Nicolas Cage

Capsules by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimoresun.com/movies. Are We Done Yet?, -- with Ice Cube as the leader of a city family that moves into a country fixer-upper that refuses to be fixed, has some possibilities, but consistently mistakes annoying for funny. (C.K.) PG 92 minutes C+ Away From Her -- As his wife'sAlzheimer's worsens, a husband struggles over just how hard he should fight to retain the life they once had. Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent are wonderful in this quiet, comtemplative study of love and loss.

Does anyone remember when Nicolas Cage used to be an actor?Was "Raising Arizona" really that long ago? Or, for that matter, "Moonstruck," "Red Rock West," "Leaving Las Vegas?"Oscar in hand, Cage took the low road with the awful action picture "The Rock," a diversion his admirers could explain away as a campy wink to his populist roots. Then came an overwrought turn in "Face/Off" by trendy Hong Kong bullet choreographer John Woo, which was cool because it was Woo. Then "Con Air," another one from the producers of "The Rock," only twice as idiotic and three times as despicable.

Bringing Out the Dead" will bring pleasure to the followers of Martin Scorsese's always interesting career. Not one of his major works, Scorsese's 27th movie still represents a significant addition to the director's prodigious canon, a series of experiments, homages and subtle references that add up to a glorious viewing experience if not a completely satisfying narrative.Joe Connelly's novel, "Bringing Out the Dead," was adapted for the screen by Paul Schrader, who last worked with Scorsese on the epochal "Taxi Driver.

On screens this weekend:The Open-Air Italian Film Festival continues tonight with a screening of "Moonstruck" (1987), the classic contemporary romantic comedy starring Cher and Nicolas Cage as a passionately mismatched couple. The movie will begin at 9 p.m. on the parking lot wall at High and Stiles streets. Bring a chair for maximum enjoyment, and get into the mood with a dinner beforehand at a Little Italy restaurant. Free admission.Also tonight, "In the King of Prussia," Emile De Antonio's video about the Plowshares movement, will be shown at the American Friends Service Committee.

As Rick Santoro, an Atlantic City police detective who has the city in his pocket and the world on a string, Nicolas Cage roams the town's biggest casino and sports arena like a Rick of another era.Like another anti-hero of cinematic yore, Cage moves through his world with assurance and primal physical power, unencumbered by the demands of any guiding personal ethic. Bursting with the joie de vivre reserved for naifs and scoundrels, he belongs squarely in the latter camp. He's a reluctant hero who would rather give in to corruption than fight it.Any resemblance to Rick Blaine of "Casablanca" is strictly intentional.

Shirley MacLaine, as a former first lady, and Nicolas Cage, as her hangdog Secret Service protector, make a nice team in "Guarding Tess" (9 p.m.-11 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11), but the real reason to watch -- for folks around here -- is the star turn by Baltimore and Maryland.Standing in for "Summersville, Ohio," metropolitan Baltimore pops up several times during the 1994 film. There's Laboreore, a 125-year-old Mount Washington mansion that plays Tess' home; there's Kernan Hospital, playing a hospital; there's a spot alongside Loch Raven, playing host to a picnic; there's well, we wouldn't want to give them all away.

"Con Air" is preposterous. It's excessive. It's slathered in blood.Ladies and gentlemen, please buckle up for an absolute blast at the cineplex."Con Air" is a pulsating action movie that never once asks to be taken seriously. It skillfully observes all the conventions of the thriller and simultaneously mocks itself for doing so. Yes, it's loud and violent and way, way overdone. But what "Con Air" is, most of all, is funny. Very, very funny.The producer is Jerry Bruckheimer, an experienced hand at action pictures, with "The Rock," "Top Gun" and "Crimson Tide" all on his resume.

To: S. ClausFrom: William Morris AgencyRe: Updating your imageDEAR MR. CLAUS,After an exhaustive personal and professional evaluation, as per your request, we've identified seven key areas, or "core growth elements" to work on:Jazz up that wardrobe!To William Morris, heavy red flannel says "Ho-hum," not "Ho-ho-ho!" And fur is out, out, out! Eighty-seven-year-old society matrons in Manhattan can get away with it; an international toy magnate can't.The buzzword in fashion today: active-wear -- breathable, lightweight fabrics for people on the go.Our suggestions:For that hectic sleigh ride on the evening of 12/24: weatherproof Goretex shell, St. John's Bay nylon wind pants, Nike Max Triax running shoes for improved rooftop stability.

Deep into John Woo's blood-soaked "Face/Off," a thug learns that an FBI agent uses the date of his little boy's murder as the code that activates his home burglar alarm. "That's brilliant," the killer says appreciatively, "but sick.""Face/Off" shares those characteristics.Woo, Hong Kong's most renowned filmmaker, is fast becoming recognized as the current master of the action thriller, thanks to his first American films, "Hard Target" with Jean-Claude Van Damme and "Broken Arrow," his 1996 blockbuster.

Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" proved the heartiest, if not the bravest, movie of the year as it won four Oscars at last night's 68th Annual Acadmey Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Gibson. The film, a reaffirmation of "old movie values" in a period when movies have come under more and more criticism, told the story of Scottish patriot William Wallace who, in the 13th century, led an army against the English oppressors, won several battles but ultimately was captured and executed.

Must-sees Shall We Kiss?: *** A Parisian fabric designer meets an affable stranger, with whom she hits it off so well that it seems natural for him to offer a farewell kiss. She says there's no such thing as a kiss without consequences and proceeds to tell a story to prove her point. Adventureland: *** 1/2 In the summer of 1987, a college grad (Jesse Eisenberg) finds love with a sleek, smart young woman (Kristen Stewart) at a seedy Pittsburgh-area amusement park. Sunshine Cleaning : *** A woman struggling to get over life's disappointments (Amy Adams)

Fast & Furious ** 1/2 ( 2 1/2 STARS) $71 million $71 million 1 week Rated: PG-13 Running time: 107 minutes What it's about: Fast & Furious is a stripped-down version of The Fast and The Furious, the first movie in this demolition derby of a franchise. Our take: The combination of relentless fuel-injected stunts and the equally relentless Vin Diesel (above) turns pummeling. Monsters vs. Aliens * 1/2 ( 1 1/2 STARS) $32.6 million $104.8 million 2 weeks Rated: PG Running time: 94 minutes What it's about: A group of Earth monsters - slapstick versions of the 50-Foot Woman, the Fly (here, Dr. Cockroach)

Must-sees Everlasting Memories: **** In 1907 Sweden, Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen), a born photographer, has an abusive husband, seven children and a talent for seeing things whole. Gomorrah: **** The crime syndicate Camorra has made a Gomorrah (as in Sodom and) out of Naples, Italy. Adventureland: *** 1/2 In the summer of 1987, a college grad (Jesse Eisenberg) finds love with a sleek, smart young woman (Kristen Stewart) at a seedy Pittsburgh-area amusement park. Sunshine Cleaning : *** A woman struggling to get over life's disappointments (Amy Adams)

Must-sees Race to Witch Mountain: *** The nonstop sci-fi chase involves child aliens who bring out the combat skills and fatherly virtues of a good-hearted Las Vegas cabbie with useful auto-racing experience (Dwayne Johnson). To ensure the survival of Earth as we know it, this unlikely trio must outmaneuver some grim avengers. Duplicity: *** A pair of high-powered spies (played by Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) can't help testing their powers of deception even after they team up as lovers and partners in a high-stakes masquerade.

Knowing offers mumbo jumbo on an apocalyptic scale. It's a thick, lumpy stew of devices from the sci-fi/fantasy mainstream and the lunatic fringe. The movie starts in 1959, with the packing and sealing of a grade-school time capsule, and jumps ahead to 2009, when the capsule is opened. As it recklessly mixes tropes from Chariots of the Gods, disaster movies and Steven Spielberg's space fantasies, it makes you feel as if you're witnessing That '70s Movie: The Doomsday Edition. The director, Alex Proyas (I, Robot)

HOLLYWOOD - Nicolas Cage didn't wind up in Bangkok, Thailand, by accident. As the Oscar-winning actor explains it, there were reasons both personal and professional that compelled him to change gears after the mega-dollar success of the family-friendly action-adventure National Treasure: Book of Secrets and travel across the globe in pursuit of a new career iteration. Not least was the impulse to shake up his image by appearing in a foreign-made film. "On my path of film acting, I've been trying to think more and more internationally, trying to have a global mind," Cage said.

I woke up last night in the wee hours. If you are wondering why people refer to the hours between midnight and 5 a.m. as "the wee hours," well, then, you are obviously not over the age of 40. At any rate, before I embarked on my nightly task of staying awake until five minutes before the alarm clock's drone, I thought: Be sure to remember at least this part of the dream you just interrupted, because it is hilarious. In my dream, I was walking along a highway and came upon one of those official historical marker signs with the words: "Nicolas Cage, 7 miles."

Capsules by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimoresun.com/movies. Are We Done Yet?, -- with Ice Cube as the leader of a city family that moves into a country fixer-upper that refuses to be fixed, has some possibilities, but consistently mistakes annoying for funny. (C.K.) PG 92 minutes C+ Away From Her -- As his wife'sAlzheimer's worsens, a husband struggles over just how hard he should fight to retain the life they once had. Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent are wonderful in this quiet, comtemplative study of love and loss.

Next may be the silliest movie of 2007. How silly? Hard to focus on just one example of its unceasing inanity, but try this: The film's plot centers on a guy who can see two minutes into his future, and efforts by the FBI to enlist his aid in the search for an atomic bomb buried somewhere near L.A. The idea is that he'll see it do something two minutes before it actually does, giving the FBI time to ... Next (Paramount Pictures) Starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel. Directed by Lee Tamahori.

Since I couldn't make it to Bike Week at Daytona, I did the next best thing. I went to see the two big motorcycle movies that are playing in theaters this month. I had high hopes for Wild Hogs, but it turned out to be City Slickers on wheels without the poignant humor or the cute bovine love interest. There were no such expectations for Ghost Rider, the inexplicably popular Marvel Comic adaptation, but it wasn't a total loss. For those of us who have been waiting years for Nicolas Cage to burst into flames, it was well worth the price of admission.