Now Presenting: Moviejawn's Summer 2020 Issue

August 11, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in zine, rosalie kicks, fiona underhill, liz locke, ryan silberstein, benjamin leonard, zoe crombie, nikkolas nelson, judson cade pedigo, stacey osbeck, suze l. cima, hunter bush, anthony glassman, Matthew Crump, ashley jane davis

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

Greetings movie friends! As I’m sure most of you know, in addition to our website which mostly covers new movie reviews, we also make a quarterly print zine. I thought it’d be fun to give everyone a quick glance at all the films that are covered in our most recent issue (which focuses on circuses, carnivals and fairs) and where you can find them. Step right up! to follow the links for the titles and it’ll take you to a listing of where it can be found (mostly powered by JustWatch.com).

In Search of Darkness

July 30, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Written and directed by David A. Weiner
Featuring Tom Atkins, Doug Bradley and John Bloom
Running time: 4 hours and 24 minutes

by Nikk Nelson

One day, circa 1990 or 1991, when I was in first grade, the PE teacher Mr. Honor substituted for our class. Years later, when I would grow up to be a teacher, I realized that day he had absolutely no plan. So, we played Junior Outburst. It’s a game I don’t see around anymore. Basically, it was like a board game version of Family Feud. The “host” had a game card with a topic on it like ‘Side Dishes at a Barbecue’ and the ten most popular answers were on the card. As the players guessed correctly, the host would click off the tabs on the cardholder next to words like ‘Potato Salad’ and however many you got right in a minute were the points you earned for your team. That day, Mr. Honor put the card ‘Popular Horror Movies’ into the cardholder and started the timer. All anyone heard for the next thirty seconds was me naming horror movies and Mr. Honor clicking the cardholder. I got all ten. A week later, my mom was called in for a conference with my principal who was “concerned” and recommended I be kept from viewing “such violence and filth”. But my mom knew it was already too late. I was a diehard horror fan and there was no turning back.

A Deadly Legend

July 27, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Directed by Pamela Moriarty
Written by Eric Wolf
Starring Lori Petty, Corbin Bernsen and Judd Hirsch
Running time 97 minutes

by Nikk Nelson

I have a soft spot for independent filmmaking. I’ve participated in several short film competitions as a writer, script supervisor and assistant editor and what I’ve learned more than anything from those experiences is that making a movie, even one that’s five minutes long, is a very long and difficult process. Any completed feature film is a miracle. When you’re working independently with things like inexperienced actors and a microbudget that limits everything from locations to props and effects, it’s even more of one. A Deadly Legend (2020) is as independent as they come. What drew me to reviewing it were the names in the cast. Growing up watching L.A. Law (TV) and Major League (1989), Corbin Bernsen has always been one of my favorite actors and Lori Petty starred in a trio of films that were on a constant rotating basis for young me: Point Break (1991), Free Willy (1993), and In the Army Now (1994). Throw in Judd Hirsch and I’m double sold.

Rad: A Review in Retrospect

July 24, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Directed by Hal Needham
Starring Bart Conner, Lori Loughlin and Bill Allen
Running time: 1 hour and 31 minutes
MPAA rating: PG for mild profanity, drugs and alcohol

by Nikk Nelson

It’s a Saturday night in Wichita, Kansas, 1989. My parents are heading out to The Night Owl to drink Budweiser, snort coke and play foosball. Five-year-old Nikki needs a babysitter, more than just the TV this time, and the task can’t quite be left to his ten-year-old brother. Enter David Koonzy. I feel like a lot of little brothers had a David Koonzy at some point in their life. He was the surrogate older brother that was actually nice to me. And, he was cool. David didn’t just have his own room, he had his own pad in the basement of his house. He didn’t just have his own TV and VCR in his bedroom, the VCR was in the freakin’ TV. He had all of the best Nintendo games and the best movies and the best music. He called his dad ‘Bob’ and we were pretty sure he was in the mafia. The nights that David Koonzy babysat me are nights that I will never forget. One such occasion, my brother and I walked down the stairs to David’s pad, Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was blaring on the stereo, he already had pizza and Dr. Pepper waiting for us, and we all sat down and watched Rad (1986).

