It's almost too obvious that this so-called Bad Lieutenant remake from Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage is destined to become the crack junkie of Netflix a year from now; an instant guilty pleasure -- the sort of film some folks will hate, but some will adore. The original 1992 Bad Lieutenant from Abel Ferrara (and starring Harvey Keitel in the lead) was like a shock to the heart; a gritty, nasty, foul-mouthed dirty cop flick that made you immediately want to take a shower once the end credits began to scroll.

This new version, which carries its own original story and isn't a remake (according to Herzog), definitely looks to keep a lot of the nastiness, but injects it with that odd Cagian humor as well. How can you not laugh at Cage when he spits out sentences like, "What, you don't have a lucky crack pipe?" Eva Mendes (reteaming with her Ghost Rider co-star), Val Kilmer and rapper-actor Xzibit also star. If anything, this looks like a fun film for those old school Nicolas Cage fans desperate to see the guy take on non-commercial fare for a change. Herzog fans? I don't know what to tell you; this looks nothing like a Herzog film -- though this "trailer" does look like a promotional tool used to help sell the film (at Cannes?) and not an official, finished (and polished) piece of marketing.

But you be the judge -- we've included the trailer after the jump because it's definitely NSFW. Be warned.

If you crossed him, Shondor would kill you. If you didn't, he would charm you.

Sounds like Christopher Walken, doesn't it? Or, at least, his well-honed movie persona as charismatic tough guy. In a bit of pitch-perfect casting, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Walken, Ray Stevenson, and Val Kilmer have signed onto Jonathan Hensleigh's The Irishman -- an adaptation of Rick Porrello's book, To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia.

Walken will play Shondor Birns, a Jewish-American mobster who was once Public Enemy No. 1 in Cleveland, who hired a young Irish-American dude named Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) back in the '60s. As time went on, Greene wanted a bigger chunk of the biz and wealth, which led to bad blood and ultimately, a rather nasty car bomb that killed Birns. Greene, meanwhile, was a little bit of everything -- FBI informant, instigator of a country-wide turf war, union organizer. (Kilmer will play a police detective in Cleveland who befriends Greene.)The project is billed as an action movie, so expect lots of fighting, and probably lots of time spent on the bombs that riddled both men's stories. (Here is even more about it.)

This is far from the first mob-filled story ol' Walken has involved himself with, but should be a bit meatier -- and definitely bloodier -- than the usual fare. While we're on the topic: Which is your favorite Walken mob movie?

By now you've probably heard: Val Kilmer is considering running for governor of New Mexico in 2010. It seems that he's "looking for ways to be contributive," and if he can make "a substantial contribution," he'll run. And if he decides that there's a big contribution to be made ... well, he's determined to win: "If I run, I'm going to be the next governor." At least he's mastered the art of positive thinking.

THR also notes that if he runs, it won't be a conventional campaign. Kilmer says that it's all about getting out and listening to people, but will that also include shepherding in a new generation of politicians? When ol' Ronnie Reagan was entering the political world, he was coming out of a restricted Hollywood. Being an actor might have been a surprising twist, but Reagan didn't reveal much in his Hollywood work. But now: We've got terminators, professional wrestlers, and perhaps, egads, the man who played John Holmes. Will Kilmer swear that he only got high on film? Or, will he possibly make his varied film career a political selling point rather than ignoring it? I mean, he's a Real Genius, so anything is possible.

What do you think about Val's new interest, or would you prefer that he stuck with acting or condiments? And what do you think about today's actors getting into the political world? Are you comfortable having a man or woman in office after you've seen their bits?

The story behind the making of Delgo is heartwarming and inspiring. Fathom Studios, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been creating commercial computer animation for more than ten years. When they decided to produce their own feature-length narrative film, they did it completely independent of the Hollywood studio system. They labored long and hard with a much smaller budget and a much smaller staff than the animation behemoths. They bravely posted "digital dailes" throughout production, a kind of progressive, online series of "making of" snippets. They recruited a slew of actors with name recognition -- Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Louis Gossett Jr., Michael Clarke Duncan, Burt Reynolds, Chris Kattan, and the late Anne Bancroft in her last performance -- to voice the characters.

If only the film as a whole was as dramatic and lively as the behind-the-scenes story. Under the direction of Marc F. Adler and Jason Maurer, the 3-D animation is quite lovely to behold, but the characters are one-dimensional and the script, credited to six writers, spends too much time on convoluted plot mechanics. Delgo falls into an uncomfortable place where the technical achievement can be admired without the emotions ever being engaged, provoking nothing more than a tepid response ("meh") when the end credits begin to roll.

Set in a lush fantasy world of flying creatures, colorful reptiles, and the odd monster, beast, and giant insect, Delgo pits two races against one another. The proud, dominant, invading race lords it over the humble, subjugated, native race. Sound familiar?

These people just landed a part in a movie and you didn't:

Sorry boys, but Jessica Alba has officially become a math nerd. Oh yes, Variety tells us the actress has signed on to star in An Invisible Sign of My Own, based on the book by Aimee Bender. Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom) will direct the flick, which follows a woman who becomes obsessed with numbers and math ... and then lands a gig as a second-grade math teacher. Hot, steamy gratuitous love-making scene not included.

