Jonathan Jackson
Producer Marc E. Platt brings author Susan Cooper's popular series of children's fantasy books to the big screen with this tale of a young boy (Alexander Ludwig) who discovers that he is the latest in a long line of immortal warriors. When the forces of darkness, led by the villainous Rider (Christopher Eccleston), threaten to overpower the forces of light, the young chosen one must venture out into the world to realize his destiny and ensure that evil is defeated. Ian McShane and Frances Conroy round out the cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, (more)
- 2006
This true-crime biopic explores the life of mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenny Kimes, from Kenny's childhood apprenticeship in early-'80s Honolulu to Sante's murder trial in late-'90s New York City. Fortyish Sante Kimes (Judy Davis) uses her looks and her brazen disregard for the law to acquire whatever she wants in life, from jewels to cars to large insurance settlements. Her most frequent accomplice in these endeavors? Son Kenny (former General Hospital actor Jonathan Jackson), who spends most of his childhood serving as a bit player, then later a co-star, in his mother's schemes. When a slavery -- yes, slavery -- conviction sends Sante to prison, Kenny enjoys a more or less normal adolescence with his wealthy father (Chelcie Ross), who has long refused to marry Sante. But upon her return from the big house, the now over-the-hill Sante re-enlists her son's assistance in her amoral activities. Eventually fingered for the murder of a wealthy Manhattan matron, Sante finds herself in court, where her son's testimony may well end her lifelong crime spree once and for all. Adapted by Randy Stone and Teena Booth from Jeanne King's book Dead End: The Crime Story of the Decade: Murder, Incest and High-Tech Thievery, A Little Thing Called Murder premiered January 23, 2006, on the Lifetime cable network. It was actually the second TV movie to explore the Kimes' story, following Mary Tyler Moore's turn in the 2001 CBS offering Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Davis, Jonathan Jackson, (more)
A good Samaritan becomes the victim of voodoo spells in this horror story produced by Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson. When an aged Creole woman is caught in a car wreck in a remote section of Louisiana, Ray (Rick Cramer), the owner of a nearby filling station, speeds to the scene of the accident to help. However, Ray doesn't know that the woman is a voodoo practitioner whose vehicle holds a case full of magic talismans. The magical spirits lead Ray to an unexpected death, and then they take over his body, turning him into a bloodthirsty monster. As the reanimated Ray makes his way into town, a group of teenagers including Eden (Agnes Bruckner) and Tammy (Bijou Phillips) find themselves running for their lives from the supernatural creature, while Deputy Turner (Method Man) looks for a way to keep the strange menace under control. Venom went into release in the fall of 2005 -- only a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the state of Louisiana, making the film seem unfortunately topical. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A young man who has flirted with death is forced to come to terms with mortality in this tale of terror based on a story by Stephen King. Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) is a college student studying art at the University of Maine in 1969. Cursed with an over-active imagination, Alan constantly obsesses over the worst outcome of any situation, and when he begins to suspect his girlfriend, Jessica (Erika Christensen), is thinking of leaving him, it drives him to the brink of suicide. Shortly after this brush with death, Alan receives word that his mother, Jean (Barbara Hershey), has suffered a severe stroke and may not pull through. Alan grabs his jacket and hits the road, hoping to hitchhike the one hundred miles to the hospital. As it happens, Alan is trying to catch a ride on Halloween night, and after he's picked up by one George Staub (David Arquette), he realizes that he's riding the highway with a creature not of this Earth. Riding the Bullet was directed by Mick Garris, marking the fourth time the filmmaker has brought one of King's stories to the cinema or television screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette, (more)
Not a sequel, not really a prequel, sort of a remake, more of a re-imagining, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights follows the blossoming love affair of young couple Katey (Romola Garai) and Javier (Diego Luna) against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution in 1958. Katey is an American girl living in Cuba with her parents who meets Javier, a local. Javier takes Katey to a nightclub where he teaches her how to dance dirty Cuban-style. The two grow closer and closer, but when Castro takes over, Katey's parents decide to flee for the U.S., leaving Katey to make the ultimate decision. Tying the film together with the classic 1987 original is Patrick Swayze who reprises the role of Johnny Castle in a cameo. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diego Luna, Romola Garai, (more)
Director Christopher Nolan follows up his breakthrough sophomore film Memento with this remake of a stylish Norwegian thriller. Al Pacino stars as Detective Will Dormer, a Los Angeles Police Department legend who temporarily escapes an internal affairs investigation that may ruin his career by traveling to Nightmute, AK, the remote site of a murder that has the local authorities flummoxed. Along with his partner, Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), and the small town's wide-eyed rookie investigator, Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), the exhausted Dormer probes the brutal slaying of a teenage girl who was rumored to have a secret lover. A clever ruse quickly lures the killer into a police trap, but the suspect escapes and a tragic accident at the scene leaves Dormer at the mercy of the murderer, a pulp crime novelist named Walter Finch (Robin Williams). As Finch plays a dangerous game of extortion with Dormer, the detective's mental health deteriorates rapidly from guilt over his complicity in a crime and sleep deprivation compounded by the lack of darkness in the land of the midnight sun. Meanwhile, the bright and dogged Ellie continues putting the pieces of a complex puzzle together despite Dormer's skillful attempts to lead the investigation toward the right suspect, but away from his own malfeasance. Insomnia co-stars Paul Dooley, Nicky Katt, Maura Tierney, and Jonathan Jackson. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Robin Williams, (more)
