Bovie Movie

America’s most inept law enforcement team mixes business with pleasure as they head to sunny Florida in this comedy. The aging and often-confused head of the Police Academy, Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes), has reached mandatory retirement age, much to the pleasure of the devious Capt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), who is still scheming to take over his job. Lassard, Harris, and a handful of the Academy’s “distinguished” graduates (including Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, and Marion Ramsey) travel to Miami Beach for a special ceremony to commemorate Lassard’s years of service as he leaves the force; however, a luggage mix-up puts the clumsy cops in the middle of a massive illegal arms deal. Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach was the first film in the long-running series that did not star Steve Guttenberg (Bob Goldthwait also left the franchise at this point), but most of the other regulars bravely soldiered on without him.

Adversaries become wary allies in this free-wheeling action comedy. Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn) is a Los Angeles Police Department officer who finds himself out of a job after he becomes involved in a violent altercation with police academy flunk-out Earl Montgomery (Martin Lawrence), escalating into a media event which brings the LAPD a wealth of bad publicity. Unable to find work, Hank finally takes a job as a “rent-a-cop” with a private security firm — and discovers to his annoyance that his new partner is Earl. While neither of them are thrilled to be working together on the lowest strata of the law enforcement community, the two find themselves dealing with bigger crime than they expected when they stumble across evidence of a elite smuggling network operated by criminal mastermind Nash (Eric Roberts). Hank and Earl want to put Nash out of business, and they try without success to persuade the police of the importance of the case. But before long they discover it’s not just Nash’s men who are after them, but two high-ranking LAPD officials, Lt. Washington (Bill Duke) and Detective McDuff (Colm Feore). National Security was directed by Dennis Dugan, who’d previously helmed antic comedies starring Adam Sandler and Chris Farley; this film also marked Martin Lawrence’s entry into the elite of Hollywood’s comedy stars, with Lawrence taking home a 20-million-dollar paycheck for his work on the picture.

Who do you send after a gang of stump-dumb crooks? Who else but the most intellectually-challenged police force in America, in the sixth installment of the Police Academy series. The Wilson Heights Gang, three thieves whose success as criminals is in inverse proportion to their outwardly-displayed intelligence and criminal talent, are managing to terrorize the city in spite of themselves. The increasingly feeble Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his much-put-upon second-in-command Capt. Harris (G.W. Bailey) are instructed to bring the crooks to justice; of course, with the Police Academy regulars as their task force, that’s much easier said than done. Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, and Bruce Mahler are on hand once again as the comical cops; Peter Bonerz, a former regular on The Bob Newhart Show, stepped in as director.

Based on the best-selling novel by James Ellroy, this award-winning crime drama explores both the dark side of the Los Angeles police force and Southern California’s criminal underbelly in the early ’50s, when Hollywood was still seen as America’s capital of sophistication, glitter, and glamour. Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) is the head of the LAPD and is loyal to his officers and eager to turn a blind eye to violence or corruption within his department, as long as it’s the “bad guys” who are getting hurt. Bud White (Russell Crowe) is a police detective whose violent and cynical nature is often at war with his basic sense of decency and justice. Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) is a beat cop-turned-detective whose strict by-the-book philosophy and willingness to blow the whistle on other officers is balanced by a shrewd and opportunistic understanding of the internal politics of the department. And Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) is a flashy “Hollywood” detective who serves as technical advisor for the TV series Badge of Honor. He is also in cahoots with Sid Hudgeons (Danny DeVito), publisher of the scandal sheet Hush Hush, who throws kickbacks to Vincennes in exchange for being brought along when showbiz figures get busted. White, Exley, and Vincennes find themselves drawn into a tangled and sticky web of violence and betrayal following a multiple murder at a coffee shop that is believed to be part of an effort by Mickey Cohen (Paul Guilfoyle) to consolidate his hold on organized crime in L.A. This lead appears to be connected to the discovery of a bizarre pornography and call-girl ring operated by Pierce Patchett (David Strathairn), whose women are given plastic surgery so that they more closely resemble well-known movie stars. White’s role in the investigation is complicated when he falls for Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger), one of Patchett’s prostitutes, who is the spitting image of Veronica Lake. L.A. Confidential was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two, with Curtis Hanson (who directed) and Brian Helgeland honored for Best Adapted Screenplay and Kim Basinger taking home a statuette as Best Supporting Actress.