Millennium Films

‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’ – No, it is Not a Remake

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Alright, let’s get this out of the way; Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” is not a remake of Abel Ferrara’s 1992 film “Bad Lieutenant” which, as a friend of mine from high school pointed out “made ‘Taxi Driver’ look like ‘Alice in Wonderland!’” The only thing these films have in common is they have a main character who is a police lieutenant with serious gambling and drug addictions which suck them deep into a realm of immorality. Other than that, they are completely different cinematic works which somehow ended up with the same darn title. Comparing the two films, while in some respects inevitable, does neither any favors. Then again, they do have the same producer, Edward R. Pressman.

I do have to confess this is the very first feature length movie from Werner Herzog I have ever watched. Yes, I did see “Grizzly Man” and “Encounters at the End of the World,” but they were documentaries (brilliant ones might I add). Being the big movie buff that I am, you will likely find this shameful on my part, and it probably is, but you won’t have to worry about me comparing “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” to all his other works. From what I have heard, Herzog’s films deal with human psyches in a most extreme and uncontrollable state, so this film must be right up his alley in terms of themes he has dealt with throughout his career. It also allows Nicolas Cage a role where he can (and does he ever) go completely crazy in the only way Cage can.

Cage stars as Terence McDonagh a sergeant with the New Orleans police force. We watch as Terence enters the severely damaged police department with his partner Stevie Pruit (Val Kilmer) as they try to salvage some stuff which was not laid waste in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They end up coming across a prisoner still in his cell who should have been evacuated, and he is running out of time as the water level rises. Bothe Terence and Stevie seem perfectly willing to let this unlucky schmuck drown, but when Terence sees him start to pray, he quickly jumps into the contaminated water to rescue him. While he succeeds and is later made a lieutenant as a result, he also ends up with a serious back injury which requires medication he is told to take indefinitely, probably for the rest of his life.

Terence starts off being prescribed Vicodin by his less than hopeful doctor, something I had when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, and which my mother became terrified I would get addicted to. It’s all downhill from there as Terence quickly moves from Vicodin to cocaine, and then to crack or whatever else he can smuggle out of the evidence room. And just when you think he could not sink any deeper, he does. Eventually, he gets involved with local drug dealer Big Fate played by rapper Xzibit, looking livelier here than he did in “The X-Files: I Want to Believe.” By collaborating with Big Fate, Terence hopes to pay off his mounting debts. Throughout this twisted voyage, he is also met by a pair of iguanas who keep following him. Of course, no one can see them except him.

As dark and immoral as the plot and the characters are, I actually found this film to be shockingly funny. Seriously, “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” has moments which are laugh out loud funny, and I couldn’t believe how much I was enjoying myself while watching this insanity. What’s on display here gives “Observe and Report,” the blackest of black comedies, a big run for its money in the perversely funny department. The audience I saw it with were also laughing as loud as I was as the utter madness constantly left us in complete hysterics.

But the big delight I got was watching Cage act in a totally unhinged state to where you would think this was a sequel to “Wild at Heart.” This collaboration with Herzog brought Cage back to the kind of role he does best. In films like “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Face/Off” among others, he proves to be a master of pulling off over the top performances which are infused with endless creativity. Herzog simply sets him loose to play a character whose mind is in a constant state of implosion which exposes a soul most corrupted.

One key scene comes when Terence pulls over a young couple driving home from a club. Cage plays the scene straight as he gets from these two what he wants and knows they have on them, and then he switches gears when the lady gives him a hit from what she is smoking. In the process, he begins to make out with her while her stunned schmuck of a boyfriend is forced to watch. This scene is as horrifying as it is hilarious, and only an actor as risk taking and reckless as Cage could possibly sell us on it.

So, what’s Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” really about? I’m not entirely sure. It could be he is forcing us to look at a man whose soul is as toxic as the water that submerged much of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and of how this man is forced to descend into hell in order to find of redemption. But considering how over the top this film is in portraying Terence’s increasingly manic state, you have to wonder if Herzog is more interested in the journey Terence is taking as opposed to where he ends up. It didn’t matter much to me in the end because I was enjoying myself too much, and that’s even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

Cage is also surrounded by a good cast of actors who do memorable work here as well. It was nice to see Brad Dourif here, having seen and liked him in Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” as Terence’s bookie whom he is heavily in debt to. Kilmer is very good as Terence’s corrupt partner, and that’s even if he has to stand in the shadow of Cage throughout. I have to say I was very surprised to Jennifer Coolidge cast as Terence’s stepmother. Having seen her in so many comedic roles, it was interesting to see her to take on something different and more dramatic. Vondie Curtis-Hall appears as well playing Terence’s superior, Captain James Brasser, and Tom Bower rounds out the cast by portraying his alcoholic father, Pat McDonagh.

