Police & Detective Films

Rescue Me - The Complete Third Season

In Rescue Me's most controversial season, Tommy Gavin's demons really turn up the heat on the seriously damaged New York firefighter. Glavin (Emmy-nominee Denis Leary in searing performances throughout) is wracked with grief over the tragic death of his son and struggles to deal with his estrangement from his wife, Janet (a superb Andrea Roth). In the season's most hotly debated episode, Tommy forces himself on Janet in, initially, non-consensual sex. Later, she takes up with Tommy's brother, Johnny (Dean Winters). By this time, devoted viewers, in the words of one character, know Tommy's every "grunt, tic and tell." But even his ghosts can only laugh at how low he sinks this season ("Next stop, China," Tommy ruefully replies). To get back at Janet and Johnny, he begins to date Angie (guest star Marisa Tomei), Johnny's ex-wife. He continually succumbs to his "basest levels," as when he has sex with the high school science teacher who is having an affair with his godson, Damian. But Tommy is able to show courageous restraint as in the intense scene in which when he is left alone to confront the prime suspect responsible for another tragic death in the family.

Rescue Me's other flawed characters try to contain their own life crises. Chief Reilly (Jack McGee) is in desperate financial straits when the nursing home caring for his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, raises its fees. Sheila (Callie Thorne) goes to her own shocking desperate measures to pursue Tommy. Tommy's father (venerable character actor Charles Durning) is becoming increasingly difficult to care for. Sean (Steven Pasquale) is secretly involved with Tommy's outrageously unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O'Neal). Franco (Daniel Sujata) meets a "sugar momma" (Susan Sarandon) with devastating consequences. And "Probie" (Michael Lombardi) wrestles with his sexuality. Played mostly for comic relief is Teddy's (Lenny Clarke) stint in jail for the murder of the drunk driver who killed Tommy's son. This third season divided critics and viewers, but the uniformly excellent ensemble grounds even the most outrageous plot turns in reality. And it's a testament to the incisive writing and intimately observed performances that even when these characters behave most unsympathetically and invite the slings and arrows of "a little thing called karma," we are compelled to continue to take them into our homes and hearts. Or, as Tommy might say to that, "Blah, blah, blah." --Donald Liebenson

SPECIAL FEATURES: Behind the Hose Behind the Smoke - Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Being Denis Leary Deleted Scenes Fighting Fires in a Vertical City Gag Reel Going to the Gay Place Location Tour Rescue Me Comedy Short Rescue Me Season 4 Preview The Bravest TraditionsRun Time: 571Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396187030 Manufacturer No: 18703

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

The success of Under Siege made a sequel mandatory according to Hollywood's rules of maximum revenue, and as sequels go, this one's not half bad. Steven Seagal returns as former Navy SEAL and skilled chef Casey Ryback, who's trying to spend quality time with his niece on a cross-country train trip. But as luck and action-movie formulas would have it, the train has been hijacked by a demented genius (Eric Bogosian) who is using the train as a moving platform to seize computerized control of a top-secret U.S. satellite that is capable of causing earthquakes from space. Seagal has to stop the train or the villain (whichever comes first), and the action is fast and furious on its way to a high-speed climax. He's not as wacky as Tommy Lee Jones in the first Under Siege, but Bogosian has got a delirious quality that serves the comic-book plot, and action fans get more than their fill of dazzling stunts and special effects. --Jeff Shannon

Walking Tall

MGM Walking Tall - DVD
After eight years, decoratedArmy veteran Chris Vaughn (The Rock) returns to his hometown and finds it ravaged by poverty, drugsand corruption. Its once-thriving lumber mill is closed, and a glitzy, crime-ridden casino is now the chief source of income. Pushed to the brink, Chris pushes back and soon becomes a target for murder. Now it's up to this Special Forces hero to clean up his town...or die trying!
Starring: TheRock [WWF], Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson, Ashley Scott
Director: Kevin Bray

The Rock is definitely Walking Tall in this straightforward remake of the popular 1973 revenge flick based on the real-life exploits of Sheriff Buford Pusser. Only the basic premise of the original film remains, but it's well-suited to the Rock's rising-star agenda, and it's a savvy, albeit uninspired follow-up to his previous hit, The Rundown. With typical beefcake bravado, Chris Vaughan (the Rock) arrives home in rural Kitsap County, Washington (filmed in budget-friendly Canada, of course) to find his hometown overtaken by childhood friend-turned-sleazebag casino owner and drug-dealer Jay Hamilton (played with steely-eyed malevolence by Neal McDonough), whose squad of goons includes the local sheriff. The cards are instantly and simplistically stacked against our hero, but no matter: he's soon kickin' ass and takin' names as the new sheriff, and from that point director Kevin Bray (All About the Benjamins) goes strictly by-the-numbers, limiting this punchy programmer to a brisk 85 minutes, with comic relief (courtesy of costar Johnny Knoxville) and an obligatory love-interest (Ashley Scott, in obligatory skimpy attire) tossed in for good measure. It's a cracker movie for a cracker audience, and on those terms it handily expedites the Rock's ascension to the action-movie throne. --Jeff Shannon

