So it's come to this... we close out the '90s with a mashup, catch-up post

As is painfully obvious from the no-posts-in-the-last-two-months status of this little blog, the summer was not kind to the Caged For a Year project.

In fact, it was very nearly mothballed altogether, but that's no way to treat such an ambitious endeavour. After all, what would Cage do? He'd make a scary face and charge headlong once more into the breech!

So here we go. This post is less an informative examination of the movies I've watched at a breakneck pace over the past 10 or so days (and the one or two that I managed to fit in during the Cageless Summer) and more an acknowledgement of my duties and a defiant shout in the face of complacency and giving up on stuff.

So, without further ado, here are the movies I've watched since last I posted. Bear in mind that the first two were watched in August, and all the rest were watched over the course of the last week.

1993, pretty skipable, contains crazy Cage, possibly made by a person who just wanted to take advantage of the fact that Cage would take just about any role and do anything the director said, no matter how ridiculous. 

1994; co-starring Shirley MacLaine; a 'romance',  but not in the modern, two-people-fall-in-love sense, but more the Shakespearean we-don't-really-know-what-to-call-this-because-it's-not-sad-but-it's-also-not-a-comedy sense. I'd recommend it.

 1994; Pretty standard rom-com fare; Inoffensive but not outstanding.

1994; I was pretty excited when the opening credits rolled to reveal the names Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey - then I watched the movie; Christmas-bank-heist-gone-wrong movie; I have no idea why Carvey decided to do a Mickey Rourke impersonation throughout the film.

 1995; David Caruso is the star, Cage is the second-in-command gangster foil; This gets a solid 'meh' rating. Skipable.

1995; Cage won an Oscar for this. See it, but be prepared to be sad. But see it.

1996; One of the first action movies I saw in theatres (I was 14 when it came out) and still one of my favourites; Sean Connery is awesome, as always; the first of the badass-90s-action-movie 'trilogy' that defined a generation.

1997; Cage's attempt at an Alabaman accent notwithstanding, a solid action movie; contains the classic post-murder line "why couldn't you just put the bunny back in the box?"

1997; Possibly one of the greatest action movies of all time - the concept and execution by Cage and Travolta is astounding; if by some absolute crime of negligence you haven't seen this yet, see it immediately.

1998; A decent-enough romantic-comedy, major theological issues notwithstanding (IE Milton takes this scenario - basically - and out comes Paradise Lost, Brad Silberling takes it and the Goo Goo Dolls get a hit song); Denniz Franz is awesome.

1998; Atlantic City crime movie; Gary Sinise is a great bad guy, Cage is a great crooked-cop-wanting-to-do-the-right-thing; a movie that somehow completely escaped me when it came out, but pretty alright overall. "B" (letter grade, not movie grade)

1999; I can't in good conscience recommend this movie, even though it may be one of Cage's best performances. This movie proves beyond a doubt (if you still had any after the likes of Raising Arizona and Leaving Las Vegas - silly person) that Cage is a bona fide and massively talented actor, but unfortunately, it's also one of the single most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Think very nearly Requiem For a Dream level. Don't see this - it's just not worth it.

1999; Cage, Goodman and others are NYC paramedics, and Cage isn't dealing with it very well; another awesome performance by Our Hero, and definitely worth the watch. A really good movie.

And there you have it - the 1990s are done. By the turn of the century, Cage has won an Oscar and proven over and over again that he is not only absolutely capable of delivering amazing performances, but is also completely unafraid to take on some really weird/daring/unconventional projects.

TO THE 21st CENTURY!!!