Snake Eyes

Episode 251: Snake Eyes (1998)

Theme: Rep-Title Month

Hosts: Oz & Curtis

This week, "Rep-Title Month" rolls on as Oz and Curtis head to the Atlantic City boardwalk for Brian De Palma’s 1998 conspiracy thriller, Snake Eyes. It’s a film where Nicolas Cage cranks his performance up to 11 as a loud-suited, corrupt Atlantic City cop who accidentally stumbles into a high-level Department of Defense assassination plot right in the middle of a heavy-weight boxing match and a raging hurricane. Grab a box of movie theater popcorn, mind your camera angles, and remember: if you're trying to hide a massive military cover-up, never rely on an indoor blimp.

The hosts break down:

• Detective Rick Santoro (Nicolas Cage): A hyper-energetic, infidelious municipal cop whose idea of "investigating" involves yelling at reporters, taking bribes, and changing his shirt midway through a crime scene sweep.

• Commander Kevin Dunn (Gary Sinise): The "Geppetto" of Atlantic City, a decorated Navy officer whose attempt to play the puppet master gets thoroughly unraveled by his best friend's refusal to stay bribed.

• Julia Costello (Carla Gugino): A whistleblowing ballistics researcher whose pixie haircut and blood-stained white suit turn her into the film's literal and figurative Storm Shadow.

• The Opening Tracking Shot: A 12-minute, high-energy De Palma sequence that snakes through the arena concourse, capturing everything from bookies and boxing champions to a very subtle cameo by the real Kevin Dunn introducing the fictional Kevin Dunn.

• The Boxing Fall: A ring-side conspiracy where heavyweight champion Lincoln Tyler takes a phantom cross to the jaw right on a secret "Here Comes the Pain" audio cue.

Final Verdict:

Oz — 7 Rounds

Curtis — 61 Shots of Bra-Clad Carla Gugino in a Bathroom