Cobra

Sylvester Stallone creates another electrifying American hero in the Rocky/Rambo mold: Cobretti the cop a fearless dispenser of justice out to stop a gang of serial killers. Year: 1986Running Time: 87 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 085391159421

In the opening scene of this thoroughly mindless action flick, a psycho holds a group of terrified hostages in a grocery store, and yells to renegade cop Marion Cobretti (Sylvester Stallone) that he's going to blow the place to kingdom come. "Go ahead," says the cop nicknamed "Cobra," presumably because he's tightly coiled and strikes with deadly force. "I don't shop here." And so it goes with this brutal and for the most part disgusting Stallone showcase, in which Sly's then wife, Brigitte Nielsen, provides bad acting and ample cleavage as a fashion model (what else?) who's the only witness against a crazed cult of serial killers. Cobra likes to kill first and leave the questions to his disgruntled superiors, who call on the maverick lawman when all other options have failed. This movie does have a modest following, and for what it's worth, a few of the action sequences are disjointedly exciting. --Jeff Shannon

Under Siege

Steven Seagal can consider himself lucky if he ever makes a better movie than this one, which was appropriately dubbed "Die Hard on a battleship" when released in 1992. Seagal handles the heroic duties with his usual wooden efficiency, but the movie's greatest assets are a punchy script and the scene-stealing performances of Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. The two play leaders of a terrorist group who take over the venerable battleship USS Missouri during its final commissioned voyage. They're crazed psychotics who seize control of the ship's nuclear arsenal, but they don't know that Seagal--as the ship's cook, no less--is a former Navy hero, lurking in the shadows and waiting to spoil their nefarious scheme. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) helms the action with skillful style, and as the cheesecake stripper who proves handy with a hand grenade, Playboy Playmate-turned-actress Erika Eleniak gives Seagal another reason to strut his macho stuff. Under Siege is hormonal hokum for gun-happy viewers, but as action movies go, this one's a definite guilty pleasure. --Jeff Shannon

Out for Justice

No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-FEB-2005
Media Type: DVD

Steven Seagal has always been an awkward action hero. Initially, he had a certain amount of credibility thanks to his nebulous association with secret government agencies and mastery of aikido, which helped to excuse his bad acting. But as a self-righteous action hero in the vein of Schwarzenegger and Stallone (which helps to explain his bad acting), Seagal fell into unintentional self-parody faster and more dramatically than either of his two predecessors. In Out for Justice, Seagal plays Gino Felino, a Brooklyn-born cop known and respected by everyone--both good and bad--in his neighborhood. The worst of the neighborhood baddies is Richie Madano (William Forsythe), a crack-smoking killer who murders his partner and terrorizes the neighborhood. Technically, Felino is a terrible cop--touching evidence at murder scenes, stealing evidence, intimidating witnesses--but only by breaking those rules can he bring in this horrible criminal. As his soon-to-be-ex-wife discovers, he does everything because he cares too much. Julianna Margulies (ER) has a small but thankless role as Richie's hooker girlfriend, and Gina Gershon (Face/Off, Bound) has an equally thankless role as Richie's foul-mouthed, bar-owning sister. The movie plays like a vanity piece for Seagal, and in that vein, it is fascinating to watch. --Andy Spletzer

The Gauntlet

Clint Eastwood is a down-and-out cop who is sent on a routine mission to pick up a witness and deliver her to the Phoenix courthouse. Sounds easy until he realizes he's been set up by the man who gave him this simple assignment. The interplay between Eastwood and the witness, a clever prostitute played by the actor's former girlfriend, Sondra Locke, is tough and playful. They obviously had strong chemistry. The story is highly implausible at times, but the action sequences are satisfying. Eastwood directs The Gauntlet very much in the style of his Academy Award-winning Western Unforgiven. Although the body count is surprisingly low for an Eastwood action film, a house, several cars, and a large bus get shot through with more holes than a big wheel of Swiss cheese. For Eastwood fans, this is the laconic hero at his prime. --Richard Natale

White Lightning

Burt Reynolds is Gator McKlusky a moonshine runner who wages war against corrupt police officials in this two-fisted four-wheeling action extravaganza. With adrenaline-pumping car chases bone-crunching brawls and terrific acting by an all-star cast including Diane Ladd and Laura Dern White Lightning will give you the jolt of your life!Gator is serving time in the Arkansas prison when he learns that his brother has been murdered by ruthless Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty). Swearing vengeance Gator agrees to go undercover to expose Connors going to any lengths to get the goods on the sheriff and make him pay for the crime... with his life.System Requirements:Starring: Burt Reynolds Ned Beatty Jennifer Billingsley Matt Clark Bo Hopkins Directed By: Joseph Sargent Running Time: 101 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: PG UPC: 027616889188 Manufacturer No: 1004914

Coogan's Bluff

Next of Kin

A Chicago policeman and his Appalachian kinfolk seek to exact vengeance from the gangsters responsible for murdering his younger brother.