What to watch: Let's rage with Nic Cage

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read

Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids.

With apologies to Smashing Pumpkins: Despite all his rage, I'm still just a fan of the Cage.

Oscar-winning acting machine Nicolas Cage has a new movie out, which is always good news – the dude is busy and back to being unhinged, which is just how we like him. This week's viewing recs also include a throwback to the space race of the 1960s with Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, plus it's time to talk cartoons! Not like the old "Mister T" show, "Voltron" or "Snorks," but things that today's kids dig – and maybe you will, too.

Now on to the good stuff:

Watch C-Tates and ScarJo plan a faux lunar landing in 'Fly Me to the Moon'

A marketing executive (Scarlett Johansson, left) and a NASA honcho (Channing Tatum) team up to sell the moon landing to a skeptical public in "Fly Me to the Moon."
A marketing executive (Scarlett Johansson, left) and a NASA honcho (Channing Tatum) team up to sell the moon landing to a skeptical public in "Fly Me to the Moon."

Ever since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, there have been conspiracies and legends surrounding the iconic Apollo 11 mission. There's even a theory that Stanley Kubrick "directed" the moon landing. The new retro rom-com "Fly Me to the Moon" plays with all those ideas, with an alt-history narrative starring Tatum as the NASA guy in charge of the launch and Johansson as a marketing specialist hired to stage a sexier fake moon landing.

Tatum told my colleague Patrick Ryan that it's "just a fun way" to revisit the milestone, and Johansson says people are still fascinated by "the greatest achievement of mankind" because "it just seems absolutely impossible" in an interview discussing the movie's box-office potential and what it means to both actors.

Add 'Longlegs' to your Nicolas Cage greatest-hits list

Nicolas Cage attends a secret screening of the horror movie "Longlegs," which stars the Oscar winner as a satanic serial killer.
Nicolas Cage attends a secret screening of the horror movie "Longlegs," which stars the Oscar winner as a satanic serial killer.

You're going to need to take a good long shower this weekend – not just because of the excessive heat but after seeing the deliciously freaky horror flick "Longlegs." Directed by Osgood Perkins (son of "Psycho" legend Anthony Perkins), it's a throwback to "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Zodiac," with a smidge of the supernatural, where Cage plays a satanic serial killer haunting a young FBI agent (Maika Monroe). It's one of his most unhinged roles ever, which is saying something – Cage is a master of those! And I've ranked the best of the crazy, with choice cuts like "Face/Off," "Mandy" and "Wild at Heart."

If you dig a more restrained Cage, however, I'd suggest streaming his Oscar-winning turn in "Leaving Las Vegas," or a triple-feature binge of the A-lister's '90s action peak with "The Rock," "Con Air" and "Snake Eyes," or his brilliantly gentle performance in "Pig."

Stream 'Bluey,' 'Puffin Rock' and more with the young ones

Bandit "Dad" reading the newspaper on the couch while Bluey and Bingo wait for him to play music on his phone.
Bandit "Dad" reading the newspaper on the couch while Bluey and Bingo wait for him to play music on his phone.

While my daughter is very much immersed in her tween phase, I can still remember the shows we watched together when she was a toddler: "The Furchester Hotel," "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood," "Yo Gabba Gabba!" Never "Caillou," though. That was the worst. For those with their own little ones now, TV critic Kelly Lawler has put together a list of the best shows that kids of all ages will enjoy, including Disney+'s "Bluey" (obviously) and Netflix's "Puffin Rock." (She also has a bunch to avoid, and "Caillou" makes an appearance there. Nice to see not everything's changed.)

And if you missed these last week, also check out Kelly's guide to screen time for families and her essay about how stressful it can be.

Even more goodness to check out!

  • This week, we're remembering Shelley Duvall, who died at 75. I loved her as a kid opposite Robin Williams in "Popeye" – there'll never be an Olive Oyl like hers – but you really saw her talent and heart in "The Shining," hiding from a frightening Jack Nicholson in one of cinema's all-time scenes.

  • The new face of Disney's "Descendants" franchise: 19-year-old Kylie Cantrall, an actress, singer and TikTok star who's "ready for my Marvel movie."

  • Trailers for the upcoming "Captain America: Brave New World" film and Disney+ series "Agatha All Along" premiered this week. Before Comic-Con brings a flurry of superhero news next weekend, here's a rundown of every Marvel movie and show in the works.

  • Love game shows? The big prizes haven't kept up with inflation over the years.

Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Twitter (not calling it X!), Instagram and Threads.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to watch: 'Longlegs,' 'Fly Me to the Moon' and best kid shows

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories