A Whine and a Whimper: The Death of Law Enforcement’s Lionization in James Mangold’s Cop Land

|Chris Polley| There’s a certain built-in legacy in the alliterative phrase “corrupt cop” that belies its own linguistic paradox (or, perhaps, even its redundancy). The rogue detective, the rule-breaking sheriff, and the trigger-happy officer: even before modern American history… Continue reading

Bad Lieutenant: Make Perfect My Imperfections

Harvey Keitel as Bad Leutenant is lurking through a barely open door

|Michael Wellvang| By the mid-1980s, public perception of films “rated X” had shifted radically. First introduced in 1968 by the Motion Picture Association of America, the rating simply stated a patron should be at least sixteen to watch a particular movie. Now it just meant smut. So the MPAA… Continue reading

Your Forgiveness Will Leave Blood in its Wake

The Lieutenant stands in a desecrated church. The word "fuck" is scrawled on an altar behind him. To his right, the Virgin Mary has been knocked over.

|Finn Odum| Last November, I learned that the guy who made the completely mid Body Snatchers and King of New York is the same guy who made Bad Lieutenant. This knowledge came to me against my will, as I was quite content not knowing anything else about… Continue reading