Random Act of Self Indulgence .13

If you read my irregular RASI’s, you’ll know I love things like Werner Herzog and movies some of you moms (and dads) might find dark and weird. One rather culty film in the “dark and weird” category I’ve never seen, by choice, is Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant, but I have read enough about it that I feel I’ve seen it (okay, sort of).

Anyway, word is that Mr. Herzog is remaking this much talked about film, with Nicholas Cage in the Harvey Keitel role, which has many people scratching heads, for many reasons. (Really, one being, why not leave well enough alone? Why? Why? But then you remember we’re talking about Werner Herzog, who does not dwell in the Land of the Sensible, so you just shut up, and scratch your head some more.)

Actually, the project looks like a blend between a sequel and a remake, and the full title is Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

A trailer was recently “leaked” on the web, and some folks are saying it looks so horrible they can’t believe it’s Herzog, and others saying that it looks so awful that it’s intriguing and they will have to see it. I think the story is still a bit too harsh for my tastes, but the what’s interesting to me is that the trailer struck me as rather Tarantino-ish, and not that horrible at all (in terms of movie-making, not in terms of stuff that makes you squirm).

Remember when Cage made interesting films? Remember when he ate a live cockroach in Vampire’s Kiss (1988)? I have a feeling Bad Lieutenant might put him back in the “serious actor” category. You can laugh at me later if I’m dead wrong.

Check out one of the few still-live trailers at Collider.com.

Two more non-kid film tidbits that I find intriguing: Chevy Chase will star in a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine, and yeah, it’s about a hot tub time machine -- which sounds really, really stupid -- but it also stars Crispin Glover (!), John Cusack, and Rob Corddry. Crispin Glover doesn’t seem to get out much these days, so I’m curious.

Fans of Jeremy Piven may or may not be interested in this goofy comedy he’s got coming out, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. I laughed at the trailer. Do you think less of me?




Obligatory Kid Movie Snippet Here:

There's a cute trailer for Toy Story 3 over at FirstShowing.net, where they report that Tom Hanks will return as Woody, Tim Allen will return as Buzz, and the screenplay is by Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for his work on Little Miss Sunshine. Toy Story 3 will be a digital, 3-D release, and hits theaters in summer of 2010.

(Why, when I type “2010,” does it feel super-bizarrely futuristic?)