Eva Mendes is also on board here as Terence’s prostitute girlfriend, Frankie. She previously co-starred with Nicholas Cage in “Ghost Rider,” and she plays the same kind of role she played in “We Own the Night;” a party girl whose boyfriend supplies her with all the fun and drugs she ever needs. On the basis of her performance here, I hoped she would get stronger roles in the future as she makes Frankie’s transition from being selfish to getting saved from herself very believable. She has since gone on to give excellent performances in “The Other Guys,” “Holy Motors” and “The Place Among the Pines.”

Herzog gives this film a rough and dirty look which all but suits the characters and the sleaze they submerge themselves in. The whole shebang could have been ruined if he shot the whole thing in high definition, for it would have made the visuals look much too tidy. This is not a movie you want to look all smoothed over and polished at the surface. It requires an atmosphere thick with humidity and with slime dripping off of everything as it eats away what is left. For all I know right now, Herzog is not a director who is even remotely interested in sweetening up story and characters in order to make his movies more available to a mainstream audience.

“Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” deserves to be taken on its own terms and not compared to Ferrara’s film in which Harvey Keitel went for the “Full Monty.” Its story is not always easy to follow, but it is endlessly entertaining for those in the mood for something bizarrely funny and far from normal. It also allowed Cage a temporary haven from the junk he has been forced to star in, and he gets free rein to go wild and crazy like no one else can. Thus, Cage reminds of us here that he is still more than capable of giving a brilliantly entertaining performance, not that we should have doubted that in the first place. While his career looks to having him churn out one straight to video movie after another, there is always those gems like this, “Joe” and “Pig” to remind us of what a tremendous talent he is.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a ton of Herzog films to catch up on. I am behind enough on his work as it is.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

‘Rambo’ (2008) Brings Back an 80’s Action Hero, and Leaves a Ton of Blood in its Wake

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Rambo 2008 movie poster

WRITER’S NOTE: This review was written in 2008 back when this film was released.

With Sylvester Stallone having revived one of his most iconic characters with “Rocky Balboa,” it was only a matter of time before he brought back John Rambo. From “First Blood” to “Rambo III,” the ex-Green Beret was forced to deal with hostile elements which kept him from putting his violent past behind him, and now he is back after a two decade hiatus during which I am guessing this character finally found a way to silence his demons for longer than a couple of years. But when he starts wielding his knife or bow and arrow, the blood starts to flow like a river, and it’s a fast-moving river to be sure!

We catch up with Rambo in “Rambo” as he is living a life of solitude in Thailand where he catches poisonous snakes and sells them, and also drives his boat up and down the river. He has completely divorced himself from the world and its major concerns and, no surprise, he would rather not go back into combat again. To so will have him be reminded of who he really is and of what he cannot escape from. Then along comes a group of missionaries who try to hire Rambo to take them upriver where they can help those who are living in terror of the Burmese army which has no remorse for their suffering. Before you know it, the army descends on the village they are working in, and they wipe out just everybody including babies. Those who survive the onslaught are taken hostage by the army which is led by a vicious general who seems to be devoid of just about every emotion other than hate.

After all these years in development hell, I kept wondering who John Rambo was going to fight this time around. There were rumors he would take on the Taliban or some cult in America. Stallone’s inclusion of the Burmese army is an interesting choice as I am not sure how aware people are of the atrocities they have inflicted. “Rambo” starts off with some documentary footage of the army and the decaying corpses they leave in their wake. While it may seem exploitive to some that Stallone would use this footage here, it effectively sets up how dangerous and cold-hearted these villains are and will be throughout. It succeeds also in anchoring these antagonists in a believable way, and it makes them all the more threatening. Stallone is smart not give us a bunch of cartoonish 1980’s villains here as it would simply take away from the story and turn it into the kind of action flick which has not aged well.

Stallone directs here again as he did with “Rocky Balboa,” and this is the first Rambo movie which has him in front of and behind. It is hard to think of another individual who could have directed it as he knows the character so damn well and so much more than just about anyone else. It is also important to note that, along with “Rocky Balboa,” this is the first time Stallone has directed any movie in about 20 years. Some get rusty when they are away from the director’s chair for too long (we are looking at you George Lucas), but Stallone looks to have stepped back into this position without having missed a beat.

