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Only now does it occur to me... SUBURBAN COMMANDO (1991)
Only now does it occur to me... that SUBURBAN COMMANDO––which takes ample inspiration from the original STAR WARS trilogy––may have brought inspiration to George Lucas himself.The opening shot appears...
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R.I.P., Cloris Leachman
R.I.P. to one of the all-time greats, and an actress to whom I've always wanted to devote more time here at Junta Juleil. You can read more about her sublime performances in SOMEONE I TOUCHED, CRAZY...
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Only now does it occur to me... BEST OF THE BEST (1989)
Only now does it occur to me... that BEST OF THE BEST (not to be confused with the Milli Vanilli album) is practically a lost Cannon film––a South Korea vs. U.S.A. martial arts tournament movie packed...
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"The Fixed Umbrella" in Gargoyle Magazine
My latest short story, "The Fixed Umbrella," has been published in issue #73 of the legendary D.C. literary journal Gargoyle Magazine, whose past contributors include Ray Bradbury, Kathy Acker, and...
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Only now does it occur to me... CHASERS (1994)
Only now does it occur to me... that Dennis Hopper slides a nice little homage to his friend and collaborator David Lynch in his "THE LAST DETAIL-reimagined-as-a-90s-comedy" road movie, CHASERS. The...
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Only now does it occur to me... MURDER BY DECREE (1979)
Only now does it occur to me... that if we were staging a March Madness-style tournament of Donald Sutherland mustaches, I do believe we've found our number one seed. To quote Kurt Russell, who wore a...
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R.I.P., Yaphet Kotto
R.I.P. to the inimitable Yaphet Kotto, whose rogue's gallery of bold, funny, scary, lovable, and offbeat characters left an indelible mark on studio pictures, the art house, and genre film alike. He's...
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Only now does it occur to me... DOUBLE IMPACT (1991)
Only now does it occur to me... that DOUBLE IMPACT takes us but one step closer to the ultimate dream: a movie inhabited only by Jean-Claude Van Dammes.Sadly, this step is not enough. Honestly, this is...
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Only now does it occur to me... PERFECT STRANGERS, "COUCH POTATO" (3x10) (1987)
Only now does it occur to me... that nestled within a "very special episode" of PERFECT STRANGERS (devoted to Balki's slow, spiraling descent into severe TV addiction) is a deep cut homage to Arnold...
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Film Review: THE NEXT KARATE KID (1994, Christopher Cain)
Stars: 2 of 5.Running Time: 107 minutes. Notable Cast or Crew: Hilary Swank (BOYS DON'T CRY, MILLION DOLLAR BABY), Pat Morita (THE KARATE KID, COLLISION COURSE), Michael Ironside (TOTAL RECALL,...
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Only now does it occur to me... THE BOYFRIEND SCHOOL (1990)
Only now does it occur to me... that there's an incredibly specific TWIN PEAKS homage secreted within the awkward makeover rom-com THE BOYFRIEND SCHOOL (originally released as DON'T TELL HER IT'S ME)....
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STAR WARS at Junta Juleil
In honor of May the 4th, I thought I'd assemble a roundup of STAR WARS-related posts here at Junta Juleil:There was the time I explored the font on Shelley Winters' name in CLEOPATRA JONES, and whether...
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R.I.P., Tawny Kitaen
R.I.P. to Tawny Kitaen, who was more than "a video vixen" or a "BACHELOR PARTY co-star," even if it was by lightly gyrating upon the hoods of expensive cars in Whitesnake videos that she was catapulted...
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Only now does it occur to me... GREASE 2 (1982)
Only now does it occur to me... that in an alternate universe where GREASE 1 commands no "classic" status nor cultural cachet, and audiences were forced to evaluate the GREASE films on their own...
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R.I.P., Clarence Williams III
R.I.P. to Clarence Williams III. Best known to audiences for THE MOD SQUAD, he was a former paratrooper, brilliant stage performer, and character actor who brought a singular intensity and scary fun to...
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Only now does it occur to me... EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY (1988)
Only now does it occur to me... okay, bear with me here. As you may know, I derive great joy from analyzing/grasping at harebrained pop cultural narratives, rivalries, curiosities, and other ephemera....
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Only now does it occur to me... V: THE FINAL BATTLE (1984)
Only now does it occur to me... well, before I get ahead of myself, I'd be remiss if I didn't say a few words about the "V" franchise. An anti-fascist alien invasion adventure inspired by Sinclair...
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Only now does it occur to me... V: THE SERIES, "THE SANCTION" (1x5) (1984)
Only now does it occur to me... that I've finally discovered the "real" Cobra Kai. Allow me to explain.If you're new to the "V" series, you could start by reading my initial post on the subject which,...
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Only now does it occur to me... VIRTUOSITY (1995)
Only now does it occur to me... that VIRTUOSITY (1995) is perhaps Ridley Scott's favorite movie.What––you don't believe me? That a film directed by Brett Leonard (THE LAWNMOWER MAN, SIEGFRIED AND ROY:...
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Only now does it occur to me... PERFECT STRANGERS, "BLACK WIDOW" (6x10) (1990)
Only now does it occur to me... that PERFECT STRANGERS made a TWIN PEAKS joke at a very intriguing time. In this particular episode, Larry (Mark Linn-Baker) has become convinced that his cousin Balki's...
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