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Michael McGrady Movies

2011  
PG13  
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A woman tries to pass her unconventional family off as a wholesome churchgoing household in this comedy. Eileen Cleary (Kathleen Turner) is a devout Catholic housewife who is a tireless volunteer at her church, ready to help with a fund-raising effort or deliver meals to shut-ins at a moment's notice. Eileen's pastor, Monsignor Murphy (Richard Chamberlain), is impressed enough to nominate her for the honor of "Catholic Woman of the Year," and when she learns that full absolution of all her past sins is one of the perks that comes with the honor, she's determined to win. However, Eileen also finds out that there's a hitch -- the nominees are expected to invite the Archbishop to their home for dinner, and her household hardly seems like the picture of moral well-being. Her husband Frank (Michael McGrady) struggles with a drinking problem, her son Frank Jr. (Jason Ritter) is in the midst of a divorce and is involved with a woman who is not Catholic, and her daughter Shannon (Emily Deschanel) is a lesbian who is about to marry her partner Angela (Angelique Cabral) and is already carrying their child. Does Eileen stand a chance against her longtime rival Agnes Dunn (Sharon Lawrence), who is also in the running for the title? The Perfect Family was the first feature film from director Anne Renton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Kathleen TurnerEmily Deschanel, (more)
 
2009  
 
Emmy Award-winners John Wells, Ann Biderman, and Chris Chulack team to produce this gritty, fast-paced police drama that takes viewers into the lives of cops, criminals, their victims, and their families. Veteran Los Angeles cop John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) has been assigned the task of training ambitious rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie), who isn't sure he has what it takes to become a police officer after witnessing his superior's no-nonsense approach to the job. Meanwhile, Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King) takes care of her elderly mother while she's not patrolling the streets with her unhappily married partner Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott), and Detective Daniel "Sal" Salinger (Michael McGrady) presides over gang detectives Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) and Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro) while patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) dreams of becoming the first woman to join the SWAT team. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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2002  
PG13  
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Action hero Steven Seagal goes behind bars -- though don't worry, he isn't really a bad guy -- in this action thriller. Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal) is an FBI agent working undercover to infiltrate a gangland kingpin's operations. While Petrosevitch is able to gain the trust of one of the gangster's lieutenants, Nick Frazier (Ja Rule), things go haywire during an FBI raid, and Petrosevitch takes several slugs in the back as he struggles to maintain his cover. Eight months later, Petrosevitch and Frazier are serving time together in the newly refurbished Alcatraz Penitentiary, as Petrosevitch secretly continues his investigation. Prison warden Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) is arranging for the execution of convicted killer and thief Lester (Bruce Weitz), and U.S. Supreme Court justice Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson) has announced she will attend as a witness. But Hubbard's assistant Donny (Morris Chestnut) has devised a secret plan -- it seems Lester stole and stashed away 200 million dollars in gold before he was arrested, and Donny, along with an underground SWAT team, takes control of the prison and takes Hubbard, McPherson, and the other assembled dignitaries hostage, demanding to be told where Lester has hidden his fortune. Now Petrosevitch must drop his cover and persuade his allies within the prison -- including Frazier and Little Joe (Michael "Bear" Taliferro) -- to join him in a desperate bid to foil Donny and free the hostages. Half Past Dead also features Nia Peeples, Kurupt, Tony Plana, and Claudia Christian. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Steven SeagalMorris Chestnut, (more)
 
2001  
 
Lourdes Benedicto makes her first series appearance as new pediatrics intern Rena Trujillo. The episode's pre-eminent crisis occurs at the site of a commuter-train accident, where Carter (Noah Wyle) and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) are forced to extreme measures to save the life of trapped firefighter Larkin (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The doctors also try to rescue a woman (Stacy Haiduk) who, though impaled by a shard of medal, is more concerned about the health of her son. Likewise at the scene of the accident, Corday (Alex Kingston) begins to go into contractions; and even psychiatrist Legaspi (Elizabeth Mitchell) makes an appearance when the person who caused the crash is located. Finally, an ongoing story arc is wrapped up as the dying Bishop Stewart (John Cromwell) tries to assuage Kovac's (Goran Visnjic) guilt over "deserting" his family during the Balkan wars. Advertised as ER's 150th episode, "The Crossing" is number 151 in the current syndication package. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1999  
 
