Eloy Casados Movies
Further cementing 2003 as the year of Ron Shelton cop movies, the director continued his vacation from the sports genre with Hollywood Homicide, a police comedy that comes right on the heels of Shelton's Dark Blue, a decidedly grittier cop thriller. The film stars Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett as LAPD homicide detectives Joe Gavilan and K.C. Calden, two cops with bigger dreams. Gavilan moonlights as a real estate agent, while Calden teaches yoga and yearns for a career on the big screen. When an entire hip-hop group is murdered on-stage, Gavilan and Calden are called in to handle the case. As their investigation progresses, they begin to suspect that the rappers were offed for attempting to get out of their recording contract with label head Sartain (Isaiah Washington). Along with Bruce Greenwood and Keith David, the supporting cast boasts a plethora of real-life musicians, including Dr. Dre, Gladys Knight, Dwight Yoakam, Master P, and Ronald DeVoe of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, (more)
A cop's personal code of justice begins to change after a number of incidents lead his city to a tragic wave of violence in this police drama. Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) is a veteran cop with the LAPD's Special Investigations unit, a man who isn't above bending the law if it means putting people behind bars who deserve the treatment. As Los Angeles waits on the verdict in the Rodney King police beating trial, Perry is presenting testimony to Assistant Chief of Police Arthur Holland (Ving Rhames), who is well aware of the corruption in the SIS unit and wants to stop it. Perry, however, twists some facts as he speaks in the defense of his new partner, Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), who is being investigated for inappropriate use of deadly force. For lack of honest testimony, Keough is let off the hook, and soon he and Perry have a new case to investigate -- a robbery at a liquor store than turned into a quadruple homicide. Perry and Keough quickly track down two likely suspects, Orchard (Kurupt) and Sidwell (Dash Mihok), but Perry is surprised when the head of SIS, Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson), tells him to let Orchard and Sidwell go, and instead points the finger at two ex-cons who should be taken off the street, even though they're innocent of this crime. Perry follows Van Meter's orders, despite Keough's misgivings, but in the wake of the L.A. riots, Perry has a change of heart, and decides to start working with Holland against Van Meter's corrupt methods. In the midst of it all, Perry is trying to hold together his troubled marriage to Sally (Lolita Davidovich), while Keough finds himself romancing a fellow officer, Beth (Michael Michele). Dark Blue was adapted from an original screenplay by noted crime novelist James Ellroy; originally set against the backdrop of the 1965 Watts riots, the story was later updated to 1992. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Brendan Gleeson, (more)
- 2001
Nicholas Gilbert (Kevin Vincent O'Connor) the deranged homeless man who witnessed the murder of a man named Jefe in the previous episode (and who was, surprisingly, the scion of a wealthy family), turns up dead after being prematurely released from lockup. Outraged, Danny (Rick Schroder) reams out the desk sergeant who let Nicholas go -- thereby leading to another black mark on Danny's record. Realizing that his partner is rapidly becoming his own worst enemy, Andy (Dennis Franz) extends a helping hand to Danny. Elsewhere, Diane (Kim Delaney) investigates a murder-suicide which may be linked with her elusive enemy Denby (Andy Cohen), who, despite the fact that no one can find him, continues to wreak havoc in the 15th precinct. On another front, Baldwin (Henry Simmons) has an unpleasant run-in with the owner of a diner -- and also wrestles with the notion of asking Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) out on a date. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the middle of a live talk-show telecast hosted by the supremely arrogant Pia Postman (Marg Helgenberger), audience member Frank McGrath (David Morse) suddenly pulls out a gun and seizes control of the studio. Slapping a piece of tape over Pia's mouth (a moment that is invariably applauded by viewers surfeited with "confrontational" TV talkfests!), Frank threatens to kill her on the air, holding her responsible for the suicide of his daughter -- and just in case the police think of storming the broadcast, Frank has strapped a bomb to himself and will blow up everyone in the studio, including himself, if anyone tries to stop him. Ultimately, Pia is allowed to speak in her own defense before her execution is carried out, and what follows is a grotesque parody of the Jenny Jones-Jerry Springer school of in-your-face tabloid television, with both Pia and Frank trading verbal barbs with the terrified audience and crew members, not to mention the viewers calling in. Meanwhile, SWAT leader Clay Maloney (Peter Horton, who also co-wrote the film) races against time to defuse the situation before blood can be shed in living color in front of an audience of millions. Filmed in "real time" (just as if it were really a talk-show broadcast), Murder Live! borders on the ridiculous on occasion, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. The made-for-TV meller first aired over NBC on March 9, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marg Helgenberger, David Morse, (more)
- 1996
Neal McDonough guest stars as Clive Walker, a famously eccentric rock star who bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain "Gloved One." Murphy is elated when she manages to land an interview with the reclusive Walker--until she comes down to earth and realizes that her journalistic integrity may be damaged by wasting her time with the "fluff" piece. The dilemma deepens when Murphy must choose between the Walker interview and a truly important news story. Entertainment Tonight's Leeza Gibbons makes a cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
What does a biographer do when the truth about his subject is far less pleasant than the legend? That is the moral dilemma at the heart of Cobb, which explores the lives of both baseball's premier hitter, Ty Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones), and the sportswriter assigned to set his story down, Al Stump (Robert Wuhl). Stump arrives at the Tahoe home of the dying Cobb to write the official life story of the first man inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. He finds a drunken, misanthropic, bitter racist who abuses his biographer as well as everyone else. Stump must either candycoat his subject's life or present an accurate picture of a disgusting man who happened to become an American sports hero. The movie's biting focus on Cobb, ferociously performed by Jones, is not matched by its weaker representation of Stump, an imbalance which ultimately weakens the film's overall effect. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, (more)
- 1992
- R
A magic-obsessed New York waitress (Rosanna Arquette) is persuaded by a colorful group of characters to help her rob the restaurant where she works. Along the way, she falls in love with the eatery's bartender (David Bowie), who just so happens to be looking for someone who will make him a permanent resident of the U.S. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, (more)
Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump. Woody Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), becomes Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams. Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife, Rhonda (Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), a Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the Alex Trebek-hosted game show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, (more)
- 1992
Based on Clifford Irving's novel Trial, this 2-part TV movie is set amongst the Texas elite. Peter Strauss plays Warren Blackburn, a brilliant but discredited trial lawyer. His career seems due for redemption when judge Louise Parker (Jill Clayburgh), formerly Blackburn's bitterest foe, appoints him to defend a homeless man charged with murder. Simultaneously, Blackburn is hired to defend flashy nightclub entertainer Faye Boudreau (Beverly D'Angelo) in a separate murder trial. While investigating his clients' background, Blackburn uncovers several unsavory facts. Should he reveal what he knows and thereby risk everything -- including his life? Part one of Trial: The Price of Passion was first telecast May 3, 1992; part two was shown the following evening. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
When a woman murdered over fifteen years ago is again found dead, a small-town Arizona policeman (John Beck) must solve the case without stepping on the tender toes of procedure, courtesy of a federal agent from Phoenix (Steven Bauer). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Beck, Steven Bauer, (more)
- 1991
- R
- Add Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man to QueueAdd Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man to top of Queue
Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson star in this buddy-buddy futuristic action movie. Rourke is Harley Davidson, a biker with the Halloween-costume garb of a leather jacket, short haircut, earring, and a scar. Johnson joins Rourke in the trick-or-treating as Marlboro, an ex-rodeo rider wearing a cowboy hat, vest, and dilapidated boots. They hang out at a neighborhood bar. When they find that a collection of greedy bankers want to increase the bar's payments so it will be forced to close, the two decide to help the bar out of its financial straits by robbing the bank of $2.5 million in order to pay the inflated tab and keep the bar in business. Unfortunately for the boys, the bank deals in an illicit drug called "the dream," and when they rob the armored car, they steal the drugs and not the cash. Of course, the boys become the targets for the bank's sadistic squad of hit men, led by a pleasant chap by the name of Alexander (Daniel Baldwin). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, (more)
Blaze is a comic-strip re-telling of the curious late-1950s relationship between famed striptease artist Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovitch) and Lousiana governor Earl Long (played in gorgeously flamboyant fashion by Paul Newman). Their romance is counterbalanced with the story of Long's efforts to win voting rights for Louisiana's black citizens. The governor's political enemies ruin his chances at re-election, then try to put him out of the way permanently with a trumped-up insanity charge. But with faithful Blaze at his side (and in close proximity to other portions of his anatomy), Long confounds his foes by winning a congressional seat. On the eve of this triumph, Earl Long dies, bringing this boisterous story to a sobering conclusion. Since the film is based on Blaze Starr's own reminiscences, one might prepare oneself with several grains of salt. The real Blaze Starr shows up early in the film as a stripper named Lily. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, (more)
