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Training Day

ISBN: 0790764660

Title: Training Day

Author: Best Actor - Denzel Washington (2001)

KDL Description:

Jake Hoyt, a rookie in the LAPD, gets a chance to join the elite narcotics squad led by veteran Detective Harris. Jake is to prove himself during a one-day ride-along, but it becomes clear that Detective Harris has blurred the line between right and wrong, enforcing his own code of ethics and street justice. Eventually, Hoyt begins to suspect that he is being set up to take the fall.

Amazon Description:

A powerhouse performance by Denzel Washington fuels this brutal urban police drama, in which a rookie narcotics cop learns the hard way that even good cops can go very, very bad. Washington plays veteran detective Alonzo Harris, a self-proclaimed “wolf among wolves,” eager to teach his rookie partner Jake (Ethan Hawke) that normal rules don’t apply on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Caught in a web of deception, Jake watches with escalating horror as Alonzo uses his badge (and the support of his superiors) to justify a self-righteous policy of corruption. In stark contrast to most of his previous work, Denzel unleashes his dark side with fearlessness and fury, and the result is excellence without compromise. Director Antoine Fuqua (The Replacement Killers) won’t score any points for subtlety, but gritty details (including actual L.A. gang members as extras) and Hawke’s finely tuned performance are perfectly matched to Washington’s frightening volatility. —Jeff Shannon