I decided today, on a whim, to create a blog space. I don't know anyone who has a blog, nor do really expect anyone to read this. But I guess this will be a way for me to express the things that bounce around in my mind.
Things that could pop up here at any given time:
Story ideas (safer here than on my faulty hard drive)
Movie Reviews
Random Thoughts
Movie News/Reaction to Movie News
Politics (So boring. I probably can't intrigue myself enough to write politics, but who knows.)
So, let's get the ball rolling!
Cop Land
(1997)
Director: James Mangold
This is the 3rd film from James Mangold that I've seen, ("Walk the Line"and "3:10 to Yuma") and I've loved them all. Stallone, De Niro, Ray Liotta, Harvey Kietel, and Robert Patrick all deliver memorable and perfect performances. Stallone is the hero of the picture and he is easily the most likable hero that I've seen in a movie in a long time. The best thing about Mangold's movies are his interesting characters, and this is no exception. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad; but there's so much more than that. Stallone plays a small town Sheriff in a town filled with big city cops. The big cops live here because its quiet and just outside of the city, and they look down on Stallone because all he seems to do is give parking tickets. Stallone finds that the cops in his city are involved in some big city scandals, but how do you punish your fellow cops? This film is excellent. It is visually clear, not stunning, but its never confusing. The performances are top-notch. (Anyone who says Stallone can't act, needs to take a look at this!) The story is multi-faceted with interesting characters. Our hero has a clear goal, and clear obstacles preventing him from completing that goal. There are some ADR mistakes, and a couple other sound goofs, but overall its an excellent film. I was pleasantly surprised.
