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Reviews
Cop Land (1997)
The Only Good Cop Is A Bad Cop
Garrison, N.J., is a haven for cops - lots of cops. We are led to believe this idyllic town was created, and for the most part funded, by the Mob so that NYC cops could live a life isolated from the daily crime ridden day-to-day reality of the Big Apple.
But even fairy tale towns need a sheriff, and this town's sheriff is none other than Sylvester Stallone. A seemingly meek turn the other cheek kind of guy just trying to do his best. A sort of country bumpkin kind of guy.
The town's past is sordid. Strange things happened to cops that live in Garrison. As the story progresses, strange things continue to happen to cops who don't toe the line and fall out of favor with the ruling clique run by Harvey Keitel.
I liked this movie. It is a bit slow at times, but the story is unique enough to keep you interested and performances by the main characters are, by and large, quite good.
Give it a try - it is worth your time.
Shattered Glass (2003)
Refreshingly Disturbing
Just watched this film last night and was more than pleasantly surprised.
Shattered Glass is a moving and stimulating foray into the world of journalism; especially what drives it and how what is printed can too easily be accepted as truth/fact.
Writing for a publication that is read by people in power, especially political power, is a heady proposition. This is a story of a young reporter that gets caught up with his contributions for such a publication and becomes increasingly more interested in who is reading his words than the veracity of those words.
It is well cast, well acted and directed. Certainly worth 90+ minutes of your time.
Casino Royale (2006)
Presently Surprised - Mildly Disappointed
Having just returned from my semi-annual Bond fix (on my birthday no less) I must say this Bond is new and "improved".
There are MANY changes to the typical Bond recipe - some good, some so-so and some curiously absent. This Bond film brings much more of a hard edge to our hero. Stunts are good but strange and some of the film obviously has been edited out even though the running time is the longest for a Bond movie. Craig is a good, if rough around the edges James, and is believable as one of the licensed to kill agents in Her Majesty's Secret Service. Supporting characters however, particularly the villains, are not nearly up to par.
I love the Bond package and if you do this is a MUST see. If you are not a Bond junkie talk to a friend with similar interests who has seen the movie or wait for the DVD release.
Kiss of Death (1995)
So So Remake...So What
Just finished watching this and although I saw it edited on local cable, I can't imagine the unedited version being much better. As others have noted, Cage was unconvincing as "Little Junior" - a mob boss prodigy who takes over the reins upon the demise of his ailing father. NYPD blue stardom aside for Caruso, Helen Hunt's minor role, Jackson giving a so-so performance at best, this movie left a lot to be desired. Fairly standard fair with the old crime operation goes bad, one of the perps gets turned by the cops, rats a few people out, goes undercover, seeks retribution and so on and so forth. If nothing better is on and you have seen all your own movies too many times, give this a try. But don't get your hopes up!