Roger Spottiswoode

A superior, made-for-cable film, this Home Box Office adaptation of Randy Shilts's chronicle detailing the emergence of AIDS in America and the fight against bureaucracy and society for a cure is a taut, outrageous, and affecting true-life drama. Matthew Modine (Birdy, Married to the Mob) is featured as a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control at the time when the first reports of a disease plaguing the gay community were heard. Modine and his colleagues embark on an investigation that show more resembles a compelling detective story as they try to track the source of the disease and discover a cure. Their efforts are thwarted by an ambivalent government and a turf war between French physicians and a celebrated American researcher (Alan Alda) who seems to place his own glory above the dead and the dying. Featuring heartfelt performances from a stellar cast including Richard Gere, Glenne Headly, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, Saul Rubinek, and Lily Tomlin, this impassioned film stands as an impressive and important document of one of the darkest eras in modern human history, and a tribute to the spirit of those who sought to save lives. --Robert Lane show less

Substance: A police investigator (Turner) caught up in a murder ends up with a dog (Hooch), which is not love at first sight; and a girlfriend, which sort-of is. The PG rating slides over the explicit indications that the couple has sex, although the screenplay is discrete; and the tec displays a maximum of male hunkiness and stupidity (confronting the bad guys without backup). Set in late 1990s.
Style: Straightforward adventure-romance-comedy, with some pathos passing as drama. Entertaining show more cinematography, especially with the dog. Sets up Turner's personality very well in the first few minutes, but has him undergo a massive revamp within a too-short time frame. Lets whole days go by without much action, despite the face that Turner is "leaving in a week" to take a new job in San Francisco.
NOTES:
I picked this one up because of the references to it in the TV-sitcom "Castle". Probably won't watch it a second time. show less

A cop has a convict released to help him catch some badguys.

2/4 (Indifferent).

I went in expecting an Eddie Murphy comedy, and instead got an extra-violent, racist Dirty Harry ripoff. The protagonist (Nolte) is an unredeemed dirtbag. Murphy spends most of his screen time trying to establish that his character's not gay.

Elliot Carver wants to rule the world with his media organization. To do this he tries to start a war between China and the British making it look like they have attacked each other. Bond links up with a Chinese agent to put a stop to his nonsense.

Another good bond movie. Pierce Brosnan is my 2nd favorite Bond behind Sean Connery