Director Michael Stevens debuts with this two-fisted ultra-violent crime drama about redemption and revenge. Adapted from British author Tim Willocks' 1991 novel, the movie weaves together four stories resulting from a botched bank robbery. Callilou (Judith Hoag), the wounded girlfriend of the robbery's mastermind Luther (Jim Metzler), seeks refuge with kind-hearted doctor Eugene Grimes (Michael Massee), who lives among the impoverished in New Orleans' worst neighborhood. Hot on Callilou's trail is rakish but corrupt Vice Squad Captain Clarence Jefferson (Michael McGrady), who is looking to horn in on the robbers. He eventually catches up with Eugene, and, after a great deal of physical and emotional abuse, Eugene reveals both his odd connection with the criminal ringleader and his hideout. Soon after Jefferson and his gang converge on Luther's lair, a bloody gunfight ensues. Bad City Blues was screened at the L.A./AFI Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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Starring:
Michael MasseeMichael McGrady, (more)
 
1999  
PG13  
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Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer), a photographer, is married to Pat (Treat Williams), a restaurateur, and they would seem to have a perfect life in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1988, they have three small children that Beth takes along to her high school reunion in Chicago. While checking in at a crowded hotel lobby, her middle child, three-year-old Ben, disappears. Despite a frantic search and much media coverage, the boy is not found, and Beth soon falls apart. Nine years later, the family has only barely recovered when they move to Chicago so Pat can open a restaurant with his father. A few months later, a neighborhood boy named Sam Karras (Ryan Merriman) knocks on the door, asking to mow the lawn. Beth notices the boy's appearance exactly matches a time-elapsed photo of Ben constructed by the police; she takes pictures of the boy and contacts both her husband and police detective Candy Bliss (Whoopi Goldberg). School fingerprints of Ben and Sam match, and the boy is taken to foster care while Candy and Beth confront the father, George (John Kapelos). It seems Ben was abducted by an unbalanced woman who was Beth's high school classmate; the boy was eventually adopted by George when he married "Sam's" new mother, and she later committed suicide, leaving no one to blame. Having grown up happily with George, Sam has no memories of his real parents. Now Beth and Pat must find a way to bond with Sam, and heal older brother Vincent (Jonathan Jackson), who was supposed to be watching Ben at the time he disappeared, and has been suffering from guilt ever since. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

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Starring:
Michelle PfeifferTreat Williams, (more)
 
1997  
R  
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In this action thriller, a group of terrorists take over an ocean liner with 3,000 passengers on board, but what the bad guys don't know is that the captain of the ship is one Halsey Long (Dale Dye). The good captain's son is Skip Long (Michael McGrady), leader of the crack anti-terrorist squad the Delta Force, and while under any other circumstances he would be determined to bring the ship and the people on board back to safety, the terrorists have just made it personal. Operation Delta Force II: Mayday also stars Todd Jensen, Simon Jones, and Robert Patteri. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Michael McGradyDale Dye, (more)
 
1995  
 
In this made-for-TV sci-fi-drama, the world has entered into an age when travel between the planets has become an everyday event, and Driscoll Rampant (Neal McDonough), a medical student, finds himself taking an internship on the distant planet of Rusta. Unlike Earth, Rusta does not turn on its axis as it orbits through space, with one half of the planet in constant daylight and the other in permanent nighttime; as a result, Rusta has two very different civilizations, one a genteel land of ladies and gentlemen, the other a feudal kingdom. As Rampant travels between the two sides of Rusta, he struggles to build a bridge between both sides in a world where the essential duality of man is brought clearly to the forefront. White Dwarf also stars Paul Winfield, C.C.H. Pounder, and Ele Keats. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Paul WinfieldNeal McDonough, (more)
 
