NEON has always been a film studio willing to risk on movies that aren’t always mainstream. Sometimes they work with films like Possessor, Ingrid Goest West and sometimes they don’t with films like She Dies Tomorrow and Vox Lux. When I found out their latest film was going to be titled Pig and it was going to star Nicolas Cage, I was prepared to feel some type of way throughout the film.
NEON: “Pig follows a truffle hunter who lives along in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.”
- Pigs are cute? Right? Or am I crazy for thinking this?
- I can’t believe I’m actually watching a long-haired scruffy-bearded Nicolas Cage in the wilderness — with a pig.
- I am definitely not a wildlife guy. I need wifi, a comfy bed and a real shower.
- THEY KIDNAPPED THE PIG! I am getting John Wick vibes from this movie.
- I love the mystery they are building around the past of Rob (Cage). As he interacts with people, we realize they all know of him. That made me want to get to know him, too.
- An underground restaurant fight club? Ok. Ok. Now I’m invested.
- I’ve really enjoyed the music choices and the score throughout this first act. Alexis Grapsas and Philip Klein are doing a great job setting the mysterious tone.
- Rob just took a heck of an ass-beating in the name of finding his Pig. Not all heroes wear capes.
- Part Two: Mom’s French Toast & Deconstructed Scallops. Seriously, that’s the title.
- I can’t put my finger on it, but Amir’s (Alex Wolff) character feels so out of place. He is telling this story and, quite frankly, I just don’t care. It’s not Wolff as an actor. It’s the writing for his character in particular.
- Rob suggested using stale bread for french toast. Is that a thing? I need to know because I love french toast.
- Do cops exist in non-cop movies? Because Rob walks down the street with his face beaten half to death and walks up to his old house and starts to talk to some little kid. Shouldn’t someone have called the cops by now?!
- Rob’s humor is quite entertaining. A chef says, “I remember working with you” and he says with a straight face, “I fired you ’cause you always overcooked the pasta.” Everyone is laughing (including the chef he insulted) except for Rob.
- Now there’s betrayal and a very, very angry Rob.
- I am struggling more and more with Amir’s character. He does nothing for me and has zero redeeming qualities. Honestly, his character is ruining the vibe of this movie.
- We’ve now transitioned from the second to the third act and it’s dragging. I honestly don’t care if Rob gets his pig back.
- We are getting a cooking montage set to sweet-sounding music. I’ll take things I didn’t expect to happen in this movie for $500, Alex.
- One of the biggest things I hate in movies is when they fail to attach you to a journey emotionally. That just happened. I’m supposed to feel an emotion here and I don’t. The build was just terrible.
- Wow. This scene with the walk through the wilderness was just another reminder of how beautiful this score is.
- All I wanted was to watch a good movie but I guess we can’t always get what we want.
Stale bread for French toast is definitely a thing — better egg absorption. My biggest breakfast treat as a kid with French toast made of slightly stale leftover challah bread, served with sour cream on the side instead of syrup (trust me — you will never eat French toast any other way again!)