Dog Eat Dog (2016)

I was a little disappointed that Nicholas Cage didn't show up to the morning screening, but I was otherwise pleasantly surprised by his performance. This could have been a tired old crime story, but under Paul Schrader's direction we get a fresh take. In the Q&A, he gave an example of how he updated the classic genre. The strip club has been done before, so he did it in black and white. And the contrast between the black and white with the solid vibrant blues and reds (notably resembling police lights, or a drug-induced high) is striking. The use of color in this film is one of its greatest stylistic strengths. Willem Dafoe is really creepy. The first shot is a close up of his deranged face. And then in a manner reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino film, he commits an admittedly stylish bloody double murder.  And then of course there is Nicholas Cage. And he is Nicholas Cage as usual, but it kind of works here. It is almost a parody of that type of character and he plays it up.