Val Kilmer and Xzibit Enlist in the Crazy Party That Is Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT!

Beaks here... I don't know where the subtitle went either. But did you really think you'd see PORT OF CALL: NEW ORLEANS on your local megaplex marquee? Does you local megaplex even have a marquee? I'm still not sure what to think of Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT remake. Up until 2005's fascinating GRIZZLY MAN, it seemed like Herzog was winding down as a creative force: he hadn't made a truly vital film since FITZCARRALDO (MY BEST FIEND and LESSONS OF DARKNESS are worthwhile, but minor compared to his 70s output), while his appearance in Zak Penn's LEGEND AT LOCH NESS revealed a disappointing predilection for self-parody (ever since then, I've had a difficult time taking Herzog at his word - though it does appear his getting zinged by an air rifle during a BBC interview was genuine). But the strangeness of GRIZZLY MAN effectively rekindled the cult of Herzog - which is great if it gets kids watching AGUIRRE, STROSZEK, FATA MORGANA... hell, even HEART OF GLASS; if they dig that stuff, maybe they'll try the other German masters of that era (Fassbinder, Wenders, Straub, Schlöndorff, etc.). Unfortunately, the newfangled Herzog worship tends to stop at RESCUE DAWN - and the fact that he's so unflappable and German! And yet I'm encouraged by the casting of Val Kilmer as Nicolas Cage's partner in BAD LIEUTENANT 2009. That's a lot of crazy for one film to handle. Shit, at this point, you might as well throw Michael Wincott and Tom Sizemore into the mix, and see if you can make it through principal without a fistfight breaking out every single day; that way, you get a fucked up film and a classic documentary in one fell. Still, I'd rather see Abel Ferrara contend with these beautiful lunatics than Herzog; Werner's just not that interesting when he's tending to fictional narratives nowadays. His heart's clearly in non-fiction. But, hey, maybe Ferrara's death threats have rekindled Herzog's ardor for the medium. Keep off those New Orleans streetcars, Werner! Oh, right. Xzibit. The PIMP MY RIDE host and xXx: STATE OF THE UNION co-star will play "Big Fade" in this goofy non-remake remake. Dig it.