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BAD LIEUTENANT PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS Post Release

post #1 of 41
11/23/09 at 1:48am
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http://chud.com/articles/articles/21...ANS/Page1.html
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post #2 of 41
11/23/09 at 2:01am
I'm trying to decide who Cage is doing an impression of with his voice in this. Half the time he sounds normal, and then in the other half he sounds like Tony Clifton I've decided.

Enjoyed this flick and bat shit insane Cage and the sudden bat shit insane moments with the reptiles. Definitely a funny and disturbing time.
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post #3 of 41
11/23/09 at 2:52am
How were the other performances? Or were they just backdrops to Cage?
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post #4 of 41
11/23/09 at 4:08am
This has the worst title of any movie released in 2009. If THE YEAR ONE hadn't changed its title to just YEAR ONE in pre-production, THE YEAR ONE would have been the worst title of any movie released in 2009. But it did. A wise creative decision from Harold Ramis.
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post #5 of 41
11/23/09 at 11:27pm
I don't know, I think the Invention of Lying is pretty fucking retarded/tangent

Pretty muchagree with Devin's take. And yeah, I wasn't sure what was going on with Cage's voice, as it kind gets all nasally half-way through, and I couldn't tell if it was intentional in terms of the character, or just Cage being weird.

I saw this at a free screening at the mall that was packed with people who otherwise probably wouldn't see it, and it went over like gang-busters. I think this film has cult classic potential within the hip-hop culture, I really do.
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post #6 of 41
11/24/09 at 3:16am
One of the best movies of the year.

"You're the fucking reason this country's going down the drain!"
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post #7 of 41
11/24/09 at 4:43am
About three quarters of the way through, Cage seems to start channeling Dan Hedeya.

I thought this was great. I disagree with Devin that it's totally juvenile; I think there's some smart satire in there. It's a joke, but not a dumb one. It's taking our national obsession with police procedurals and fucking with it at every turn. Not necessarily a new joke, but in Herzog's hands it feels fresh and even artful at times. Cage masterfully handles all the different drug highs -- his heroin act is different form his pot act and his coke/crack hysteria. I fucking loved it and though I wouldn't label it a classic, I could easily see revisiting it and liked it a lot better than Ferarra's take. Faruzia Balk in her underwear for the win.
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post #8 of 41
11/28/09 at 12:44am
Very entertaining film. Several scenes simply brought the house down...the Iguanas, when everything is "wrapped up" in one neat package, the old lady with the gun in her face, the dancing soul, etc. I found it kind of refreshing that all of Cage's various plots and schemes actually turn out successful in the end, and he even gets promoted for them. It's a good turn of events from the ending of the original Bad LT.
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post #9 of 41
11/29/09 at 4:36am
Hilarious. The way to watch this movie is as a comedy, in which context it's the best of the year.
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post #10 of 41
11/29/09 at 6:41am
It is a comedy. There's no other context for it.
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post #11 of 41
11/29/09 at 5:02pm
The interview with Herzog over at the AV Club has him straight up saying it's a comedy, and that while they were filming it they knew certain scenes would get bigger laughs than an Eddy Murphy comedy (admittedly not a hard feat these days...) Having scene this with the exact opposite of an art house crowd, I can happily say that he's dead on right. This thing fucking sailed.
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post #12 of 41
11/29/09 at 5:49pm
There's a breakdancing soul in the film. The film is pitch black satire, there's not really any other way to view it. I don't really even see it as being subtle.
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post #13 of 41
11/29/09 at 7:53pm
Am I the only one who thought this film wasn't really as crazy as they were expecting? I mean, yeah, there were a few awesomely crazy bits, but they're all in the trailer. It's really more like Scarface, watching an actor chew scenery and rampage across the moral landscape, than the psychadelic freakout you expect from clips of the iguana scene or "his soul is still dancing".
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post #14 of 41
11/29/09 at 10:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebastian OB View Post
It is a comedy. There's no other context for it.
All I meant was it's funnier than the Hangover.
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post #15 of 41
12/4/09 at 2:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeShaynePI View Post
I'm trying to decide who Cage is doing an impression of with his voice in this. Half the time he sounds normal, and then in the other half he sounds like Tony Clifton I've decided.
Cage was up for Andy Kaufman in Man On The Moon. Wouldn't be surprised if his Bad Back Lieutenant wasn't a riff on the Clifton he developed for that screen test (sidebar: Edward Norton was also up for Man On The Moon, and his considerable Latka turned up in Keeping The Faith.)

