Jonathan Penner Movies

Religion, Inc. was originally -- and very briefly -- released as A Fool and His Money. While watching TV, ex-adman Morris Codman (Jonathan Penner) receives a message from God. Advised by the Almighty to go into business for himself, Codman inaugurates his own religion, founded on a philosophy of selfishness. Two distinguished men of letters appear in Religion Inc -- George Plimpton (as God!) and Jerzy Kosinski -- but that's not why this loser is currently available on video shelves. It seems that a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock shows up fleetingly as a long-suffering public defender. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eschewing any connection with previous installments of the creatively strip-mined Amityville saga, this film is actually derived from one of a series of novels by John G. Jones and focuses on a mantle clock from the original Long Island horror-house which serves as a vessel of supernatural evil. A real estate developer (Stephen Macht) purchases the clock in Long Island and brings it home to California, where it promptly anchors itself to the wall and begins to exert a nightmarish influence on the house and its inhabitants. As creepy phenomena and violent behavior run rampant through Macht's family, the occultist neighbor (Nita Talbot) begins to take notice -- but is killed in a freak accident shortly after discovering the secret of the clock's Satanic history. In a twist that echoes the original Amityville Horror, Macht succumbs to the clock's evil influence and turns on his family, just as his scale-model of a planned development is transformed into a block of very familiar-looking houses. Tony Randel's direction is remarkably restrained, allowing the horror to unfold gradually until the final act, where he pulls out all the stops in a style reminiscent of his earlier Hellbound: Hellraiser II. The script makes a valiant attempt to breathe new life into a long-dead franchise, but many interesting subplots fail to develop beyond their sketchy origins. The creepy inner workings of the clock are reminiscent of the ancient machinery of The Church or the vampire-bug-machine of Guillermo del Toro's Cronos, but little is done to explain their origins. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Chapter nine in the Friday the 13th series finds supernatural psycho Jason Voorhees returning from the dead to possess the body of a medical coroner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

If you met Adolph Hitler when he was just a struggling cartoonist, wouldn't you have done the world a big favor by murdering him? That philosophical question provides the linchpin of this black comedy. Jude (Cameron Diaz), Pete (Ron Eldard), Paulie (Annabeth Gish), Marc (Jonathan Penner), and Luke (Courtney B. Vance) are five graduate students who are confirmed members of the political left, participate in small-scale activism, and share a house together. One night, Pete is stuck in the middle of nowhere, and Zack (Bill Paxton), a truck driver, gives him a lift home. The housemates are just about to sit down to dinner, so to show his gratitude, Pete asks Zack to join them. However, it soon becomes obvious that Zack doesn't share the group's political views, and when he states that he thinks Hitler had the right idea, the argument turns into a fight, with Zack brandishing a knife. The trucker is accidentally killed in the scuffle, and rather than report the death to the police, his body is buried in the backyard vegetable garden. However, the event prompts much discussion among the housemates -- if Zack was a hateful bigot, isn't the world better off without him? And wouldn't killing other ignorant hatemongers improve society all the more? Before long, the group is having a weekly dinner party in which they invite a special guest -- including an anti-environmental activist (Jason Alexander), a right-wing religious leader (Charles Durning), a sexist who doesn't believe there's such a thing as rape (Mark Harmon), and a teenager campaigning against sex education in schools (Erin Bryn) -- and serve them some wine, which happens to be laced with arsenic. While the group's attempt at community improvement does wonders for their tomato plants, the recent disappearances eventually attract the attention of the local sheriff (Nora Dunn). The Last Supper was the first feature for director Stacy Title, who won an Academy Award for her short subject Down on the Waterfront; screenwriter Dan Rosen appears in a supporting role as a police deputy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three women who share a house are all about to turn 30. Tentative, mousy Micki (Julie Warner) has just had her fiancée, Jeff (Joseph Urla), break off their wedding plans because she's not passionate enough for him. Beautiful Tanya (Paulina Porizkova) is pregnant and has lost her job as a sales clerk, but her boyfriend Tom (Richard Edson) isn't ready to marry and raise a child. Jasmine (Illeana Douglas), who loves being single and dating bad boys, is tired of her family's pressure to marry. She proposes that all three get married, notify their families, then divorce. They go to Las Vegas to pursue the scheme. Micki hooks up with a dreamy cowboy, Cary (John Corbett), who instructs her in the art of passion. Tanya lures an older fellow, divorced businessman Oliver (Charles Martin Smith), planning to trick him into thinking that he's responsible for her pregnancy. Jasmine falls for Oliver's younger friend Matt (Jonathan Penner), who turns her on despite being a nice guy. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Blank (Sex, Drugs, & Democracy) directed this satirical slap at the media, centered around a reverend (Alan Thicke) who objects to public-access station Channel 69, where his daughter (Jessica Hecht) and other young radicals program such shows as Conspiracy of the Week. The reverend's solution is to buy the station and kick everyone out. They retaliate with protests and a fake bomb threat, barricading themselves in the studio to stage telecasts minus clothing. This film features one of the last film appearances of the late Timothy Leary. Shown at the 1998 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, Eve Jacobs (Corrine Bohrer) is 39 years old, and her biological clock is threatening to start running down at any moment. Eve wants to have a baby, and has decided the time is now; however, she's not having much luck conceiving, and her husband Adam (Johnathan Penner) has more than a few anxieties about the prospect of becoming a father, especially as he approaches middle age. Eve begins consulting a battery of doctors, hoping someone can help her with her problems conceiving; she also attends meetings of a support group, WOMB (Women On a Mission to have a Baby), whose leader Rachel (Mo Gaffney) encourages desperate women to take desperate measures to have the child they've of which they've been dreaming. Inconceivable was directed by Bob Weis and written by Diane Fredel-Weis; it was the first feature film for both members of this husband-and-wife team, who based the story on their own difficulties having a baby. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director and screenwriter Stacy Title (best known for the independent feature The Last Supper) obviously knows a good story when she sees one, and proves it with Let The Devil Wear Black, which takes the framework of Shakespeare's Hamlet and recasts it with present-day characters and dialogue. Jack (Jonathan Penner), a professional student, is convinced something is rotten in the state of his family after the recent death of his father -- especially when Uncle Sammy (Jack Sheridan) decides to marry Jack's mother (Jacqueline Bisset) with what Jack thinks is inappropriate speed. Jack becomes convinced his father's death was at the hands of some shadowy conspiracy, while his girlfriend, Julia (Mary-Louise Parker) starts to unravel in the face of her own tensions and Jack's obsessions. The supporting cast includes Philip Baker Hall, Jonathan Banks, Maury Chaykin and Chris Sarandon; Let The Devil Wear Black was shown as part of the 1999 Slandance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man who wants a woman who will love him for him looks for ladies while posing as someone else in this comedy. Paul (Brad Rowe) is a millionaire who made a fortune in the technology industry, and now is looking for the woman with whom he can share his life. However, Paul is afraid that lots of women will be more interested in his bankbook than his personality, so he begins posing as a working stiff named Ernest in hopes of finding someone who won't be after his money. Paul meets Olivia (Susan Ward) while posing as Ernest, but when he falls in love with her and wants to get serious, she's not so sure she trusts Paul after spending time with his altar ego. Meanwhile, Guy (Jonathan Penner) is a con man who learns about Paul's scheme, and begins making the rounds as Ernest himself, luring a beautiful blonde named Sophie (Samaire Armstrong) in the process. Would I Lie to You? also stars Stephanie Beacham, Steve Hytner, and Jennifer Griffin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season Thirteen of Survivor finds the 20 chosen castaways whisked off to the atoll of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. In a move that stirred up an enormous (some would say inordinate) amount of controversy when the season first aired in the fall of 2006, four the first time in series history the four tribes are divided along ethnic lines. The Manihiki, or "Hiki" tribe consists of the African-American contestants; the Puka Puka Tribe is exclusively Asian-American, the Aituatki or "Aitu" is comprised of Hispanics, and the Rarotonga or "Rare" consists of Caucasians. One might suspect that this decision was made merely to heighten viewer interest in the season's first few episodes, inasmuch as by the time Episode Three rolls around, the four tribes have merged into two mixed-race tribes, the Aitutaki and Rarotonga. Ultimately of course these two would be codified into a single tribe, the Aitutonga. Most of the familiar Survivor trappings are in attendance this season, including the relatively new concept of Exile Island, replete with a hidden Immunity Idol. Significant alterations to the format include the decision to combine the first two Reward and Immunity Challenge into a single challenge; and the selection of a "final three" rather than "final two" survivors, with an expanded nine-person jury determining the Sole Survivor in the season finale. Among the 20 contestants this season are retail salesman Nathan Gonzales, make-up artist Rebecca Borman, jazz musician Sekou Bunch, student nurse Stephannie Favor and actressSundra Oakley, initially of the Manahiki Tribe; nail-salon manager Anh Tuan Bui (aka "Cao Boi", pronounced "Cowboy"), attorney Becky Lee, fashion-entertainment worker Brad Virata, real estate agent Jenny Guzon-Bae and management consultant Yul Kwon, of the Puka Pukas; guitarist Billy Garcia, technology-risk consultant Cecilia Mansilla, police officer Cristina Coria, pro volleyball player John Calderon(aka "J.P.") and waiter Oscar Lusth (aka "Ozzy"), of the pre-merger Aitutakis; and sales rep Adam Gentry, pre-med student Candace Woodcock, ex-roller derby player Jessica Smith (aka "Flicka Flame"), writer-actor-producer Jonathan Penner and boxer-waitressParvati Shallow, of the pre-merger Rarotongas. And without giving too much of the game away, it can be noted that this season boasts the very first Asian-American "Sole Survivor." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide