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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is finally here, and we got a chance to see it a little early! We’re keeping this episode almost entirely spoiler-free, so feel free to listen before you see it… and you SHOULD see it as soon as you can, because it’s great! After literally years of worrying, our fears were put to rest as The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent turned out to be much more than a movie where Cage (and the creative team) lean into the meme-ification of his personality. It’s a celebration of his career, his persona, and the people who love him (hey! it’s us!). We share some of our favorite moments, reactions to the different actors cast in the film, and some of the most interesting things we learned from the in-person Q&A from writer and director Tom Gormican.

This year has treated Nicolas Cage fans very well so far, and the hits keep on coming with Sion Sono's Prisoners of the Ghostland! It's not clear if we'll get another Cage movie this year, but if this is our final one in 2021, we sure went out with a weird, neon-soaked bang. In this episode, we talk about the work of Sion Sono, the rules of this world (and the relatively grounded nature of all this insanity), and why Prisoners of the Ghostland may have been more interesting if its narrative focus was placed elsewhere. We also look ahead to the four new Nicolas Cage movies that he's got coming out in the next few months, and reflect on the crazy amount of news that has hit the wire since we recorded Pig a month or so ago!

Many people are calling Pig "the return of Nicolas Cage," but ask any fan, any real fan, and they know he's been here for years. That said, Pig is easily his best performance since (at least) Mandy, and likely one of the finest in his career. We headed to the theater to watch Cage's latest, and we're here to talk about the quest for truffles and his search for a stolen pig. Plus, as has become custom on these episodes, we look forward to what's coming after Pig to see where Cage may be headed, and to see what types of roles and types of movies he could find himself in in the coming years. This may be our last #CageClub episode of the year -- there's nothing left on his IMDb this year, so hope for Prisoners of the Ghostland! -- but we'll be back whenever we're able to see another one of his films.

Nicolas Cage is off to a rapid-fire start with 2021, quickly following up a Netflix series with Willy's Wonderland! Available now on VOD, Willy's Wonderland sees Nicolas Cage in the unnamed role of "The Janitor," tackling a challenge he has not yet faced in his career: an entirely wordless performance! In this episode, we talk about how the movie compared to our expectations, what we hope to see Nicolas Cage take on in the future, and how Willy's Wonderland could have been even more fun. We also run down the checklist of #CageClub Movie Bingo (and get a result that is kind of surprising, given the nature of the movie) and look ahead to wonder what the next Nicolas Cage movie will be... and what other movies we may wind up talking about in 2021.

We closed out 2020 in a strong way with a few new Nicolas Cage movies, and we're opening 2021 equally strong with the Netflix original series History of Swear Words! The series marks Cage's return to TV after nearly a decade away (he hadn't graced the small screen since his return to SNL in 2012) and his first official TV series ever (or, at least since his bygone TV pilot for The Best of Times). After all that time... was the wait worth it? Is History of Swear Words worth your time? Join us as we chat about the six episodes that Netflix dropped in the first week of the year, the Cagenections we found in the series, and whether or not we think that we'll get more episodes in the future. Also: mathematical swear breakdowns!

'Tis the season for gifts and joy, and what more could we ask for than The Croods: A New Age, our second new Nicolas Cage movie of 2020?! Even better: it's Nicolas Cage's 100th acting credit! In this episode, we return to the Stone Age (right?) after more than 7 years away to re-visit the Croods and to meet the Bettermans for the very first time. We talk about the visual wonder of the movie, the real-world Cagenections, and (of course) the Banana Bros. (Plus, Wigasus, but that's so weird that it's probably best if we just move on.) We sing the praises of Kelly Marie Tran and dream up ways to re-team Nicolas Cage with Peter Dinklage. We also wonder if The Croods: A New Age is the end of the road for the franchise -- or if there's another story in this world to tell -- and figure out just how "Cagey" this movie is by running through our #CageClub Movie Bingo categories!

