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Training Day

Training Day

List Price: $14.96
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: see it
Review: the best cop movie to come out of hollywood in a very very very long time. denzel is at his best in this role. he is great as the villan. ethan hawk great in his role as jake. a little bloody but nothing gory. lots of f bombs every were. the story follows rookie cop jake hoyt on a training day. he is dooing an all day interveiw to become a narc but he gets more than he bargend for. see it if u never seen it. smart satylish and slick. see it right now. it gets a very low 5

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Training Day
Review: Rookie cop Jake Hoyt wants to stop crooks, not become one. But staying on the right side of the line that separates cop from criminal will be more challenging than anything he's faced. Because Hoyt's senior partner for the next 24 hours is Alonzo Harris, an undercover narc meaner than any of L.A.'s mean streets.

In a powerful departure from his frequent good-guy roles, Denzel Washington plays Harris, the twisted but charismatic detective who both attracts and repels as he becomes the kind of thug he's supposed to collar. Ethan Hawke plays unseasoned recruit Hoyt. And Antoine Fuqua (The Replacement Killers, Bait) directs, guiding a cast that includes music stars Dr. Dre, Macy Gray and Snoop Dogg. Training Day. It's a day of reckoning.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Powerful!
Review: TRAINING DAY is one of the most gripping films I've ever seen! Denzel Washington gives a brutal and high-powered performance as frightening and corrupt narcotics officer Alonzo Harris, who teaches the fine line of "right and wrong" to his rookie partner Jake (Ethan Hawke) for 24 hours in the Bowery streets of Los Angeles. Jake is terror-stricken with Alonzo's means of rules with the law and learns he is caught in his deceptive ways of aversion.

Washington proves he's one of the greatest actors in the industry by winning an Academy Award his his most terrifying role to date! His performance was so realistic, I felt like I was in a horror film! In fact it was scarier then most horror movies! He unleashes his dark side in this role, and he succeeds beyond everyone's expectations!

Ethan Hawke also gives a first-rate performance as the honest, but aghast police officer. His fear with Washington's character was so naturalistic, it felt like real terror!

TRAINING DAY may be a bit understated and elusive, and the ending may be a bit sour, but the outstanding performances should help hide those flaws. A great film!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It made the cut.
Review: Denzel's outstanding preformance brought him home an oscar for best actor in a leading role in this fresh new thriller that kept us waiting for a decade to come out. It's so unpredictable and thats what makes it a classic thriller. The cast is great and the storyline makes sense beyond what we imagined it to be. This is a must see movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: One of the very best cop movies out there! Great entertainment!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Denzel outdoes himself once again...
Review: Denzel Washington truly delivers a stunning performance as a corrupted narcotics police officer who has to show Ethan Hawke the ropes of making it in the drugs department. Washington is simply sublime as the supposedly all-knowing police officer who thinks he has the whole neighbourhood under his thumb when he doesn't. However, I think where this film surpasses others of its genre is Hawke's decent performance that complements Washington's. He plays the shy and introverted policeman in a such a way that the viewer can't help but hoping that Washington's character will not betray him but what you see is not what you get in the case of 'Training Day'.

I loved this DVD because it had many great extra features such as the music video and the fact that the film was subtitled in many varied languages. I think it is important for film distributors to know that while English is the dominant language in the world, other people who speak different languages want to enjoy gems like Training Day.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Movie that Totally Suspends your Disbelief
Review: Training Day works because it is pure fantasy masquerading as a reality. The film bends our suspension of disbelief at every moment. We all know that police corruption is a real thing but Lord if a character like Denzel ever walked the street of L.A like that for real he would be dead in a few months. The same goes for Hawke. Both these characters would have a life-span of a Star Trek extra who beams down to the strange planet with the rest of the party.

Denzel practically walks and drives the streets like he owns L.A. The man can go down any alley, go into any house, shot up any gang, beat up rapists, steal money, abuse criminals and have some extra debauchery on the side... all before cornflakes. Ethan Hawke is just a way out his depth as a rookie who gives new meaning that that word. A boy playing the donkey to such extremes that the carrot almost brings him to murder 'cause Denzel orders it.

