Jacob Aaron Estes Movies
- 2008
Ralph Fiennes stars as controversial philanthropist Zell Kravinsky in director Jacob Aaron Estes' biographical drama, which takes its cue from a New Yorker article by journalist Ian Parker. A wildly successful real-estate mogul, Kravinsky gave away nearly all of his 45-million-dollar fortune to others in need. Later, after keeping only enough money to settle down in a modest house, Kravinsky would donate his kidney to a stranger who needed the organ to survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes
Her faith shaken by a family tragedy from which she was never quite able to fully recover, a professor of theology from Louisiana State University moonlighting as a debunker of unexplained religious phenomena finds herself faced with an apocalyptic series of events that seem to reflect the ten plagues of Exodus in director Stephen Hopkins' Southern gothic chiller. The terrified citizens of Haven, LA, have been beset by swarms of locusts and watched as rivers turned to blood. As if that wasn't enough to put the fear of God into any Bible-reading Christian, ominous rumors of a local swamp cult have left many of the small-town citizens turning to prayer for fear that the end is finally nigh. Enter Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), a skeptical myth-buster and renowned theology scholar with a special knack for spotting religious trickery. Though at first exceedingly confident that she will uncover a human component behind the otherworldly occurrences, Katherine quickly learns that just because one doesn't believe in the supernatural doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, (more)
A teenage boy tries to hold his family together while the girl of his dreams drives him to distraction in this coming-of-age comedy drama. It's 1978, and Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith) and his family are in a state of flux. Henry's mother has died, and now his father, Shep (David Morse), is trying to find himself by quitting his job, buying a motorcycle, and growing out his hair. Henry's brother, Blair (David Moscow), is similarly trying to expand his boundaries by dating a free-spirited girl and experimenting with drugs. Henry, meanwhile, is just trying to get through high school, but a certain girl is making that difficult for him. Grace Chance (Jordana Brewster) is a pretty girl in Henry's class who enjoys wrapping boys around her little finger; it doesn't take long for her to notice he's smitten with her, and she begins flirting with him and getting him to do whatever she wants, even though she already has a boyfriend whom she has no intention of leaving. Meanwhile, Merna (Ashley Johnson), a cute girl who lives nearby, has a crush on Henry and is clearly a better match for him, but she can't get him to notice her, even after she starts dating an older boy to make him jealous. Nearing Grace received its world premiere at the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Smith, Jordana Brewster, (more)
Independent filmmaker Jacob Aaron Estes makes his feature debut with the coming-of-age drama Mean Creek. Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, and Carly Schroeder are teenagers living in small-town Oregon. Some of the boys take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions. Mean Creek was workshopped at the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the American Spectrum program. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, (more)
