Screen Junkies » Ray Liotta

6 Movie Cops Who Might Also Be Serial Killers

Joseph Gibson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:56:15 +0000

In the upcoming film The River Murders, Ray Liotta plays a police officer who may or may not be a serial killer. As you may already know, the cop-who-may-be-a-serial-killer character is a well-established tradition in movies. To prove that, here are six movie cops who might also be serial killers.

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Lou Ford, The Killer Inside Me

Remember that thing about how the cops on this list might be serial killers? Well, in Lou’s case, you can go ahead and change that to “definitely is a serial killer.” Ford is a small-town sheriff played by Casey Affleck who manages to hide his murderous tendencies from everyone around him. Basically, he kills people because he enjoys it. If you ever get pulled over by this guy for speeding or something, don’t try and get out of it – just pay the fine.

Hank Quinlan, Touch of Evil

Captain Hank Quinlan, an officer of the law in one of America’s seediest border towns, was a great detective. And a lousy cop. And he always gets his man – if not through the proper channels, than by any means necessary. Evidence planting, intimidation, extortion, and even murder are all at the disposal of Quinlan, as played by Orson Welles who also directed the 1958 noir masterpiece. Not that difficult to imagine him committing a series of murders if he thought it was necessary to an investigation.

Alonzo Harris, Training Day

This cop, famously portrayed by Denzel Washington is similar to Captain Quinlan in terms of tactics and what he’s willing to do to crack a case. In a way, he’s even more corrupt than Quinlan, since he’s also in the drug dealing game, using his badge and gun for fun and profit. But he’s also a little bit crazy. If he hadn’t run afoul of those Russian gangsters, maybe he’d still be killing people at will.

The Lieutenant, Bad Lieutenant

As played by Harvey Keitel in the 1992 film Bad Lieutenant, this unnamed titular character does a lot of bad stuff. He steals drugs, he sexually abuses women, he’s violent. Would you be that surprised if he turned out to be a serial killer, too? In Werner Herzog‘s follow up, Nicolas Cage‘s take on a similar character is much more deliriously unhinged, so it’s even easier to imagine him going off the deep end and storing dead hookers in his freezer.

Steve Burns, Cruising

Sometimes a bad assignment can drive a good cop crazy. That’s what might have happened to Steve Burns, who in an unfortunate coincidence happens to resemble several victims of a serial killer who’s been stalking the New York gay underground club scene of the late 70s/early 80s. So he has to go undercover in order to catch this guy – but the violent, dangerous world he spends so much time in has its effect on his psyche. By the end of the movie, he not only might be a serial killer, he might even be a gay serial killer. Hope his girlfriend’s cool with it.

“Dirty” Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry

Now, now, don’t start freaking out on me. I know that Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry is one of the most revered heroes in recent movie history, and I know he never killed anybody who didn’t “have it coming” in one way or another. But consider a tagline for the original 1971 movie: “Dirty Harry and the homicidal maniac. Harry’s the one with the badge.” When you get right down to it, maybe Harry’s violent nature brings him closer to the serial killers, creeps, and scumbags he stalks than he realizes.

Gina Gershon And The Guys That Ate Ray Liotta And Val Kilmer To Star In ‘Breathless’

Penn Collins — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:53:45 +0000

With a cast like this, there’s no question that this will be one of the most popular films of 1993. Gina Gershon, Ray Liotta, and Val Kilmer have all signed on for Jess Baget’s Breathless. The film focuses on a woman (Gershon) who is sick of her husband’s (Kilmer) criminal acts and decides to do something about it. Ray Liotta will play a sheriff who gets in the mix one way or another.

Going on that description, it’s pretty clear that this film won’t be a remake (or re-imagining, or gritty reboot) of Jean-Luc Goddard’s vaunted work of the same name. Which is good, because Gina Gershon probably shouldn’t be allowed too close to anything considered a “classic.”

Baget also co-wrote the script with Stefania Moscato. And no, Kilmer wasn’t required to gain weight for the role. That’s just the way he looks now. Oh how the mighty have fallen, Iceman.

