Review of "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Rating: 4/4

Nicolas Cage has long been an actor I have been fascinated by. Only recently have I begun to truly appreciate what a talented actor he is. I try to ignore some of his failures such as the two National Treasure films and The Wicker Man. But even in his misadventures, Cage remains a viable force that Hollywood needs. His unorthodox persona and undeniable likability draws me in to each and every one of his performances.

I won't declare Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans his greatest role to date, but indoubtedly it is one of his best and bravest. Only he could play the role of Terrence McDonagh, a New Orleans police officer who is promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the first five minutes of the film. He also injures his back in an attempt to rescue a prisoner who is trapped in his flooded jail cell in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After this incident he begins an addiction to vicodin, cocaine, and crack among other drugs, although it is left unclear if he had these addictions before the injury occurred.

A brutal massacre of an African immigrant family takes place and McDonagh is the lead detective on the case. His dependence on coke becomes more evident as the movie progresses. One the greatest moments of the film comes when a police squad is surveiling a suspects house and McDonagh believes that two iguanas are sitting on the coffee table which turns out to be a hallucination. He becomes increasingly strung out after he threatens a client of his prostitute girlfriend, Frankie, played by Eva Mendes. In turn, Italian mobsters tell him he must repay a debt. He owes $5,000 in gambling debts which he keeps falling deeper into. Meanwhile he starts collaborating with the druglord (Xzibit) suspected perpetrating the murder that he is investiagting.

During this entire time, Cage manages to remain at a perfect level of intensity. He never goes over the top when it is unnecessary. Mostly he just grimmaces in pain, or scowls during the course of the movie. His outbursts of anger are rhythmically timed in the manner that Cage always performs. Towards the end of the film his behaviour becomes erratic due to the drug use.

But a lot of credit deserves to go to director Werner Herzog, who has long been one of my favorite directors. Herzog's cavalier style works well with the chaotic life of McDonagh which worstens when his life spirals out of control. Herzog's abilities kept this film from becoming a predictable cop drama. Instead it is an interesting character study of a man's dependence on drugs without falling the realms of a movie like Rush.

He builds incredible suspense in certain scenes The film's ending left me dumbfounded because it was something I did not expect, and something I liked despite wanting something different. The film's screenplay was written by William M. Finkelstein whose prior credits mostly consist of police procedural shows such as Law & Order and NYPD Blue. But this script was perfectly penned to create a great pace for the film.

This is truly one of the best films that I've seen this year. I'm convinced that Nicolas Cage deserves an Academy Award for his performance in Bad Lieutenant, and Werner Herzog should receive a nomination at least. Herzog hasn't made a great narrative film in many years; rather it has been his documentaries which have been far more impressive. This truly deserves recognition of other great Herzog trimumphs like Aguirre, The Wrath of God or Fitzcarraldo. All of the supporting characters such as Val Kilmer, Mendes, Jennifer Coolidge, and Xzibit do solid jobs as well. Werner Herzog's kinetic film style combined with Cage's make this a film well worth seeing.

"The Hurt Locker" review

The Hurt Locker

****Four Stars****

Robert E. Lee once said, "It is well that war is so terrible; otherwise we should grow too fond of it." I could not help but think of that while watching Katheryn Bigelow's Iraq War film, The Hurt Locker.

The film follows a highly specialized group of soldiers called the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). They search for and try to defuse explosive devices on the battlefield in Iraq. Bigelow drops us right into the action where an EOD squad is clearing the streets while looking for an IED. Sergeant Thompson (Guy Pearce) is killed after the bomb is detonated due to the hesitation of an emotionally disturbed soldier, Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Enter Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), a renown bomb disarmer who acts more like a cowboy than a soldier. He is an adrenaline junkie who gets his high off of diffusing highly intricate and dangerous explosive devices. James buts heads with Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), a by-the-books sergeant who is put off by James's renegade style. Most of the film shows the squad in intense situations diffusing bombs. We also get a fantastic sniper sequence in which a military contract team (one played by Ralph Fiennes) and the squad are ambushed by Iraqi insurgents.

The entire film puts you on the edge of your seat. From the first explosion to the last, there is nail biting suspense. How can you get more suspenseful than disarming a bomb? Writer Mark Boal portrays the affects of war on different soldiers. James uses war as a drug, whereas Eldridge has difficulty dealing with the brutal realities of combat. In the middle is Sanborn, a soldier who is good at what he does, but does it out of necessity rather than pleasure.

