John Jenkins Movies
- 1995
A 19th-century British naturalist falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, but he soon discovers that her family's perfect facade disguises unexpectedly grim secrets. Director and co-screenwriter Philip Haas's adaptation of A.S. Byatt's Morpho Eugenio eschews the usual gentility of Victorian period pieces in favor of subtle creepiness. The unsettling mood is emphasized by the film's detailed attention to its protagonist's scientific endeavors, which center on the study of insects and their behavior. In fact, it is his love of insects that brings William (Mark Rylance) to the well-heeled Reverend Alabaster (Jeremy Kemp), who takes a personal interest in William's welfare when a shipwreck leaves William practically penniless. William is welcomed into the Alabaster home, and he resumes his entomological studies while courting the reverend's daughter, Eugenia (Patsy Kensit). Close-up glimpses of insect society parallel this aristocratic world and hint at the dark secrets with which William soon becomes unexpectedly familiar. As in Haas's previous film, The Music of Chance, an unusual, highly symbolic filmmaking approach creates an effective drama, with the potentially detached intellectualism balanced by unusual characterizations and an absorbing attention to detail. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
Can a rough and tumble hockey player and a snooty ice dancer find love and a gold medal at the same time? That's the burning (or more appropriately freezing) question in this romantic drama. Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is a world-class figure skater training for the Olympics; she has genuine talent, but years of being spoiled by her wealthy family have made her all but impossible to work with. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is a hockey player with drive, skill, and a full complement of arrogance; his team is also on the fast track to the Olympics. Unfortunately, an eye injury suffered during a game affects Doug's peripheral vision enough to put him on the bench for the rest of the season. At the same time, Kate's colossal ego scares off yet another skating partner, and her coach, Anton (Roy Dotrice), needs to find a replacement as soon as possible. Desperate to stay in Olympic competition, Doug agrees to try working as Kate's partner, even though he has a hockey player's macho contempt for figure skating. Needless to say, the first few practices between Kate and Doug do not go well, but in time they learn to work together and become a pair to be reckoned with both on and off the ice. The Cutting Edge was released within a few months of the 1992 Winter Olympic Games. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- D.B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, (more)
- 1987
- R
A macho misogynist meets his match in this independent comedy-drama. Shortly before Christmas, Eddie Jenks (John Jenkins) gets a call from his old friend Billy Regis (Chris Mulkey). Billy has just learned that his girlfriend Patti Rocks (Karen Landry) is pregnant; Patti doesn't know that Billy already has a wife and two kids, and Billy wants Eddie to lend moral support for what he expects to be an ugly scene when he breaks the news to her. Over the course of a long drive, Billy regales Eddie at great length with his low opinion of women in general and Patti in particular, but when Eddie finally encounters Patti in the flesh, he discovers an intelligent, down-to-earth woman rather than the slatternly slob he'd been led to expect. As it turns out, Patti already figured out that Billy was married, wants no help from him in raising the child (which she intends to keep), and refuses to be apologetic about pursuing sex when she wants it, the same way a man would. Chris Mulkey and John Jenkins previously appeared as Billy and Eddie in David Burton Morris's 1975 feature Loose Ends. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Mulkey, John Jenkins, (more)
- 1975
In this low-budget drama, Eddie (John Jenkins) and Billy (Chris Mulkey) are two regular-guy mechanics whose ambitions in life don't go far beyond drinking a few beers and shooting a few rounds of pool. However, both sometimes think that something is missing from their existence, and they occasionally talk about leaving their old lives behind and starting over. One night, Eddie buys a Great Dane as a pet for his young son, which sparks an argument with his wife; Eddie packs a bag and decides to stay with Billy for a while, and before long, the two decide that they should pull up stakes and move to another town. Loose Ends began as a student film co-directed by David Burton Morris and Victoria Wozniak, both of whom went on to careers working in television; Morris also directed the well-regarded independent film Purple Haze. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Mulkey, John Jenkins, (more)