Ray Liotta Back On The Beat In ‘A Place Beyond The Pines’

Joseph Gibson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:48:27 +0000

Ray Liotta is apparently not getting too old for this shit (I know Ray Liotta wasn’t in Lethal Weapon, but isn’t it really easy to imagine him saying that?). He’s agreed to strap on the nightstick and gun for one last graveyard shift in A Place Beyond the Pines, a thriller from Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance with Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. In case it’s slipped your memory, here’s a plot synopsis:

“Pic follows around a pro motorcycle rider (Gosling) who starts robbing banks to support his newborn son — until he crosses paths with a determined young cop (Cooper). Liotta will play a fierce, crooked officer on the force.”

7 photosAnna Friel

I’ve seen Ray Liotta play fierce, and I’ve seen Ray Liotta play crooked, but can he play fierce and crooked? Just kidding, he’s always played fierce and crooked, I’m sure he’ll do fine. (Variety)

See Brad Pitt In ‘Cogan’s Trade’ Looking Slick

Joseph Gibson — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:37:16 +0000

Andrew Dominik‘s upcoming Cogan’s Trade is one of my most eagerly anticipated movies – a crime story about Jackie Cogan, a “professional enforcer hired to investigate the robbery of a mob-protected poker game.” The movie also stars James Gandolfini, Sam Rockwell, Ray Liotta, and Richard Jenkins. And in case you don’t recognize Dominik’s name – he’s the guy who directed the excellent The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. So yeah, I’m psyched.

Anyway, here’s our first look at the movie. It’s not known whether this is a set photo or an “official” still, but to me it definitely looks a lot more polished and cinematic than your average set photo. You can see the larger version below and see if you agree. (The Playlist)

Try Not To Laugh During The Trailer For 50 Cent’s Cancer Drama ‘Things Fall Apart’

Joseph Gibson — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:20:58 +0000

Rapper/actor/faux cancer patient 50 Cent really wants to be taken seriously as an actor, and he’s willing to go to such lengths as losing scary amounts of weight and crying on screen like some girl. Unfortunately, it looks like his project-selecting abilities might be a little lacking, judging from this trailer for his latest movie Things Fall Apart. A disturbingly svelte 50 Cent isn’t the only notable thing about this trailer – you also have Dr. Ray Liotta and Mario “Somehow The Worst Actor In New Jack City” Van Peebles in the cast.

The buzz on the trailer is that it’s, uh, not good (The Playlist calls it “hilariously awful”). And yeah, it’s pretty bad, but the movie seems more boring than hilariously bad to me. Which would pretty much be par for the course for 50 Cent.

Henry Hill To Play Poker With Tony Soprano

Joseph Gibson — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:37:42 +0000

You might have already read a little about the casting of the Andrew Dominik‘s puh-puh-puh poker movie Cogan’s Trade. You may have also thought to yourself that the cast, which comprises Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Javier Bardem, Sam Rockwell, Casey Affleck, Mark Ruffalo, and others, while solid, was lacking a bit of vague weirdness. If so, you’ll be happy to hear that the reigning king of vague weirdness Ray Liotta is the latest actor to sign on to the movie:

“Liotta will play Mark ‘Markie’ Trattman, the unfortunate hustler who runs the game in a motel room and finds things only going downhill from there.”

Between Henry Hill and Tony Soprano, this is shaping up to be a new gangster classic. Maybe they can get some Vanilla Ice on the soundtrack! (via The Hollywood Reporter)

‘Son Of No One Trailer’: The Mustaches Mean They’re Cops

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:42:07 +0000

I can’t decide if it’s the mustaches or Al Pacino shouting his lines that make this look like Generic Cop Movie 2011 Edition. Sundance’s closing entry, Son Of No One doesn’t really impress with this first trailer.

Channing Tatum stars as a cop with some kind of tragedy in his past. He’s working the beat in the Queens housing projects where he was raised until a reporter starts digging up dirt about his childhood and deceased Cop Dad. Al Pacino and Ray Liotta (who didn’t get the mustache memo) serve as his advisors while guarding whatever secret from his past that inevitably won’t have a very good pay off in the end. Also, Katie Holmes is here playing Stressed Out Katie Holmes. And Tracy Morgan will definitely get shot. (MTV)