Lake of Death

July 15, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Written and directed by Nini Bull Robsahm
Starring Patrick Walshe McBride, Ulric von der Esch and Iben Akerlie
Running time: 1 hour and 34 minutes

by Nikk Nelson

There’s something about horror films from places like Denmark, Sweden and Norway that I find to be inherently unsettling. I feel like in the Danish version of The Princess Bride, Wesley returns to Buttercup covered in diseased oozing boils and, at the end of the movie, when she jumps to freedom out of that window, she’s somehow ripped apart in midair by a swarm of crows and a single inexplicably rabid dove. That region of the world knows how to put misery on film.

Scare Package

June 17, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

By Nikk Nelson

Scare Package is the latest in me being pleasantly surprised by what pops up on Shudder. A horror anthology with an incredible sense of humor, especially about itself, that’s an answer to darker offerings like V/H/S or Trick ‘r Treat. The minds behind this project seem to have their thumb on the spurting pulse of where horror as a genre is today. Meta is dead. But what about meta-meta? Or meta-meta-meta? The strength of Scare Package as a whole is it manages to parody every horror trope under the sun, including meta. “Cold Open” follows Mike, the guy responsible for doing things in horror movies like placing cursed objects in an attic for the protagonists to find or cutting the power to the babysitter’s house. Our run-through segment that also bookends the film in its own segment “Horror Hypothesis” introduces us to Rad Chad and his videostore, Rad Chad’s Horror Emporium, where Chad is training a new employee, Hawn. Each segment is introduced as Hawn navigates his new work responsibilities all while a jilted obsessive customer attempts to foil him at every turn.

Showgirls Shakedown

May 26, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in mini-dissertations, benjamin leonard, nikkolas nelson, rosalie kicks

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy, Nikk Nelson and Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

With You Don't Nomi (a documentary discussing Showgirls and its impact on the world) about to be released, there is no better time than now to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with Showgirls. MJ’s Best Boy introduced Old Sport to Showgirls a few years back and it seemed only fitting to continue this tradition with fellow MJers. Late one Saturday night, Nikk Nelson’s world was rocked when he agreed to watch the flick with Best Boy and Old Sport. Fortunately for you, our dear MJ readers we documented our experience to share with you our thoughts of varying perspectives on the notorious (yet acclaimed in our opinion) Paul Verhoeven (master)piece in this special article we have deemed… SHOWGIRLS SHAKEDOWN.

Blood Machines

May 25, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Written and directed by Seth Ickerman
Starring Elisa Lasowski, Anders Heinrichsen and Christian Erickson
Running time: 50 minutes

by Nikk Nelson

Shudder seems to be doing everything right. From the revival of Joe Bob Briggs in the Last Drive-In to their latest original series, Blood Machines, letting talented people do what they want and staying the hell out of their way is a smart way to manage a streaming service. And Seth Ickerman may be one of the most singularly talented people I’ve encountered in recent years. Credited as the writer, director, editor, visual effects supervisor and production designer of Blood Machines, if ever a person made an impression upon arrival, Seth did that cool superhero landing that also breaks the part of the street where he landed—unironically. Blood Machines is a visual feast from beginning to end—a 50-minute epic space opera divided into three episodes. This, however, I found to be to its detriment—an interruption of the sensory narrative—but really the only detriment I found. The show is a spinoff/sequel to the Carpenter Brut music video for their song “Turbo Killer” which Seth also directed. I definitely recommend checking out the video before enjoying the show. If I had even more from Seth to get my hands on, I’d be watching it right now. Carpenter Brut also provided the music for the series and I’m a huge fan of them, and synthwave in general, so it only added to my giddily indulgent experience. Top to bottom. The visual effects, set design, props and costumes are all incredible.

Blood Quantum

April 27, 2020 by Rosalie Leonard in reviews, nikkolas nelson

Written and directed by Jeff Barnaby
Starring Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers andForrest Goodluck
Running time: 1 hour and 36 minutes

by Nikk Nelson

In a genre as crowded as the zombie movie, it’s rare these days to come across a work that isn’t completely reheated corn beef hash. Return of the Living Dead (1985) was one of the first movies I remember seeing at three or four years old. In the prologue crawl, it claims to be based on a true story—something my older brother absolutely delighted in telling me was, in fact, the case. For at least one afternoon, I was convinced that, right before I was born, a zombie apocalypse had only recently abated and there might still be more zombies out there, lurking. Needless to say, I’ve been a fan of the genre my entire life (and/or its terrified hostage). So, the relatively recent explosion of the genre’s popularity has aspects that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and others I’ve absolutely loathed. Only the first few episodes of The Walking Dead are worth a goddamn, in my opinion. Once Frank Darabont was gone, the show lost its soul, and it's been meandering ever since, much like an armless, jawless walker desperately needing put out of its misery. Still, its firm status as a ratings juggernaut opened the floodgates and streaming services, desperate for content, started greenlighting any project with the word ‘dead’ in the title. It’s almost as bad as the word ‘dark’.

Conversation Starter: Gene Hackman as Gene Hackman

July 18, 2018 by Guest User in nikkolas nelson

by Nikkolas Nelson

“Don’t just call me paranoid.

Try and read between the lines…”

–Tool, “Ænima”

It’s almost unfair that The Conversation and The Godfather: Part II came out the same year, 1974. With the former, Coppola lost Best Picture to himself for the latter and he still had yet to make Apocalypse Now. It’s almost unfair, period. The Conversation is one of my favorite movies. See it if you haven’t yet—I will keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Next to Unforgiven and Prime Cut, it’s my favorite Gene Hackman performance.

That Song by Rockwell Where Michael Jackson Sings the Hook: An Analysis of A Scanner Darkly

May 05, 2017 by Guest User in nikkolas nelson

Directed by Richard Linklater (2006)
by Nikkolas Nelson

"Why the things we find beautiful undermine power?"
-El-P, “Deep Space 9mm”, Fantastic Damage

Philip K. Dick may be the most accurate science fiction writer that ever lived – at least in the sense of predicting the relationship between advanced technology and law enforcement and the impact that relationship would have on our culture. A lot of science fiction relies on, especially when compared to PKD, a naive optimism around technological advancement – the idea that humanity will live freer lives in the future thanks to teleportation and meals in pill form, etc. But PKD knew the truth. The first cultural entity that would harness the capability would be our government and their intentions would not be altruistic.

Stuck to the Tracks: An Ode to Cinema and Grandmas

March 30, 2017 by Guest User in nikkolas nelson

by Nikkolas Nelson

This is a love letter!
This is a love letter!
This is a love letter!
This is a love letter!

-The Murder City Devils, “Grace that Saves”, R.I.P.

I credit my grandmothers for my love of movies. Like many children of the 80’s and 90’s, the television was very often my babysitter. And for whatever reason, I think because I had an older brother, there was very little supervision over what I watched. I think the general parental consensus was something like, ‘Whatever older brother watches is okay for little brother and if little brother gets scared then big brother is there to comfort him.’ But how it worked the majority of the time was my brother would put a movie on, and after about five minutes, he would get bored, and go trade baseball cards and play Nintendo with our cousin, leaving little Nikki on his oddy knocky to watch whatever.

When It’s Darkest: George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead as an Indictment of Consumerism

January 18, 2017 by Guest User in nikkolas nelson

by Nikkolas Nelson

“I’m still dreaming,” is one of the first lines of dialogue uttered in George A. Romero’s 1978 masterpiece Dawn of the Dead. It’s possible that the character is simply referring to the overall state of things — this apocalypse has to be some sort of stubborn nightmare and not reality — but could also be interpreted as a moment of profound foreshadowing for the film’s subject matter. The traditional idea of The American Dream ultimately centers around consumerism: house, spouse, kids, cars, white picket fence — the best of all possible worlds. She is perhaps hoping that, despite the world obviously unraveling, that she will still be able to somehow eke out this dream, and this idea is played out with the protagonists throughout the remainder of the film.

Fright Night (1985): An Analysis of Sexual Identity...Also Vampires

November 10, 2016 by Guest User in mini-dissertations, nikkolas nelson

Directed by Tom Holland (1985)
by Nikkolas Nelson

Fright Night is an allegory, pun intended, for sexual identity and the homophobia specific to the United States circa 1985, most notably driven by the rising AIDS epidemic. Jerry Dandridge is an asexual vampire (supernatural creature) posing as a homosexual aristocrat who moves next door to 17 year-old Charley Brewster and his mother. Charley’s mother comments that “He (Jerry) has a live-in interior decorator. With my luck? Probably gay,” and this is perhaps a very intentional guise for Jerry. It potentially invites fewer questions from neighbors about his lifestyle as the years roll on without them seeing a wife and children, allowing Jerry the privacy he requires to kill people. Also, Jerry is seen consistently eating fruit. It’s a rare habit for a vampire to eat any food at all, a nod to, perhaps, the derogatory term ‘fruit’ (Jerry’s disguise) popular at the time but more specifically represents the fruit of carnal knowledge that Jerry represents; not just the knowledge of sex but also its inherent revelations of sexual identity.