- 1988
To Heal a Nation is the true story of Jan Scruggs (Eric Roberts), a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. In 1979, Scruggs, employed by the US Department of Labor, becomes obsessed with the dream of erecting a monument to those who died in Vietnam. In pursuit of this dream, Scruggs and his fellow fundraisers run up against bureaucratic indifference and public hostility-not to mention the reservations of certain veterans who disapprove of the monument's "radical" design. On November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is erected in Washington DC-an intensely emotional moment, vividly recreated by combining dramatizations with actual news footage. Originally presented as GE Theater TV production, To Heal a Nation debuted May 29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In the conclusion of a two-part story, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) faces the possibility of permanent paralysis as she undergoes surgery to remove a bullet from her spine. Meanwhile, Hunter (Fred Dryer) heads to Mexico, there to settle accounts with notorious pimp Big Jack Hemmings (Robert Ridgely), whom he holds responsible for McCall's plight. When Big Jack turns up murdered, Hunter is arrested--and as the story winds down, the detective must place his life in the hands of his old enemy, gonzo defense attorney Mike Snow (Martin E. Brooks). This final episode of Hunter's third season was directed by series costar Stepfanie Kramer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The valor and anguish of the Alamo is resurrected in this '80s effort that features a considerably accomplished cast. Brian Keith plays Davy Crockett and James Arness is Jim Bowie who, although at odds at times with his leader Colonel William Travis (Alec Baldwin), is able to focus upon the battle against the Mexican soldiers. Highlights of this film are the battle action scenes. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
A hardened Chicago cop transfers to a Houston precinct where he is teams up with a relaxed cop causing problems between their differing work attitudes. ~ All Movie Guide
Richard "Cheech" Marin, of Cheech & Chong fame, directed and starred in Born in East L.A.. Inspired by Marin's music-video parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", the film casts Cheech as an East Los Angeles repairman. While paying a visit to a sweatshop toy factory, Cheech is caught in the middle when the feds raid the place and cart off all the illegal alien workers. Since he's forgotten to bring his own i.d., Cheech is also shipped off to Mexico-where, having next to no knowledge of the Spanish tongue, he's virtually helpless. Desperate, he takes a job with crooked Tijuana saloon owner Daniel Stern-the first of many "make-do" jobs that he assumes to earn enough money to return home. Along the way, he falls in love with El Salvadorian girl Kamala Lopez, whose English is as fractured as Cheech's Spanish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, (more)
Small-town banker Robin Williams has never been able to live down the fact that he dropped an important pass during a crucial high-school football game. Likewise tainted for life is the team's star quarterback Kurt Russell, now a garage owner. Fed up with living his life under a cloud, Williams hits upon a brilliant idea: he will stage a rematch-13 years after the fact--with the members of the rival team. Trouble beckons when Williams' father-in-law announces that he's rooting for the opposition. Williams is determined to win, and in pursuit of that goal he pushes his former teammates to hitherto untapped brilliance. Directed by Roger Spottiswood, The Best of Times was written by Ron Shelton, future writer/director of such delightful sports films as Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup; it was Shelton, in fact, who directed most of Best of Times' climactic football game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, (more)
Down and Out in Beverly Hills is an updated remake of the 1932 Jean Renoir film Boudu Saved From Drowning. Philandering businessman Dave Whiteman (Richard Dreyfuss) rescues scraggly tramp Jerry Baskin (Nick Nolte) from drowning himself in Dave's swimming pool. Much against his will, Jerry is invited to enjoy the hospitality of Dave, his social-climbing wife Barbara Bette Midler, and their sexually ambivalent son Max (Evan Richards). The hapless hobo bonds only with the family dog Matisse, which fascinates Barbara to the point that she's willing to share her bed (and a few other things) with him. Dave is twice cuckolded when Jerry makes out with the maid (Elizabeth Pena), with whom he has been carrying on a torrid--and noisy--affair. He plans to wreak revenge on the tramp, but several plot twists result in Dave and Jerry becoming bosom companions. Little Richard appears as the family's easily irritated next door neighbor. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was the R-rated film which compelled the Disney Company to create its adult-oriented Touchstone Films division. The property was later cleaned up for TV consumption and converted into a short-lived Fox Network sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, (more)
