Well... Things are not looking especially hot for Scorsese's latest in the land of early looks. The film is just a month or so away and I can't say I'm hearing divided word, because frankly... I've had only negative looks at the film recently. Being the eternal optimist I have to hope that 'these reviewers' are just off on this film. It's happened before.. not often... Of course with a filmmaker like Scorsese, I don't care if the movie is being heralded as causing spontaneous eruption of the inner ear... I'll be there. Scorsese's work is always compelling at least on SOME level, and I can't wait to pan for gold with this one. And from these reviews it looks like we'll find some nuggets, but not our fortune.

Head Geek,

This is Segue Zagnut. Every whisper.. every waking hour.. like the hurt.. lost and blind.. I have to say too much. Martin Scorsese's new film sucks. There I said it. Now because I know every respectable filmgoer reading this thinks I'm an idiot and will not believe me until they see the film themselves... let me explain.

No one needs me to tell you that he has made some of the best film out there. Even the less talked about masterpieces like Last Temptation of Christ and King of Comedy are a must see for anyone who loves movies. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, GoodFellas, Kundun, etc... how many directors have that impressive of a filmography? Not many. That's why this is so disappointing.

'Bringing Out the Dead' is his new film and I understand it is suppose to open in October. It stars Nicolos Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore, and Ving Rhames. The premise is simple. An ambulance driver desperately tries to beat his personal demons and find redemption in a world of death and pain. With this talent and that concept, that puts my butt in the seat.

Cage plays Cage mostly. You know we've seen this before. Crazy and freaky out-of-control Cage falls off the deep end. Leaving Las Vegas meets Face Off. Con Air meets 8mm. At this point, Cage's range of emotions feels more like a point and click archive he pulls from to make his performance, then fresh and original. Cage has the same problem now that Eddie Murphy used to have. He takes himself too seriously on screen. Like he thinks every move is in slow motion. Cage is best when he is understated.. Raising Arizona, Birdy, Moonstruck, even Red Rock West. What is worse for Cage in BOTD is his character has no real arch. Nothing really changes for him. He says he finds redemption by the end, but why? How? I guess I'll get to that problem later.

Patricia Arquette is fine. I don't really know her character. The film jumped all over the place with her emotions and mind set, never giving us a constant to understand. She was good enough that I cared about her. I wanted to know who she was and where she was going. Sadly, the screenwriter didn't.

The film is set around three long nights at work for Cage. But the world it is set in doesn't exist. It is suppose to be a dark view of New York midnight to six, intentionally and unrelentingly dismal. There is not a glimmer of hope or a moment of beauty. Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore and John Goodman all play other paramedics. They are all great, making strong supporting characters, but they all need grounding. Too many characters and situations are over the top. At one point one of the drivers flips the ambulance several times. Cage who has been drinking on the job just gets out and walks away. Next day he still goes to work and... no repercussions. No one ever mentions it happened. No one gets fired. This is not the way the real world works.

Not that the movie has to be in the real world, but if it isn't real then it better have something to say. The fakery, the symbolism have to represent something. Cage is suppose to find a way to forgive himself for his mistakes and learn to live with his demons. Only I don't see how Cage came to this realization. None of the craziness leads this direction. It does a wonderful job of helping you understand why Cage gave up, but nothing else.

Unless of course I didn't get it. First time I saw 'Barton Fink' I didn't get it. The difference is that with Fink I could tell the Coen brothers got it, even if I didn't. BOTD feels more like I got it and Scorsese didn't.

The film has a cold hard look and Scorsese's visual style, both of which are great. But it doesn't make up for the slow pacing. An hour in I looked at my watch and couldn't believe it was only AN HOUR IN. We quickly get the point and scene after scene starts to look like the last. Several story lines never go anywhere... the ghost, the homeless crazy guy, the father, the girl.. etc. Many scenes work individually, but together it doesn't tell a story, making it so I can't tell you what is sub plot and what is main plot.

Since this was a press screening I doubt they will change much, but it didn't have end credits and hopefully it was a temporary music track. If it wasn't temp then look for the highly out of place use of a Natalie Merchant song. I don't know what they were thinking.

Okay, I've said too much. Consider This.. Segue Zagnut