The streak continues! After nearly 11 months of worrying (and 8 months of a global pandemic), a new Nicolas Cage has seen the light of day in 2020: Jiu Jitsu. The internet has created a massive backlash against this movie, but we've gotta say: it's pretty okay! Featuring one of Cage's most grounded performances in a while (pay no mind to our episode art), it's a nice return to form for Supporting Character Cage and a new foray into the world of martial arts. In this episode, we talk about Cage's performance, some of the narrative/plot inconsistencies, and how we would have made this movie better. We also talk about a semi-major (albeit brief) crossover with 2 Fast 2 Forever, the physicality (and acting styles) of Frank Grillo and Tony Jaa, and determine just how Cage-y this movie is with our #CageClub Bingo checklist.

Finally. At long last, after more than a year of waiting, and just about six months of friends telling us we *had* to see Color Out of Space, the time has come. Joining us to talk about all things Nicolas Cage, Richard Stanley, and H.P. Lovecraft is past guest (and Lovecraft superfan) Chris Podcasts. In this episode, we talk about the unseeable color, the many alpacas, and Wiccan rituals. We also discuss whether or not this is a good adaptation of the Lovecraft story, whether or not that question even matters, and where Color Out of Space falls in the lineage of Lovecraft adaptations. Also: there's a revelation and a confession that could shock you to the core and rattle the future of #CageClub as we know it.

Grand Isle marks the fifth new Nicolas Cage movie in five months, and (maybe?!) the final one in 2019. What a year it's been! In this episode, we're preparing for the looming hurricane (and marital strife) by talking about all of the craziness in Grand Isle, where it ranks among Cage's 2019 releases, and how this feels like an amalgamation of a handful of his other movies. We also talk about KaDee Strickland as a brunette Nicky Whelan, Luke Benward as a buff Slow Joey, and (of course) Nicolas Cage in mutton chops with a cigar in his mouth. We also look ahead to the early releases of 2020, throw out a few suggestions on how we can keep the Cage Chain going, and wonder if any other actor in history has ever had such a prolific streak of releases.

The Cage Chain continues with Primal, our fourth Nicolas Cage movie of 2019, and the fourth consecutive month with a new release! Before we dig our proverbial ghost cat teeth into this movie, we revel in the wonder of this streak of Cage movies, and look ahead to the next two months, each with a new release: Grand Isle and Color Out of Space. Then, we grab our spotted white jaguar and board a boat to Puerto Rico to hunt the most dangerous game of all: Nicolas Cage. In this episode, we talk about Cage's best friend (a parrot), lament the fact that Famke Janssen was given nothing to do, and wonder why there's a little kid on this boat. We also talk about how Primal could be even better, and wonder what's getting into all of these actors that find themselves squaring off with Nicolas Cage.

Who will survive the kill chain? That's what we're finding out on this episode as we break down Nicolas Cage's latest straight-to-VOD movie, Kill Chain. In this episode, we further discuss the four tiers of Nicolas Cage straight-to-VOD movies, stick The Runner with some unnecessarily (though possibly justified) savage burns, and then try to make sense of the jumbled plot of this movie.

Nicolas Cage may not have hit the 100 movie plateau yet, but this is episode #100 of #CageClub Prime... and what a way to celebrate! While there are far more legitimate/credible actors in Running with the Devil than you'd expect, there's far less David Lee Roth than there should be, which is quite disappointing. In this episode, we continue to celebrate The Autumn of Cage (carefully worded so as to avoid snarky double entendres about The Fall of Cage) with our second new movie in as many months. Featuring a Laurence Fishburne performance ripped straight out of Cage's playbook, grand ambitions to imitate Indiana Jones and Traffic, and ZERO CHARACTER NAMES, Running with the Devil is a movie that you'll either never forget... or forget instantly. Your choice.

It's taken more than seven full months, but we've finally gotten to our first Nicolas Cage movie of 2019: A Score to Settle! The bad news first: this is not a very good movie. The good news: not only is it a new Nicolas Cage movie (which in and of itself is a wonderful thing), but it's fun as heck to watch and to talk about. We're going guestless this episode so that we can dive deep into all of the wild and wacky nonsense that this movie serves up. We talk about this film's ties to Fight Club, Cage's character's (apparently real) death-inducing insomnia, and whether or not prisoners are able to make baseball bats while incarcerated. We also talk about the fact that Cage yells "Joey!" about 150 times in this movie, which is kind of the greatest thing of all-time.

Here it is: the final (for now) episode of #CageClub Revisited! Sure, we have some huge movies left to cover, but we're going out rowing with The Boy in Blue. In this episode, we pour one out for the missed opportunity that was the national pastime of sculling, admire Nicolas Cage's chiseled physique, and take a trip down memory lane to the origination of the euphemism "compromise" for having sex. Thank you all for joining us on this ride. Print out that final (again, for now!) #CageClub bingo card, fire up the DVD, and join us on this wildly unhelpful commentary track! Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!

It won’t take us a full 72 hours to re-watch Gone in 60 Seconds, but we appreciate the generous amount of time you’ve given us for this episode! In this episode, we join Nicolas Cage on his hunt for Eleanor, albeit with a much smaller crew than the one he assembled, and marvel at all of the many, many similarities between this movie and the original Fast and the Furious. If you’re a fan of #CageClub Revisited, you’re not going to want to miss this episode, as it includes a very important update about the future of the podcast! Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!

In August 2015, we released our very first podcast and proceeded to tear through Nicolas Cage’s filmography at a breakneck pace. We had no idea that we'd continue after we finished Cage’s filmography, but we asked, “What’s next?” and went from there. After nearly four years, we are releasing our 1,000th episode. In this episode, Joey Lewandowski talked many of your favorite CageClub Podcast Network hosts: Mike Manzi of Third Time’s A Charm, Joe Two of 2 Fast 2 Forever, Chris Podcasts of Now and Again, Brian Rodriguez of High School Slumber Party, Kyle Reinfried of Foodie Films, Jordan Polan-Clarke and Cara Gael O’Regan of Wistful Thinking, Aislinn Addington of The Contenders, Lindsay Gibb of Winona Forever, Jonah Rubino of X is for Podcast, and Nico Vasilo and Kevo Risse of .html. Thank you for listening. Share your favorite episode or memory with us by emailing mailbag@cageclub.me!

Wedding bells are in the air — not at CageClub HQ, just in the world in general — and we’re continuing the journey we began last episode with something new! We’re just trying to get a sword through customs as we hunt for OBL alongside Nicolas “The G” Cage in Army of One! In this episode, we look back at the career of Russell Brand, wonder why Nicolas Cage doesn’t do more comedies, and find a startling number of similarities between this movie and Birdy. Mike also tries to guess more of Joey’s favorite movies of the 2000s, and Joey vamps for a while as Mike refills his coffee. Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!

It's the time of the year where wedding bells are in the air, and we're kicking off a four episode arc of #CageClub Revisited around something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. First up: something old! We're headed way back in time to Nicolas Cage's seventh acting credit, Birdy, on this very special episode of our show. In this episode, we look back at the career of Matthew Modine, discuss the relationship between his and Nicolas Cage's characters, and wind up confusing this movie with Racing with the Moon. Then, as the episode winds down, Mike tries to guess Joey's favorite movies of the 2000s! Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!

We’re continuing our month of 4Kage (Nicolas Cage in 4K) as we travel around the globe with Cage and Jared Leto (who looks an awful lot like Zac Efron) in Lord of War! In this episode, we realize that this movie is very difficult to follow when you’re not hearing the dialogue, so we take an audio detour and help out past #CageClub guest, Walt Hickey, with his @NicCagePlotBot! We also fantasize about what a luxurious life it would be like to be a gunrunner, admire Jared Leto’s cocaine Ukraine, and plan our next two months of #CageClub Revisited! Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!

April’s the fourth month of the year, so we’re celebrating Cage in 4K this month (aka 4Kage). As we revisit Knowing, we realize: the numbers are the key to everything. In this episode, we’re inspired by the dedication of P.S. I (Still) Love Hoffman, and we try to stay focused and only talk about the movie. Will that work? Watch and listen along and find out! We discuss whether or not the ending is a copout, wonder why no one believes Cage, and debate whether or not Cage steals something (for Bingo-related reasons). Grab your black stone and head to your nearest abandoned field, because we’re resetting the population and revisiting Knowing! Note: Our #CageClub Revisited episodes are meant to be listened to while watching the movie we're discussing, a la a director's commentary. If you want our more "insightful" episode about this movie, head into our archives!