What makes Training Day so good is that it blends so much reality with so much fantasy that the line blurs to the point where the two are no longer distinguishable. Then the director Antoine Fuqua can play with us all he likes by having the main protagonist abuse the rookie cop at every given opportunity. We buy it. We buy it all and ask for more. Fuqua then gives it to us by taking the whole police corruption element to new heights as a plot involving bent-cop-drug-dealers become the bait and main meal of the day. They even have totally outrageous names like - The Sandman, but still we think that what we are seeing is reality. Fuqua just has us wearing blinkers all the way as he directs us through the streets of crime with Denzel coming up with some of the most memorable lines in a cop drama ever.

The acting is all dark but good. This is a highly enjoyable romp, albeit a totally improbable one, but high-camp stories do not mean high-camp acting. This could well be the B-Movie of cop dramas, but it is just done so well. All the characters are radical and excessive. The plot is almost comic book quality. The ending is totally Hollywood in every department.

This is just a great fantasy cop movie that is worthy of repeat viewings. Fuqua is the master of the suspension of the disbelief here. It is very easy to fall victim to what you are seeing is real. Training Day is just salami, but what tasty salami it is.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Bad Day on the Streets
Review: Antoine Fuqua has made an excellent film for those who are looking for pure action. If your goal is more intelligent fare this may not be for you.

The story involves a day in the life of LAPD rookie officer Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke)as he attempts to join an elite narcotics division led by decorated officer Alonzo Harris( Denzel Washington) What Hoyt does not realize is that Harris is not as good a cop as he is made out to be. Denzel Washington (in his Oscar winning role) plays the bad cop with gusto. While it may not be his best performance it certainly is not his worst. Washington comes across as a kind of police version of Tony Montana and the end of the film becomes sort of cartoonish.

Hawke does a good job playing the rookie who makes bad choices throughout the film Fuqua says that these choices are all related to ambition and I will buy into that theory to some extent.

This is essentially a two character film and both leads acquit themselves quite well. Support is offered by Eva Mendes as Alonzo's girlfriend, Macy Gray as the wife of a drug dealer, Dr. Dre as a member of Alonzo's unit and Snoop Dogg as another dealer on the streets. Los Angeles is portrayed to great effect and the texture is suitably gritty. Fuqua shot the film in parts of the city that most tourists don't see and the viewer feels the pulse of the streets.

I will admit that I liked the film more after a second viewing with Fuqua's audio commentary. The disc provides a featurette and trailer plus two music videos.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #019
Review: Best:

1) Denzel Washington proves that he can be as hateable as he usually is lovable. Now that's acting.
2) Some scenes may remind you of how you felt during the gut-wrenching parts of "Scarface" or "Goodfellas".
3) We get to see a very naked Eva Mendes in a few frames.
4) There's a commentary track and a host of special features.

Worst:

1) It's intensely downbeat, so don't expect to go away with a "happily ever after" feeling.
2) The descent into evil lifestyles may disturb you more than expected.

Recommendation:

If you can handle it, you'll be stronger for having seen this one. Women may not like it nearly as much as men, since it's the exact opposite of a 'chick flick'.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gritty and Intense!!!
Review: The look of this movie brims with authenticity. From the barrios to the projects to LA Central this movie is shot with realism in mind, but ultimately bows down to Hollywood convention. Up until the final ten minutes the story is intense and provocative, with outstanding performances from both lead actors. Ethan Hawke has never been better; his portrayal of an ambitious "daisy fresh" rookie is dead on. But the film is otherwise owned by Denzel Washington in his second Oscar-winning performance, his first coming for his work in the movie "Glory." His performance is both repellant and mesmerizing. However, the movie falls at the end (literally). Once Ethan Hawke somehow finds himself on the hood of a black Monte Carlo driven insanely by Denzel Washington the plot embraces Hollywood nonsense in order to wrap the picture up nice and tidy. The great acting continues but I found myself shaking my head in dismay. It was an unfortunate finale to an otherwise intense, finely detailed picture.


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