"Nicolas Cage. Oscar winner. Razzie nominee. Internet meme. He has achieved a special kind of cultural status - there will even be an event called the "Nicolas Cage Art Show and Musical Shennanigans" (sic) April 12 at the Balancoire in San Francisco, featuring artists' interpretations of the man, the legend ("It has come to my attention," Cage tells The Chronicle, chuckling. "I'm going to try to remain mysterious about it."). The always-busy actor's work in David Gordon Green's new, Southern Gothic "Joe" is among his most settled and centered in years, putting lie to the Andy Samberg "Big Bang Theory"-style impressions of him as nothing but a wild man. During a more-than-30-year career, he has put together some daring performances in many excellent films. Still, it's no secret that not every outing has been a gem. Cage has 24 movies that have scored lower than 40 percent on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. That's bad. That's nearly half his oeuvre. But he has been nominated for or won Oscars, Independent Spirits, BAFTAs and many other honors, and the average domestic gross for his 54 features is a very healthy $67 million, when adjusted for ticket-price inflation." - Anne Bouey

not that Cage is in the same league, but even Sir Larry Olivier made some real turkeys. - Big Joe Silenced