1995  
 
The life of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor is told in this made-for-television drama. Sherilyn Fenn stars as Oscar-winning actress Liz Taylor, whose career began when her mother pushed her into acting as a child in the 1940s. Her tumultuous career ups and downs, and her turbulent personal life are chronicled in the film, which was based on the book by C. David Heymann. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

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1994  
PG13  
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Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, this epic version of the legendary western sheriff-gunslinger's life story stars Kevin Costner as Earp, who lived from 1848 to 1929. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Earp tries to run away to join the Union Army in the Civil War, but he is turned away because of his youth. Instead, he studies law and marries Urilla Sutherland (Annabeth Gish). But Urilla dies of typhoid fever before they can have children. Earp grows despondent and descends into drinking and petty thievery, but his father Nicholas (Gene Hackman) finds him, sobers him up, and sets him straight. Earp becomes a buffalo hunter and a close companion of Bat Masterson (Tom Sizemore) and his brother Ed (Bill Pullman). With his brothers, Virgil (Michael Madsen) and Morgan (Linden Ashby), Earp sets out to clean up the violence-plagued towns of the old West -- by using his own guns to settle scores. Earp takes up with Mattie Blaylock (Mare Winningham), a drug addict and prostitute, then discards her for actress Josie Marcus (Joanna Going). In Tombstone, Arizona, the Earp brothers and their comrade Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid), who is plagued by tuberculosis and a compulsion for gambling, meet their match in a ruthless gang led by Ike Clanton (Jeff Fahey). ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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Starring:
Kevin CostnerDennis Quaid, (more)
 
1993  
PG  
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Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy romp around like coked-up versions of The Three Stooges in the frantic Disney romp Hocus Pocus. The film begins in 1693 where three witches -- Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) -- are preparing a potion that will grant them immortality and eternal youth. But before they finish mixing their cocktail, the people of Salem capture them and execute them for practicing witchcraft. Before their deaths, they vow to return to Salem 300 years hence on Halloween to exact their revenge. Three hundred years later, a skeptical, newly transplanted Californian, Max (Omri Katz), explores the ruins of the legendary witches' house and dares the witches to manifest themselves. Disregarding the warnings of his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and girlfriend Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max lights the Candle of Black Flame. With that, the witches reappear to wreak havoc on the town. The kids take off with the witches' spellbook and a musty tome of hexes and recipes. The sorceresses, who will die by the morning light if they don't recite the incantation for immortality, have to get the books by whatever means they can. So, Winifred, Sarah, and Mary hop on their broomsticks for a chase through Halloween night. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Starring:
Bette MidlerSarah Jessica Parker, (more)
 
1993  
R  
Quick is based on a series of adventure novels featuring a gorgeous hitwoman. When the title character, played by Teri Polo, is set up by her boss, she takes -- well -- quick action. Abducting the mob witness (Martin Donovan) whom she'd been hired to kill, Quick runs off to parts unknown. As the evil henchmen (Jeff Fahey, on the verge of better parts, and Robert Davi) close in, Quick decides to befriend her captive and entreat his aid. Tia Carrere also appears in this explosive actioner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Jeff FaheyTeri Polo, (more)
 
1992  
PG  
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John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
John GoodmanKelly McGillis, (more)
 
