Jonathan Tucker Movies

Class and economics muddy the investigation of a homicide in this thriller from director Josh Sternfeld. When a child is found murdered in the small town of Hilliard, police detective Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) is assigned to investigate the case. The victim's mother, Allison Connor (Laura Benanti), is a wealthy and well-connected member of the County Board of Commissioners, so Cordin is under pressure to find the killer as soon as possible, but working with rookie officer Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols), he isn't finding many substantial clues. One of the few pieces of evidence suggests the culprit may have been from the nearby town of Caswell. Cordin was born and raised in Caswell and knows its history well -- while Hilliard is a prosperous suburban community, Caswell is a working-class town fallen on hard times, and its survival is dependent on a proposed factory coming into town. As Cordin spends more and more time in Caswell, he becomes a target for the resentment the locals feel toward their wealthier neighbors, and a tense situation becomes potentially explosive when word begins to circulate that Connor may use her influence to keep the new employer out of Caswell unless someone comes forward to identity who killed her son. Meskada (named for the county that contains both Hilliard and Caswell) also stars Norman Reedus, Kellan Lutz, Jonathan Tucker, and Grace Gummer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the novel by A Simple Plan author Scott Smith, director Carter B. Smith's Yucatan-set thriller follows four American tourists as they unwisely venture off the beaten path while vacationing in Cancun. When a friendly German tourist implores the Americans to help search the jungle for his missing brother, the group becomes hopelessly trapped in a nightmare scenario that seems too strange to be true. Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone, and Shawn Ashmore star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Something of an Irish variation on The Sopranos with a considerably younger cast, NBC's weekly, hour-long The Black Donnellys was reportedly inspired on the exploits of an actual family (also named Donnelly) who were involved in a notoriously bloody fued in the Ontario of the 1880s. The TV series, however, was set in the present, and took place in the Hell's Kitchen district of New York City, specifically a patch of territory controlled by four tough young Irish-Americans with mob connections. The eldest of the four Donnelly brothers was the hotheaded, antagonistic Jimmy (Thomas Guiry), the leader of the gang and owner of the bar where the family all hung out. Jimmy's second-in-command was his brother Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), a former art student who occasionally suffered pangs of conscience over the Donnelly's dubious ethics and business practices. The third brother, Kevin (Bill Lush), was a compulsive gambler, while youngest brother Sean (Michael Stahl-David) was a weak-willed ladies' man. The series was narrated by family friend Joey "Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs), a combination hatchet man and court jester. Created by the same people responsible for the Oscar-winning feature films Million Dollar Baby and Crash, The Black Donnellys debuted February 19, 2007, as a ten-week replacement for the floundering NBC dramedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When wireless technology puts humans into contact with an unstoppable force that's determined to claim the lives of the living for the souls of the damned, it's up to a group of determined teens to close the gate before it's too late in director Jim Sonzero's remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's apocalyptic horror classic. A doorway between the human realm and the spiritual realm has been opened, and now the technology that once made humankind the ruler of the planet has become its digital Achilles heel. With every call made and every e-mail checked, life is slowly being stolen from the living and claimed for the dead. With no way of turning off the connection and no means of reasoning with a force they cannot understand, a desperate group of college students must discover a means of stopping the takeover before the entire planet is transformed into a cosmic haunting ground for wayward souls in search of a home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A cop looking for a quieter way of life is thrown into the most dangerous crisis of his life in this thriller based on the novel by Robert Crais. Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) used to be a hostage negotiator with the Los Angeles Police Department, but after a standoff goes horribly wrong, Talley moves himself and his family to a small, quiet town of Bristo Camino, where he serves as chief of police. When three young criminals attempt to steal a car from a wealthy accountant, the situation quickly spins out of control and the thieves are trapped inside the heavily fortified home, taking the accountant and his family hostage. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department soon arrives on the scene, and Talley eagerly hands over the situation to them, but when he unexpectedly finds himself in telephone contact with one of the children inside, he begins to suspect that the cops are in over their heads. After he's approached by a masked stranger who has an agenda of his own, Talley is forced to decide if he should protect the safety of the family in the house or his own wife and kids. Hostage was the first English-language film from director Florent Emilio Siri. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A con artist finds family squabbles are getting in the way of a major payday in this sharp blend of comedy and suspense, based on the Argentinean hit Nueve Reinas (aka Nine Queens). Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly) is a smart-suited confidence man who knows how to run a big con but prefers to pull off a number of small scams over the course of the day, cheating a lot of folks out of a little instead of taking one or two for a lot. One day, while looking for marks at a gambling casino, Gaddis spies Rodrigo (Diego Luna), a fellow grifter with little polish but obvious talent. Gaddis takes Rodrigo under his wing, and after showing him a few tricks, the two begin working as a team. A golden opportunity presents itself when Gaddis learns the whereabouts of an incredibly valuable antique bank note just as an ideal customer is passing through town; Gaddis and Rodrigo quickly try to set up a deal that will separate cash from customer without the note actually changing hands, but the scheme proves complicated enough that others have to be brought in, causing each individual's share of the loot to dwindle. Adding to Gaddis' annoyance is the appearance of his sister Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who works at the hotel where the deal is to go down and isn't especially happy with her brother and his attempts to get his hands on the family's fortune. Criminal marked the directorial debut of Gregory Jacobs, who previously distinguished himself as a producer and assistant director. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of the most infamous horror films of the 1970s is revisited in this remake produced by action-spectacle maven Michael Bay. In the summer of 1973, four teenagers -- Erin (Jessica Biel), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Kemper (Eric Balfour), and Andy (Mike Vogel) -- are driving through Texas on a road trip when they pick up a hitchhiker, Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), who is on her way to Mexico to score some dope. With Pepper adding to the party atmosphere, the other four decide to join her, but as they're passing through a small town in Travis County, they see a bloody and distraught girl (Lauren German) wandering by the side of the road, and after stopping to help her, they realize she's been involved in something horribly traumatic. As the kids try to help the girl piece together the story of what happened, they find themselves drawn into the web of a murderous family of subnormal cannibals. Inspired -- like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and Deranged -- by the crimes of Wisconsin multiple murderer Ed Gein, this remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre also features narration by John Larroquette, who narrated the original film (it was his first screen credit), as well as supporting performances by R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Prine, and Andrew Bryniarski. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A mother is drawn into a sinister web of blackmail while trying to protect her son in this drama. Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton) is a wife and mother of three living in Lake Tahoe, whose husband is a Naval officer stationed in the Atlantic ocean. Margaret's oldest son, teenaged Beau (Jonathan Tucker), is gay and has become involved with Darby (Josh Lucas), a disreputable older man whom Margaret does not trust. Margaret confronts Darby and tells him to stay away from her son, but Darby isn't easily dissuaded, and he comes by the house late one night, leading to a fight between Beau and Darby. The next morning, Margaret discovers Darby's body on the beach, with an anchor piercing his chest. Not sure what to do, Margaret hauls Darby's body out to sea, and dumps it where she hopes it will not be found. Margaret tries to get her life back to normal, until a man named Alek (Goran Visnjic) appears at her door. Alek appears to know something about Darby's death, and he definitely knows about Beau's relationship with him; in fact, he has a videotape of Beau and Darby having sex, and he's prepared to make it public unless she'll pay him $50,000. Margaret is in no position to pay the money, but is desperate to protect her son and attempts to reason with Alek. Surprisingly enough, in time it works, and Alek withdraws his request for blackmail money. However, Nagle (Raymond Barry), a local crime boss whom Alek works for, is not nearly so generous. The Deep End was adapted from a novel by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding, The Blank Wall, which was previously filmed by Max Ophuls as The Reckless Moment. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A young man is looking for the woman he loves, though he wouldn't know her if he saw her in this teen-oriented comedy. Matthew (Jonathan Tucker) is a college freshman who has not been having much luck with the ladies since he started school. One night, Matthew is taking an elevator downstairs at his dorm when someone dashes in just as the door is closing. Moments later, there's a power outage, and Matthew and his fellow passenger are stuck. He soon discovers that he's stranded on the elevator with a woman, and they strike up a conversation; one thing leads to another, and they end up making love. However, Matthew never gets her name or a good look at her face in the darkness, and the next morning, he awakes to discover the power is back on, and the young woman is gone. Matthew is desperate to find her, certain that she is the love of his life, but all he knows for sure is that she lives in a nearby all-girls dorm -- and that she left behind a pair of panties. Posing as a maintenance man, Matthew sets out to visit every girl in the dorm, hoping to find the girl who matches up to the lingerie. Among the many women Matthew runs across in search of his dream girl in 100 Girls are Larisa Oleynik, Jaime Pressly, Katherine Heigl, Marissa Ribisi, and Emmanuelle Chriqui. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A dark comedy punctuated by moments of drama, The Virgin Suicides explores the emotional underpinnings of a family starting to come apart at the seams in 1970's Midwestern America. The Lisbons seem like an ordinary enough family; Father (James Woods) teaches math at a high school in Michigan, Mother (Kathleen Turner) has a strong religious faith, and they have five teenage daughters, ranging from 13-year-old Cecilia (Hannah Hall) to 17-year-old Therese (Leslie Hayman). However, the Lisbon family's sense of normalcy is shattered when Cecilia falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide. The family is shaken and Mother and Father seek the advice of psychiatrist Dr. Hornicker (Danny DeVito), who suggests the girls should be allowed to socialize more with boys. However, boys soon become a serious problem for Cecilia's sister Lux (Kirsten Dunst). Lux has attracted the eye of a high-school Romeo named Trip (Josh Hartnett), who assures Father of his good intentions. But Cecilia finally makes good on her decision to kill herself, throwing the Lisbons into a panic; and after attending a school dance, Trip seduces and then abandons Lux. The Lisbons pull their daughters out of school, as an emotionally frayed Mother keeps close watch over them. Meanwhile, Lux continues to attract the attentions of the local boys, and she responds with a series of clandestine sexual episodes with random partners as often as she can sneak out of the house. The debut feature from Sofia Coppola (whose father, Francis Ford Coppola, co-produced this film), The Virgin Suicides also features supporting performances from Scott Glenn and Giovanni Ribisi. The film was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series as the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Co-star Denis Leary co-wrote the script for this romantic comedy-drama. Leary plays Frank O'Brien, a no-class, small-time hood who is the boyfriend of Roz (Sandra Bullock), a cashier with a New York Jewish background who dreams of settling down and having kids. Roz wants out of the relationship but is fearful to break up. On a Friday, she accompanies Frank as he steals a painting. He tells her that it's his last job as a thief. Frank plans the delivery for Sunday evening so that they can turn the job into a getaway weekend. They go to a New England town and break into a huge home; the owners are on vacation. A sophisticated neighbor, Evan Marsh (Stephen Dillane), believes that they are friends of the owners' children and invites them to a party. Evan is an upper-class bachelor and is attracted to Roz. Roz goes horseback riding and boating with him, pretending a sophistication she doesn't possess, while Frank fumes at the rich rival. Meanwhile, Frank's crime boss Beano (Wayne Robson) learns that the painting Frank has stolen is a four-million-dollar Matisse and comes to the town with three henchmen. They are pursued by Detective O'Malley (Yaphet Kotto), who is trying to find a mysterious master art thief. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Filmed in black and white on a very low budget, this grim Manhattan-set documentary takes an unflinching look at the realities of inner-city life as it tells the story of how Vince Williams came to become a prison inmate. His story is told via flashback and from those who witnessed his small crime. Born in poverty to a 13-year-old mother, Vince grows up responsible for providing for her and his younger brother. Sometimes he resorts to stealing to keep them fed. Sadly, Vince had a lot of potential and maybe could have done more with his life, but unfortunately, there are few opportunities in the ghetto and his struggle to survive becomes a spiraling cycle of criminal activities, violence and humiliation that only ends with his incarceration. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi