BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL-NEW ORLEANS (09):
Best Nicholas Cage movie since Adaptation. Werner Herzog (best known for documentaries such as Grizzly Man) deserves a lot of praise for this ballsy re-imagining of Abel Ferrara’s cult classic Bad Lieutenant (92). I loved the original, but this is one of my guilty pleasure favorite flicks of the year.
We’ve seen corrupt cop films before, but BLPCNO takes the term “dirty cop” to the next level. Cage’s character, Terence McDonagh, is so dirty you might think he crawled (or slithered) straight out of Hell. He plays a lieutenant investigating the murder of five Senegalese immigrants in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. But Cage is too busy smoking crack, hallucinating reptiles, and losing illegal gambling bets to figure out this mystery.
As we watch his downward spiral and as he plunges ever deeper into depravity we wonder if he really cares at all about finding the killer(s) or if he is just trying to clean up his own mess(es) and dig himself out of each new hole he makes along the way. While Herzog’s fearless direction and provocative artistic touches are crucial to the film’s success, Cage’s gleefully over-the-top performance is by far the highlight. We haven’t seen Cage like this since Face/Off (97) and he is truly fun to watch.
This is a shocking journey into depravity and corruption and I loved every minute of it. However, a lot of you folks are going to call me crazy and scream that we should “burn this witch,” labeling the movie ridiculous and me more so for liking it. My guess is that you people watched the movie expecting a serious crime drama while I see this as more of a really black comedy disguised as a crime drama. Either way, Cage’s gonzo portrayal of the titular character must be seen to be believed and is entertaining enough for me to recommend this to anyone. Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, and Brad Dourif also co-star. 8.4/10
THE TOURNAMENT (09):
Every 7 years the world’s greatest assassins gather for a fight to the death tournament to battle for supremacy, while the bourgeois elite gamble on their lives. There can be only one, and he/she receives a $10 million dollar prize. The Kumite, anyone?
As with Avatar, this movie loses points in the originality department. Again though, who cares if we’ve seen the premise before when it’s a cool concept and plays out well? I don’t. At least not in a balls-to-the-wall, action-packed badass bloodfest such as this fine piece of mindless madness.
Given, the characters (which include Ving Rhames as our returning champ hero, Robert Carlyle as a bewildered alcoholic priest who stumbles into the game, Zangief from Mortal Kombat, and a French guy that does Parkour) are hardly more than cookie-cutter stereotypes and you get a pretty good sense of who is going to survive until the last few scenes, but there’s a decent surprise or two thrown into the mix and I sure as hell never got bored with all the brutal killings, explosions and mayhem and whatnot.
We’ve seen it all before in better films such as Battle Royale (’00) and The Running Man (’87), but if you’re an action junkie this movie will not disappoint. In fact, it’s one of the better action movies of the year and technically well made. Just turn off your brain and prepare for gore galore and a fun ride. 7.3/10
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