News

With a premiere-heavy March ahead at HBO, there will be plenty to stream this month on Max!

The first Sunday of March brings the premiere of HBO’s new six-episode limited series “The Regime,” starring HBO alum Kate Winslet. Throughout the rest of the month, don’t rest on the streamer’s long list of library additions, like the recent musical origin story “Wonka” or A24’s sleeper hit (so to speak) “Dream Scenario”; and be sure some of the HBO’s biggest premieres, including “The Girls on the Bus” starring Melissa Benoist and Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” make it onto your calendar.

Plus, there’s no March without March Madness! For the first time, Max will stream all of the 2024 [NCAA] Division Men’s Basketball Championship live games and studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals and Men’s National Championship.

Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself), Dream Scenario stars Lily Bird, Nicolas Cage and Julianne Nicholson, and tells the stoary of a hapless family man (Cage) who finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. When his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.

Dream Scenario is out now on digital platforms. You can also check out our written review of the film right here.

Nicolas Cage appears in everyone’s dreams in, er, Dream Scenario. It’s coming to DVD and Blu-ray in March! More here:

It’ll be a sad day when Nicolas Cage eventually retires from acting. Thankfully, that day is still (hopefully) far away, given that Cage said last December that has at least another three or four films left in him.

He made those comments during the press tour for Dream Scenario, a film that follows a man who becomes an overnight celebrity, quite literally, after he pops up in everyone’s dreams.

The film was written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and released in UK cinemas in November. Backed by A24 and produced by Ari Aster, Dream Scenario received positive reviews from critics and many hailed the film as some of Cage’s best work in years.

If you missed the film on its theatrical run, there’s good...

Nicolas Cage, a name synonymous with cinematic unpredictability, is set to unleash his quirky charm and unparalleled acting prowess in the upcoming horror comedy flick, ‘Dream Scenario’. The movie revolves around a family man whose life takes an unexpected turn when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.

Before you explore this surreal journey of dreams gone awry, let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the finest performances by the man himself. Here’s a handpicked list of 5 must-watch Nicolas Cage movies that will prepare you for the unpredictable roller coaster ride that is ‘Dream Scenario’.

Raising Arizona (1987)

Directed by the Coen Brothers, this screwball comedy showcases Cage’s comedic chops in a tale of an unlikely couple attempting to start a family through unconventional means. Cage plays H.I. McDunnough, a small-time crook who teams up with his police officer wife (Holly Hunter) to...

(L-r) Nicolas Cage in Dream Scenario. Photo Credit: Jan Thijs. Courtesy of A24

Dream Scenario is more of a nightmare for Nicholas Cage’s character, in this darkest of comedies from Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, a social satire commenting on the power and irrational nature of social media. While Cage’s character is not having a good day, actor Nicholas Cage looks like he is having a grand old time, relishing this role as a hapless guy at the center of this outside-the-mainstream dark comedy.

Like his role as a backwoods recluse in Pig, Cage is anything but prettied up for this part, playing an aging, balding professor whose ordinary guy life is upended when random people start seeing him in their dreams.

At first, Cage’s middle-aged academic is sort of flattered by the attention, although he has done nothing to cause his dream appearances. The biology professor...

This article contains minor Dream Scenario spoilers.

The most remarkable thing about Professor Paul Matthews is how unremarkable he is. The latest addition to Nicolas Cage’s oeuvre of oddballs and nuts is, in fact, impressively forgettable. So what makes him so curiously haunting after you’ve seen Dream Scenario? Cage himself is obviously a major factor. With a frequently perspiring bald cap around the temples, hunched shoulders, and a twitchy gaze that betrays the desperation of a lonely child in a middle-aged body, the veteran thespian has built a darkly amusing portrait of neediness which walks right up to the fine border between character and caricature, and gives it a frantic, pleading wave.

It’s a brilliant creation, and it is implemented in one of the cruelest comedies of the last couple of years. Because in spite of Paul Matthews’ lack of distinction, he is the man of your dreams…...

Chicago – Nicolas Cage makes a welcome return to Charlie Kaufman-like mind bending drama in “Dream Scenario.” He stars as Paul Matthews, a bald and schlubby college professor always clad in an ever present winter coat. His unremarkable life takes a turn when he mysteriously begins appearing in millions of people’s dreams.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

He’s got a wife and two teen daughters, and makes a good living but hasn’t achieved the level of respect and credit he believes he deserves. Cage’s Professor Paul sees himself as a genius, albeit one with a dad bod and no hair. The rest of the world doesn’t pay him much mind at all, and if they do he’s usually welcomed with the kind of lack of enthusiasm usually reserved for tax lawyers.

”Dream Scenario” is in theaters November 17th. Featuring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Lily Bird and Dylan Baker.

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker | Written and Directed by Kristoffer Borgli

Nicolas Cage delivers one of his best performances in the fantasy black comedy Dream Scenario, from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, which takes savage satirical swipes at viral fame and cancel culture. It also serves as a thematic follow-up to Borgli’s previous film, Sick of Myself, a superb arthouse horror which dealt with extreme narcissism and the pursuit of fame at any cost.

Cage plays boring, middle-aged college professor Paul Matthews, whose efforts in the field of evolutionary biology haven’t led to the sort of recognition he had hoped for, partly due to his own laziness in actually getting around to writing a book. At home, he’s supported by his understanding wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), though he’s all but ignored by his two teenage daughters (Lily Bird and...

If dreams could predict the future, Nicolas Cage and film team should be toasting awards success with Dream Scenario for its on-point and absurdly funny representation of the subconscious mind, fame and social media and cancel culture.

