Nick Rogers
@nickrogers.bsky.social
He/him/his. Editor/writer, Midwest Film Journal. Quoted by Geena Davis in her memoir. What happens next may astonish you. Or perhaps you’re too easily astonished.
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH: Like the second film, only entertaining because it's not bloated by screensaver bliss-outs.
Who'd have thought we'd ever see an action sequence filmed at the height of cinematic technology that featured Jemaine Clement? Only James Cameron.
Who'd have thought we'd ever see an action sequence filmed at the height of cinematic technology that featured Jemaine Clement? Only James Cameron.
December 2, 2025 at 6:59 AM
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH: Like the second film, only entertaining because it's not bloated by screensaver bliss-outs.
Who'd have thought we'd ever see an action sequence filmed at the height of cinematic technology that featured Jemaine Clement? Only James Cameron.
Who'd have thought we'd ever see an action sequence filmed at the height of cinematic technology that featured Jemaine Clement? Only James Cameron.
Favorite first-time watches of November:
BAD BIOLOGY
BLACK DEVIL DOLL (2007)
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT
DIE MY LOVE
FRANKENSTEIN (2025)
GHOSTWATCH
HACKING AT LEAVES
JAY KELLY
LEGEND OF HEI 2
MARTY SUPREME
NE ZHA 2
NO OTHER CHOICE
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (2025)
THE PLAGUE (2025)
1/2
BAD BIOLOGY
BLACK DEVIL DOLL (2007)
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT
DIE MY LOVE
FRANKENSTEIN (2025)
GHOSTWATCH
HACKING AT LEAVES
JAY KELLY
LEGEND OF HEI 2
MARTY SUPREME
NE ZHA 2
NO OTHER CHOICE
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (2025)
THE PLAGUE (2025)
1/2
December 2, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Favorite first-time watches of November:
BAD BIOLOGY
BLACK DEVIL DOLL (2007)
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT
DIE MY LOVE
FRANKENSTEIN (2025)
GHOSTWATCH
HACKING AT LEAVES
JAY KELLY
LEGEND OF HEI 2
MARTY SUPREME
NE ZHA 2
NO OTHER CHOICE
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (2025)
THE PLAGUE (2025)
1/2
BAD BIOLOGY
BLACK DEVIL DOLL (2007)
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT
DIE MY LOVE
FRANKENSTEIN (2025)
GHOSTWATCH
HACKING AT LEAVES
JAY KELLY
LEGEND OF HEI 2
MARTY SUPREME
NE ZHA 2
NO OTHER CHOICE
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (2025)
THE PLAGUE (2025)
1/2
Forgot to post a review of a film you've probably heard nothing about that I did for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social).
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/23/w...
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/23/w...
Wicked: For Good
The lead trio of actors are giving it their all, but there’s simply not much to rejoicify about in “Wicked: For Good.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Forgot to post a review of a film you've probably heard nothing about that I did for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social).
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/23/w...
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/23/w...
Good morning! My latest "Class of ... " essay (which looks at films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries) dives into William Friedkin's dirty-cop opus TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) essay is below.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/21/c...
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) essay is below.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/21/c...
Class of 1985: To Live and Die in L.A.
“Class of … ” — Nick Rogers’ monthly look back at films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries — continues with a reflection on 1985’s “To Live and Die in L.A.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Good morning! My latest "Class of ... " essay (which looks at films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries) dives into William Friedkin's dirty-cop opus TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) essay is below.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/21/c...
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) essay is below.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/21/c...
Good afternoon! My third and final contribution to Midwest Film Journal's (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) Higher Ed series — celebrating Ed Harris's 75th birthday — looks at his turn in 1996's THE ROCK ... as well as its outtakes.
Find my essay in the reply below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
Find my essay in the reply below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
November 20, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Good afternoon! My third and final contribution to Midwest Film Journal's (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) Higher Ed series — celebrating Ed Harris's 75th birthday — looks at his turn in 1996's THE ROCK ... as well as its outtakes.
Find my essay in the reply below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
Find my essay in the reply below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
“Marty Supreme” is “Tin Cup” on steroids and cocaine, and that is one of the highest compliments I can give.
November 20, 2025 at 2:58 AM
“Marty Supreme” is “Tin Cup” on steroids and cocaine, and that is one of the highest compliments I can give.
JAY KELLY offers a coming-of-age-at-old-age story that avoids treacly sentiment & achieves resonance without resorting to a redemptive arc.
Find my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply. It's in limited theatrical release Friday & premieres Dec. 5 on Netflix.
Find my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply. It's in limited theatrical release Friday & premieres Dec. 5 on Netflix.
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
JAY KELLY offers a coming-of-age-at-old-age story that avoids treacly sentiment & achieves resonance without resorting to a redemptive arc.
Find my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply. It's in limited theatrical release Friday & premieres Dec. 5 on Netflix.
Find my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply. It's in limited theatrical release Friday & premieres Dec. 5 on Netflix.
All month long at Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), we're celebrating Ed Harris's 75th birthday. Here's my second of three contributions to the series, looking back at his terrific turn as a monstrous mobster in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/17/h...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/17/h...
Higher Ed: A History of Violence
Higher Ed — Midwest Film Journal’s monthlong celebration of Ed Harris’s 75th birthday — continues with Nick Rogers’ look at Harris’s turn as menacing mobster Carl Fogarty in “A History of Violence.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:56 PM
All month long at Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), we're celebrating Ed Harris's 75th birthday. Here's my second of three contributions to the series, looking back at his terrific turn as a monstrous mobster in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/17/h...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/17/h...
All month at Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), we're celebrating Ed Harris's upcoming 75th birthday w/ a retrospective series on his work called "Higher Ed."
Here's my entry on the 1995 thriller JUST CAUSE.
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/12/h...
Here's my entry on the 1995 thriller JUST CAUSE.
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/12/h...
Higher Ed: Just Cause (1995)
Higher Ed — Midwest Film Journal’s monthlong celebration of Ed Harris’s 75h birthday — continues with Nick Rogers’ reflection on his scene-stealing turn in 1995’s otherwise forgettable “Just Cause.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
All month at Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), we're celebrating Ed Harris's upcoming 75th birthday w/ a retrospective series on his work called "Higher Ed."
Here's my entry on the 1995 thriller JUST CAUSE.
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/12/h...
Here's my entry on the 1995 thriller JUST CAUSE.
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/12/h...
While the presentation of porridge is all over the place and never just right, TRAP HOUSE gets points for an absurdly audacious premise.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, opening in limited theatrical release Friday.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/10/t...
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, opening in limited theatrical release Friday.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/10/t...
Trap House
The presentation of porridge is all over the place and certainly never just right, but “Trap House” gets points for an absurdly audacious premise.
midwestfilmjournal.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
While the presentation of porridge is all over the place and never just right, TRAP HOUSE gets points for an absurdly audacious premise.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, opening in limited theatrical release Friday.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/10/t...
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, opening in limited theatrical release Friday.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/10/t...
Last (and least) of this week's reviews: NUREMBERG, a stunningly boring and poorly acted (outside of Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring) slice of docudrama.
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social):
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/06/n...
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social):
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/06/n...
November 6, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Last (and least) of this week's reviews: NUREMBERG, a stunningly boring and poorly acted (outside of Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring) slice of docudrama.
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social):
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/06/n...
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social):
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/11/06/n...
And although it's sure to suffer a quick commercial demise, DIE MY LOVE is proof of life for fans of big-swinging, esoteric-but-empathetic character studies as dramatically revealing as they are raucously funny.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply.
November 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM
And although it's sure to suffer a quick commercial demise, DIE MY LOVE is proof of life for fans of big-swinging, esoteric-but-empathetic character studies as dramatically revealing as they are raucously funny.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply.
My Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review in the reply.
Movie review time. Sydney Sweeney delivers a solid but unsurprising turn as boxer Christy Salters in CHRISTY, the sort of by-the-numbers biopic you've gone 12 rounds with before.
In the reply, my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, in theatres Friday.
In the reply, my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, in theatres Friday.
November 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Movie review time. Sydney Sweeney delivers a solid but unsurprising turn as boxer Christy Salters in CHRISTY, the sort of by-the-numbers biopic you've gone 12 rounds with before.
In the reply, my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, in theatres Friday.
In the reply, my Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) review of the film, in theatres Friday.
My friend & colleague Evan Dossey (edossmfj.bsky.social) was kind enough to give the closing slot of Midwest Film Journal's (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) 2025 No Sleep October to a piece that may take you the better part of an hour:
My comprehensive ranking of all 15 PUPPET MASTER films!
🧵1/2
My comprehensive ranking of all 15 PUPPET MASTER films!
🧵1/2
October 31, 2025 at 4:09 PM
My friend & colleague Evan Dossey (edossmfj.bsky.social) was kind enough to give the closing slot of Midwest Film Journal's (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) 2025 No Sleep October to a piece that may take you the better part of an hour:
My comprehensive ranking of all 15 PUPPET MASTER films!
🧵1/2
My comprehensive ranking of all 15 PUPPET MASTER films!
🧵1/2
Now streaming on Netflix, BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER aspires to be something like "Uncut Gems" but instead plays like "Uncut Cubic Zirconia." My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) is below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/b...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/b...
Ballad of a Small Player
Wants to be “Uncut Gems,” is “Uncut Cubic Zirconia.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Now streaming on Netflix, BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER aspires to be something like "Uncut Gems" but instead plays like "Uncut Cubic Zirconia." My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) is below. Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/b...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/b...
This month's "Class of ... " essay for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) looks back at STRANGE DAYS, a sprawling sci-fi epic from 1995 that has James Cameron's fingerprints all over it (sometimes for worse but mostly better.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/c...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/c...
Class of 1995: Strange Days
“Class of … ” — Nick Rogers’ monthly look back at films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries — continues with a reflection on 1995’s “Strange Days.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This month's "Class of ... " essay for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) looks back at STRANGE DAYS, a sprawling sci-fi epic from 1995 that has James Cameron's fingerprints all over it (sometimes for worse but mostly better.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/c...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/28/c...
If you're a fan of grimy late-'70s / early-'80s New York exploitation like me and you've NOT seen NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER, it's a must-watch and Kino Lorber has done a great 4K restoration.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/23/k...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/23/k...
Kino Lorber: Night of the Juggler 4K
The underheralded New York classic “Night of the Juggler” gets a wonderful 4K restoration from Kino Lorber.
midwestfilmjournal.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
If you're a fan of grimy late-'70s / early-'80s New York exploitation like me and you've NOT seen NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER, it's a must-watch and Kino Lorber has done a great 4K restoration.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/23/k...
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/10/23/k...
My friend & colleague Evan Dossey (edossmfj.bsky.social) had a great conversation w/ ANOTHER friend & colleague, Richard Propes (richardpropes.bsky.social), and director / producer Andie Redwine, on THE TENDERNESS TOUR, a documentary w/ a world premiere Saturday at the 34th Heartland Film Festival.
October 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
My friend & colleague Evan Dossey (edossmfj.bsky.social) had a great conversation w/ ANOTHER friend & colleague, Richard Propes (richardpropes.bsky.social), and director / producer Andie Redwine, on THE TENDERNESS TOUR, a documentary w/ a world premiere Saturday at the 34th Heartland Film Festival.
Kathryn Bigelow brings her inimitably intense visual urgency to A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE. But screenwriter Noah Oppenheim's trick play w/ the nuclear football & atypically stiff performances drain all the tension.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
October 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Kathryn Bigelow brings her inimitably intense visual urgency to A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE. But screenwriter Noah Oppenheim's trick play w/ the nuclear football & atypically stiff performances drain all the tension.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Streaming on Apple TV+ tomorrow, THE LOST BUS is a solid-enough tale of real-life rescue — elevated more by its elite visual effects than eh-so-so interpersonal dramas with Matthew McConaughey or America Ferrera.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
October 2, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Streaming on Apple TV+ tomorrow, THE LOST BUS is a solid-enough tale of real-life rescue — elevated more by its elite visual effects than eh-so-so interpersonal dramas with Matthew McConaughey or America Ferrera.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Find my review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social) in the reply.
Modelo really needs to lean into "a few small beers."
September 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Modelo really needs to lean into "a few small beers."
In theatres Friday, GOOD BOY is a satisfying under-the-collar scratch of dog-based horror that dives into deeper, sometimes darker dynamics of human-dog bonds.
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social). Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/29/g...
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social). Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/29/g...
Good Boy (2025)
Without resorting to empty shocks or cheap tactics, “Good Boy” gets under the collar for a deep, satisfying dog-based horror scratch.
midwestfilmjournal.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
In theatres Friday, GOOD BOY is a satisfying under-the-collar scratch of dog-based horror that dives into deeper, sometimes darker dynamics of human-dog bonds.
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social). Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/29/g...
My review for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social). Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/29/g...
Here's my latest piece in my "Class of ..." series for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), highlighting films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries.
Up this month is arguably the greatest Chuck Norris film ever made: INVASION U.S.A.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/26/c...
Up this month is arguably the greatest Chuck Norris film ever made: INVASION U.S.A.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/26/c...
Class of 1985: Invasion U.S.A.
“Class of … ” — Nick Rogers’ monthly feature in which he looks back at a film celebrating a 20th, 30th or 40th anniversary — continues with a reflection on 1985’s “Invasion U.S.A.”…
midwestfilmjournal.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Here's my latest piece in my "Class of ..." series for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social), highlighting films celebrating 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries.
Up this month is arguably the greatest Chuck Norris film ever made: INVASION U.S.A.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/26/c...
Up this month is arguably the greatest Chuck Norris film ever made: INVASION U.S.A.
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/26/c...
And here's my review of CODE 3 for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social).
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/c...
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/c...
Code 3
A lacerating satire about American healthcare that deeply invests you in the intimate, insistent and indispensable pathology of the parts at which it pokes.
midwestfilmjournal.com
September 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
And here's my review of CODE 3 for Midwest Film Journal (midwestfilmjournal.bsky.social).
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/c...
Read, comment, share, enjoy!
midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/c...
Excited to share coverage of a film opening nationwide with roots in my old stomping grounds of Springfield, Illinois.
CODE 3 is a paramedic dramedy w/ Rainn Wilson & Lil Rel Howery in theatres tomorrow. It's co-written by Patrick Pianezza (patrickpianezza.bsky.social), who drew from years of
🧵1/4
CODE 3 is a paramedic dramedy w/ Rainn Wilson & Lil Rel Howery in theatres tomorrow. It's co-written by Patrick Pianezza (patrickpianezza.bsky.social), who drew from years of
🧵1/4
September 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Excited to share coverage of a film opening nationwide with roots in my old stomping grounds of Springfield, Illinois.
CODE 3 is a paramedic dramedy w/ Rainn Wilson & Lil Rel Howery in theatres tomorrow. It's co-written by Patrick Pianezza (patrickpianezza.bsky.social), who drew from years of
🧵1/4
CODE 3 is a paramedic dramedy w/ Rainn Wilson & Lil Rel Howery in theatres tomorrow. It's co-written by Patrick Pianezza (patrickpianezza.bsky.social), who drew from years of
🧵1/4