Starring: Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Tom Skerritt, Lara Flynn Boyle

Guest hosted by film programmer and editor Clyde Folley

When grizzled detective Nick Pulovski (Clint Eastwood) teams up with eager newcomer David Ackerman (Charlie Sheen), their mismatched styles collide hard. Pulovski punches first and files paperwork never; Ackerman overthinks and overfeels. Thrown into a high-stakes case involving a slick international car-theft ring (led by Raul Julia and Sônia Braga… as Germans?), the duo careens through explosions, interrogations, and plenty of emotional baggage.

Directed by Eastwood, the action excess of The Rookie gives it an 80s feel, making it hard to believe that just two years later he’d be an awards darling with Unforgiven. Well, if you don’t have a good time watching this, you oughta have your ass removed!