Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/k/omg/us/img/d0/46/7126_1186992659.jpg?y=660&x=616&q=75&n=0&sig=Vybf3XoBM59I93wgutdBAw--

Directed by Werner Herzog

Written by William M. Finkelstein

Genre: Drama

Plot Outline: A rogue detective is as devoted to his job as he is at scoring drugs -- while playing fast and loose with the law. He wields his badge as often as he wields his gun in order to get his way. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina he becomes a high-functioning addict who is a deeply intuitive, fearless detective reigning over the beautiful ruins of New Orleans with authority and abandon. Complicating his tumultuous life is the prostitute he loves. Together they descend into their own world marked by desire, compulsion, and conscience.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Xzibit , Fairuza Balk

Rated R for drug use and language throughout, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime: 121 minutes

One of my most anticipated films of the year. Not to mention the thing is already getting stellar reviews.

[ilovemovies]

Looks so-so however some of the reviews have been good. So, we'll see.

This is may be damning the movie with faint praise, but it's the best pick of an admittedly weak lot next week.

[Tweek]

I beat you! But your post is better so I'll close mine. :p

[Bourne101]

I beat you! But your post is better so I'll close mine. :p

Haha, damn. I must have been in the process of making my thread when you posted yours. Oh well.

[BakeTheMooCow]

Looks insane. Just completely bonkers. I can't wait to see it.

[Powerslave]

I can't wait to see this, both because it just looks amazing and because, after the dismal reviews received by My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, it's all on this one to give me my fix of inspired Herzogian madness. Plus Nick Cage always rocks these small, weird roles, they're all his best and most interesting performances, and this looks to be one of the best and one of the weirdest.

[Frank the Tank]

This looks great. Cage looks like he is having fun and cutting loose for once (Not the bored robot he's been since 2006) and I'm glad Val Kilmer is getting work in a theatrical film (No clue why Kiss Kiss Bang Bang didn't get him roles in mainstream films again).

[ProgWizardry]

Val Kilmer was GREAT in Wonderland. I can only hope he recreates something just as powerful here. Herzog is brilliant and I LOVE New Orleans. This should be good.

[Cop No. 633]

Count me in! I'm planning on smoking my lucky crack pipe in the theater!

[ericdraven]

Blah. Nic Cage can do Wicker Man over the top, and he will never equal the peforamnce of Harvey Kietel in the original

[The Postmaster General]

Next to Mr. Fox, this is my most anticipated film for the remainder of the year. I can't wait to check it out, but sadly will probably be on DVD

[Bourne101]

Blah. Nic Cage can do Wicker Man over the top, and he will never equal the peforamnce of Harvey Kietel in the original

From what I've heard, the two films are nothing alike.

[Dirtyfrog]

Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes as lover .... again ? sight

Someone should fire the ppl in charge of casting

[Cosimo]

before i saw the trailer i was greatly anticipating this, though i didn't like the casting of cage i thought herzog may get the best out of him, clearly not

[anakinsrise]

It has that straight to DVD feel but no one does eccentric ,insanity like Cage

[DrJellyfingers]

From what I've heard, the two films are nothing alike.

so they are not gonna have a scene where nic cage says 'show me how you suck a dick' and jerks off outside of the girls car? i'll pass then.

[QUENTIN]

I've got back and forth on the project, but as more has come out, this

Looks insane. Just completely bonkers. I can't wait to see it.

is where I am now.

[echo_bravo]

This looks awesome. I'll definitely see it in theaters.

[The Postmaster General]

This is getting mostly positive reviews so far - As good as I thought it would be, I'm not expecting critical love, so I'm interested to see how that develops now.

[XCoRyX]

I guess i'm the only one who thinks this looks really lame?

[The Postmaster General]

I guess i'm the only one who thinks this looks really lame?

About a third - half the people in this thread have said it doesn't look good.

[Cosimo]

it does look very funny

[XCoRyX]

About a third - half the people in this thread have said it doesn't look good.

yikes. my ability to scroll when sleepy is not what it was. sorry haha.

[Strider]

The only reason why I want to check this film out is because it looks pretty strange, not because it looks like a great film or anything. Also, Nic Cage looks fucking batshit crazy in this, and he may be a total blast to watch. So I guess I'm in.

Strider

[JCPhoenix]

I saw this at TIFF with my roommates and several other people and we had a blast. However, keep in mind that my roommates are HUGE Nic Cage fans (they were first in the line-up and waited five hours or so - we actually sat as close as possible to Herzog and Cage - we were just two rows in front of them for the movie heh (the row in between was reserved) and that seeing it at a film festival environment is very different from seeing it elsewhere. People treated the film like a Midnight Madness screening and the cheering and clapping were insane. (For those who don't know, the MM programme is made up of cult-style films and always has ridiculously enthusiastic audiences)

The film itself is a little bit straight-to-dvd-ish but is definitely worth it for Cage's performance and Herzog's utter randomness (the iguanas are Herzog's favorite part of the movie and I honestly have to agree). It's not my favorite Cage film by any means but it's a fun watch, especially if you decide to roll with its wackiness. Cage has a scene where he threatens an old lady and her hairdresser and it's a pretty fucking funny scene (if I remember correctly, Cage said in the Q&A after that he improvised some of the lines there).

Of the two Herzog films out this year, I thought this was superior to My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (which we saw the next day at the festival in a completely different environment - the Elgin, which is a really ritzy theatre). Herzog actually mentioned at the My Son, My Son screening how blown away he was by the audience reaction to Bad Lieutenant :D. Guess it's his first time encountering a TIFF Midnight Madness audience.

[Earl Bonds]

cant be as shitty as the original Bad Lieutenant, I'll take Nic Cage over Kietel anyday.

[SuperMarcey]

I liked the original film it was weird and all but there was something about it. I know this isn't exactly a remake or anything but it looks so insanely over the top and silly, its like one of those films that so bad its awesome. One to drink to or something, I'm not sure what to think of it until I see it, and its a film I want to see for the sake of seeing it.

[BakeTheMooCow]

There are actually major similarities between the Abel Ferrara film and this one - I don't know what critics are talking about when they say there's no connection. Both the Nic Cage and Harvey Keitel characters are addicted to hard drugs, they both see a hooker regularly, they both steal drugs that have been confiscated as evidence, they both harrass young women during random streets busts, and they both owe gambling money to dangerous criminals.

The main difference is that the 1992 film deals with character - it's about a man on a downward spiral and it is filled with visceral images, religious allegory and guttural screams. In the 2009 film, the plot is so much more significant and the performance by a scenery chewing Cage is not nearly as tragic and disturbing, but rather extremely camp and over-the-top.

There were more laughs in this movie than most outright comedies I've seen this year. The iguana scene, the crocodile on the road, Terrence threatening the old woman, the dancing soul, the multiple deus ex machina sequence -- they're all so bizarre and ludicrous and hilarious. I really had a blast just watching this insanity unfold before me and seeing Cage so unhinged and crazy. Herzog is a complete lunatic and he has made a thoroughly entertaining trashy mess of a movie.

7/10

[Cop No. 633]

That sounds like pure fun Bake! Nice review. I can't wait to see it.

[mick621]

I really wanna see this film but it's still in limited release and in select cities to. Cage looks really awesome in it, checkout this clip:
http://www.filmofilia.com/2009/11/16/restricted-bad-lieutenant-clip/

I enjoyed the original film with Harvey Keitel, so this is a must see. That being said if this does not see a wider theatrical release that would be a shame. Any film with Nicolas Cage, Val Kilmer and Eva Mendes starring deserves a shot at a wide theatrical release. If this doesn't happen, I know it's not gonna do The Dark Knight box office numbers, but the studio would be plain dumb not to expand. This is getting excellent reviews from movie critics, Ebert gave it 4 stars and it looks possible that Nicolas Cage could potentially get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

[BakeTheMooCow]

There is no chance that Cage will get a Best Actor nomination. It's not that kind of movie and not that kind of performance. He is very over-the-top and in many scenes, delivering deliberately awful lines with unhinged glee. I hesitate to say that this is a B-movie because it works on a meta level that is atypical of the genre, but I can say for sure that it is not a movie that the Academy will embrace.

[mick621]

Is it just me or does that look like Gina Gershon on the poster for this film, though it's supposed to star Eva Mendes.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5300/19175396.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/19175396.jpg/)

[ilovemovies]

Ugh. I hated this movie. The first half isn't very good, but Cage kept it watchable. Not so in the second half which was just really really really terrible.

3/10

[therealjohng]

This movie, is awesome. Nic Cage should easily be nominated for his performance. He is off the chain, crazy, psycho, uncontrollable. What Herzog and Cage do is great. They set up these scenes early on where he does horrible stuff, then when he gets himself into situations later on they have this edge to them because you don't know what length Cage will go to to get what he wants. Just a great movie led by a fantastic performance by Cage that is his best in years.

[MisterTwister]

If Ilikemovies didn't like it that's mean I probably will. Look forward to watching it soon.

[Earl Bonds]

Guess ill check it out since they got a DVD copy floating around online.

[Smiert Spionam]

I'll take Nic Cage over Kietel anyday.

If I were an admin, I would ban people for a statement like this.

