Mandy

I'm a longtime fan of Nicolas Cage. As far as hard-working, devoted actors go, he is certainly one of the better ones Hollywood has given us. Sadly he's done more than a few crappy films in recent years, but I believe that with some of the work he has been doing lately, he's on the verge of a massive comeback (I highly recommend "Joe" if you haven't seen it). Now here comes Mandy, an insanely compelling movie that gives Cage a chance to really shine; don't watch this movie under the influence, people, you're bound to get messed up if you do.Anyway, this film is epic in all the right ways. Taking place in the Shadow Mountains of California in 1983, Cage plays Red Miller, a logger who lives a peaceful life with his wife, the titular Mandy (played fantastically by Andrea Riseborough, super underrated actress). Unfortunately, Mandy catches the eye of a Charles Manson-esque cult leader and Red is soon pulled into a nightmare beyond his wildest imaginings; he sets out to take revenge on this messed up cult and their otherworldly henchmen.This film is a crazy violent visual orgy that will have your jaw dropping more than once. While the performances are all uniformly great, the real draw to this movie will be the visuals; a symphony of vivid colors and nightmarish landscapes will be a constant here. Director Panos Cosmatos stated that a major influence in crafting this film was the heavy metal albums of his youth, and you can definitely feel that in the art direction. You may come to this movie for the talent, but you'll stay for the crazy awesome visuals.If there's anything disappointing here, it's not with the film proper, but with the extras on the disc. You get deleted/extended scenes and you get to hear from the director and some of the producers (including Elijah Wood, strangely enough) but I personally would have liked to see more intimate interviews with some of the cast and the director. It's not a major gripe, but I always like to hear from as many people possible how a movie was crafted, especially if I happen to really like the movie.Anyway, this was a fantastic film that I believe will be remembered as a cult classic. Strong performances from some genuinely talented actors, an over-the-top story featuring bad drug trips, demonic bikers and hippie cultists and a ton of visual insanity that will have you thinking long after the credits roll; it's got everything. Go watch this movie, it deserves to be seen.

Trippy visuals, violence and Nicholas Cage! How could things be better?Great movie

All of Nicholas Cage “obscure” films have been great! I’m going down a rabbit hole for sure thanks to Amazon but it’s well worth it!

This has about 15 minutes of scenes cut out of the movie which really actually would have changed the way we perceive the main characters. This is a masterpiece of a movie in general, and seeing it in high quality only magnifies the brilliance of this underrated wonder about the power of true love and the redeeming qualities of the face of revenge. My take on the number 44 is that it's Douglas Adam's 42(the meaninglessness of existence aka GOD) plus the lovers(2). When added together life isn't meaningless anymore, thus the significance of the number 44.

This is a strange movie, with a common story, what really shines here is the director and the way that he present the movie, the images and scenes are different and very artistic, the colour and focus is unique, Nic Cage is fine, but the direction is what really makes a difference. An artistic kind of vengeance and revenge movie. Completely worthy. Spanish subtitles is included.

I watched no previews and read no reviews before going to see this in theaters and thus had no idea what I was in for. It seems people either love or hate this movie; I fall into the former category. I think it’s the perfect blend of dark, surreal and campy. It has a uniquely psychedelic atmosphere to it in the first half, that takes a “Heavy Metal meets Evil Dead meets Hellraiser” turn in the second. I have no idea how anyone finds this movie boring. And I can’t help but wonder how many reviewers aren’t watching it on a system that does the soundtrack and visual effects justice.Speaking of which, I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 solely because of the lack of a 4K version. Of all the movies that belong on the 4K format, this is definitely one of them.I think people have a tendency to call anything that doesn’t hold their hand the whole time, or lingers in atmosphere “pretentious,” because we’ve fostered a smartphone-driven culture of low attention spans and a desire for instant gratification. I don’t think people let themselves get immersed in things in the same way they used to, unless it’s an online battle royale game or whatever. Maybe that’s just me, but the complaints I read about movies like this just sound like plebs who don’t appreciate atmosphere. Anyone who has played Silent Hill will appreciate the way the climactic soundtrack and haunting visuals are paired in the first half, and the campiness of movies like Evil Dead is executed in the second half.I mean, or not, I guess. Just seems like everybody hates everything anymore.

Fantastical, saturated, and grim. Nicholas Cage perfect as a logger seeking revenge for the killing of his wife by mutant like bikers and off kilter cult members. This movie was quite an experience as it just sort of roars at you in a fury once Cage is unleashed. The colors and saturation of the rage are something I feel like Rob Zombie would try but couldn't pull off. Picture quality is very good on the BD, and there's a decent amount of extras. Recommended. (j4.)

it is hypnotic, visually stunning, heart wrenching, brutal and bloody! It is not a movie for everyone. If you love cinema and art you will enjoy most of this movie. I will say that the last hour is great but some have said it took too long to get there. I disagree they built up the love story between two lost souls and then showed the selfishness and narcissism of the main antagonist. I loved the whole movie but as I said before some will love the last hour, others will love the first hour and some probably won't enjoy any of it as it is dark and violent and different then anything you have seen probably in the last decade.