I don't know what the fuck to think about this movie. Comedy, sure. But you can't exactly dismiss it as a comedy. If it's a comedy, it really delivers. I loved watching Cage and Kilmer try to stand motionless during those iguana close-ups. (Best credit ever: "Iguana and Aligator Footage by Werner Herzog")

Best Nicolas Cage in 20 years? Prolly.

Did Michael Shannon originally have a bigger role?

Did Val Kilmer originally have a bigger role?

If you've never seen the original, IFC seems to be running it recently.
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post #16 of 41
12/4/09 at 7:31pm
Had a pretty good time with this movie.. as is the case with most Herzog, for me at least.

Not sure how I feel about him using that Sonny Terry song during the shootout. It's so perfect at the end of Stroszek. It sure did sound nice and clear though.
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post #17 of 41
12/5/09 at 4:57pm
I loved it, but was only able to see half - had to leave because of a pet emergency! As Devin pointed out, it was just fun seeing the old, take chances Cage back in action. Guess I'll be paying twice to see this play in theaters.
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post #18 of 41
12/5/09 at 5:20pm
I had a great time with this movie. What I really like is how surreal it is. You kinda think this is just some crazy dark comedy, but then Herzog will put in scenes that put a surreal feeling in the film. I guess some will say he's trying to be artsy, but I think it adds something to a film that could've been really hollow.

About his change in speech halfway through: I figured it was either a combination of sleep deprivation for days and his lack of drug use at that point, or a combo of sleep deprivation and the shitload of drug use throughout the film. Because he was desperately trying to score drugs around the time he was acting that way. If you notice, not only is his voice sounding odd, but he's shaking around alot more, stooped over even more, and it seems like his back pain is really flaring up. A lack of drugs could explain this. Sometime after stealing some coke from the evidence room, he started acting normal again.
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post #19 of 41
12/5/09 at 5:42pm
I thought the voice change was funny. And It makes sense. He's nasally and numb from all of the drugs.
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post #20 of 41
12/5/09 at 6:28pm
I like that he plays a different sort of high depending on what he's on in the scene.
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post #21 of 41
12/8/09 at 11:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil View Post
I don't know what the fuck to think about this movie. Comedy, sure. But you can't exactly dismiss it as a comedy. If it's a comedy, it really delivers.
I found Cage to be amusing, but everything else dreary and grasping for significance (the breakdancing spirit, the iguanas). Two-thirds of the way through I really didn't care if it was trying to be a comedy.
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post #22 of 41
12/9/09 at 8:07am
I think the change in voice was because he got hooked on H. Until he bumped into those kids whom he stole if off, thinking it was blow, he didn't seem like he was taking it.
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post #23 of 41
12/20/09 at 9:26pm
Were the boom mics intentional? There were three or four shots in which a mic floated into the frame. I'm sure the projectionist fucked up the aspect ratio at my screening, but it's rare that such a mistake survives on film - I even spotted a crew member briefly in the movie. I mean, fuck, right in one of the most intense scenes in the movie, a fucking boom mic is lowered between Nicolas Cage's lieutenant and another actor he's spitting vitriol towards. Reminds of the sound design of Public Enemies.
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post #24 of 41
12/21/09 at 12:58am
Nicolas Cage is great but the movie was pretty dull. It wasn't quite crazy enough to not feel like a boring law and order episode with a batshit insane lead performance.
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post #25 of 41
12/31/09 at 8:07am
Definitely a well-executed joke. I think the best laugh in the movie for me was that ending when people one after another file in to congratulate/thank him.

It may have been helped by having no expectations whatsoever but I loved this movie so much. Saw it in a completely empty theater other than me which was a little weird.
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post #26 of 41
1/1/10 at 6:10pm
What was engaging was how his level of "bad" was always in question. First scene, he and Kilmer talk believably about letting the guy drown. First half of the movie, no matter how corrupt he was, he was always tenacious about the case, just getting more and more distracted. He has the conversation with Xzibit, ("You don't give a fuck about the murders?" "Look at me, look at you. I never did.") it was a realistic reaction to having no options, convincing himself he's always been this way.