[mick621]

Saw this one recently finally. Is it better than the Kietel film, no, but is it a solid film, yes. Nic Cage was excellent, I enjoyed Knowing, but this is a nice return to form for him. He does characters like this (Leaving Las Vegas, Vampires Kiss, Matchstick Men) like no other actor, his performance was amazing. Eva Mendes was good, but this is a Nicolas Cage driven film from start to finish. Some scenes are shocking, I like the directing by Werner Herzog. I give Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, a strong 7/10. Will buy the DVD in February of 2010, would love to see it again.

[anakinsrise]

Im a big Nic Cage fan ,and i can watch him in almost anything unless its ferociously bad.
In The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans,Cage is a drugged up,hunched over,corrupt,degenerate gambler Oh and also a police LT
Dealing with a prostitute girlfriend,an alchoholic father,and trying to protect a murder witness,how can he keep all of these balls up in the air?
It was fun watching him get deeper into terrible situations,and try to figure out a way out of them,so i felt the ending was a let down and a cop out.
I was highly entertained but hoped for an edgier conclusion
Scale of 1-10 a 7

[LordSimen]

I shall be checking this out later today. Can't wait! :D

[LordSimen]

Oh man. I freakin' loved this movie. Welcome back, Cage! 10/10

[Cosimo]

so funny, truly awful at times. haven't laughed at a film so much all year. great fun!

[BadCoverVersion]

I have only watched half of it because I was shockingly tired and had to retire to bed part way through (*dvd rip shhh*)...

I will never be able to listen to "Please release me" ever again...not without creasing up laughing.

Cage shaving behind a door...bwahahahahahahaha!

Fun times so far.

[Cop No. 633]

I had a blast watching it. It really gets better as it goes along with the story. Cage is very entertaining in this. Gotta love him roughing up the grannies and fucking with the most dangerous drug dealer till the break of dawn, baby! And that ending killed me when all three resolutions show up at his desk and everything's wrapped up in a nice bow. It's like the world of the film becomes Terrence's fantasy by the end. That was a great touch.

I think overall, there's no point in comparing this to Ferrara's film. Sure, there are similarities but the tone is the completely different. This film is blissfully evil as Herzog puts it and Ferrara's film is more about showing the underbelly of LT's corruption. You can't help but find Terrence to be a lovable scumbag whereas Keitel's LT is just a scumbag.

It's weird but there's something more pathetic about LT telling the girls to show him how to suck dick than when Terrence gets it on with the hooker in the parking lot. On paper, those two scenes may sound similar but they're very different in how they play out. The original is a masterpiece in character study but this one is a masterpiece in trashiness. The only thing I thought was off was the pacing of the film. It sort of sags in a few places.

How about that score? I really liked it. The last thing I expected was to enjoy the score of the film as much as I did.

8/10

[Natty]

"Right now, I'm working on about an hour and a half's sleep and I'm still trying to remain courteous, but I'm beginning to think that that's getting in the way of my being effective."

http://www.filmdetail.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Bad-Lieutenant-Port-of-Call-New-Orleans.jpg

I was intrigued by this movie since it was first announced so maybe I'm a little biased, but I thought this was a damn great movie and one of the best of the year. It's interesting that Herzog moved to LA to make a film, and this one doesn't have the brilliant cinematography and location shots that are typical of his movies but we still have that basic Herzog theme, an exploration of a man who is put under pressure by the environment he lives in. The man in question is played by the brilliant Nicholas Cage in one of the best performances of his career (nomination worthy? Yeah I might say so), this actor is always a little over-the-top for some people's taste, but Herzog and writer Finkelstein give him such a bold character to work with (who is on screen almost all of the time) that the performance is always engaging and convincing. Perhaps the amount of screen time given to Cage is a problem though, the film's pacing isn't that good, it doesn't have much of a story and it can get a little tedious as we basically watch one moment in the titular character's troubled life followed by another, followed by another, followed by another, etc. Still, the themes and issues the film explores plus the hilarity of the surreal sequences (yep, those involving iguanas) make for quality peice of cinema.

8/10

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/k/omg/us/img/d9/2e/3229_8511558472.jpg?y=660&x=616&q=75&n=0&sig=7NtZa6Lld76pf1krmfun1Q--
“I’m a little late on my rent is all... it’s a rent dispute.”

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - 8/10

Well, Avatar was sold out, but I was going to see Bad Lieutenant tomorrow anyway, so I'll just see Avatar tomorrow. This movie was fucking insane. Nicolas Cage is fucking back after numerous mediocre roles. He is absolutely perfect for this role and had me in stitches numerous times. Werner Herzog is crazy, plain and simple. The iguana and alligator scenes are awesome, but completely nuts. The film is entertaining as hell and flies by very quickly. The last third where Cage's character goes beyond fucking bonkers was a joy to watch. There's not really much else to say. This has cult classic written all over it. So many great quotes, so many memorable moments, an insanely awesome performance from Nicolas Cage, and a directorial effort from Werner Herzog that rivals some of his craziest shit really make Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans a treat to watch.