Why there's no other movie star in the world like Nicolas Cage - and that's a blessing

Nicolas Cage is an Oscar-winning actor who has built his career on choosing movies and characters that never pigeonhole him into one type of movie star.

But there's another tool in Cage's arsenal that sets him apart from most actors. His over-the-top performances are can't-miss spectacles that you can't really compare to anyone else.

When many actors turn up the crazy, it looks forced and is embarrassing for all involved to watch. But when Cage does it, it's unlike any movie experience you've ever had. The beady eyes, weird voices, and disregard for his own safety is an art form in itself.

And right now you can stream two new Cage movies that fall under this special category: "Dog Eat Dog" and "Army of One."

If you've never seen movies like "Vampire's Kiss," "The Wicker Man," "Deadfall," "Zandalee," "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," or "Face/Off," you aren't familiar with Cage's ability to do strange and peculiar things on-screen.

Here's a montage for you (warning: NSFW):

Cage isn't the first person to "chew the scenery" in movie history. Johnny Depp, David Caruso, Marlon Brando, Matthew McConaughey, Jim Carrey, and Al Pacino all come to mind.

But none of them has made it into a highly anticipated moviegoing experience in the way Cage has.

Sure, Pacino yelling out "Great ass!" in "Heat" is incredible because he goes from calm and collected to lunatic in five seconds flat, but Cage stretches out that intensity for a full feature film. It's practically an athletic talent.

"That can't be easy," Cage's "Army of One" costar Wendi McLendon-Covey told Business Insider about Cage as Gary Faulkner, the real guy who tried to hunt down Osama bin Laden with just a samurai sword because he says God told him to.

The movie is vintage crazy Cage as he plays Faulkner with a high-pitched voice and long gray beard and hair that goes into a ponytail. It's a character that McLendon-Covey said Cage had been doing for months before she came on the film. And he rarely ever broke character.

"I mean, my God," McLendon-Covey said, "he must have just been dying to shake it off by the time I met him."

But seriously, would you see a movie about a guy who single-handedly tried to hunt down bin Laden if Nicolas Cage weren't playing the character?

There are just some roles that can't be done by normal actors.

Nicolas Cage has realized that he doesn't have to play the Hollywood game anymore to make a living. The actor has made a healthy income the past few years through the straight-to-VOD market because audiences will happily spend a weekend renting a movie of his at home rather than going to the theater.

"Dog Eat Dog" director Paul Schrader told Business Insider the "good news" and "bad news" of working with Cage.

"Nic gets your movie financed," Schrader said. "That's the good news. The bad news is that he eats up most of your budget in the process of getting it financed because you end up basically paying him the budget. But he still commands those big numbers."

But you get your money's worth. Because Cage's involvement likely means your movie will become instantly memorable. (Trust me, I would not be writing about either of these movies if Nic Cage didn't star in them.)

In Schrader's film, Cage is an ex-con who along with his two buddies (one played by Willem Dafoe) takes on jobs from the Cleveland underworld to make a living, until things go horribly wrong on one job.

Sounds like you've seen that movie before, right? But in the last 10 minutes of the movie, Cage's character suddenly thinks he's Humphrey Bogart, with Cage delivering a Bogie impression that you will likely rewind just to make sure you really did just witness it.

Even Schrader was surprised when he first saw it.

"He kind of stunned this on me on the day we were shooting that," the director said. "We went through it and all of a sudden he's doing it as Bogie and I was like, 'Whoa, you sure you want to do that?' And he said, 'Look, you've been telling me for five weeks that we have to be bold. This is the only way you can do this genre today.' He said, 'I think this is a bold choice.' I said, 'Yeah, I think it is, too. Let's do it.'"

In a movie with many flaws, it's Cage's unthinkable morphing into Bogart that is worth the price of the movie.

And that's the magic of Cage's performances. Though they seem to be awful ideas on paper, when they pop off the screen, you are overjoyed watching someone who will take chances with such disregard for second-guessing or criticism.

There are many things we can complain about in today's movie industry: the lack of originality from major studios, how expensive it is to go to the multiplex, bland young stars. But as the latest work of Nicolas Cage proves, there are still some things we can celebrate.

Don't ever change, Nic Cage!

"Army of One" is currently available on iTunes and "Dog Eat Dog" will be available on Friday. Both titles are also currently in limited theatrical release.