Movies

Will ‘Joe’ be Nicholas Cage’s ‘McConaissance’?

A career in Hollywood is always an up-and-down proposition. One day you’re winning the Oscar, the next you’re starring in a straight-to-video flick.

Nicolas Cage is one of those actors who started his career strong but of late has become a punch line, appearing in a string of crappy action flicks, such as 2012’s “Stolen.”

But on Friday, what would appear to be his bid for respectability arrives in the form of “Joe.” The 50-year-old is already getting some of the best reviews of his recent career for playing a grizzled ex-con who befriends a teen boy (Tye Sheridan) with an abusive father (Gary Poulter).

Seeing Cage in a spare indie drama will shock those who are used to watching the actor in nothing but films that look like ones John Cena turned down. Over the past 15 years or so, he has earned the rep of being a paycheck actor: Andy Samberg’s “Saturday Night Live” impersonation of Cage mainly consisted of the punch line “How am I not in that movie?!”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. As Michael Caine once said of his own movie “Jaws: The Revenge,” “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”

Cage, who won an Oscar for 1995’s “Leaving Las Vegas,” says he doesn’t chase awards or money. He signs up for movies, including those in the fantasy, horror and sci-fi arenas, because he’s a fan of those genres and they allow him to turn in a more “avant-garde” performance. He agreed to do the 2011 bomb “Drive Angry” simply because he thought it was cool that his character would get shot in the eye.

Let’s look at the respectability index (1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest) for Cage through the years, as well as for four others whose careers have been up and down.


 Nicolas Cage

From top left, Nicolas Cage in “Raising Arizona,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “Face/Off,” “Adaptation,” “The Wicker Man,” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”20th Century Fox Film Corp,; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; Columbia Pictures; Everett Collection; Everett Collection

1987, “Raising Arizona”
Rating: 8
Quirky Coen Brothers goodness. Cage is one to watch.

1995, “Leaving Las Vegas”
Rating: 10
He nabs a Best Actor Oscar.

1997, “Face/Off”
Rating: 6
John Woo shoot ’em-up. Cage dives into action flicks next: “Snake Eyes,” “Gone In 60 Seconds.”

2002, “Adaptation”
Rating: 9
Another Oscar-nominated turn.

2006, “The Wicker Man”
Rating: 1
From the same era as the stinky “National Treasure” franchise and “Ghost Rider,” this one got a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

2011, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”
Dud superhero sequel. Will 2014’s “Joe turn things around?

Cage won the 1995 Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in “Leaving Las Vegas”

Matthew McConaughey

From top left, “Dazed and Confused,” “Lone Star,” Failure to Launch,” “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” Mud,” “Dallas Buyers Club”Everett Collection; Castle Rock Entertainment; Paramount Pictures; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; AP; Voltage Pictures

1993, “Dazed and Confused”
Rating: 7
Critics deem it alright, alright.

1996, “Lone Star”
Rating: 8
Indie Western allows him to stretch.

2006, “Failure to Launch”
Rating: 3
Idiotic rom-com in actor’s lost period.

2009, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”
Rating: 2
Another idiotic rom-com. See also: “Fool’s Gold,” “The Wedding Planner.”

2012 “Mud”
Rating: 8
On the heels of “Bernie” and “Killer Joe,” the McConaissance begins ramping up.

2013 “Dallas Buyers Club”
Rating: 10
Triumph: He wins Best Actor Oscar.

Kevin Costner

From left, “The Untouchables,” “Dances With Wolves,” “Waterworld,” “Rumour Has It…,””Hatfields & McCoys,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”Everett Collection; Tig Productions; Everett Collection; Everett Collections; AP; Everett Collections

1987, “The Untouchables”
Rating: 9
The gangster flick is an early hit for Costner.

1990, “Dances With Wolves”
Rating: 10
He’s on top of the world with Best Director and Best Picture Oscar wins.

1995, “Waterworld”
Rating: 2
Costner’s next acting/directing job? This big-budget sci-fi bomb.

2005, “Rumor Has It…”
Rating:2
Forgettable rom-com.

2012, “Hatfields & McCoys”
Rating: 7
He follows 14 movies you’ve never heard of with a mega-rated TV comeback.

2014, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”
Rating: 6
Serviceablespy movie — care Costner. Your move.

Costner wins the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture for 1990’s “Dances With Wolves”

John Travolta

From top left, “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” “Look Who’s Talking,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Battlefield Earth,” “Killing Season”RSO; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; Everett Collection; Millennium Entertainment

1977, “Saturday Night Fever”
Rating: 9
Actor boogies to an Oscar nomination.

1978, “Grease”
Rating: 8
The movie keeps up his heartthrob status and becomes a classic.

1989, “Look Who’s Talking”
Rating: 4
Variety says this comedy “palpitates with desperation.”

1994, “Pulp Fiction
Rating: 10
Career salvation: Royale with cheese, anyone?

2000, “Battlefield Earth”
Rating: 1
Critics and audiences hate this Scientology-inspired disaster.

2013, “Killing Season”
Rating: 2
Flick earns just $39,000 worldwide. Can this career be saved?

Travolta was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for both “Saturday Night Fever,” and “Pulp Fiction”

Robert De Niro

From top left, “The Godfather Part II,” “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “Meet the Parents,” “New Year’s Eve,” “Grudge Match”All: Everett Collection

1974, “The Godfather Part II”
Rating: 10
Wins Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Before the decade is out, he will be nominated for “Taxi Driver” and “The Deer Hunter.”

1980, “Raging Bull”
Rating: 10
Wins Best Actor Oscar.

1990, “Goodfellas”
Rating: 10
Martin Scorsese-helmed Best Picture nominee. De Niro can do no wrong.

2000, “Meet the Parents”
Rating: 7
We tried to overlook “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” but what the…?

2011, “New Year’s Eve”
Rating: 2
Audiences resolve to avoid it.

2013, “Grudge Match”
Rating: 1
The Post said this comedy had “no punch.” De Niro, at 70, appears to be all but knocked out.

De Niro won Best Actor for 1980’s “Raging Bull”