Bosstone:
No kidding. He even name one of his sons Kal-El. Could you imagine if that kid marries Apple Paltrow? Would she start calling herself App-El?
I think of Nicolas cage as a good actor who occassionally appears in some campy, if not downright crappy, movies. When he’s on and in a good movie he’s awesome, and he has the ability to make even a crappy movie fun and/or watchable. Take him out of the mix and the movie would have been named *Gone in Five Seconds.
[QUOTE=Leviosaurus]
You mean, I’m really the only one who liked Ghost Rider?
I mean, it’s a silly movie, sure, but c’mon - it’s Ghost Rider. One of the dumbest comic book heroes of all time. There was absolutely no way it was going to be a good movie - nohow nuh uh, not gonna happen. Consider that most motorcycle movies are about the same level as Torque (which I would nominate as the worst movie of all time.) Then add in ‘really dumb superhero idea’. Then you’re doing a ‘motorcycle movie with a dumb superhero’ and you really should already know it’s a stinker.
Despite that, Ghost Rider is a fun movie all the way through. In terms of context, I’d say that’s a heck of an accomplishment.
[/QUOTE]
I like Ghost Rider too. I’m also a Ghost Rider fanboy with comics and [del]dolls[/del] action figures and it was better than I was expecting.
Overall I think Cage is a good actor not great but good.
Peggy Sue Got Married is a good film, but it’s certainly no thanks to Cage’s ridiculous voice and acting. The studio, director, and writers were all embarrassed by it.
I can’t believe I’m only the second person to mention The Weather Man. He was great in that movie! He plays “dry” very well, I think.
I bet Harriet Tubman never got hit with a pie.
Not a good actor, in my opinion, of course. I think it’s his nasally, whiny delivery. That being said, he has grown on me. <b>National Treasure</b> (as mentioned) was better than it should have been. I liked <b>Face/Off</b>, even though it was a terrible, terrible movie and he wasn’t good in it.
“Gone in Sixty Seconds” is the best non-porn porn there is.
AND it has Angelina Jolie in it.
If you don’t like “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” your man card should be pulled.
[QUOTE=Hockey Monkey]
Make that two.
[/QUOTE]
There can be only one.
[QUOTE=brujaja]
I am a sick, sick puppy.
I think he’s hot. Very hot. Can’t help it.
[/QUOTE]
You’re not sick. I never thought he was anything to look at until he visited the museum where I used to work. His bone structure is exquisite, and his eyes go right through you. In person, he is a strikingly attractive man. On film, not so much.
I am also surprised at how few people are citing Lord of War. I dislike Nicolas Cage, but that was a great movie.
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers]
For a given definition of half decent, sure
Now, I’ll be the first to admit I have low standards when it comes to movies, but Nicolas Cage movies I have enjoyed include
Leaving Las Vegas
Con Air
The Rock
but of course, YMMV
I agree that Ghostrider was pants though.
[/QUOTE]
In Con Air, there is a chilling scene when Nick Cage says the words, “Put down da bunny!”. :o
[QUOTE=brujaja]
I think he’s hot. Very hot. Can’t help it.
[/QUOTE]
Yes. Yes. Yes. It’s his hands. He has wicked hands. 
I liked his portrayals in Adaptation and Matchstick Men. I thought he was entertaining in Vampire’s Kiss, although I didn’t like the movie much. His performance in Raising Arizona was hilarious, as was Peggy Sue Got Married. I hated Honeymoon in Vegas as well as Leaving Las Vegas, although that probably has more to do with Sarah Ijustthrewupinmymouth Parker and Elizabeth Shue. He meshed well with Shirley Maclaine in Guarding Tess. But Face/Off was great acting with a really stupid premise. Regardless, both Travolta and Cage performed clever portrayals of each other, although Travolta appeared to have had more fun with it. The others mentioned I found kind of meh.
*Ghostrider *was just a bad, bad movie and nobody could have saved it.
Still. I’d hit that. Without a doubt.
[QUOTE=ouryL]
In Con Air, there is a chilling scene when Nick Cage says the words, “Put down da bunny!”. :o
[/QUOTE]
I believe the quote was, “Put the bunny back in the box!”, delivered in that horrible southern accent that he was butchering. I must confess that every time I see that movie, I drop what I’m doing and watch it.
[QUOTE=GildedLily]
I can’t believe I’m only the second person to mention The Weather Man. He was great in that movie! He plays “dry” very well, I think.
[/QUOTE]
Huh. So there’s three of us.
I’ll be damned.
[QUOTE=smiling bandit]
Cage is often very good when he’s in something “unexpected”. If it’s a “name” movie, it will probably suck.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah. I really like a lot of his early work. Seems at one point he decided to go after big money and he’s become less interesting since then. But he still does some good work (e.g. Matchstick Men & Adaptation).
[QUOTE=Absolute]
I am also surprised at how few people are citing Lord of War. I dislike Nicolas Cage, but that was a great movie.
[/QUOTE]
The reason few are mentioning this excellent film is because nobody saw it on cable. It seems that Nicolas Cage is a throwback to the old studio system, where he works mainly with one studio, and that studio has an exclusive deal with Showtime. HBO has two to three times the subscriber base that Showtime has, so anything exclusive to Showtime will often be met with crickets in threads like these.
The more recent Nicolas Cage movies you could have seen on HBO or Starz, with year and imdb rating:
2007 Next (6.2)
2007 Ghost Rider (5.3)
2006 Wicker Man (3.5)
The ones you had to have Showtime to see:
2006 World Trade Center (6.4)
2005 The Weather Man (7.0)
2005 Lord of War (7.7)
It’s not surprising that the plurality has a negative impression of Nicolas Cage movies. It’s really too bad that of the last six movies he’s made that hit cable, the three shitty ones went to a wide audience while the three quality ones languished in obscurity.
Even still, people seem to have a short memory considering that the three films he made immediately before these six were all carried on HBO or Starz, and all ranged from good to very good:
2004 National Treasure (6.8)
2003 Matchstick Men (7.4)
2002 Adaption (7.8)
Note that due to selection bias, new releases have inflated imdb ratings. In short, the only people who seek out new releases are those who are predisposed to enjoy them. As time goes on, more and more of a general audience will see it and the rating will come down to its final resting place. Figure a movie released in the last year will drop .75, and one from two years ago will drop .5. Three years is about how long it will take to settle.
This phenomenon also permeates new release threads on the SDMB. Ever notice how a new release thread will start with a ton of “that was great!” type posts, followed by a bunch of “wow, I can’t believe so many people liked this turd” posts? Same idea.
ETA: I expect that Next will drop a full point at least.
[QUOTE=Hockey Monkey]
Make that two.
[/QUOTE]
Three. Ok, there are plenty of other guys I’d do before him, but he’s on the list somewhere. I thought he was very hot in *Moonstruck, *whether all hot & sweaty by the pizza ovens, or all tuxed up at the Met.
Well, ok, the hand was a major turn-off, but that was the character, not him.
[QUOTE=phungi]
I thought he was great in Valley Girl, for sure!
[/QUOTE]
Don’t you mean “like, so totally great, fer shur”?
I really, really liked Bringing Out the Dead
Definitely not Scorsese’s best, but possibly his most underrated.
Nicky ain’t bad in it.