1992  
 
The set of a popular daytime drama proves to be rife with intrigues that go far beyond the script. At the center is the show's temperamental star Joanna Rollins (a pre-Star Trek: Voyager Kate Mulgrew), whose millionaire husband turns up murdered. In her efforts to solve the case, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) receives assistance from a surprising source: Joanna's former costar and ex-lover, whom she had fired from the show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1992  
R  
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In this comedy, a charming con man teams up with a boxer fallen on hard times in hopes of making some quick money. After doing time for selling art that turned out to be forged, Gabriel Caine (James Woods) and his partner Fitz (Oliver Platt) set their sights on a village called Diggstown; Fitz arrives first and takes several well-heeled locals in a high-stakes poker game, and then Gabriel follows to make a sporting proposition to John Gillon (Bruce Dern), the city's wealthiest citizen. Gabriel tells Gillon he has a boxer that can beat any ten opponents Gillon can line up, in the same day. Gillon takes the challenge and places a big enough wager to make matters even more interesting, but now Gabriel has to convince Honey Ray Palmer (Louis Gossett Jr.), a middle-aged former boxer who has been taken for a ride by Gabriel in the past, to go along with this scheme. In the meantime, Gabriel works out a deal with gangster Victor Corsini (Orestes Matacena) to back his bets while romancing Emily (Heather Graham), the sister of a large and ill-tempered fighter Gabriel met while behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
James WoodsLouis Gossett, Jr., (more)
 
1992  
 
Coopersmith is the title of a never-sold TV series, assembled by producer/writer Peter S. Fischer of Murder She Wrote fame. In the 2-hour pilot episode, Grant Show stars as insurance investigator C. D. Coopersmith. Nicolas Surovy costars as a homicidal race-car driver whose wife dies in a highly suspicious accident. Clever though Surovy may be, Coopersmith is a degree or two cleverer. Filmed in 1990, Coopersmith was finally given a network airing on July 31, 1992, to capitalize on Grant Show's newly acquired celebrity as costar of Melrose Place. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1992  
 
Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Child Lost Forever was advertised as a "docudrama." A unwed teenage mother is forced to give up her baby for adoption. 16 years later, the girl (played as an adult by Beverly D'Angelo), now married and the mother of two, decides to look for the son she lost. She finds that the boy died at age three under mysterious circumstances. The more she investigates, the more she realizes that she's stumbled upon a long-hushed-up case of child abuse. Child Lost Forever debuted November 16, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Beverly D'AngeloMichael McGrady, (more)
 
1992  
 
The first "Perry Mason" TV movie of the 1992-93 season, The Case of the Heartbroken Bride was the 23rd such production. The wedding of pop star Heather McAdam is disrupted by a drunken interloper. When the party crasher is murdered, Heather is nabbed for the killing. Among the special guest suspects are Ronny Cox, Linda Blair and Diane Baker. Stephen Stills, of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, has a cameo. As always, Perry Mason is played by Raymond Burr. The Case of the Heartbroken Bride first aired October 30, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1992  
PG13  
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When has-been baseball player Jack Elliot (Tom Selleck) is signed by a Japanese team, he is initially reluctant to take the game seriously. Elliot is very successful, though, as he teaches the team about American chutzpah, and they remind him of the value of respect. He must fight his way out from under a slump to show that he deserves the title. ~ John Bush, Rovi

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Starring:
Tom SelleckKen Takakura, (more)
 
1991  
 
In the seventh-season finale of Murder She Wrote, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) joins forces with her old friend, Boston PI Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), to solve a murder. The victim was Nick Culhane (Pat Harrington Jr.) a former writer turned spokesman for a major beer manufacturing firm. It turns out that at the time of his death, Nick had been working on an expose of dirty doings within the powerful brewing family who had hired him! Featured in the cast is former US Postmaster General Anthony Frank...as a mailman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1990  
 
I'll Take Romance has nothing to do with the old Grace Moore musical film of the same name. Rather, this 1990 TV movie is about a publicity contest. Dressed in Joan Crawford Chic, Linda Evans plays a Seattle TV meteorologist, assigned to host a contest to find the most romantic man in Puget Sound. Evans' boyfriend Tom Skerritt stews on the sidelines as she wends her way through the studdish contestants. Since Skerritt plays a judge, is there a remote possibility that I'll Take Romance will have a crucial courtroom scene somewhere along the line? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Linda EvansTom Skerritt, (more)