Phil wishes you all a Happy New Year!! - January 1, 2019

At the Cinequest Film Festival in March 2018.

Hello everyone out there on the internet and welcome to 2019!! Hard to believe that another year has gone into the history books! Now granted, the state of the world of 2018 was very bleak, which was reflected and referenced in many of the movies I watched. In these dark times, we look towards the world of art to see its commentary and views of life, love, and the political and social issues that have plagued this country, especially since November 2016. Overall, it was an interesting year; a year full of great movies, surprises, and losses.

As I mentioned in past posts, the Bay Area institution The Camera Cinemas officially closed all its locations in 2017, marking the end of an era of movie going experiences for many film lovers like myself. Basically, they went out of business, and I was completely devastated by this news. The Camera Cinemas played a pivotal and vital role not only for this blog, but on myself as well. They were the only place I could see the very best in independent cinema, documentaries, foreign film, as well as spotlight local films, artists, and film festivals like the Cinequest Film Festival and CASMFest. They were so important to the landscape of the Downtown San Jose area that, truth be told, hasn’t been filled yet. In 2018, both the Pruneyard Campbell and Downtown SJ reopened as new film theaters, with Csmera Cinemas co-founder Jack Nybloom being part owner in both businesses. The old Camera 7 reopened in the summer as the brand-new Pruneyard Dine-In Cinemas, completely remolded and refurnished with new reclining leather chairs, enhanced visuals and surround sound, and a restaurant Cedar Room (formerly the old Boswell Bar) as part of theater, providing very delicious meals and tasty drinks for the moviegoers. I had the pleasure of seeing some movies there and I did have a very positive experience, the old Camera 7 is still there with me. Same was said with the Camera 3 Cinemas on the corner of Second Street and San Carlos in downtown. It was reopened in February as the 3Below Theaters & Lounge, picking up where the Camera 3 left off. It’s still the home for the Comedy Sportz Impov Comedy Group, the midnight screenings of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with my friends The Barely Legal shadowcast, an home for some of the best indie, foreign, and documentaries from all over the world. Now owned by Nyblom and with the former owners of the long gone Retro Dome in Saratoga, they added some new ingredients to the theater, namely retrospectives of classic Hollywood movies, and stage plays as well. So as the old saying goes, "Everything that’s old is new again." While I’m sad to say goodbye to the Camera Cinemas, it’s nice to welcome both the 3Below Theaters and the PrunyDine-In Cinemas to my movie going world!

After the Camera Cinemas closed, I frequented another local theater business, which also went through some renovations last year as well. The Cinelux Theaters have also been a staple here in the Bay Area, and I was more than happy to give them my support. I saw a plethora of movies at my three favorite locations: the Cinelux Alamden Cafe & Lounge in San Jose, Cinelux Plaza Theatre in Campbell, and the Cinelux Tennant Station Stadium 11 in Morgan Hill. Established over 50 years ago, the Cinelux Theateres are a great alternative to the overwhelming mall theaters, and they support several local organizations and international charities like March of Dimes, The Second Harvest Food Bank, and UNICEF for example. So if you’d like to support local businesses and are a cinema lover, then please visit your local Cinelux Theatres!!

With 2019, a wide array of works of art has now become part of the public domain, especially silent films. This is very good news for my friends over at the Niles Essany Silent Film Museum, which I came back as a volunteer and docent. It felt good to be back to one of my favorite places in the Bay Area, having been part of the museum family since 2006! We had a lot of great shows in 2018. Some of the highlights for me were the annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival, Charlie Chaplin Day weekend, our DVD release party for the museum’s silent film BRONCHO BILLY AMD THE BANDIT’S SECRET. Originally titled THE CANYON, the movies took four years to complete, and was made using the old hand cranked film cameras from the museum and was shot on Kodak black and white 35mm filmstock. The final cut looked absolutely stunning! It looked like it came straight from the silent film era! It was incredible to see, and I was so happy to get it on DVD! And now with copyright expired, many of the movies we have in our film vault can now be exhibited without the monetary constrainments that prevented the museum from screening them. So keep your eyes peeled to the museum’s website for some awesome silent film shows in the new year!!

 Then there are all the films that are now available on a plethora of streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my personal favorite, Shudder. So many great films either fly under the radar or don't get to be screened at movie theaters, and therefore, having these media outlets gives the filmmakers a chance for an audience to find and watch their movies. And if this means watching a movie on my TV, iPad, or iPhone, then so be it! I just want the opportunity to view films that I wouldn't be able to see any other way. Not only that, but I'll be reviewing a lot of cool movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to indie films, cult classics to porno chic, comedy and GLBTQ films. You name it and I'll be watching and reviewing it!

As you can see, I'm gonna be very busy and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll have some other surprises that'll make you want to come back over and over again. So get ready folks for one hell of a ride in 2019!!

Thank you all out there who have been reading and supporting my blog. I don't get paid doing this. I do it for the fun of it. I'm a film fanatic, cinephile, movie junkie, whatever you want to call me. So I hope you'll stick around another year as I bring you another year of reviews, fun and adventures!

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

Phil wishes you all a Happy New Year!! - January 1, 2018

At the VICTOR CROWLEY screening in Monterey.

Happy New Year everybody!! Well, another year has come and gone. While I didn't blog as much I would have liked to, I still saw a lot of films last year. Plus my life changed again. I moved back down to San Jose, I'm getting ready to go back to my old career and I'm watching movies at new theaters. So like the old saying goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

However, 2018 will be another fun-filled year! With the loss of the Camera Cinemas (the Camera 12, Camera 3 and the Camera 7 all closed in the last two years) as well as the Bluelight Cinema, I'll be seeing films more at the Cinelux Theaters, which is another locally owned business that I'll be supporting quite a bit. The old Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose will be re-opening as 3 Below, which will pick up where the Camera 3 left off, including the midnight screenings of THE ROCKY PICTURE SHOW with my friends The Barely Legal gang!! Also, I'll be going to the Cinemark Century Theaters as well as the AMC Theaters to watch my movies.

Not only that, but I'll be reviewing a lot of cool movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to indie films, cult classics to porno chic, comedy and GLBTQ films. You name it and I'll be watching and reviewing it!

With me being back home, I'll also be attending all my favorite film festivals and events, including the Cinequest Film Festival, CAAMFest, The San Francisco Silent Film Festival, The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and the Peaches Christ shows!!

As you can see, I'm gonna be very busy and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll have some other surprises that'll make you want to come back over and over again. So get ready folks for one hell of a ride in 2018!!

Thank you all out there who have been reading and supporting my blog. I don't get paid doing this. I do it for the fun of it. I'm a film fanatic, cinephile, movie junkie, whatever you want to call me. So I hope you'll stick around another year as I bring you another year of reviews, fun and adventures!

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

Phil's Halloween Horrors Marathon, Day 9: Phil reviews JESSICKA RABID (2010) DVD from Troma Entertainment-October 9, 2012

JESSICKA RABID DVD Cover (2012)

JESSICKA RABID
Starring: Elske McCain, Trent Hagga, Jeff Sisson, Jason Foster, Cisiany Oliver
Written by Matthew Reel and Elske McCain
Produced by Elske McCain, Matthew Reel, Cisiany Oliver, Faith Preston
Directed by Matthew Reel
A Dahlia Jade Productions
Distributed by Troma Entertainment

My Halloween Horrors Marathon continues with Day Nine! The very first Troma movies I ever saw occurred on a Saturday night in February of 1992. I saw the TOXIC AVENGER trilogy on the USA cable show Up All Night and I immediately became, as we fans like to say, Troma-tized! Overnight I became a rabid Troma fan and proceeded to rent, watch, and own just about every single Troma movie in the universe. Now a lot of them are fantastic, while others are just abysmal. But every now and then they release a film that really catches me off guard and I completely become enthralled with it. With their newest release JESSICKA RABID, I have never seen such a brutal, ugly, and ferocious film like this before, and I loved it!

The film stars Elske McCain (who also co-wrote the film and is the first film she produced for her own production company Dahlia Jade Productions) as the mute, slow, and slightly deranged Jessica, whose family members keep her locked up in a large doggy cage in the garage. Her incestuous, inbred, white trash, redneck cousins Marley (Troma alum Trent Hagga) and Brad (Jeff Sisson) treat her like an unwanted and neglected pet. They feed her dog food, hose her down from time to time to clean her, drag her around on a leash, take her outside so she can urinate, rape her, and stripped her of what little humanity she had left. However Jessica escapes from her captivity and soon she's "biting off more than the hand that feeds her!"

What I love about the film is its look and feel. Director Matthew Reel and McCain really delivered a true underground cinema masterpiece. Filmed on location in Tuscon, Arizona, the film's gritty and grainy look is an amalgam of home movies, grindhouse movies, and a snuff film shot in an avant garde, documentary style. Some of the scenes are very disturbing and hard to watch; seeing poor Jessica being kept in a dog cage and then raped by her own cousin stands out the most in my mind. There are also some powerful POV shots of Brad, looking gleefully deranged while he beats and rapes his cousin Abby (Cisiany Oliver). Reel doesn't shy away from the graphic violence and instead shows us all the ugliness within the film as well as with each and every one of these characters. These people make the Firefly family from Rob Zombie's THE DEVIL'S REJECTS  look like THE WALTONS.

Retro Grindhouse Style Poster (2011)

McCain is just amazing in the film. While she has no lines in the film, she communicates to us with her expressions: her eyes are at times curious, afraid, and violent. The scene where Marley takes her outside on her leash so she can pee, that's real. In the behind the scenes featurette, McCain is really squatting outside peeing! Now that is method acting right there! I doubt any big time Hollywood actress would go that far in any of their roles. And I doubt any of them would strip down naked and get hosed down like she did. Elske McCain is also one of the sexiest new indie horror actresses ever to grace the small screen. Let me just say that she could give Mae West a run for her money.

Seeing Hagga again in another Troma film was just the icing on the cake (his last appearance was in CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER PART IV). His portrayal of Marley was so damn incredible as well as believable. I really disliked his character, which proves Hagga's acting talent. If you don't hate the main antagonist, then your film doesn't work. Both Hagga and McCain will be appearing together again (along with Jenny Spain from the indie horror film DEADGIRL) in her new upcoming film IS ANYONE THERE? The film will be her second feature for Dahlia Jade Productions and will begin production later this year. McCain will also be writing the script and directing the film is newcomer Hugh Jordon. Also Hagga made his directorial debut with his new film CHOP, which was just recently released on DVD so be sure to look for it on the shelves at your local retailer.

The DVD has some very cool special features. Among them are the formentioned behind the scenes featurette, behind the scenes slide show, exclusive Elske McCain slideshow, audio commentary, film's trailer, the Lloyd Kaufman outtakes, digital JESSICKA RABID comic, Lloyd Kaufman's interviews with Trent Hagga, a transvestite PSA from the film TERROR FIRMER, and Troma trailers for FATHER'S DAY, MR. BRICKS, THE TOXIC AVENGER, and POULTRYGEST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD.

JESSICKA RABID is my vote for best underground film! The film is a powerful statement that the spirit of independent filmmaking is alive and well and that you too can make your own film. The movie's not for the faint at heart, but if you're brave enough to watch it, you'll be seeing one hell of an exploitation movie! 5 out of 5 stars! Highly recommended!

JESSICKA RABID is currently available on DVD and can be purchased at your local retailer or on the Troma website. Visit www.troma.com to order a copy for yourself today!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the screaming!

Phil reviews JESSICKA RABID for The Midnight Horror Sinema Show- January 16, 2012

OK so you my have noticed that I've been busy reviewing a lot of cool horror movies on my other film blog The Midnight Horror Sinema Show. The main reason is that there are a plethora of really cool horror films that I must watch and report back to you my fellow creatures of the night. My newest review in on Troma Entertainment's latest DVD release JESSICKA RABID. The film was co-written, co-produced and starred Elske McCain and Trent Hagga. The film was directed by Matthew Reel and was shot on location in Tuscon, Arizona. The film is the perfect blend of underground cinema, home movies, and suff film and is one of the most disturbing film I have seen in a long time. Of course I loved it, so if you're feeling brave tonight, I dare you to watch this film. And be warned, this film is not for the faint of heart. So click here to read about it and see if you can handle this film.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!