Raymond O'Connor Movies

The true story of one of Nashville's most innovative instrumentalists comes to the screen in this biographical drama based on the life of Hank Garland. Garland (played by Waylon Payne) was a gifted guitarist who rose among the ranks of aspiring country music stars to become one of Music City's busiest session players. Garland performed and recorded with the likes of Patsy Cline (Mandy Barnett), Roy Orbison (Brian Jones) and Elvis Presley (Jason Alan Smith), and Garland's musical interests went beyond country and pop; he loved jazz, and inspired by Wes Montgomery, he intended to bridge the gap between country and jazz, forming a jazz combo and cutting a celebrated album called Jazz Winds From A New Direction. But Garland was also a deeply troubled man; his passion for music could seem obsessive to many who worked with him, he had a short fuse when it came to people he felt were taking advantage of his talents, and his womanizing ways led him into a ill-fated relationship with Evelyn (Ali Larter), who discovered too late that she had many rivals for his affections, with music at the top of the list. However, it was neither a sour relationship nor an unappreciative audience that caused the tragedy that ended Garland's career before its time. Crazy was the first feature film from director Rick Bieber. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Little Theo Sipowicz (Austin Majors) accidentally sees Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) without a stitch on. Back at the 15th, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) is saddled with his least-favorite "snitch," Pisano (Lenny Venito), who has apparently been targeted for death by a tough customer known as "The Dentist" (Raymond O'Connor). A witness to a shooting will hand over the videotape of the crime only on the condition that he retains exclusive exhibition rites. And the tormented father (Joe Spano) of Detective John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) commits a desperate act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fallout from the musical episode (see "Once More, With Feeling") brings two characters together but tears most of the others apart. Spike (James Marsters) tries talking to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) about the kiss they shared but she refuses to discuss it. Meanwhile, the Scoobies express their horror at learning they wrenched Buffy from paradise when they brought her back to life. Tara (Amber Benson) confronts Willow (Alyson Hannigan) about messing with her memories and using magic to solve all of life's problems. Willow agrees to quit magic cold turkey for a week to prove she can live without it. But then she casts a spell to make Buffy and Tara forget all of the suffering they've endured. Just as Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) is announcing his departure to England to force Buffy to stand on her own, Willow's enchantment backfires. All of the Scoobies are rendered amnesiacs, and they come to various wrong-headed conclusions about their identities and relationships. Unfortunately, into this comic befuddlement comes a shark-headed demon (Raymond O'Connor) with a grudge against Spike. The fiend and his vampire minions terrorize the gang until Willow's spell is accidentally broken. Tara leaves Willow, Giles leaves for England...and Buffy once again finds herself locking lips with Spike. Originally broadcast November 13, 2001, on UPN, "Tabula Rasa" marked episode 108 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this TV series, Boston police detective Sean McGrail (Jason Beghe) and public defender Annie Cornell (Moira Kelly) are an odd couple caught in a passionate love affair, and they're just as passionate when they clash. In their close-knit Irish neighborhood, they get plenty of advice, including caustic comments from Sean's mom Fiona (Fionnula Flanagan), his firefighter brother (Stephen Lee), and his other brothers (Jason Wiles, Stephen Largay), also cops. The opening episode sets up an improbable situation that has Annie in the courtroom grilling her hubby-to-be about thong underwear and strippers. Filmed in L.A., this romantic comedy-drama premiered September 30, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

It's a leap year, it's February 29th, and middle-aged Roy Biggins (David Schramm) is now officially 12 years old. Helen (Crystal Bernard) thinks it would be a wonderful idea to celebrate the occasion by reconciling Roy with his son R.J. (Abraham Benrubi), who has been estranged from his dad ever since coming out of the closet. This episode was supposed to conclude with a gay wedding, but was written to avoid comparisons with a similar, like-vintage episode on the NBC sitcom Friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) receives a tip from an old friend that rock star Zack Sherman (Nick Sherman), the ex-husband of singer Miss Gina B (Chaka Khan), has disappeared. When her friend vanishes as well, McCall investigates by going undercover as (what else?) a singer at a rock cub called "The Cradle." As it turns out, McCall's friend had been keeping some bad company, the upshot of which is that Zack will never return--and it appears as though McCall is also destined to disappear without a trace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Midwestern bar tender hungering for life in the fast lane enters a