It never happened, but... it´s nice nontheless, right?

Alligators and iguanas stare in disbelief at the human reptiles in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, the most potent of Werner Herzog's one-two punches at TIFF '09.

Nicolas Cage takes the junkie lawman character from Abel Ferrara's 1992 original Bad Lieutenant to a whole new level of weirdness, aided by the decision to relocate the action from New York to the dank back alleys and furtive hotel rooms of post-Katrina New Orleans.

It's a powerhouse performance that deserves to be remembered come awards time.

Everybody in Herzog's vision of the Big Easy is tightly wound, tripping pharmaceutically or on the take - or all three in the case of Cage's Terence McDonagh, a once-noble cop whose life has taken a tragic turn downhill.

Herzog says he instructed Cage to "set the pig loose" in his portrayal of McDonagh, and did he ever. Cage's rogue homicide cop is much more the monster than Harvey Keitel's original badged badass. He gobbles drugs of every type and potency while waving his .44 magnum to shake down crooks and regular citizens for cash and stash.

McDonagh has an appetite that could outmatch the gators and iguanas that pop up unannounced, although the critters might just be a figment of a fevered mind that is perilously close to flipping out altogether.

Yet the compromised cop is also capable of genuine tenderness, as seen in his love and devotion to a hooker junkie played with grace and empathy by Eva Mendes.

McDonagh has a crooked sidekick (and sometime rival) played by Val Kilmer, while Michael Shannon has a cameo as a police storeroom clerk, a psychic tip to the larger role he plays in My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done, Herzog's other film at TIFF.

A prologue set in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina shows how McDonagh literally fell into the abyss.

He badly injured his back making a heroic leap to rescue a prisoner who faced drowning from the rising flood waters. He was promoted to lieutenant for his bravery, but he keeps agony at bay only through the constant consumption of painkillers - prescription ones, plus all the heroin and cocaine he can steal or scrounge.

He still wants to do the right thing by apprehending wrongdoers, but he also needs to feed his raging habit, which puts him in serious moral dilemmas and inclined to take dangerous risks.

The one thing driving McDonagh more than his jones for illegal stimulants is his determination to solve a multiple homicide in which an entire family was shot execution-style. There's a good cop buried somewhere inside this bad lieutenant.

Herzog and Cage both say Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans isn't really a remake of Ferrara's film, despite some structural similarities in main character and narrative.

Nor is the film really a companion piece to My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done, other than to demonstrate two times over Herzog's ability to really get beneath the skin of complicated and fascinating characters.

1282252-897275.jpg | Nicolas Cage delivers a powerhouse performance as a junkie lawman. | ;

We asked movie critic Peter Howell and movies editor Linda Barnard: what movies and performances are gaining buzz as the Toronto International Film Festival passes the halfway mark? Here's what they told us.

(If you want to know what movies you'll be talking about all fall, read on: last year their top picks were Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler.)

Up in the Air

A career-peak performance by George Clooney as a business shark with a still-viable conscience plus stellar helming and scripting by Jason Reitman make this the clear favourite of the fest - and possibly the year. Watch for Oscars kudos in multiple categories, including possible Best Support Actress noms for Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

Peter Howell

Jason Reitman's so-smart and funny film is a clear favourite, with its clever script and fine performances by leads George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and adorable Anna Kendrick. Even Oprah took it in Saturday night and joined the ovation in the packed Ryerson Theatre.

Linda Barnard

Chloe

Atom Egoyan goes mainstream but retains his art-house cool in this emotionally intense and gorgeously photographed erotic psychodrama. Toronto never looked this sexy.

Peter Howell

The Joneses

First-time feature director Derrek Borte's commentary on the cult of consumerism in America is sharp, insightful and just plain fun to watch. David Duchovny does well as the titular head of the family.

Linda Barnard

Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore is really angry about the economy and for once it's not just George W. Bush's fault. Best thing Moore has done in years.

Peter Howell

A Single Man

It rides to TIFF on a wave of Venice adulation. Designer Tom Ford directs and Colin Firth snagged the Best Actor award at Venice for his portrayal of a closeted college prof in the 1960s who can't reconcile himself after the death of his lover.

Linda Barnard

Suck

Rob Stefaniuk's melding of rock 'n' roll and vampire movies is one of the funniest genre mash-ups since Bruce McDonald's Highway 61. One of the clear favourites in a great year for Canucks.

Peter Howell

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Robin Wright Penn is wonderful as Pippa, a woman trying to understand who she is and how she fits into other's lives. Maria Bello gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Pippa's mom, a suburban housewife in the late '60s who gets by thanks to mother's little helper.

Linda Barnard

I Am Love

Visually gorgeous story of passion and privilege among members of a dynastic Milanese family at the head of a fashion empire and the entanglements illicit love brings to their lives. Written and directed by Luca Guadagnino. Tilda Swinton is flawless as the matriarch, a woman who falls into an affair with her son's friend.

Linda Barnard

Daybreakers

A slick and gorgeous vampire movie where the vamps are in the majority and the blood-providing human population is dwindling. Bloody fabulous horror from twins Michael and Peter Spierig, who were fest faves with Undead in 2003. Willem Dafoe plays vampire-turned-human Elvis, and Ethan Hawke is a reluctant blood sucker who is working on a cure.

Linda Barnard

Triage

Set in the '80s, Colin Farrell's turn as a freelance war photographer who returns from Kurdistan missing his best friend and a large chunk of his sanity is powerful when required, measured and thoughtful the rest of the time. The premise - who live and dies in conflict is random and brutal - is shared in haunting fashion.

Linda Barnard

Best Actor race

It's going to be a tough category this year, with a lot of very strong contenders. Besides Clooney, a lock for Up in the Air, noms could also go to Viggo Mortensen for The Road, Michael Sheen for The Damned United, Robert Duvall for Get Low, Michael Caine for Harry Brown, Matt Damon for The Informant! and Nicolas Cage for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.