Like the random firings of neurons that form dream scenarios, this compelling collective tale of utter ‘ordinariness’ escalating into extreme ‘extraordinariness’ follows unremarkable, middle-aged Professor Paul Matthews (Cage) as he navigates appearing in people’s dreams like some divine intervention, from family to total strangers.

The film opens with Matthews raking leaves by a swimming pool, simply observing, as chaos swirls all around him. In reality, the scholar lives a quiet, modest life and is happily married with two daughters. However, the mediocre-achieving biologist has one nagging regret that he missed his chance of academic notoriety with his ‘ant-elligence’, a theory that is then robbed before his very eyes.

Feeling helpless and dejected,...

What if Nicolas Cage was Freddy Krueger, minus the fondness for murdering people, the burn-induced scarring, and the razor-bladed glove? Cage's character, the unsuspecting middle-aged professor Paul Matthews, even shares Freddy's predilection for cozy knitted sweaters in "Dream Scenario," the latest eccentric exercise in metamodern storytelling from contemporary indie powerhouse A24.

Much like Paul becomes an overnight celebrity when he inexplicably begins popping up in people's dreams around the world, "Dream Scenario" has suddenly found itself in the spotlight following its positive reception on the film festival circuit. With Cage essentially portraying two characters in the film (the real Paul and the one who keeps intruding into people's nighttime fantasies), his performances in "Dream Scenario" are already being compared to his acclaimed work playing radically different twins in director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's surreal dramedy "Adaptation." In his own review for /Film, Matt Donato declared the...

Nicolas Cage shines in the first trailer for Dream Scenario, playing an ordinary professor who becomes a celebrity after appearing in everyone's dreams. Critics are praising Dream Scenario, with an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and highlighting Cage's performance as comedic gold. The film defies genre conventions, combining elements of fantasy, fable, and horror, making it a unique and enjoyable experience.

Academy Award winner and Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage is the man of everyone’s dreams in the first trailer for the upcoming comedy, Dream Scenario. Released courtesy of A24, Dream Scenario finds Cage playing against type as an ordinary professor, who suddenly finds himself dealing with celebrity status after appearing in the dreams of, well, everybody. Check out the first trailer for Dream Scenario below:

You can also check out the official synopsis for Dream Scenario below:

“Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside...

This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn't exist.When we first meet Nicolas Cage’s entirely forgettable Paul Matthews in Dream Scenario, it’s—as the title implies—in a dream. His daughter Sophie (Lily Bird) has had a dream where random items are falling from the sky before she starts floating away. But standing there as his daughter flies away is Paul Matthews, sweeping up leaves by the pool, without hardly a reaction. As more people reveal that they’ve also had dreams about Paul, he’s similarly inert, an unnecessary addition to the hysteria of the dream. “Why am I always just standing there?,” Paul asks, and as we learn more about him, it seems as though he’s remained in this state of standstill in his real life for years.

Nicolas Cage has become enmeshed in our collective cultural consciousness in a way that few stars have, particularly over the last decade as his distinctive meme-ready brand has grown. So it only seems natural for him to play a character who suddenly starts popping up in people’s dreams. Indeed, Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario presents a perfectly absurdist setup that allows Cage to flex his singular acting muscles in increasingly hilarious directions.

Mind you, this isn’t another “crazy Cage” role that the actor has become synonymous with in recent years. In Dream Scenario, he plays the defiantly unremarkable Paul Matthews, a schlubby professor of evolutionary biology at the fictional Osler University. Despite holding academic tenure and having an agreeable home life with his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and two daughters, Sophie (Lily Bird) and Hannah (Jessica Clement), Paul longs to be noticed on a grander scale. It’s...

Nicolas Cage's upcoming film, Dream Scenario, could be one of his most notable projects to date, with positive comments generated at its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Cage delivers an uncommonly shy performance in Dream Scenario, humanizing the experience of social media and viral celebrity, giving viewers much to think about. Cage's acting skills are effortless, with his timing and reactions carrying the comedic premise and making it a smart and observant comedy.

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage has always been busy ever since he started acting, but the last couple of years have found the actor at a new peak of his career with titles like Pig, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Renfield, and even finally getting his chance at playing Superman for a brief cameo in The Flash. Cage is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood, having done all types of films, from dramas and comedies,...

Nicolas Cage, after more than 100 credits, finally has his dream role, at least as comedy fans are concerned. He knocks it out of the park as a schlubby, balding college professor who suddenly starts appearing in people’s dreams, first his daughter’s, then an old girlfriend’s, and soon millions of people around the globe are seeing this ordinary looking, very plain guy walking through their slumber in rather non-descript ways no matter what the situation. He becomes a phenomenon, until it reverses and the whole thing turns into a literal nightmare.

This is the inspired comic premise of Dream Scenario, perhaps the most ingenious screen idea Woody Allen never had, although it might have been interesting if he did (think a twisted Zelig). Instead it comes from the mind of Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, whose main claim to fame before this film, which had its world premiere at...

Just when you thought Nicolas Cage’s filmography couldn’t get any weirder, along comes Kristoffer Borgli’s “Dream Scenario” to mess with your head.

Cage plays a character you probably wouldn’t notice in real life: Paul Matthews. Schlubby, balding, in rumpled pants and brown leather loafers, he’s a tenured professor at a university you’ve never heard of, droning on year after year about collective consciousness and the wisdom of the herd. And then something weird happens. Paul starts to appear in people’s dreams, either standing around or just strolling through, and suddenly this all-but-invisible man has people paying attention to him. What does Paul do? What would you do in those terrible shoes of his?

A Norwegian helmer making his English-language debut for A24 (by way of Ari Aster’s production company), “Sick of Myself” director Borgli takes this surrealist premise and approaches it in...