billydecastro When I first watched this movie Sylvester Stallone"s actin career has been criticized to the point where many well known critics never gave any hopes that he could ever paly a serious role in a movie because of previous appearances in a couple of movies prior to the Rocky series, where the plots were really written for a academy award movies for all the categories the awards are given to one movie alone, if thee was aone for money making machine then well that's different.This movie was a complete turn around for his filming career, it was a serious role for Stallone and he played it well the plot cover corrupt cops, the life of a small sheriff and that of a Freddie and Liz platonic relationship along with an stellar cast including De Niro and other great actors the reviews werren't the greatest as the expectations were perhaps too high becaouse of the popular actors and the doubts that Stallone was able to act, So guess what I'm watching on this coll rainy Sunday morning in Boston MA. where spring hasn't sprung yet? yes you got it

gwnightscream Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro star in this 1997 crime drama. This takes place in Garrison, a small, New Jersey town where we meet Sheriff, Freddy Heflin (Stallone) who not only wants more in his life, but idolizes some of the cops in town and across the river in New York. Soon, he discovers that one of the cops, Ray Donlan (Keitel) and others are involved in mob connections and tries to bring order. Liotta (Goodfellas) plays cop, Gary Figgis and De Niro (Heat) plays Internal Affairs agent, Moe Tilden. Robert Patrick (The Faculty), Peter Berg (Shocker), Michael Rapaport (Higher Learning), Annabella Sciorra (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull) co-star. This is a good crime drama with a great cast and Howard Shore's score is excellent as usual. I recommend this.

slightlymad22 Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to 1997's Copland.Plot In A Paragraph: Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the sheriff of Garrison, New Jersey, a small town that many NYPD officers call home. He idolises them, especially Ray Donlan (Harvey Kietel) but when an officer (Michael Rappaport) is responsible for an incident involving the death of two civilians, he starts to realise his heroes may not be the good guys he thinks they are. Playing it subtle, playing an overweight Sheriff, deaf in one in ear, sad, lonely and practically beaten down by life. Copland features Sly's best performance since First Blood, and a serious argument could be made for it being his best since 'Rocky'. Sly does some great acting with his eyes, something normally reserved for his portrayals of Rocky Balboa. (Watch the scenes where De Niro calls him a "deaf f**k" and as he sits looking at the bridge just after his car accident) He is wonderful here and deserved an Academy Award nomination at least. I certainly rate his performance over the actual winner Jack Nicholson in 'As Good As It Gets'.Of the rest of the cast. Ray Liotta is brilliant as Heflin's best friend Figgsy, and if his character had been better written and more fleshed out, he'd have walked away with the full movie. Harvey Kietel is as great as he always is. Robert Patrick turns in a fine smarmy performance as does Michael Rappaport (an actor I'm a fan of) John Spencer is as wonderful as always, whilst Robert De Niro isn't given as much to do as one might hope, and Cathy Moriarty is under used.There is a lot of subplots, most of which are not explored. Figgs's drug problem, the bad blood between Figgs and Jack (Patrick), Heflin potentially having a drink problem, the relationship between Figgs and Ray, the relationship between Heflin and Rose, racism, affairs and the dumping of garbage bags. Characters pop up and then disappear We are teased with a scene between De Niro and Keitel early on, as Keitel says he will come in and see De Niro's Internal Affairs agent, but it never comes off and we miss it. Stallone has described this as "the beginning of the end, for about eight years" saying after announcing 'Daylight' would be his last action movie, and then going method (gaining the weight) and playing dramatic in this (despite solid reviews) he said he struggled to get roles or his own movies off the ground for the next 8 years. There are two versions available of this movie, the theatrical release and a directors cut released on DVD. I believe that between the two versions is a 10/10 movie, as it is, it's a 9/10.

jb0579 I never give a movie a "10", and I chuckle when people do. And I don't talk about plot, you can find that elsewhere. Rather, I talk about a film's merit, and there is plenty to be said here. Bar far, I think, Stallone's best work, this film is complex on many levels as a little of things are at play here: the disappointment of a sheriff who feels he's left his potential behind him, the departmental bickering between municipalities and different precincts, and the disparity between clean cops and crooked ones to name a few. As the movie grooves on, you see just how brilliant the casting was here as you forget guys like Ray Liotta and Jason Patrick aren't really cops. Rappaport was believable using his real New York accent, DeNiro delivers as always, but it's Stallone who steals the show as the overweight, tired and clean sheriff who takes heat from his crooked cop counterparts. Direction was wonderful, cinematography wonderful, and beautifully lit as well. Not a lot to complain about. Sit down, get comfortable, and watch Sly steal the show: really pay attention to watch how masterfully believable he is, and how the pain he feels seems genuine. Where are these performances from him in all the rest of his movies??!!?? Director and screenwriter James Mangold (Walk the Line, Girl, Interrupted) got the best out of all of his star-studded cast, but Sly deserves the Lions share here. A must see, in my opinion, for lovers of the genre.