Val Kilmer has decided he needs more action in his life, as the dude has hopped onboard the crime thriller Fake Identity for Nu Image/Millennium Films. The film, to be directed by Dennis Dimster-Denk (or Triple D, as I like to call him), tells of a doctor (Kilmer) who, while working in Chechnya, helps a woman escape from her would-be assailant and then watches a whole movie's worth of crazy stuff happen to him. (Variety)

I know, I've totally been waiting for Michael Caine to kick some serious ass too! Luckily, Variety tells us the actor has joined the British crime thriller Harry Brown. Who's Harry Brown, you ask? Well, he's an "elderly former serviceman drawn to vigilantism while living in a run-down 'burb rife with gangs, guns and drugs." Daniel Barber directs, while Emily Mortimer co-stars as a policewoman. And LL Cool J raps ... "Caine gonna knock you out ..."

We know that Val Kilmer is talented, whether it's morphing into icons like John Holmes or Jim Morrison, or voicing KITT, or being Bruce Wayne. But these days, Kilmer is all about the inspiration. There was talk recently of a collaboration with 50 Cent on some music, and now the actor has told MTV that he's the man behind Dr. Evil's Mini-Me -- not quite the news you'd expect to hear.

He explains: "[I was] the genesis of Mini-Me... [On] Island of Dr. Moreau, I told Marlon Brando my plan to save my performance just in case there was a giant hole in the second half. I was going to strap the little man to my chest. And, you know, you can't get around that visual. And then he [Brando] STOLE my little man!" So then he sees Vern Troyer on the big screen as Mini-Me, and "I asked Mike Myers about it myself. He said, 'absolutely.'" (That it came from the movie.)

So there you have it, folks. Val Kilmer is the reason that we now have Vern Troyer.

***NSFW WARNING: The F-bomb gets thrown around a bunch in this clip of "The End."***

There's an interesting rumor going around that Val Kilmer is teaming up with 50 Cent for a little music. According to Ace Showbiz, the actor stated in a recent interview that 50 Cent liked one of the songs he had written and said "I want to help." How much the pair (who recently worked on Microwave Park together) will collaborate on the tune remains to be seen, but it did get me thinking of old-school Kilmer.

Seventeen years ago, he pretty much morphed into Jim Morrison for Oliver Stone's take on The Doors. Above is a clip of Jim-Val singing "The End" and shocking everyone with his unabashed language. Aside from it being a great song, it's a good example of just how spot-on Kilmer was.

Last Rewind Answer: This time around, the majority got it right -- Jason Segel was the guy.

Finally. After God knows how many trailers, TV spots, viral sites, movie posters, merchandise, fan art, contests, Batman Anonymous meetings ("Hi, my name is Earth ... and I'm addicted to Batman), and an assortment of tomfoolery, The Dark Knight will officially arrive in theaters this Friday. And I've heard shows are already sold out through March 2011. Right on! That said, this might be the week you want to reflect back and read your favorite Batman comics, watch your favorite Batman movies, or spend some alone time with your favorite Batman.

Which brings us to this week's super awesome Monday Morning Poll: Who is your favorite Batman? For this we're sticking solely to folks who've played the Caped Crusader on the big screen. Since a lot of Bat-fans have come to adore Kevin Conroy's voice performance, we'll include both live action and animated versions. For me, it's a toss up between Christian Bale and Michael Keaton. Bale has the looks and the charm, but Keaton had that "insanity factor" -- one look in his eyes and you knew this guy had a few screws loose. Tough choice. Where do you stand?

Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant cast just became a whole lot crazier. Variety is reporting that Val Kilmer and Xzibit are joining Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes in the much-maligned remake / re-imagining / re-something of Abel Ferrara's cult classic.

Kilmer will be playing Cage's police partner, presumably the straight arrow to complement Cage's cop-on-the-edge. This comes right on the heels of Kilmer being cast in Silver Cord, so I think it's safe to say someone's trying to make a comeback. (Am I the only one who laments the passing of years, and what it has done to one of my biggest crushes? Has it really been so long since The Saint?)

Xzibit, fresh off The X-Files: I Want to Believe, will be playing their nemesis, Big Fade.
Remember, folks, it's a re-imagining, which is why you don't remember any of these characters from the original.

If there aren't shockingly hilarious tales of egos and fistfights from the Lieutenant set, I'll be among the bitterly disappointed. While I suspect Kilmer has chilled with the passing of years, I'm thinking that combining him with Herzog is bound to be tempestuous. Is it too much to ask that Herzog just goes even further, and hires Sean Young and Gary Busey? Perhaps even Mike Myers? Throw the script out the window, and just film the production. I think it would be far more fun than any re-imagining.

When films turn personal, there are a myriad of ways they can turn out. One way I never thought of -- out of body experiences that need soul saving. Variety reports that Val Kilmer, Shane West, Cam Gigandet, Eric Balfour, and Arielle Kebbel have signed on for a film called Silver Cord. James Ordonez will direct the feature, which he wrote with Ken Gord, and relive some personal experiences.

As Variety describes it, the film "centers on Ordonez's brother who came back to life after being declared clinically dead on multiple occasions. The brother died in 2004." But the summary up on IMDb says a whole lot more, written by James himself: "The story of a young man who is separated from the love of his life. To find her he has an Out of Body Experience but the silver cord that connects his soul with his body breaks and he is believed to be dead. In a desperate race against time his friends have less than 24 hours to save his soul before his body is cremated."

It's not every day you get so-called true life stories about people leaving their body to find paramours and then losing their body and being declared dead. Since he'd been declared dead a number of times, I guess the dude had a penchant for out-of-body travel.