8-9 is for 8mm

September 2024 Movie Challenge-Day 30

We made it to the final day of the challenge and since we’ve had a few films lately that are a bit lighter (Yes Day, Zathura, 13 Going on 30, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin) I thought it only appropriate that we finish off with something dark and gritty.

Max California (Joaquin Phoenix) tries to help private investigator Tom Wells (Nicolas Cage) in his search for a missing woman.

When it comes to dark and gritty films, I can’t think of many that I’ve seen that compare with Joel Schumacher’s 1999 crime thriller 8mm. The film features Nicolas Cage in peak Cage mode where he gets to be both a family man, and eventually completely unhinged toward the end of the film. It’s something we’ve seen him be before (think Con Air) and many times since and I had forgotten just how crazy he gets in this film.