And speaking of action, “Rambo” is overwhelmed with it If you thought the first 20 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” was exceedingly violent, wait till you get a load of this film. Rambo does not just blow away his enemies, he eviscerates them in such gory detail to where Dario Argento would be in awe of what Stallone has pulled off here. The ex-Green Beret also slices and dices better than Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, or even Michael Meyers ever could. He eviscerates, decapitates, disembowels, and hits his targets with absolute precision and without hesitation. Many have called this the most violent movie ever made, and this may very well be true.

My guess is since this is the first Rambo movie made in two decades, Rambo has been laying low and not causing any trouble. As a result, he has had all this tension building up inside of him for a long, long time. Now had this movie came out a few years after “Rambo III,” then maybe he would not have battled his enemies in such an immensely gory fashion. But since he has been out of action for so long, it somehow makes sense he is slightly angrier than usual when he gets stuck in situations like this. In other words, do not piss him off after a long stretch of time where he has not done any hunting.

Many of the characters we see here do come across as one-dimensional, and this quickly reminded of Stallone’s limitations as a writer. There is a group of mercenaries who are led by one loud mouth Australian who would happily be anywhere else had he not been paid so much for this one job. These characters, however, are redeemed by the end of the movie as they fight for something as opposed to just the dollar. Also, some of the dialogue is unintentionally laughable, but thank goodness there is not too much of it here.

Among the actors teamed up with Stallone is Julie Benz who plays Sarah, the woman who wins over Rambo by meeting him at his level of morality. There is no sex here as Rambo looks to have become too much of a monk to where one wonders if he will ever be sexually active again (“no time for love Dr. Jones!”). But in the end, romance really has no place in a movie like this.

“Rambo” is also helped by a stupendous music score by Brian Tyler who more than honors the themes the late Jerry Goldsmith first brought to this franchise during its humble beginnings. It more than matches the furious pace of the action unleashed on us here, and gets at the deeper feelings of all the characters, especially Rambo himself. Tyler’s score here adds tremendously to the experience of watching this movie.

“Rambo” is not as good as “Rocky Balboa,” but it does deliver as an action movie. In fact, it has set the action bar so high in terms of onscreen deaths to where it will be a complete surprise if any other film in 2008 comes even close to topping its carnage. Anything is possible, but still.

* * * out of * * * *

The First Trailer for ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ Has Finally Arrived

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

It has been 10 years since Sylvester Stallone revived once of his most iconic characters in “Rambo” and wreaked bloody vengeance (and I mean really bloody vengeance) against the cruelest of adversaries. Since then, we have constantly wondered if John Rambo will utilize his ruthless combat skills one more time. Stallone at one point swore that this series was over and had no desire to do another sequel, but the term “never say never” was always in the air, and now he is back as the Vietnam War vet who can never keep his past at bay for too long.

The first trailer for “Rambo: Last Blood” has now been unveiled, and the movie is scheduled to be released in September 2019. My thoughts on this trailer are particularly mixed as it makes this next adventure in the violent life of John Rambo look like any other action movie. Moreover, it almost seems like a remake of “Homefront” which Stallone wrote the screenplay for. My hope right now is for “Rambo: Last Blood” to be a much, much better movie than “Homefront” was as that one really sucked.

I have a feeling it will take a little bit for audiences to realize Stallone is playing Rambo again as the character no longer has a mullet. Instead, he has the same kind of haircut Stallone sports in most of his movies, and adds to the business as usual look this trailer gives off. It is only when Stallone wields his famous knife or picks up his bow and arrow that you realize whom he is portraying. Perhaps the moment which will make you see Stallone is playing Rambo once again is the last image of him with a bloodied face as he prepares to jam his knife down into some place where the sun don’t shine.

Stallone has said he intends for this “Rambo” chapter to be a “soulful journey” and his version of “No Country for Old Men.” Truth be told, it does have a very similar look to the Coen brothers’ Best Picture winner. Or perhaps it will be something along the lines of “Logan” which allowed Hugh Jackman and James Mangold to bring permanent closure to the story of Wolverine. Still, this trailer makes this sequel look like any other action flick, and my hope is the next trailer we get will make it look a bit more unique.

Directing “Rambo: Last Blood” is Adrian Grunberg who previously directed Mel Gibson in “Get the Gringo” and also worked with Gibson as a first assistant director on “Edge of Darkness” and “Apocalypto.” Whatever you may think of Gibson as a person these days, he has proven to be one hell of a filmmaker, and I hope Grunberg has learned a lot from his style to make this “Rambo” sequel more thrilling and bloodier than this trailer suggests.

And yes, this is said to be the last “Rambo” movie ever, but while at the Cannes Film Festival recently, Stallone did say he would continue playing John Rambo if this fifth film does well. In the end, the box office will have the final say on this.

Check out the trailer for “Rambo: Last Blood” above.

Rambo Last Blood Teaser Poster