Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

“Cop Land” (1997) / Z-View

Cop Land alt poster created by Andi Ewington

Cop Land (1997)

Director:  James Mangold

Writer: James Mangold

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick,  Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty, John Spencer, Frank Vincent, Malik Yoba, Arthur J. Nascarella  and Edie Falco.

Tagline:  No One Is Above The Law.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Mangold brought together an all-star cast to create a modern day western.  Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the Sherriff of Garrison, New Jersey.  Garrison is a small town where a high percentage of the folks who live there are New York City police officers.  They work in the city and then drive over the bridge to their nice safe little town.  Most residents don’t know that a small group of the cops living in Garrison have mob connections.

Freddy Heflin always wanted to be a New York City cop, but hearing loss in one ear made him un-hirable. Hefflin owes his job as Sherriff of Garrison to Ray Donlan (Keitel). Heflin admires Donlan and the New York cops that live in Garrison.  They have a  camaraderie that he wants to be part of.

An Internal Affairs investigation involving Ray Donlan and several other police officers leads to Garrison, Although Heflin doubts the legitimacy of the complaints, he later discovers the concerns are legit and the corruption goes much deeper than anyone knew.   Heflin wants to do the right thing but finds himself alone and outgunned.

When you look at the cast that Mangold brought together for this relatively low budget film, you know it goes back to the screenplay.  Mangold created a rich story with multiple characters, all having an integral part in the tale.  Many folks who thought Rocky was Stallone and doubted his acting ability were surprised to see him hold his own against heavyweights like De Niro and Keitel.  Ray Liotta also shines in his role as Freddy’s lone cop friend who is intent on getting out of Garrison.

Cop Land is a film that gets better with every viewing.  I loved it and rate it 5 of 5 stars.

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Acting Scenes

Tom at TV Over Mind came up with a list of Five Underrated Acting Scenes from Sylvester Stallone.  While the list or the presentation isn’t the best. (The used the photo above for heading <I added the text for my post> and it isn’t their number one choice.  Also some of the example that they picked were not the best choices for Sly most underrated acting scenes.  With that said, using just his top five, I’ll rank those same picks and then give you what I think are some much better choices.

Tom at TVOM

Craig

5. Talking to Adonis in Creed II during the fight

5. The final fight in Rocky V: Since this is more of a physical scene than an “acting” scene I rated it lower.

4. The final fight in Rocky V

4. The atrium scene in Oscar: Oscar is underrated. Sly’s performance is good but there are many scenes in other movies that should have made the grade.

3. The atrium scene in Oscar

3. Talking to Adonis in Creed II during the fight: Sly has better scenes in Creed II than this one.

2. PTSD scene in Rambo: First Blood

2. The Rocky Balboa speech: This is a good choice and it became so popular I can see why Tom listed it in his first spot.

1. The Rocky Balboa speech

1. PTSD scene in Rambo: First Blood: Sly gives a classic performance and shows that Rambo isn’t all blood and guts.

Other scenes that should have made the cut:

Rocky: So many to choose, but since I am going to limit it to one from each additional film, I’ll go with the scene where Rocky tells Adrian if he is just standing when the final bell sounds…

FIST: Again many to choose from, but this time I’ll go with the scene where Sly is talking to the men about the trucker that was hurt and although the company won’t take care of him., their union will.

Rocky III: The scene on the beach with Talia Shire where she asks Rocky what he’s afraid of and he answers…

Cop Land: So many great scenes… For me it is a toss up between Sly’s scene with Annabella Sciorra or his scene with DeNiro.

Get Carter: Sly’s rooftop scene with Rachel Leigh Cook is one of his best.

Rocky Balboa: Any scene where he is talking about Adrian.

Creed: The scene in the locker room when Rocky explains to Creed why he isn’t going to get treatment for his cancer.  One of Sly’s all-time best scenes.

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Movies!

Saeed Saeed, at The National News, posted his choices for Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Movies.  You know how I enjoy lists, so using just Saeed’s choices, here are how I’d rank them.  

Saeed

Zablo

1. Nighthawks (1981)

1. Nighthawks (1981): Ahead of it’s time and solid through and through.

2. Cobra (1986)

2. Cop Land (1997): One of Sly’s finest performances and he’s in with heavy hitters. Sly more than holds his own.

3. Over the Top (1987)

3. Over the Top (1987): Granted it’s a sentimental story that stretches credibility, but it is not as bad as many would believe. That’s the definition of underrated.

4. Demolition Man (1993)

4. Demolition Man (1993): The opening had so much potential but ventures too far into silliness for me. Plus fans love Demolition Man.

5. Cop Land (1997)

5. Cobra (1986): Had soooo much potential. Cool character, cool idea for a movie but needed to be fleshed out more. Still fans dig it.

Saeed’s list is a good one. If I had created the list I would have put Sly’s Get Carter in the first spot. Not only does it contain scenes with some of Sly’s finest acting, but the cast is solid, the story is strong and the director shows great flourishes. Get Carter is not a perfect film (few are), but in my opinion it is Sly’s most underrated.

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week: