Ghost Rider. Knowing. National Treasure. The Wicker Man. These are just four of the films that Nicolas Cage would like to forget. Once a kind of weird, indie superstar thanks to out-there performances in the likes of Raising Arizona and Wild at Heart, Cage inexplicably cashed it all in after a deserved Best Actor Oscar for 1995's Leaving Las Vegas; the Nic Cage from that point forward was to be a ghost of his former self, making one bland appearance after another in muted action films, with only the occasional minor success (Adaptation, Matchstick Men) reminding us he used to be an actor. Then came the welcome one-two of Kick-Ass and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in late 2009 and early 2010, a pair of films that reminded us of two things: 1. that Cage was insane and 2. that he was incredibly exciting to watch when on-form. As Kick-Ass's Adam West-aping wannabe superhero and Bad Lieutenant's drug-absorbent cop, Cage momentarily put Bangkok Dangerous to the back of our minds. He's been characteristically uneven since, but directors have taken notice of the actor's newfound drive - Cage got a lot of love for his last film The Frozen Ground, and some critics are saying his performance in the upcoming Joe is his best in years.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
