Michael Winslow Movies

After he is framed by his senior partner and sent to jail, Herbie Altman Robert Carradine sets up a lucrative investment company "Con Inc." with the assistance of the other convicts, sympathetic guards, and a well-intentioned prison reformer Lise Cutter. Lame, predictable story which wastes a talanted cast . ~ Rovi

Here, the dope-smoking duo are working on an ice-cream truck, and their specially treated confections are more than just a hit for the kids. Nice Dreams is the third in the series. ~ John Bush, Rovi

This episode features three short segments based on viewer suggestions. In "No Bones About It," a genie comes out of Peter's (voice of Seth MacFarlane) beer bottle and grants him three wishes. His first wish is to see what Kelly Ripa (who does her own voice) is like off the set. He wishes that he had his own theme music. This wish leads to trouble. While Peter enjoys the "traveling music" that plays as he rides the bus, another passenger takes offense, and threatens to "break every bone" in his body. So Peter makes his third wish -- "I wish I had no bones." The Griffin family is so unhappy with Peter's transformation into an amorphous blob that he tries to kill himself by letting himself down the drain. In "Super Griffins," the family is exposed to toxic waste and develops strange abilities. Stewie (MacFarlane) has telekinetic powers, Chris (voice of Seth Green) can conjure fire, Brian (MacFarlane) has super speed, Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) has super strength, Peter can shape shift, and hapless Meg (voice of Mila Kunis) can grow her fingernails really long in an instant. Despite Lois' call to use their powers responsibly, the Griffins soon run afoul of the authorities, and Mayor Adam West (voice of Adam West) exposes himself to toxic waste in order to do battle with them. In "Little Griffins," the characters are all bigheaded children, in some kind of godforsaken amalgam of Muppet Babies and The Little Rascals. Peter and Quagmire (MacFarlane) spend the night in a haunted house to prove to Lois that each is braver than the other. This episode features the voices of professional wrestler Goldberg, Adam Carolla, Michael Winslow, and Regis Philbin. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In this Navy spoof, a mismatched bunch of sailors are sent to sea as the incompetent crew of the U. S. S. Substandard, a faulty, unfinished submarine. Little does the crew of the Substandard know that the government doesn't intend for them to make it back to shore, as they encounter all kinds of crazy problems. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

"Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This sage advice is ignored midway through Gremlins, with devastating results. This comic Joe Dante effort is set in a Norman Rockwell-esque small town at Christmastime. Seeking a unique gift for his son an erstwhile inventor (Hoyt Axton) purchases a cute, fuzzy little "Mogwai" from a Chinatown shopkeeper's (Keye Luke) grandson (John Louie), who dispenses the above-mentioned warning before closing the deal. Meanwhile, young bank clerk Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) must suffer such antagonists as rich-bitch Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday) and priggish Gerald (Judge Reinhold) while pursuing his romance with Kate (Phoebe Cates). These and a variety of other plot strands are tied together when the lovable mogwai (named Gizmo) is exposed to bright light and gotten wet. In short order, the town is invaded by nasty, predatory Gremlins, who lay waste to everything in sight as Billy and Kate try to contain the destruction. Like most of Joe Dante's works, Gremlins is chock-full of significant cameo appearances: in this instance, such pop-culture icons as Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Chuck Jones, Scott Brady, Harry Carey Jr., Steven Spielberg (the film's executive producer) and even Robby the Robot all show up briefly on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A chip designed to instantly train any dog falls into the hands of an evil scientist looking to enslave the children of the world and achieve ultimate power in directors Oren Goldman and Yariv Ozdoba's family-oriented comedy-adventure. Newyville misfit Zach Dylan hasn't had a very good day. In addition to being tormented by his ruthless classmates, his attempts to break the ice with brainy and beautiful classmate Becky Green are met with the kind of cool indifference that can only indicate rejection. Crossing through the park on his way home from school, lonely Zach finds a wandering pup that looks like he could use some human companionship. After smuggling the amiable pooch upstairs to his bedroom as to not irritate his mother's allergies, Zach makes a shocking discovery about his new four-legged friend -- this dog can talk! After explaining that he was the subject of a bold experiment by local scientist Dr. Island designed to train dogs by implanting them with a microchip, Lenny and Zach are soon interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Becky Green. When a group of nefarious scientist Dr. Wagner's henchmen burst into Zach's home, sending the young boy, Lenny, and Becky fleeing for safety, their ensuing investigation leads the trio to discover that the former colleague of Dr. Island has been kidnapping the children of Newyville in a bid to take over the world. Now, with little time left before the children of Newyville are all implanted with the secret microchip, Zach, Lenny, and Becky must work together to get the word out and stop Dr. Wagner before his dastardly plan is set into motion. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Public safety takes a turn for the worse in this hit comedy, which spawned a long-running franchise. As a crime wave sweeps through a major city, the mayor decides that part of the problem may stem from overly restrictive qualifications for police officers, so she opens the door of the city's Police Academy to anyone who wants to join. Soon, the new class is overrun with misfits and losers, including Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), who is given the choice of joining the force or going to jail; Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall), a pretty cadet whom Mahoney has his eye on; Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), a mountain of a man who likes to tend flowers; and Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), who has an uncanny ability to imitate the sound of practically anything. Constantly befuddled Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his lackey, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), are none too thrilled with their new charges, but as they try to wash their hands of the cadets, Mahoney and his classmates become all the more determined to make good. The surprising success of Police Academy spawned six sequels and two TV series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this third installment of the slapstick comedy series about novice police officers with less than dubious abilities, two police academies have to compete with each other in order to stay in business. The state's skinflint governor claims he has less money to spread around, so one of the police training academies is going to be axed. Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) calls back some of his former recruits to train the new batch of students, hoping to get the edge on the rival academy. Among the newcomers are brassy Cadet Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait), who is a former gang leader, and his roommate Cadet Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky). Sweetchuck is a wimpy noodle whose Clint Eastwood impersonation is one of the film's most honestly funny moments. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In a major stumbling block toward better international relations, America's most laughable police officers are sent to Russia to fight crime in this comedy. In Moscow, master criminal Konali (Ron Perlman) has marketed a new computer game that has an unusual hidden feature -- it allows him to bring down any security system controlled by a PC on which the game has been played, with a string of major robberies as the result. Russian Police Commandant Rakov (Christopher Lee) is at his wit's end about how to deal with the crisis, so he asks for help from the U.S. law enforcement community. However, Rakov's American allies turn out to be Lassard (George Gaynes), Harris (G.W. Bailey), and the rest of the crew from the Police Academy (among them Michael Winslow, David Graf, and Leslie Easterbrook). Claire Forlani also appears in a small role as a Russian beauty. This was the seventh and last film in the Police Academy series, following the departure of franchise loyalist Bubba Smith. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this 3-D animated cross between Star Wars and the Knights of the Round Table, young Orin (voice by Joe Colligan) lives in an oppressed, underground world in which humans have become the slaves of robots. One day the hero finds the handle of a sword and in a vision is told that if he can locate the blade, he will be able to overthrow the robots. Off he goes on his quest, up to the surface world where he meets and teams up with Dagg (voice by Carmen Argenziano) to face the evil empire in a series of daring battles. Along the way, Orin and Dagg have their own love interests, and a bit of swarthy language occasionally peppers their conversation as well. Parents should be advised of these two excursions into a more adult world, otherwise, most moppets would enjoy the fast-paced tale of heroism and adventure. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi