#CageClub: The Nicolas Cage Podcast Joey Lewandowski and Mike Manzi

#CageClub is back already to talk about Arcadian, a movie that hit movie theaters for a weekend or two a bit earlier this year! We talk about the strange inspiration behind the creatures in this movie (which we find to be both creative and interesting), the intentional lack of understanding about why society seems to have crumbled, and Cage's newfound cinematic affinity for... running? Joey talks about how this (narratively) reminds him of The Last of Us Part II. We talk about what's "missing" (or "lacking") in Arcadian, as well as the sort of strange way that the movie wraps up the stories for our main characters (both the living and the dead). We preview upcoming Nicolas Cage movies -- including one maybe releasing tomorrow?? -- as well as news about other upcoming projects.

After a long winter slumber, #CageClub is back with a vengeance to talk about last year's Nicolas Cage masterpiece, Dream Scenario! We praise Kristoffer Borgli and explore the real family affair both on screen and behind the scenes of this movie. We talk about how Dream Scenario shares similarities to other Cage movies, the reality and the terror of the film's dream scenes, and an all-time great monologue from Nicolas Cage. We talk about Dylan Gelula (and all of Michael Cera's ad agency), antelligence, and how we'd handle the reality of the entire world dreaming about us. (We have no good answers.) Mike teases a dreamcast (not the Sega console). Joey shares his one real issue with the movie. We talk about whether the ending works, how to pivot to make it even deeper/more profound, and how perfect the perfect final scene is. (We'll be back very soon for Arcadian!)

This has been a banner year for Nicolas Cage fans, as Butcher’s Crossing marks his sixth (!) new film of the year… so far! This is a moderately spoiler-heavy episode, so if you want to wait until you’ve seen the movie (releasing in theaters on Friday, Oct. 20 and on VOD after that) to listen, just know: it’s Cage’s best movie of the year so far. We talk about feeling re-energized for this podcast based on the success of this movie, we admire the cinematography (and the landscape of the American West in general), and we discuss cinematic name coincidences. We talk about the tragedy of the American bison (and how it correlates to modern waste), Cage’s bold (read: incredible) look in this movie, and how Butcher’s Crossing adds elements of horror without ever going full-tilt. We find a new wrinkle on a Cage movie staple, talk about Cage’s character’s slow descent into madness, and whether or not Cage’s star meter is higher right now than it’s been since 2008.

This is turning out to be quite the prolific year for Cage -- with still more to come -- as #CageClub returns for the fifth time in 2023 to talk about The Retirement Plan! This one made its way to theaters, but did historically poorly -- and we try to explore why. This movie is Nicolas Cage's version of Nobody or John Wick -- which is exciting -- but if this is the only time he'll ever play this type of character... we wish we got more. Even though our podcast's "brand" is positivity, The Retirement Plan puts that ethos to the test. We talk about it failing to be the type of movie it desperately aspires to be, its internal confusion over technology, and its unclear villainous hierarchy. We also talk about the movie drawing influence from Quentin Tarantino and the cool ideas it showcases, featuring some new stuff we've never seen.

#CageClub returns with yet another new Nicolas Cage movie this year -- with even more to come -- in the form of Sympathy for the Devil! This movie marks the return of "Crazy Cage," which (while fun to watch) does not a good movie make. We talk about how Sympathy for the Devil is reminiscent of other (better) movies, like Collateral and A History of Violence, and its determination to add twists and turns to draw out suspense without layering in new narrative. We talk about the things we liked (and the things we didn't), whether the movie wanted to look like a COVID movie, and the strange visual effects on display throughout. We re-assess the types of movies Cage makes (and look ahead to the rest of the year) and talk about Rotten Tomatoes' ratings twisting our perceptions of this film.

It's been long enough since The Flash released for us to spoil the good news: Nicolas Cage finally played Superman in a live action film! We're back with a brief episode (before two more [!] episodes later this summer) to talk about Cage's non-animated debut as the Man of Steel. (Let's never forget Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.) We talk about the frustration of having this reveal spoiled for us (and how incredible it would have been if we didn't know it was coming). We wonder who this cameo was for, other than, like, us and Nicolas Cage. We also try to parse the hate toward The Flash in general, both understanding it and not (at all). We also break down Nicolas Cage's explanation of using City of Angels as a training ground (???) for his work as Kal-El.