At the stage this column was written, the Cage had truly become a part of my life again after a short break. Evie changed her picture of me on her phone to Nic. So here we go.
In Kiss of Death, the Cage is reunited with both Stanley Tucci and Samuel L. Jackson. In one scene Nic bench presses a stripper. So of course, more boobs – a key signifier of a Cage film, we’re coming to learn. He also nearly dies of an asthma attack which is kind of amusing as he plays the son of a mob boss and beats a guy to death while ‘Jump Around’ by House of Pain is playing. A trope I’ve noticed with a lot of these ‘80s-’90s cop films is the amount of police brutality that happens. They are constantly punching, shooting and hitting criminals for information, revenge or for no reason in particular.
Sadly, one of my most anticipated films turned out to be the most disappointing: Leaving Las Vegas, a film about a failed screenwriter turned alcoholic that tries drinking himself to death and befriends a prostitute. The film won Cage his Oscar in 1996 and, while his performance is great, the film is just kind of dull. It was very long and it should have been more of a character study just on Cage’s character.
I then watched Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels, a documentary about Shirley Maclaine which features some interview clips from Nic. I guess I learned some stuff, but other than that I couldn't care less. Within the last two weeks of December 2024, I had watched twelve Nic Cage films. Another break needed to be taken and I would not return to the Cage for a while. In that time, Letterboxd wrapped had come out with Nic being my most watched actor and Harmony Korine being my most watched director (when will this collab happen?).
There was a lot of debate about another return to the Cage after the column did not appear in the first two issues of Critic. Editor Nina had reservations about the column because of her lack of interest in the greatest actor of all time. After more thought, DMCs, and persistence on my part, the column was able to be published. This meant I needed to be locked up and locked in on a filmography that still demands hours and hours of my attention. This made Evie upset as we are living together now so she WILL be in the Cage. In this time, Nic has announced another film, The Surfer, to be released in May. Yipee!
The Rock is a Michael Bay directed film and when I saw Nic again, I felt reconnected. I also felt surprised – bewildered, even – because I enjoyed this film so much. Even Evie, who resisted at first, was on the edge of her seat watching this action thriller about Nic breaking into Alcatraz. A truly great blockbuster. A new discovery is that when Nic starts yelling or gets angry, he is a lot like Adam Driver.
Con Air is seen as a beloved Cage film. His Alabamba accent and long flowing hair that seems to always have a fan blowing on it enticed audiences. Including an all star cast with John Malcovich, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, John Cusak and Dave Chapelle, I expected to be captivated. As I mentioned in the first Cage column, I did not care for Con Air when I watched as a youth, and it still bores me today, sadly. Truly a waste of star power.
Caginess: At times absent, but the passion lingers
Welfare Check: Not angry, just disappointed
Total Films Watched: 35/137