The last action film you watched

Memorial Day (1999) by Worth Keeter
I have not seen that many of Jeff Speakman's films, and from what I remember, his The Perfect Weapon (1992) is by many considered his action classic, so I guess that is the one I should focus on, not these late 90s video releases, that still has a certain b-movie "charm" going, at times. But still, when Joe Estevez is among the most memorable guests in this film, and shows up in the first scene as well. Then you kind of know early on, where it gonna go next.
Sure, there is action and some thrills and well, it feels like one of those late post-cold war paranoia action-crime releases, but which ends up into some ridiculous looking parody, but Speakman tries to bring forward his martial arts along with some "dramatic" scenes, and it never quite settle for neither, just a forgettable late night movie, that I would most likely have turned off, if being sent on tv.

4/10

I think I have seen both the Last Siege, and surely The Perfect Weapon, which was quite bad, but at least delivered some surprisngly fun parts by 80s and early 90s baddies Vernon Wells and Richard Tyson. The main dude and his lady, was totally forgettable, and damn, was this where they tried to hide Steven Seagal and his body, by doing lots of dark and grainy shots, during the fighting scenes? Anyway, I guess the beard and the scarfs cannot longer cover up, so they seemed to go for the Marlon Brando/Apocalypse Now way of filming.

I think both, ended with either 3/10 or 4/10.

I am planning on doing a bit of an 80s crime-noir marathon during the summer, and where films like Year of the Dragon (1985), Into the Night (1985), Something Wild (1986), Manhunter (1986) and of course To Live and Die in L.A. will be a good match to go with on late summer nights.

Of course, by then, I have probably already either seen them all, or ended up adding way too many titles at once. But still, it is a nice thought and something which I can look forward too. 

Cop Land (1997) by James Mangold

"I look at this town, and I don't like what I see."
Freddy Heflin (Stallone) has it pretty much made. Being the official Sheriff in the little idyllic town of Garrison New Jersey. A place so quiet and crime free, that most of the work days are usually spent on playing video games or monitoring his fellow citizens, who mostly think of Heflin as a harmless joke, that causes no real threat.
But when one of their own are being accused of murder. The somewhat "perfect" and peaceful surface in Garrison are about to crack wide open, and give Freddy a final chance to be a real cop again.

Along with Cliffhanger and Demolition Man, Cop Land stands out as one of Sly's best and finest 90s efforts, proving once again that he could easily hold his own against a first class gallery of heavies, such as Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, along with a damn impressive cast of character actors: Annabella Sciorra, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Cathy Moriarty, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo and Noah Emmerich, just to name a few.
While the film has far less action than your more ordinary Stallone flick, and the role of the out of shape, shy and a bit naive Fred Heflin, is probably the closest Sly ever came to re-capturing the best of his two classic movie characters, such as Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, along with a bit of human tragedy, but still one that will not go down without a fight.

I have always loved this film, and decided to pay it another visit last night, which was a bit of a change, as I somehow always feels it is best to watch late at night, during saturdays, just have the feel to it.
Anyway, a great film, is still a great one, no matter the day or hours one sees it, and Cop Land is surely among the better of 1997.

As mentioned, it is more of a slow burner, than the usual fast paced/hard hitting films of Sly, but you could almost sense that he was always in the making of going for more fragile or vulnerable and dramatic roles, as with Assassins (1995), The Specialist (1994) and Daylight (1996), all being made earlier in the mid 90s, but somehow, they were just a bit too uneven, yet Sly put in some good performances. But yeah, finally with Cop Land, he seemed to get things right.

Cop Land sure has that western feel, the lonely anti-hero, up against overwhelming odds, little help or back up, but it worked like magic, updating things, to modern day and including a bit of racism, corruption and drama.

The version I saw last night, turned out to be that of the Directors Cut, which I believe runs for (my region 2 said 1 hour and 51 minutes) but I guess the region 1, would be around 116 minutes, or around there.
I felt that there was not a big change, but I kind of liked a few of the added scenes, with De Niro and Liotta, but again, the difference was not all that huge.
Also, damn, how the hell could I not realize that the female bartender, was in fact the legendary Debbie Harry? Somehow that have flew me by, or maybe she had some added scenes, in the extended version? 

Either way, a well acted and very solid late 90s crime-drama, which is a nice reminder of how good Sly Stallone can do these more dramatic anti-hero roles, and I kind of wished he would do a bit more of those back then.

Speaking of familiar faces, I mean, you got so many ones, from Goodfellas, The Sopranos and other 90s mobster related films and tv-shows, so I was almost expecting to see the big man himself (Tony Soprano), in that shady bar. Also loved that part where the sleazy douchebag Frank Lagonda, shows up in the dark of the backside of the Freddy's car, at night. This seems to be some kind of a thing, for the actor Arthur J. Nascarella, who does the same, in the later and also rather enjoyable crime-drama The Cooler (2003). So, when you are about to climb into your car, late at night, be sure to look damn good in the mirror, as if you notice Arthur Nascarella in the backseat, then you know you are in big trouble. 

All in all, probably Sylvester Stallone's finest hour, as an actor along with Rocky (1976) and First Blood (1982), and held his own, against a very strong cast, and where him and Ray Liotta really stands out, at least for me that is.

8,5/10

A few of my favorite scenes from the film: