The Other Guys (2010)

Much better than “Cop Out” but no match for “Hot Fuzz,” director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell goof on the buddy cop genre. Ferrell keeps his shtick in check and Mark Wahlberg plays it straight, while Samuel L. Jackson and the Rock send up their images.

d: Adam McKay | imdb.com | trailer | Lion and tuna | Who is that?

In the Loop (2009)

Based on the sound bites and cooked intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, the beautifully profane political satire skewers the U.S. and British governments. Peter Capaldi, playing a British press secretary, steals the show with the most inventive insults.

d: Armando Iannucci | imdb.com | trailer | The wall
Your swearing does not impress me.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost — the team behind “Shaun of the Dead” — pay homage to cop movies, capturing all of the genre’s clichés — from the fish out of water detective to the blood bath finale in deference to “Bad Boys II” and “Point Break.”

d: Edgar Wright | imdb.com | trailer | Pub.