Shawn Lawrence Movies
- 2005
Ever since Junior High, Gina (Marla Sokoloff) has been carrying on a pen-pal friendship with Seth (Patrick J. Adams). Now fully grown, Gina is a journalist living in Boston, while Seth is a toy-company executive. When Seth shows up in Beantown for a conference, one would think that he'd be looking forward to being interviewed by Gina, whom he's never seen--and that Gina would feel the same way. Trouble is, self-conscious Gina has for all these years been sending along pictures of her friend Ellen (Lindy Booth) in her letters to Seth, while Seth has been sending pictures of his friend Matt (Jonathan Cherry). Terrified that Seth won't like her if he finds out what she really looks like, Gina sends Ellen in her place for the interview--while Seth, suffering similar fears, prevails upon Matt to impersonate him. Given this set-up, and taking into consideration the title of this made-for-TV movie, no one should be unduly surprised by the outcome of the story! Christmas in Boston made its ABC Family channel bow on December 14, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A priest caught in the middle of a deadly murder investigation must risk his life to prove the innocence of a fellow clergyman in a tense, religious-themed thriller directed by Lewin Webb and starring Christian Slater. Daniel Clemens (Slater) is a fallen priest who has lost his faith. Now a loyal but troubled public-relations representative for the Catholic Church, Clemens is disturbed to learn that a man he knows does not possess capacity for murder has been accused of a crime beyond comprehension. Despite direct orders from the church to cease his investigation, Clemens enlists the aid of a dedicated reporter (Molly Parker) and a truth-seeking church lawyer (Stephen Rea) in uncovering a scandal with the power to shake his faith to the very core. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Molly Parker, (more)
- 2002
- PG13
- Add The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire to QueueAdd The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire to top of Queue
In the fourth of the Hallmark Channel's feature-length "Sherlock Holmes" tales, Holmes (Matt Frewer) and Watson (Kenneth Welsh) investigate a series of savage murders apparently committed by a vampire -- and all occurring in the same Whitechapel district previously terrorized by Jack the Ripper. Holmes' services have been engaged by Brother Marstroke (Shawn Lawrence), who years earlier had lost an entire mission in British Guyana to an invading horde of rabid bats. Can it be that those long-ago bats and the current wave of killings are the handiwork of the legendary demon vampire Desmondo? The ever-logical Holmes doubts this theory...or at least he doubts it at the beginning of the story. The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire debuted October 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Frewer, Kenneth Welsh, (more)
Cat Storm (Dominique Swain) is a bored high school girl in New York City who follows her petulant, rich friends from one coming-of-age adventure to another. They experiment with cruelty, rudeness, brazenness, and idiocy before moving onto sex and drugs. Cat's best friend, Delilah (Bijou Phillips), is kicked out of school for using cocaine (her father's), forcing Cat to become best friends with Grace (Mischa Barton), who guides her into the arms of William (Brad Renfro), the boy Cat's had a crush on for some time. Eventually they all wind up at a luxurious country estate for a weekend of drugs, passion, and, inevitably, gruesome murder. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Swain, Brad Renfro, (more)
- 2001
Based on fact, the made-for-TV drama Jewel begins in 1945, a time when children afflicted with Down Syndrome were casually and cruelly dismissed as "Mongoloid Idiots." Already a mother with four healthy, normal children, 40-year-old Mississippi woman Jewel Hilburn (Farrah Fawcett) gives birth to daughter Brenda Kay, a Down's baby who will forever be challenged both mentally and physically. Urged by the local authorities to surrender Brenda Kay to an institution, Jewel defies the "experts" and packs herself and her family off to Los Angeles, where she hopes that her daughter will have a better chance at a normal life. But in her zeal to shower affection and attention on her "different little girl", Jewel sorely strains her relationships with her husband Leston (Patrick Bergin) and her other four kids. Cicely Tyson makes what the CBS publicity flacks labeled a "special appearance" in the role of a loving caregiver named Cathedral. Based on the novel by Bret Lott, Jewel originally aired February 7, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this action comedy, a crook trying to go straight finds himself lured back to crime by the police, without his even knowing it. When master criminals Jasper (Robert Pastorelli) and Bristol (Doug Hutchison) pull a heist that nets $40 million in gold but leaves behind several dead policemen, detective Edgar Clenteen (David Morse) pulls out all the stops to put the thief behind bars. Jasper is jailed and ends up sharing a cell with Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx), a habitual small-time criminal who was brought in after a bungled robbery of a seafood wholesaler. Jasper, who has a weak heart, suffers a heart attack in jail, and as he dies, he gives Alvin a message to pass along to his wife. Eager to track down Bristol, who still has the gold, Clenteen has Alvin secretly implanted with an experimental tracking device, and then lets him go free, while spreading the word on the street that Jasper told him where the gold was stashed shortly before his death. While Alvin makes an effort to start his life over and get a straight job, Clenteen and his staff are electronically following his every move, waiting for Bristol and his associates to track him down. Bait was directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose previous credit was the stylish crime thriller The Replacement Killers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Foxx, David Morse, (more)
- 2000
It's a case of "never cry wolf" for an overcautious geologist in this made-for-cable disaster flick. Plagued by an accident that he failed to stop years ago, Louisiana earth-watcher Matt Andrews (John Corbett) thinks that the ground is going to cave in beneath downtown New Orleans -- during Mardi Gras, no less. Meanwhile, main squeeze Allison (Jessica Steen) pleads with Matt to forget the past and get on with life, which in her mind involves proposing marriage on bended knee with a multi-karat engagement ring. Then the ground rumbles, impeding the progress of several parade floats as well as Allison's nubile niece Cindy (Brittany Daniel), who's in town for some fat Tuesday decadence. On Hostile Ground originally premiered on the TBS network. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Corbett, Jessica Steen, (more)
- 1996
Devoted parents search for their daughter in this strange, fact-based made-for-television movie. Set in the 1850s, Louis Gossett Jr. stars as James Mink, a wealthy Canadian businessman who is married to a white woman (Kate Nelligan). When their daughter is duped into marrying a slave trader, the Minks set out for the American South to track down their missing daughter and bring her back home. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Walter Matthau, Stephanie Zimbalist, and Harry Morgan star in this made-for-television drama, in which a judge in a small town discovers that the skeletons in his family closet are aired for all to see after he's named as a prime suspect in the murder of his son-in-law. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1992
John Wayne Gacy was a respected member of his suburban Illinois community -- he was an active member of several service organizations, ran his own business, and entertained children as Pogo the Clown in his spare time. But Gacy had a terrible secret, and before he was finally brought in by the police, he had raped and killed over 30 young men and buried them beneath his house. To Catch a Killer is a made-for-TV movie that examines Gacy's life and crimes, and Joe Kozenczak (Michael Riley), the cop who finally brought John Wayne Gacy (Brian Dennehy) to justice. The supporting cast includes Margot Kidder and Meg Foster. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Michael Riley, (more)
- 1992
In this drama, based on a true story, an unconventional New England principal tries some radical new techniques to reform his high school and ends up unemployed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry, (more)
- 1990
As indicated by the title, this made-for-TV movie charts the rise and fall of Olympic figure skater Tai Babilonia. Partnered since childhood with Randy Gardner, Tai skated her way to the 1979 World Championship. Her hopes for Olympics success in 1980 are scuttled when her partner Gardner suffers a groin injury and is unable to compete. Tai responds to this disappointment by descending into drug abuse, culminating in an attempted suicide. The plucky skater recovers from all this, and the film ends on a hopeful note. On This Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story stars Rachel Crawford as Tai and Charlie Stratton as Randy, but that's the real Babilonia and Gardner recreating their classic routines in the long shots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachel Crawford, Charles Stratton, (more)
- 1986
This made-for-television film chronicles the life of 19th-century American showman P. T. Barnum. Using flashbacks (and flash forwards) the earliest efforts of his career are shown, through the formation of the "Greatest Show on Earth" with his partner Bailey, with many interesting things in between. ~ Forest Ray, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Despite the promise of his early career, the life of former world-class runner Michael Andropolis has been a crashing failure. The icing on his life's bitter cake was his divorce from the woman he still loves. Wanting to win back both his wife and his self-respect, Andropolis decides to start running again in hopes of making it to the Olympic marathon team. This sports-melodrama chronicles the 34-year old's heroic struggle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Susan Anspach, (more)