He only switches back when he sees Xzibit's shotgun under the desk, to protect himself again. But there's some good there. He draws the line, as Kilmer says, at murder. Addiction is something that can overtake personality, but I liked that Cage was more than that in the end. (By murder, I mean cold-blooded only. He's okay with it any other way.)
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post #27 of 41
1/4/10 at 12:24am
Having just watched the original recently, it just hammered home how pointless a remake of this seemed from what I'd known of the 1992 film. Expecially since it stars Nicolas Cage and has Port Of Call: New Orleans appended to the title. And I'm baffled as to why Herzog decided to do it. I have noticed that Cage has been getting plaudits for his performance, however.
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post #28 of 41
4/7/10 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornelius Cardew View Post
Nicolas Cage is great but the movie was pretty dull. It wasn't quite crazy enough to not feel like a boring law and order episode with a batshit insane lead performance.
I sort of have to agree with that but I also must admit I was completely enthralled for the entire running time. The film got a firm grip on my soul and wouldn't let go until the credits rolled

I'm going to chalk the movie's powerful emotional impact up to the fact that that Nic Cage was giving one of the most unhinged performances in cinema since the death of Klaus Kinski. It was completely nuts and to be perfectly honest I became frightened watching him. I never knew what kind of deranged deed his repugnant madman of a police officer would commit next. Watching BLT: POCNOLA on DVD is like being trapped in a room with a person who you (reasonably) worry may harm you.


Anyway, as for Mr Cage..

For the first time in years, it felt like he was exhibiting appropriate levels of craziness for the character he was portraying. I have to applaud that

BLT: POCNOLA was weird, off putting, and I have no idea why Herzog wanted to shoot it, but yeah... I was not bored and I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it.
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post #29 of 41
4/12/10 at 12:38am
I feel like halfway through Nic's character had a stroke from drug usage, and then when his voiced went back to normal he had finally croaked from it. Everything after that was a death rattle fantasy.
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post #30 of 41
4/15/10 at 6:54pm
Best movie of all time
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post #31 of 41
4/15/10 at 7:22pm
Considering what was said about the drugs in the lucky crack pipe scene (aka the breakdancing soul scene) I certainly see the interpretation that he died watching TV with his stepmom and the rest was imagined. But I also think it's kind of a Taxi Driver situation, in that looking at it as a dream undercuts the meaning a bit... in this case a satire of rogue cop fantasies.
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post #32 of 41
4/15/10 at 11:24pm
I finally got to see this and it was awesome. The ending really does feel like it was a OD, but I don't think it was meant to be. I think he really got away with it.
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post #33 of 41
4/16/10 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post
But I also think it's kind of a Taxi Driver situation, in that looking at it as a dream undercuts the meaning a bit... in this case a satire of rogue cop fantasies.
This movie reminded me a bit of OBSERVE & REPORT, which in turn is reminiscent of TAXI DRIVER and KING OF COMEDY, and I think all four of them are better if their respective conclusions are "real" and not imagined by the protagonists. Halfway through the movie I was already thinking to myself, "I really hope Cage's character gets away with it"
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post #34 of 41
4/18/10 at 3:14pm
Last night I saw a car full of college kids singing loud to Dio's "Holy Diver". A lot of pretend sincerity that's getting kinda grating. Anyway, this movie is kind of like that. If I'd seen it with like-humored friends, I'd probably would've cracked up. As it was, watching it alone, it was kinda empty. Like Devin said in his review, you watch this b/c "Herzog and Nic Cage are remaking Bad Lieutenant!" and not b/c it's a fascinating character study.
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post #35 of 41
4/19/10 at 3:42am
Cage's performance is on par with Pacino's in Any Given Sunday.

It's not a classic, but it's one of the funniest films of last year and the photography is pretty fantastic.

I cracked up big time at the sound of the harmonica and the break-dancing soul.

Cage has an abysmal current resume, but you have to give the guy credit. The guy can take it to the max like few actors can.
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post #36 of 41
4/26/10 at 11:53pm
It took a little while for it to really get going, but right around the 45-min. mark (when the iguanas show up), this thing started flying off the rails in the best way. I laughed out loud multiple times through the last half. I've hated almost everything I've seen Nic Cage in for probably the last 10 years, but I thought he delivered here big time. It's definitely a repeat viewer for me, only next time I'll invite some friends over & buy a case of beer for the occasion.
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post #37 of 41
10/9/10 at 4:01pm
Best comedy of the year! It's so good to see Nicholas Cage being on his game. I'd actually forgotten how much I used to enjoy him.

It feels like his performance in every scene is purely defined by whatever drug he happens to be on at the moment.
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post #38 of 41
10/9/10 at 4:22pm
According to him, it pretty much is.
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post #39 of 41
10/9/10 at 7:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evi View Post
It feels like his performance in every scene is purely defined by whatever drug he happens to be on at the moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil View Post
I like that he plays a different sort of high depending on what he's on in the scene.
Whattaya, got me on the pay-no-mind list, kid?
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post #40 of 41
10/9/10 at 7:29pm
Well that'll teach me to skim through one-page threads.
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post #41 of 41
10/25/10 at 10:34pm
This movie is everything W. should have been: pitch black satire of the Bush administration. Enjoyed it more then I thought it would. Cage's laugh at the end in the aquarium was perfect.
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