By Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com
‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’
Directed by Werner Herzog
Rated R, 122 minutes
If “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” isn’t truth that Nicolas Cage should stick to wild and crazy roles (“Raising Arizona,” “Leaving Las Vegas,”) instead of the big budget clunkers (“National Treasure”), I don’t know what is. Cage is so ridiculously outrageous he turns a campy movie into a fantastic film. Detective Terence McDonagh hurts his back and becomes addicted to painkillers. Soon he is doing cocaine and heroine, as well as raping suspects and gambling heavily. McDonagh finds solace in a hooker named Frankie (the smoking hot Eva Mendes), but together they strengthen the chaos. Surprisingly, “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” is more than a wild ride; it’s a really great movie. Just watch out for the iguanas. CV
‘Bringing Out The Dead’
Directed by Martin Scorsese
1999, Rated R, 121 minutes
The second half of the Nicolas-Cage-goes-crazy double feature is “Bringing Out The Dead.” Directed by the great Martin Scorsese (“Mean Streets,” “Goodfellas”), “Bringing Out The Dead” is a twisted look at the life of Frank Pierce (Cage), an-out-of-control ambulance driver working in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Pierce is burned out and has started seeing visions of victims he couldn’t save. Not only is the job getting to him, but his numerous partners, including Larry (John Goodman) and Tom (Tom Sizemore), also push his patience. Cage is at his craziest, but it’s Ving Rhames as Marcus, a Bible-verse-spouting paramedic, who steals the film. “Bringing Out The Dead” isn’t considered as Scorsese’s best films, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the weirdest and wildest films I’ve ever seen. CV
