By Stephe Raven
Writer’s block. Hmm. Many of us have experienced this when under a deadline. And our heroine Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) starts off with it. She writes a popular espionage series whose main character is secret agent Argylle (Henry Cavill), who manages to solve mysteries and not get a hair out of place. He is the perfect James Bond type, always suave and gentlemanly.

The action thriller begins with Argylle and his trusty sidekick, goofily played by John Cena, trying to take down a sinister underground syndicate. Annnd cut! In reality, Elly has read a passage at a bookstore. She has a legion of fans who adore her four novels, and she seems taken aback by that. A recluse, she spends her evenings with her fluffy cat Alfie, and seems content with her very simple life, living through her books.

After completing her fifth in the series, she sends the manuscript to her mom (Catherine O’Hara) who advises that it needs to be punched up, and why not come for the weekend so they can brainstorm. Headed there on a train, Elly is disturbed by a scruffy ruffian (Sam Rockwell) who shocks her by saying her books are actually setting off real-life events. Despite her disbelief, he saves her from would-be assassins, and whisks her out of the country. Thus begins her real-life wild ride.

The twists and turns keep coming as Elly discovers that her fictional world is not so make-believe after all.. When she’s in a precarious situation, she calls on Argylle, who gives her sage advice. Some of it is so corny, you have to laugh.

This turn of events introduces more colorful characters, and it’s an all-star list of actors. Bryan Cranston plays Director Ritter, the head of a covert agency called the Division; singer Dua Lipa plays a seductive femme fatale named LaGrange, and Ariana DeBose is a tech-savvy ally, Agent Keira. Also in support are Samuel L. Jackson, Richard E. Grant and Sofia Boutella.

British director Matthew Vaughn, whose credits include “Kingsman: The Secret Service” in 2014, its sequel “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” in 2017, and its prequel, “The King’s Man” in 2021. He also helmed “X-Men: First Class” and “Kick-Ass,” so he knows how to imaginatively stage action scenes and uses humor effectively. The choreography for the smoke fight scene is especially impressive.

Screenwriter Jason Fuchs (“Wonder Woman”) pokes fun at the spy genre and its tropes, therefore the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. The cast appears to be having fun with their roles, deftly delivering witty and memorable lines.

Come for the fun, stay for its unpredictability. And do not miss the extra scene at the end, for it nicely sets up a sequel, which I hope happens. This is the kind of enjoyable mainstream movie that engages for a few hours on a winter’s day, providing a few good laughs along the way!

“Argylle” is a 2024 action-thriller directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Sofia Boutella, Richard E. Grant, Rob Delaney and Catherine O’Hara. It is Rated PG-13 for strong violence and action and some strong language and the run-time is 2 hours, 19 minutes. It opens Feb. 2 in local theatres. Stephe’s Grade: C+

By Stephe Raven

The Unbearable Weight of Being Nicolas Cage

To say that Nicolas Cage is a deep actor may be a stretch. I mean, he has actually won a few awards. To say that he is a versatile actor would be closer to the truth. Don’t get me wrong, he has made some great movies (“Raising Arizona” will always be one of my favs!). He is definitely an actor not afraid to take a chance on a role, and more importantly, to be able to laugh at himself. Being an actor who is known for his quirky characters, he really does know how to let us laugh along him on any crazy ride.

That being said, when you sit down to watch “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” you have no idea what you are in for, but I have to tell you, it’s a ride worth hanging on to. Cage plays a loose version of himself as a down-on-his -uck actor looking for that next film that will showcase his talent. 

His agent (a nice cameo of Neil Patrick Harris) gets him a gig being himself for a rich super fan, the job paying him a cool million just to appear at this guy’s birthday party and even reading a script that the guy wrote himself just for, yep you guessed it, Nic Cage. 

The fan is played quite charmingly by Pedro Pascal. He is such a fan that he has his own Nicolas Cage museum, which goes off the deep end but has to be experienced to see what an avid junkie he is. 

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal Photo Credit: Karen Ballard/Lionsgate

They seem to be in such a sweet bromance that your teeth start to hurt and you are waiting for a big smooch…no but seriously, they seem to find this perfect comedic timing together and you want them to be best buds.

The antics with these two were fun to watch for sure.It doesn’t seem like it will work, but as the plot moves along it just does. You seriously think it’s a total cheese fest, but it works!

All that gets ruined for you when the CIA (hello Tiffany Haddish, you sure are busy this year!) decide they need need help taking down Nic’s new bestie, who appears to be an arms dealer. Every time you think it can’t get any more unbelievable, it does…but not in a bad way. 

Hilarity and LSD take us down the rabbit hole and actually all makes for a silly, but fun movie. And let me tell you, there are so many Nic Cage Easter eggs, you may have to see the movie a few times to catch them all!  Not gonna win any awards here, but it was a lot of fun seeing on the big screen. 

We all need some Nicolas Cage to get us out of the leftover pandemic fog we have been in. Go have some fun and get those laugh muscles back in shape!

Pedro Pascal as Javi and Nicolas Cage as Nic Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” is a 2022 comedy-action film directed by Tom Gormican and starring Nicolas Cage, Nicolas Kim Coppola, Pedro Pascal, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Lily Sheen and Sharon Horgan. It runs 1 hour and 47 minutes and is rated R for language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and violence. It opens in theaters on April 22.