Natalie Babbitt's award winning book for children comes to the screen in a lavish adaptation from Walt Disney Pictures. Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel) is a girl in her early teens growing up in the small rural town of Winesap in 1914. Winnie's parents (Victor Garber and Amy Irving) are loving but overprotective, and Winnie longs for a life of greater freedom and adventure. One day, while exploring the nearby woods, Winnie gets lost, but she has the good fortune to happen upon the Tuck Family, who live nearby - mother Mae (Sissy Spacek), father Angus (William Hurt), and sons Jesse (Jonathan Jackson) and Miles (Scott Bairstow). The Tucks are warm and caring people, and Winnie feels right at home with them; she also finds herself developing a serious crush on Jesse, and isn't so sure she wants to return; meanwhile, her parents become increasingly distraught as they search for their missing daughter. But in time Winnie discovers there's a secret behind the seemingly idyllic lives of the Tuck Family; they have discovered a magical spring on their property, and anyone who drinks from it will never grow old and never die. While to Winnie this sounds like a wonderful prospect, the Tucks have come to understand this is as much of a curse as a blessing, especially when she realizes Jesse is considerably older than she is. The Tucks also have to contend with the presence of the sinister Man In The Yellow Suit (Ben Kingsley), who wishes to buy their property and make a fortune from their "fountain of youth." Tuck Everlasting was directed by Jay Russell, who previously directed the acclaimed family film My Dog Skip. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, (more)
A teenager finds himself reaching out to others as he tries to heal his emotional wounds in this drama. Jonathan (Cillian Murphy) is a young man who is having a difficult time coming to terms with the recent death of his father; after falling into a deep depression, he attempts to commit suicide by driving a car off an embankment. Jonathan survives the accident and is sent to a mental institution for treatment. While in the hospital, Jonathan becomes friendly with a disturbed youngster named Toby (Jonathan Jackson), and falls in love with Rachel (Tricia Vessey), another patient at the facility. Also featuring Stephen Rea, On the Edge was the third feature from Irish director John Carney and the first to be backed by a major American studio. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cillian Murphy
- 2000
Max Hanson (Jonathan Jackson), a popular high school student with considerable artistic and athletic talent, finds himself under pressure from everyone--especially his parents--to focus exclusively on art and to give up ice hockey. The only person who apparently harbors no judgmental attitudes towards Max is a teenage girl named Molly (Carly Pope), with whom he falls in love. Unfortunately, Molly is "into" wild parties and drugs--and before long, so is Max. As he sinks deeper and deeper into the morass of heroin addiction, Max seems to be beyond redemption . . . and far beyond the influence of his caring but domineering mother Sophie (JoBeth Williams). Posing a number of tough questions, but wisely offering no easy answers, the made-for-TV Trapped in a Purple Haze originally aired on April 17, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, JoBeth Williams, (more)
- 2000
- R
Single father Will Reed (Treat Williams) and his teenaged son Seth (Jonathan Jackson) have increasingly uncomfortable conflicts that go beyond the usual coming-of-age difficulties. Seth has grown reclusive and mysterious as his father does his best to communicate with him. Seth's binge drinking and drug use get him in trouble with his girlfriend Robin (Schuyler Fisk) and her family, and his unwelcome advances on Tina (Linda Hamilton), a co-worker of Will's who has a crush on Will, make things even more unsettling. Will is hardly prepared for what comes next: Seth begins giving his father items of clothing as gifts -- items that may be evidence of a series of murders in their small New Hampshire town. Each time Will confronts Seth with the evidence, a very calm Seth has an innocent answer. Even the police think Will is going too far. Is Seth a serial killer, or is Will losing his mind?
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Treat Williams, Linda Hamilton, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, (more)
- 1998
After camping out in line all night to score two tickets for a one-time-only Van Gogh exhibit, Cory (Ben Savage) is upset that Topanga (Danielle Fishel) has gone to the exhibit with Angela (Trina McGee-Davis) instead. Worse still, while staring at the immortal "Starry Night", Topanga meets a handsome guy named Ricky (Jonathan Jackson). The plot thickens when, after several weeks of refusing to believe Cory's insistence that his kissing of another girl "means nothing", Topanga is herself the recipient of a lip-lock from Ricky! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) are together again (finally!), but pretend to still be apart so that Shawn (Rider Strong) can have the privilege of "reuniting" them. This strategy proves to be the latest in a long line of blunders in the Cory-Topanga relationship, resulting in yet another breakup. Will Cory retreat to the arms of Lauren (Lauren Cardellini) while Topanga does likewise with Ricky, or can Shawn come to the rescue for real? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In this adventure, a quartet of dreamers sets out on a search for a famous lost mine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Bruce Weitz, (more)
When young computer genius Rudy inherits his father's business, he is at first unprepared to do battle with his avaricious uncle, who has him kidnapped and held hostage until the boy signs off all rights to the lucrative enterprise. Not wanting the uncle to control the business following Rudy's disappearance, a pair of corporate executives happen upon a youth who looks just like the missing heir. In hopes of keeping the business afloat, they substitute him at the board meetings. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, William Shatner, (more)
This light-hearted comedy depicts a typical summer camp, but with a special twist: this camp was designed by the campers themselves! "Mud" Himmel is a nerd. Once again he is faced with attending computer camp. His buddy Zack will be marching into go to military camp while Trish is acting happy about theater camp. That Gaby is going again to fat camp weighs heavily upon her mind. None of them are thrilled with their camp prospects and it is rebellious Mud who suggest that they create their own, secret camp. Enter Dennis Van Welker, their crazy high school drama instructor. He offers to join the conspiracy and act as their camp counselor. Just as it looks as if the four misfits are going to have a really great summer together, two dozen of their peers find out about the camp and decide to come along. For a time it's one big chaotic party. But as the kids act out their camp fantasies, they are gaining valuable insight into their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
