Gregory Norman Cruz Movies
The edgy crime series' sophomore season charts hard-living detective Grace Hanadarko (Holly Hunter) solving myriad crimes in Oklahoma City, confronting a haunting figure from her past, and continuing her extended journey toward spiritual fulfillment with otherworldly help from her ragged "last-chance angel" (Leon Rippy). Swirling through it all: the dark memory of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The season opens with hell-raising antiheroine Grace finally cornering the priest (Rene Auberjonois) who molested her as a child. In other developments, Grace gains a new partner in the form of Abby Charles (Christina Ricci, in a three-episode guest arc), a single mother who helps Grace investigate a serial-killer case and a deadly drug party that involved Grace's niece. But there might be more to Abby than meets the eye. Other probes include the murder of the squad's evidence supervisor, the vanishing of a mother of two, and the slaying of a young Mexican woman in a case that brims with racial and political overtones. In another case, Grace's self-destructive, girl-gone-wild penchant surfaces yet again when she's lured to a high-profile murder suspect (Elias Koteas) with an unconventional sex life. Meanwhile, life-changing events impact Grace's coworker and off-and-on paramour, Ham (Kenneth Johnson): He's mired in a divorce and his little brother goes missing during a tour of duty in Afghanistan. On the home front, Grace's wide-eyed nephew (Dylan Minnette) joins a youth police program; and love blooms between Grace's brother-in-law (Chris Mulkey) and the local joint's new bartender (Kathy Baker). Then there's death-row inmate Leon Cooley (Bokeem Woodbine), whose spiritual bond with Grace is tested as the final hours tick away to his execution. ~ Dean Maurer, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Leon Rippy, (more)
Oscar winner Holly Hunter made her TV series debut in the gritty semi-fantasy Saving Grace. Hunter was cast as Oklahoma City police detective Grace Hanadarko, who after the death of her sister in the Murrah Building bombing of 1995 had turned her back on God and taken the first step down the road to self-destruction. Drowning her problems in booze and clouding her neuroses in cigarette smoke, Grace also degraded herself with a long line of dead-end romances, most recently with her married partner Ham Dewey (Kenny Johnson). Late one night, while driving drunk, Grace was involved in a terrible car crash. She was plucked from certain death by the enigmatic Earl (Leon Rippy) a "last chance" angel who had been giving the unenviable task of helping Grace find redemption before it was too late. Far from grateful, Grace constantly groused about Earl's unorthodox methods and the fact that she no longer had control over her own life; but little by little, our hard-bitten heroine began to turn her life around, beginning with her affectionate treatment of her late sister's troubled son, Clay (Dylan Minnette). Even so, it was hard for Grace to convince her co-workers that an angel had entered her life -- all except for forensic specialist Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo), a deeply religious woman who was estranged from her family because of her unwillingness to "judge" anyone. Besides Grace, the only other person able to see Earl was death-row inmate Leon Cooley (Bokeem Woodbine), who likewise had precious little time to save his own soul. Rounding out the regulars were Detective Butch Ada (Bailey Chase), former college athlete and one of Grace's discarded lovers; and Detective Bobby Stillwater (Gregory Norman Cruz), a devoted family man with a burning desire to make the world a better place (though he didn't quite know how). Saving Grace premiered July 23, 2007, on the TNT cable channel. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Leon Rippy, (more)
Just as the old saying goes, a trio of hapless city-dwelling friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard) find themselves spiraling out of control up a very brown river in this raucous comedy from Little Nicky director Steven Brill. Heading out for a weekend canoe trip in search of an elusive 200,000-dollar treasure, the trio must contend with everything from raging rapids to backwoods mountain men if they're ever going to uncover the secret of the missing booty. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, (more)
- 2001
Season eight of NYPD Blue begins by picking up where season seven left off. Det. Jill Kirkendall is still missing in action, having slipped through the fingers of the IAB after the arrest of her drug-trafficking ex-husband, Don. Former police lawyer Leo Cohen (Michael B. Silver), now in private practice, endeavors to defend the other members of the 15th precinct during the IAB's probe of their "complicity" in the Kirkendall case -- but first, Det. Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) must put her life on the line to locate Don Kirkendall's partner in crime, corrupt cop Denby. And Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) tensely awaits the results of his son Theo's bone-marrow tests. In new developments, a suspect in a multiple murder begs the detectives to help him retrieve his daughter, whom he left as collateral with his drug dealer; also, Andy's troubled partner, Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder), tries to get back together with Diane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
It's a veritable Old Home Week on The Rockford Files, with return visits from Jim's fellow P.I. Vern St. Cloud (Simon Oakland), nerdish detective-wannabe Freddie Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.), and last but not least, the impossibly handsome and insufferably lucky private detective Lance White (Tom Selleck). It all begins when Freddie crashes a testimonial ceremony for the Detective's Association, only to stumble upon the dead body of keynote speaker Senator Arnold B. Sanota. In their efforts to clear Freddie of murder charges, Jim (James Garner) and Lance (Tom Selleck) literally fall over themselves--though Lance always seems to land on his feet with nary a hair out of place, much to Jim's dismay and disgust. Meanwhile, there's a seemingly separate intrigue afoot involving Vern St. Cloud's son Larry (played by Tom Selleck's future Magnum P.I. costar Larry Manetti). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
