RSS.

Hockey and Stuff

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