Cop Land

September 17, 2005 - Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro carry this 1997 crime drama. Michael Rapaport, Peter Berg, Janeane Garafalo and Anabella Sciorra also star. And, look for Edie Falco in a small role.

Stallone plays Freddy Heflin, sheriff of Garrison, NJ. It's right across the river from New York City and it's home to several NYPD officers from one precinct. Heflin wanted badly to be a cop in the big city, but he's partially deaf. He got that way years ago by rescuing Liz (Sciorra) after her car went off a bridge. Freddy's loved Liz ever since, but she's married to Joey (Berg), one of the officers living in Garrison.

Up til now, Freddy hasn't asked too many questions about what his fellow law enforcement officers are up to. They treat him like a child and he goes along. But, things happen and Freddy can no longer ignore the fact that many of these cops are dirty. Moe Tilden (De Niro) is an Internal Affairs cop who's had his suspicions for a long time. He comes to Freddy for help in bringing them down.

Overall review: *** I saw this movie in the theater when it first came out and I remember coming away from it pleasantly surprised. I think Stallone is the biggest surprise here. He's very good. The plot is a little convoluted but you can pick up the gist. The action is good and there are some intimate moments, too.