This attempt at parodying a world of hookers, child pornographers, and drug cartels never quite gets off the ground. Though these topics are not inherently amusing, director Penelope Spheeris takes the plot of Hardcore as a springboard and develops a few parallel stories that are meant to be funny. Pauline Stanton (Trish Van DeVere) is desperately hoping to rescue her daughter Lori (Robin Wright) who is working for the evil Walsh (Frank Gorshin) as a call-girl. As some policemen work on trying to get the goods on Walsh and send him up for white slave trading, another policewoman is involved in trying to bring down a child pornographer in her neighborhood. Yet another cop, detective Romero (H.B. Haggerty) is after a New York mob boss. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronny Cox, Frank Gorshin, (more)
Juvenile actor Henry Thomas, late of E.T., is the star of Cloak and Dagger. Given to telling whoppers, Thomas finds himself in a boy-who-cried-wolf dilemma when he overhears two spies plotting to smuggle valuable info out of the US. When he can't get his own father Dabney Coleman to believe him, Thomas turns disconsolately to a computer game called "Cloak and Dagger" and begins to fantasize, imagining that he is in cahoots with secret agent Jack Flack, also played by Coleman. Finally coming to grips with the fact that the mythical Jack Flack cannot help him this time, Thomas takes on the spies with the help of his schoolmates, who are also "Cloak and Dagger" addicts. Cloak and Dagger is a heavily disguised remake of 1949's The Window; both are based on the Cornell Woolrich story The Boy Cried Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, (more)
- 1983
- PG
One of the precious few westerns produced in the 1980s, Sacred Ground aspires to be a social statement. Tim McIntire plays a white settler who weds Indian woman Serene Hedlin. The couple is ostracized by the white and Indian community alike, and are forced to pull up stakes. En route to their new home, the pregnant Serene suddenly gives birth. Unfortunately, the couple's child is born on sacred burial ground, making their already precarious place in society all the more shaky. Sacred Ground represents the last film appearance of onetime Wagon Train regular Tim McIntire, the son of actors John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This gripping, emotional story of a roving photographer's transformation from a neutral artist with a camera to an involved human rights activist with a camera begins in Chad, travels to Nicaragua in the early 1980s, and ends when the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza takes off for the palm trees and beaches of Florida. Nick Nolte brilliantly interprets his role as the photographer Russell Price, and Joanna Cassidy is Claire, the radio journalist he meets while in Chad, along with her lover, Time Magazine reporter Alex (Gene Hackman), who ends up opting for a plush job as a TV anchorman and a quiet life on Long Island. When Alex leaves, Claire heads off to the next hot spot, Nicaragua, and Russell decides to tag along -- not because he is that interested in Nicaragua, but because he is interested in Claire. Once in the war-torn, Central American country, it does not take Russell long to see the vast difference between the corrupt, U.S.-backed dictatorship and the struggling guerrilla forces who have been fighting for a decade already. As his eyes are opened, he and Claire decide to go along with the rebels and film their fighting behind the lines. During one battle, the much-venerated rebel leader is shot dead, and Russell reluctantly agrees to fake a photo of the man as though he were still living, so as not to demoralize the army that looks up to him for leadership. The photo appears in the news around the world and causes such a furor that Alex shows up to demand an interview with the leader for national American television. It is on the way to this supposed interview that Alex leaves the car for a moment and is senselessly shot and killed by a government soldier, the whole episode filmed for the world by Russell's camera. This outrage (which actually occurred when journalist Bill Stewart was inhumanly shot by a Somoza soldier in full view of the video camera) soon makes global news and helps to hasten the overthrow of the corrupt dictatorship. Meanwhile, Russell has new issues to consider once his camera has become an "active" and not a "passive" observer of political unrest. René Enriquéz who plays the dictator Somoza in this film is a native Nicaraguan, related to a newspaper reporter killed by Somoza's government. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1982
Amber Waves is the tale of two radically different personalities, united by crisis. Dennis Weaver plays a midwestern wheat harvester, coarsened by his lifelong struggle with poverty and the elements. Kurt Russell plays an obnoxious Manhattan-based male model, who has coasted through life on his charm and has never gotten his hands dirty. When Russell finds himself facially disfigured and penniless, he takes a job on Weaver's farm. Though the two men dislike each other at first, they reach a common ground when Weaver suffers a serious personal dilemma. Beautifully lensed in Alberta, Canada, Amber Waves was one of the high points of the 1979-80 TV movie season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Raquel Welch stars in this made-for-TV film about a 19th-century Native American woman who avenges her husband's death at the hands of the white man. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raquel Welch, Bradford Dillman, (more)
