44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-out

The based on real events, this gung-ho cop movie's strength lies less in its recreation of a notorious crime than in its success in infusing its semi-documentary approach with action movie gusto. The Los Angeles Police Department was completely unprepared for the events of February 28, 1997, though the so-called "High Incident" bandits, who had targeting North Hollywood for the past two years, were familiar to Sergeant Frank McGregor (Michael Madsen). As they orchestrate their upcoming assault on a money-transport van, lifelong law breakers Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. (Andrew Bryniarski) and Emil Matasareanu (Oleg Taktarov) agree that they'll do anything to avoid going...