Nicolas Cage names the four best movies of his career

By Alex Maidy

Posted 11 years ago

Remember when Nicolas Cage movies were something to look forward to? Now, Cage's films feel more like a punchline rather than something worth spending any of your hard earned money on. His latest film, THE RUNNER, is another in a long string of mediocre to bad movies that are conveniently available at your local Redbox or gas station. Our own Chris Bumbray gave THE RUNNER a mediocre review but it still doesn't seem to be enough to phase Cage.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Cage was asked if he has regretted any of the roles he has taken in over 75 films. He answered no and that the experimentation he has done with his "art" and the critical response has helped him grow as an actor. He was also asked if he has any favorite films in his career. Cage named four.

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I thought that Werner [Herzog] and I got up to something special in Bad Lieutenant. Certainly Mike Figgus and I found something pretty emotionally naked in Leaving Las Vegas. I was very happy with Vampire’s Kiss, which in my opinion was almost like an independent laboratory to start realizing some of my more expressionistic dreams with film performance. Then using what I had learned in Vampire’s Kiss and putting it into a very big action movie in the form of Face/Off with John Woo. If you look at those two movies back to back, you can see where I stole from my performance in Vampire’s Kiss.

While I don't think I would ever have named VAMPIRE'S KISS as one of the best films in his career, I am not surprised that Cage selected it. LEAVING LAS VEGAS, FACE/OFF, and BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS are all excellent examples of different phases in Cage's career, but he leaves out some other greats like THE ROCK, RAISING ARIZONA, ADAPTATION, or MATCHSTICK MEN. Hell, he didn't even name CON AIR! Whatever the case, this is definitely the perfect chance for all of you to name your top five Nicolas Cage films and list them in the talk backs below.

THE RUNNER is now playing.

Source: Time

Tags: Austin Stark, Connie Nielsen, Drama, Nicolas Cage, Peter Fonda, Sarah Paulson, The Runner

About the Author

Alex Maidy

TV Critic / Columnist

6,321 Articles Published Started writing in 2012

Favorite Movies: Being There, The Shining, The Royal Tenenbaums, Suspiria, Seven, North By read more Northwest, Citizen Kane, The Monster Squad, Begotten, Fight Club, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Army of Darkness, Children of Men, Blade Runner, The Big Lebowski, Casino, Pi, Dumb and Dumber, The 400 Blows, Small Change, Bonnie & Clyde, Cool Hand Luke, Moulin Rouge, Gangs of New York, Shallow Grave, The Rock, The Incredibles, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Gate, Prince of Darkness, Oldboy, The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings, The Tree of Life, The Exorcist III, Midnight Special

Likes: To piss you off, unpopular opinions, the novels of Stephen King, read more obscure bands that even hipsters dont know, things that go boom, Reeses Pieces, Cate Blanchett, reading paper books, watching people falling down, a good jump scare, listening to a full album in one sitting, rooting for the underdog, red band trailers, rare steaks, cool beer labels, smooth whisky, properly proportioned image files, top ten lists, VHS tapes, and actually scary movies

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