THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL – NEW ORLEANS

RYAN: I took myself to see “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans” primarily because my all-time favorite actress, Fairuza Balk, is in it. She played Dorothy in “Return to Oz” back in the day. She’s barely in this but in one scene she looks so smokin’ hot, I felt so proud and impressed.

CAROLINE: I’ve heard really good things about this movie but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. As you know, I’m not a huge Nicolas Cage fan, but he’s supposed to be great in this, right?

RYAN: Well, he plays a drug addict and a bad lieutenant. It’s got to be one of his best performances since “Leaving Las Vegas,” and he won an Oscar for that, lest we forget. His character is always compromised in the same way as “Leaving Las Vegas” since he’s always under the influence.

CAROLINE: Is Eva Mendes in this movie or am I thinking of “Ghost Rider”?

RYAN: Yes, she’s in this one too. She plays Nic Cage’s prostitute girlfriend and she’s really good. All of the acting is great, actually. Val Kilmer plays a cop too, and even though and he’s phenomenally puffy these days, it’s still good to see him on the big screen. And Jennifer Coolidge is in it too.

CAROLINE: Ooh, I love her!

RYAN: She’s great in this. She plays Nicolas Cage’s step-mom.

CAROLINE: Really?! She’s not old enough to be his mom.

RYAN: Honey, that’s why she’s his step-mom. She’s a mess too; everyone in the movie is a drug addict. I really liked all the acting. The movie is being called kind of a psychological thriller but I found it to be more of a character study with some action. At some parts, I was like, “Wow, this is one of the best movies of the year,” and at others, I was like, “This movie is stupid.” It’s a mixed bag.

CAROLINE: The director, Werner Herzog, made that “Grizzly Man” doc that we really liked.

RYAN: I thought he did a good job with this movie, though it’s a touch too long. They could have cut out about 15 minutes; as long as they weren’t the two scenes that Fairuza had. I was so excited when she came on screen. But no one cares except for me, I realize.

CAROLINE: You mentioned on the phone that it felt very indie.

RYAN: It’s definitely a very small, low budget indie type movie as evidenced by the music and the editing. But that’s fine with me.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: If you like an intense, very adult movie that’s slightly like “The Departed” in theme, you’ll like this. It’s got the bad cop thing going on and it’s very entertaining. I’d recommend it.

— RATING —