I am reminded of the great war epic, Patton, in which we see the contrasts in the leadership. General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) loves war with all of his heart, and finds peacetime to be an unsuitable life. General Omar Bradley fights because he is good at it, but at the end of the day, he does it because it is his job.

Bigelow, a veteran director of action flicks, does a tremendous job of combining highly emotional drama and violent action together. It's a subject that, in the wrong hands, could have been treated as a political statement or mindless blow 'em up action film. The film manages to stay neutral, choosing to show the realities of a modern war.

Jeremy Renner gives a stand out performance in the lead role, giving an emotional sensibility to a character who doesn't flinch on the battlefield. James is a man who is totally comfortable while handling a device that could blow him to bits, but in civilian life he just cannot adjust.

I fully expect this film to be given a wider release, and hopefully it will get serious consideration come Oscar season. I will make two bold claims:

1. The Hurt Locker is the best movie of 2009.
2. It is the best war film of the decade (beating out in no particluar order: Joyeux Noel, We Were Soldiers, Black Hawk Down, Days of Glory, No Man's Land, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Downfall, Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters From Iwo Jima)

"Moon" review

Moon (Four Stars****)

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Moon marks the debut of Duncan Jones, previously most known for being the son of rock star David Bowie. The film stars Sam Rockwell as, Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries, a company that harvests helium-3 from the dark side of the moon. The film is set somewhere in the near future, but an exact date is never pinned down. Sam is at the last leg of his 3 year contract with Lunar Industries and looks forward to his return home. His only companion on the lunar station is Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a "HAL like" computer that serves as an assistant to Sam. Some abnormal events begin to occur on the station which could be hallucinations. While on a routine mission, Sam crashes a lunar vehicle and is knocked unconscious. He awakens after an indeterminate amount of time and is encouraged by Gerty to rest and not leave the station. Meanwhile, Sam's suspicions begin to grow about his status on the station and whether or not the company is hiding something from him. Gerty tries to keep Sam inside the station, but he manages to break out and finds the wrecked vehicle with a body inside. Sam recovers the body only to find out that it is himself. Is he hallucinating the whole thing? Is he looking at a clone? Is he a clone?

Moon is a science fiction film in the tradition of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris. It combines elements of an imaginative future, intelligent science, and a psychological character study. Sam Bell is a fascinating character, someone who has been cloned and isolated due to the corporation's greed. The fascination of two clones of the same person is a brilliant way to dissect the human psyche. How can the same person act so differently?

Rockwell's performance is quite powerful without being heavy handed. He is alone for almost the entire film, at points having to play off of his own self. It's a role that, under a lesser actor, could be laughable. Rockwell has the ability to frustrate and gain sympathy from the audience in one moment. He perfectly executes a wide range of emotions that is deserved of an Academy Award nomination.

Gerty, the speaking computer on the ship, is what I'd call the "Bizarro HAL-9000." He is equally creepy with that monotone voice pattern which is mesmerizing to listen to. HAL's red eye has been replaced with a white eye and a series of facial expressions that range from a smiley face, frowns, and puzzlement. In the beginning of the film, Gerty seems to be mysterious, with something to hide. Could Gerty be the reason why Sam hasn't made live contact with Earth in more than a year? But Gerty is more than just a robot with artificial intelligence. There is actually a relationship that forms between Sam and Gerty that seems genuine, or genuine enough for a computer.

I think back to the most recent sci-fi other than Moon, Star Trek, and I think of how much better this film is. Moon is poignant, evoking more thought than the overbearingly loud Star Trek. It's this kind of science fiction meant to invoke deeply complex thoughts, not relying on explosions or CGI, although the computer generated Moon is quite impressive. The lunar station gives that claustrophobic feel of a submarine in that there is no escape. Duncan Jones's directing style is not frantic like many filmmakers these days. He doesn't overuse the handheld camera that would give the the viewer a headache. His style allows for the audience to concentrate on the events we are watching. We're not distracted by unnecessary camera movements; we can just simply observe.

The film manages to continually build suspense whether it is with the truth behind the cloning or what happened to Sam's wife and daughter. It's not fast paced and does move slowly at first, but it becomes increasingly intriguing. Moon may not be able to hold the attention span of the average moviegoer because it's not filled with wall-to-wall action, but it's one of the most thought provoking films of the year. It's a brilliant debut for Jones and I hope to see more from him in the future.