BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS Pre-release

[The Prankster]

Bizarrely, many similar themes to A SERIOUS MAN.

Mostly an excuse to see Cage melt down, which is entertaining enough. Actually it kind of seemed like Scarface if that movie was about a guy ostensibly on the other side of the law. In most regards it's an oddly conventional movie considering the amount of crazy involved. Most of the weirdness is in the trailers.

[cfMC]

Herzog making a comedy noir? Something tells me abel F. is upset because Herzog's movie will be more entertaining. But I guess I don't see why Herzog needed to predicate it upon the original Bad Lietenant in any case. Probably that's just how the money came together.

[The Prankster]

Herzog was there. He said he didn't want to call it "Bad Lieutenant" at all, but the guy who owns the name "was thinking of starting a franchise".

[cfMC]

thats what I figured. Herzogs recent movies have been great. The one about the Loch Ness Monster. The stuff about the Bear maniac. I wonder if Crispin Glover has a cameo in the new Policeman Film

[Casey Moore]

Just was announced it is going to play at the New Orleans Film Fest. Hoping to get to see it then. It still amazes me how easy the shoot was for this. The only bad thing I have heard from the show is lack of overtime pay because they had short days (well short for film production at least).

[Yaz]

Just saw the second screening of this at TIFF (unlike rich-old Prankster I can't afford the galas). Amazing and interesting little film. Had it ended five minutes earlier (after dropping of Eva Mendes) I would have agreed that this was a fairly standard movie, but those last two scenes elevated it for me.

Further discussion has light spoilers:

Also the iconography of the gun is fascinating. Even though Cage only fires his gun once in the entire movie (up in the air as a warning shot), its omniprecence tucked in his pants as a looming threat is essentially the whole movie for me.

[The Prankster]

Originally Posted by Yaz

Just saw the second screening of this at TIFF (unlike rich-old Prankster I can't afford the galas).

I didn't see it at a gala, for the record.

[Zollicoffer]

Originally Posted by cfMC

Something tells me abel F. is upset because Herzog's movie will be more entertaining. But I guess I don't see why Herzog needed to predicate it upon the original Bad Lietenant in any case.

It's definitely more entertaining the Ferrara's and yet it's almost nothing like the 1992 version. Fucking movie is nuts. Crazy nuts. Hilarious nuts. Ferrara's was just a flat-out bummer.

It might just be because Herzog's my favorite director/human, but I had some fun with this. It ain't great at all, and my opinion of it might be shaded by the fact I was in a packed house, and surrounded by people who probably had no idea what they were getting into. The lady next to me never heard of the original, and was only there because of Nic Cage. And she left before the final shot ended. Walking down the aisle, someone proclaimed "Worst. Movie. Ever." Shame.

Nic's best role since Adaptation by the way. Sort of makes up for about half of the shit he's made in the past 6 years. But not all of it.

Best movie with break-dancing souls and long, drawn-out close-ups of iguanas ever.

[Phil]

I wasn't ready for the trailer to posit this thing as alterna-Oscar bait for Cage a la The Wrestler.

[sexymollusk]

Nic Cage's recklessness in life, finance, and choice of roles make him the most compelling actor working today, IMO. No other major actor has the balls to rock a bear suit and keep a straight face the way he does.

FOR JOHNNY RAMONE

[sexymollusk]

These are the words of an advanced human being:

It’s a deeply personal character and I was trying to find a new way of presenting how he would keep dark spirits at bay. I didn’t want him being a heavy drinker or a chain smoker. I wanted him eating jellybeans so he wouldn’t invite the devils in. I wanted him listening to Karen Carpenter to help him relax so he wouldn’t allow the devil with satanic Goth rock or something. Or, he’s watching chimpanzees do karate instead of The Exorcist. And, all three of those things I was doing in my own life. I was eating jellybeans out of a martini glass and listening to Karen Carpenter and on the Internet watching chimps do karate. And I thought, ‘Well this is funny, let’s put it in the movie.’ But it’s also true.
--Nicolas Cage

[Martin Blank]

I get the sense that whatever Cage does — even the shit — he does out of some passion or curiosity. He commits himself and goes for it wholeheartedly, making himself a very easy target. Sometimes it works. In recent years, not as often as we'd like. I wouldn't want to sit through the entirety of The Wicker Man again, but the famous YouTube montage of all his bugfuck moments in the flick is something I'll always sit down for. He usually at least tries to come at whatever role from an oblique angle.

But putting him with Herzog? They could've called it Raiders of the Lost Ark: Port of Call New Orleans and my ticket was sold the minute they announced the director and star. Is Les Blank still working? Because I really want to see the behind-the-scenes documentary on this one.

[Z.Vasquez]

Just saw it. It's the trailer with a good movie in between. Which is more than I could ask for. Could have used more Kilmer/Shannon. Had a surprisingly decent amount of Dourif.

The crowd was huge, but that's because they gave out a fuckton of free passes. Based off the make-up of the audience and their overwhelmingly positive reactions (even with all the Herzog weirdness), I predict this will be a cult classic w/in hip-hop culture. Mark my words.