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Movies / Upcoming / Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

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Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

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Reviews Counted:73

Fresh:62

Rotten:11

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: Befitting its unorthodox origins, this Bad Lieutenant benefits from Werner Herzog's typically fearless direction and a delightfully unhinged Nicolas Cage in the title role.

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: In Werner Herzog’s new film “The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans,” Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who is as devoted to his job as he is at scoring drugs -- while playing fast and... In Werner Herzog’s new film “The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans,” Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who 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 (played by Eva Mendes). Together they descend into their own world marked by desire, compulsion, and conscience. The result is a singular masterpiece of filmmaking: equally sad and manically humorous. --© Apparition [More]

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

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Brad Dourif, Xzibit, Shawn Hatosy, Denzel Whitaker, Shea Whigham, Vondie Curtis-Hall

Director: Werner Herzog

Director: Werner Herzog
Screenwriter: William M. Finkelstein
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Apparition

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Reviews for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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What makes this film truly different is the unique tone introduced by director Werner Herzog.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
09/04/09
Mike Goodridge
Mike Goodridge
Screen International

The movie could have ended without the last few scenes and been far more tense and suspenseful. As it stands now, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans plays as if Schindler's List ended with an energetic musical performance by The Muppets.

Full Review Source: Examiner.com | comment Comment
11/25/09
Adam Lippe
Adam Lippe
Examiner.com

Like the late Klaus Kinski, who so often played crazies in Herzog's earlier movies, Cage is in your face all the way. Laughing maniacally, lying with no sign of a conscience, he pushes the character's frequent tantrums beyond over-the-top.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
11/25/09
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans is a magnificent mess of the sort only Herzog can get away with making.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
11/25/09
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Frankly, the story isn't remotely as interesting as Cage. Nothing is.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/24/09
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Cage can be loopy, weird and at the same time sympathetic -- crucial to our response to this character -- and Herzog draws one of his better performances here.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
11/24/09
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

A one-of-a-kind experience that boasts a twice-in-a-lifetime performance from Nicolas Cage.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/24/09
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Despite his strangely receding hairline, bug-eyed demeanor and hunchback stance, Cage somehow avoids making this police lieutenant a caricature.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
11/24/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

The iguanas are like the frogs at the end of Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, only better.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
11/24/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Nicolas Cage, a born Hollywood skin-walker, somehow hints at a spiritual dimension to all this lunatic mayhem.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
11/24/09
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Herzog, who seems to be drawing on the audience’s affection for him as an inspired madman, may not care to tell a story straight anymore.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
11/23/09
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker

Sensationally entertaining, darkly comedic, witty and refreshingly bizarre. A guilty pleasure. Nicolas Cage is in top form.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
11/21/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

We have to go all the way back to Junior Brown, the psychopathic strip club owner in Kiss of Death (1994), to find a meatier heavy in Cage's filmography.

Full Review Source: East Bay Express | comment Comment
11/21/09
Kelly Vance
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express

Cage acts, at times, as though his head is about to explode. And not the character's head; it's Cage himself who seems in danger of self-immolation.

Full Review Source: Hollywood & Fine | comment Comment
11/20/09
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Hollywood & Fine

(The film) has a hard time settling on such simple things as characters' motivations, needs and accents (Cage's changes inexplicably midway through).

Full Review Source: Movie Dearest | comment Comment
11/20/09
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Movie Dearest

No quote available.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/20/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The new film has much in common with some of Herzog's crazed past masterworks like Aguirre, the Wrath of God.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
11/20/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media

Like the water snake that slithers by during the opening credits or the baby crocodile from whose point of view we observe one roadside scene, this movie is a freaky little swamp thing.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
11/20/09
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

The film is an exasperating bore.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment 1 Comment
11/20/09
Joe Neumaier
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News

Making a bad movie this good is harder than it looks.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
11/20/09
Christopher Orr
Christopher Orr
New Republic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

November 19, 2009: Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
This week at the movies, we've got hot teen vampires (The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson); a football family (The Blind Side, starring... More...

November 17, 2009: Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
During his remarkable 40-year career, Werner Herzog has made some of world cinema's boldest films -- including Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Stroszek, Fitzcaraldo, and a remake of... More...

November 16, 2009: Bad Lieutenant: When Werner Met Nicolas Opens in new window
The very idea of the movie prompted giggles from film fans and rage from director Abel Ferrara, but Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage's collaboration on "Bad Lieutenant: Port of... More...

October 25, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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