Hollywood King of the Bar contest in this fast-paced showbiz satire starring Jason Mewes and Paris Hilton. Owen Peadman (Mewes) is Minnesota's "Golden Boy" of bartending, but the Midwest has grown a little bland, and now Owen is looking make a name for himself in the thriving L.A. nightclub scene. When Owen gets word of a high profile bartender contest with a hearty cash prize, he sets his sights on Hollywood and prepares to knock the judges dead. Unfortunately for Owen things don't quite work out as planned, and after losing out to a well-known L.A. barman he is forced to seek the help of his flamboyant Uncle Earl. A fast-talking producer of a popular tabloid new program, Uncle Earl offers Owen a job and the pair soon set out to get the scoop on Hayden Field - the hottest young star around. Getting to Hayden isn't going to be easy though, and after hatching a plan to befriend Hayden's glamorous girlfriend Lisa Mancini (Hilton), the one-time drink slinger find out just how wild the west coast nightlife can truly get. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This clever and well-crafted production (produced for Home Box Office) goes the distance with its innovative concept, which is equal parts Raymond Chandler and H.P. Lovecraft. Taking place in 1948 Hollywood -- in an alternate reality where magic spells, curses and demons are commonly used and accepted -- the story revolves around hard-boiled gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft (Fred Ward, looking nothing like his character's namesake and everything like Mike Hammer), the only detective in the business who relies on brains and instinct instead of gazing into a crystal ball or casting runes. This pure perspective is sought out by wealthy eccentric Amos Hackshaw (David Warner), who is trying to retrieve the legendary "Necronomicon" (a key component in the works of the real H.P. Lovecraft). The book is reputed to have the power to release the "Elder Gods" from their cosmic confines and return them to Earth, whereupon Hackshaw believes they will appoint him ruler of all mankind. The chief rival for possession of the book is a seedy gangster (Raymond O'Connor) whose favorite nightclub singer (Julianne Moore) takes a shine to Harry. Followed by a sequel, Witch Hunt, which applies a more sublime (if unnecessary) re-interpretation of the material, and features Dennis Hopper in the Lovecraft Role. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Two lovers inadvertently take the notion of fiery passion too far when their lovemaking begins generating real conflagrations in this romantic fantasy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comical, erotic sci-fi adventure is every nerd's fantasy come true as it tells the story of ultra-geeky Wesley Littlejohn who readily volunteers to participate in his voluptuous substitute biology professor Ms. Xenophia's (an alien from outer space) extra credit research experiment. Once in her lab, Drax, her faithful assistant jabs him with a needle and suddenly wimpy Wesley becomes the campus stud-muffin and finds himself surrounded by cooing crowds of scantily clad coeds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comical adventure pokes fun at Rambo as it chronicles the exploits of Traxx, a Texas Highway patrolman who leaves the state police to become a soldier-of-fortune in Hadleyville where he gets into baking funky cookies and working as a sort of town bouncer helping to clean up the burg. While there he and the Mayor, Alexandria Cray have a passionate affair. Real trouble comes to town in the form of the fearsome Uzi-toting Guzik brothers who have come to throw the do-gooder out. To draw him out, the nefarious brothers kidnap the town Little League team. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Rage, jealousy, murder, and Eastern European automotive engineering combine in this offbeat black comedy. Verplanck, NY, is a small town north of Manhattan that has the dubious distinction of being the Yugo capital of America; the ill-fated import compact was first test-marketed in Verplanck, and nearly everyone in town drives one. So no one finds it unusual when a yellow Yugo is seen floating in the river, though seeing someone trapped inside is out of the ordinary. Verplanck's chief of police, Wyatt Rash (Danny De Vito), discovers that the deceased driver was a prominent local citizen, Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), and the evidence suggests that Mona's death was no accident. But the investigation into Mona's murder is hampered by one rather significant detail: nearly everyone in town hated Mona and wanted her dead. She alienated her son Jeff (Marcus Thomas) and his business partner Bobby (Casey Affleck). Bobby's girlfriend Ellen (Neve Campbell) (who is also Rash's daughter) is convinced that Mona would have tried to drive a wedge into their relationship. Mona's husband Phil (William Fichtner) couldn't stand her and fell into an affair with Rona (Jamie Lee Curtis), the waitress at the local diner. And even Rash's sidekick, Deputy Feege (Peter Dobson), spent too much time on the wrong end of Mona's temper to care that she's dead. Before long, the question is no longer who is a suspect, but who isn't? Drowning Mona was directed by Nick Gomez, who earned positive notices for his independent films New Jersey Drive and Illtown. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide