Episodes
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No laptop, no #rewindwednesday. CatBusRuss is coming at you with a new movie review for another movie that was released in the last year. This week, he watched Jason Statham in “The Beekeeper”. It is essentially a solo action hero flick for the Brit which yells at you about what they did wrong with “Expend4bles” and how capitalist are awful once they inevitably sell out. Both messages we can all get behind thanks to British actors heading to Boston for a paycheck.
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CatBusRuss was left to explore what might entice an audience to his podcast. This led him to the recent Uma Thurman/Samuel L Jackson movie “The Kill Room” a comedy of errors about art dealing and money laundering. That maybe too indie a genre to investigate. To find out whether or not the “Fast & Furious” franchise met the podcast parameters is a concept for the masses.
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Missing episodes?
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Samara Weaving week concludes.
Outbreak films have been around as early as the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to say the very least, but most of these features focus on humanity being absolutely lost. Lost via body theft by aliens or demons. Individuality vanished due to a disease taking over the body and conscience. What happens when a virus removes your inhibitions and replaces it with madness? CatBusRuss investigates this idea as presented in the 1970s and the 2010s by reviewing Romero's "The Crazies", Cronenberg's "Shivers", and Joe Lynch's "Mayhem". -
Samara Weaving week continues.
Michael Dubois makes his return to the podcast to further express his admiration for Samara Weaving with a discussion about 2019's action satire, "Ready or Not". CatBusRuss goes into this thinking the film was a step down from the quality of "Bill and Ted Face the Music", but only a baby step. Is Samara the next Uma Thurman? We will find that out.
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Michael Dubois comes back to the podcast to discuss the most excellent trilogy when it comes to doing fan service right, "Bill & Ted". If only Disney had thought about giving "The Rise of Skywalker" to Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters, the galaxy would be what Rufus and Kenobi would consider tranquil. What is there not to like about these films? There is casual homophobia in the first two, but it is fleeting and these films course correct perfectly as they go along. But because of the language used, CatBusRuss deemed that this episode's conversation should be left uncensored.
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HappyBeebsMeowMeow (or just Beebs) returns to the podcast to discuss another one of her favorite movies, "The Princess Bride". A movie with Christopher Guest and Andre the Giant, how could CatBusRussâ resist?
Ninety For Chill's guest said this was a feature that she knew so well, that she did not require a rewatch. To make sure everyone was in the right headspace, CatBusRuss had the feature running as the two discussed this classic comedy. After the two gush over the brilliance of Rob Reiner's second classic (Russ has not seen "Stand By Me" or "The Sure Thing", but both fit the runtime parameters of the podcast.) they essentially enjoy a virtual viewing of the film. Please do not judge our host too harshly for his attempts to do the dialogue justice.
Russ and Beebs do their best to really understand the genius of this family classic. As Joel Siegel stated, "This is Walt Disney meets Monty Python". That is short changing the efforts of the son of Mel Brooks's original comedy partner, Carl Reiner. "The Princess Bride" is Mel Brooks's humor meets William Goldman's understanding of what makes a perfect screenplay. If Rob Reiner had more features under his belt when he directed this, he may have had the skill to make the best film of all time. The more Russ has seen it, the better it gets. Does Beebs agree?
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If there is a master of spotting subtle horror on Shudder, it is Gregory Carl. This week he suggested a film that has a horror-worthy premise with "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" featuring a 14 year-old Jodie Foster. It is a feature that turns the seemingly defenseless adolescent premise on its head while maintaining all that 1970s creepiness in all its glory.
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Perhaps the episode should have been titled, "Are @CatBusRuss & @CouchManBakes the Reitmen to Go Ghostbusting" but the pun does not feel right. Would the billing order have been right?
With "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" being released this week, our host decided to get audiences prepared with all of Ninety For Chill's conversations about "Ghostbuster" movies where the lineup is not totally female. (That is available on the previous episode "Super Mario Bros. 93 with Ta2Squid".)
We will first have the CatBus provide his positivity about "Ghostbusters: Afterlife". Then we will return to where the Champaign/Urbana podcast partnership began between Andrew Tiede and Russ Stevens. It is their conversation about Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis's cinematic influence that led to the 1984 classic "Ghostbusters".
This was before the "12 Parsecs" rule was instated, so the two proton pack enthusiasts officially record a conversation about the Bill Murray supported comedy classics "Meatballs" and "Caddyshack".
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If it is a movie adapted from a video game, you may lure out the Ta2Squid. CatBusRuss welcomes a returning Andras Bodolai to Ninety For Chill: The Podcast for a chat about what is essentially the first attempt at bringing characters from a home gaming console to the big screen, "Super Mario Bros. (1993)".
Our host's first conversation with his fellow podcaster was about 2005's "Doom". Like the John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins led movie, most do not remember that feature fondly (if at all as displayed by Kollin from the Trash Panda Podcast). But, there has not been a reclamation effort for the Dwayne Johnson film. Maybe more time needs to pass. Give it 30 years (and a billion-dollar animated feature), and Karl Urban's Doom Slayer might get his proper due.
Russ thinks a narrative might still hold the Martian-based movie back. It would not have even needed a sane one because what Dennis Hopper movies do?
CatBus and his guest discuss how this may have been a bad adaptation of the source material, but a fun mind shag of movie that walked so "Mortal Kombat" could kick ass. This Screen Drafts Marquee of Fame entrant maybe a flawed masterpiece. The direction is lacking, but this is a movie that has a crazy enough story and charming enough characters that it may have been a decade too late for when the audience would have ate this flick up. And/or, it was a decade too early which prevented meta-obsessed fanatics from appreciating it.
It definitely needs more attention since this is only the first round of the Leguizamo v. Hopper battle. Hit CatBusRuss on social media if you would like to discuss George A. Romero's "Land of the Dead".
If you find this episode interesting (despite the technical issues...and a "Ghostbusters (2016)" review), we hope you still have a DVD player because that is the only legal way to watch this underappreciated film.
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Inspired by George Miller's means to make Mel Gibson feel something in "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior", CatBusRuss addresses how you rarely go wrong by killing a dog on the big screen.
Hoping to be ready for "Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City", CatBusRuss revisits Russell Mulcahy's "Resident Evil: Extinction". This Australian-helmed feature allows him to pick the brain of ThePoeticCritic who offers some insight into Australian Exploitation cinema.
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ThePoeticCritic has always had a lot to say about the state of cinema at the moment, and she seems to appreciate the platform. The two siblings have a boundless conversation to address their favorite actors, the upcoming (2023) and previous Oscars, and hopes of fewer comic book movies.
As for movie reviews, CatBusRuss was able to watch Costas Mandylor of "Saw" fame star in a 2022 knock off of the franchise he is best known for with "Death Count". With that said, we never saw Det. Hoffmanr die. So could this be considered a spinoff?
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It is never too late to start the New Year. Some people hope to just get out of their comfort zone. That is the goal of Brandy Stonum, or should we call her HappyBeebsMeowMeow.
With a Twitch handle like that, watching a movie where a feline plays a big role seemed perfect. So CatBusRuss was able to bend the rules of the podcast a bit, Han Solo style, and allowed Henry Selick's Neil Gaiman adaptation, "Coraline", be the focus of the show.
CatBusRuss has been trying to get one of his best Champaign/Urbana pals onto the podcast since about the inception of the show. The two chat about and have watched movies in each other's company over the past couple of years, so he thought content would come naturally. Our host thought the biggest issue was just finding a movie to fit the parameters of the pod, but people can just be nervous about putting themselves out there.
This was probably true of Russ until he had to cut his first wrestling promo. There were just too many quiet goth wrestlers in Peoria. Creating a character was the only in he had.
Brandy is a few weeks from bringing her Twitch channel online, so like our film's protagonist, she has to make the online world in her image and not have it handed to her. Hopefully, we can get her back on the podcast once her channel goes live, but until then, lets revel in her cinematic intelligence and patience when it comes to dealing with the CatBus.
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ThePoeticCritic and CatBusRuss take you on a journey ranging from the Criterion Channel's Saturday Matinees for the smart kids to the directors with obsessions of dreamlike environments. The Spanish animated gem "Nocturna" and Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm St" serve as bookends to this narrative that does quite a bit of juxtaposition of features like "The Never Ending Story" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". NinetyForChill tries to capture the motivation behind Terry Gilliam's filmography in about 90 minutes.
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Jeff Goldblum maybe NinetyForChill's "In case of fire, break glass" metaphor. It is an easy means to bring ThePoeticCritic back on the show to discuss a classic sci-fi feature. (With Jim Carrey's rubberface, we would be consider that to be syfy.) The guy who was the blue alien may draw TPC out, but Peter Weller seems to have an ability to capture CatBusRuss's attention. Throw in some Clancy Brown, and he will be there. Needless to say, our host has the Shout! Factory's Steelbook of 1984's "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension", an underappreciated blueprint of how all comic book movies should operate.
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For the first time since CatBusRuss started making the annual trip to Evanston, ThePoeticCritic accompanied her little brother to B-Fest. It is a celebration of “The Best of the Worst” in motion pictures. That is a bit of hyperbole, and the two siblings will try to support that claim with there recap of the events. B-Fest at least met our host’s expectations. Bad musicals (The Apple), some deep hurting (She-Devils on Wheels), kaiju (Tammy and the T-Rex), and roller skates (The Monkey Hospital). If only there was some classic action, but we will let the elder sibling speak on that (Runaway).
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Ninety For Chill Goes to B-Fest 2022:
With "Showdown in Little Tokyo" sharing the marquee at the Norris University Center at Northwestern University, Cool Movies Darth was obligated to attempt to make it through the 24-hour, B-movie marathon that is B-Fest. He spent all 24 hours in the McCormick Auditorium, but did he watch all the movies? Sometimes, there are things so bad, you just need to shut the brain off.
B-Fest 2023: Kaiju & Blobs & Roller Disco & Dafoe Leather & Uwe BollCatBusRuss returns to Northwestern to challenge his cinematic endurance with the 40th Edition of AO B-Fest. âAmerican Ninjaâ with a crowd sounded fun, but Willem Dafoe in the âRock ân Roll Fableâ âStreets of Fireâ made it clear that this 24-hour marathon was a must attend. And surely âXanaduâsâ infamy was over blownâŠright?
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Now featuring trailers for the expected closing feature of B-Fest 2024: Tammy and the T-Rex.
It was supposed to be as simple as press play in Audacity and get 20 or so minutes of us chatting about movies. The laptop was opened and the mic was out, so neither should have been caught by surprised, but I just started recording. And then...
ThePoeticCritic became more laser focused than I have seen her and gave me over an hour of material. Oh how the tables had turned.
The first weekend of February is usually the weekend of B-Fest, an annual 24-hour movie marathon of the finest B-movies that are available to the students and staff at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Being in Chicagoland, her friends from all over the country would fly in to take part in this extended:
audience-participation version of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000; viewers are encouraged to voice their opinions of onscreen events, especially if such comments provide entertainment for the other festival attendees. (B-Fest.com)
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Andrew "CouchManBakes" Tiede makes his 2024 return to "Ninety For Chill", and once again, the feature that he wanted to chat about was just over 100 minutes long. The feature is the Robert Rodriguez directed (and Quentin Tarantino co-penned) "From Dusk Till Dawn". This of course means that to cover this feature, CouchMan and CatBusRuss must partake in a marathon.
For the most part, Rodriguez's movies have fairly tight runtimes, so our host should have had no difficulty coming up with a movie marathon dedicated to El Rey. Well, the Tex-Mex tinged James Bond tribute "Machete Kills" was just a couple of minutes too long. To assure that we still have a Danny Trejo triple feature before Midnight's main event, Russ chose to open the festivities with the Tarantino/Rodriguez produced, Robert Patrick-led, vampire-themed bank heist flick, "From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money". To justify skipping "Machete", The Six Raven Movie House still programmed the original trailer with the first feature of 2007's "Grindhouse", "Planet Terror".
Andrew has yet to program a quadruple feature for his Sasquatch Cinema House, and the trend continues. Unlike the prior marathon (The Marathon: Child's Play, Wraiths, and Other THINGs), he skipped trying to find three sub 100-minute movies and just chose bangers from Rodriguez's filmography. These are the third "El Mariachi" tale, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and his collaboration with comic book legend Frank Miller, "Sin City".
On paper, this could be a contentious podcast. We have Amber Heard versus Johnny Depp after all. If Andrew's triple feature was not enough, his cinema has just become 420 friendly. Surely it is better to go to the Russ's theater that now features an arcade for the kids? Of course, the two cannot get too heated once their shared love for "Lucha Underground" is discussed.
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As always noted on "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss", you maybe able to get a clue of what a future episode maybe about if you follow the host's Letterboxd. If that would take up too much time, then let this conversation with Andrew "CouchManBakes" Tiede about a classic vampire movie allow you to offer a prediction for February's first podcast.
Andrew Tiede and CatBusRuss investigate what maybe the spiritual sequel to "The Goonies", Joel Schumacher's "The Lost Boys". With this rewatch, our host was actually intrigued by ThePoeticCritic's opinion that this feature is nothing more than rose...should we say...blood-tinted nostalgia. Thankfully, this week's guest reminded CatBus the national treasure that is Timmy Cappello. These two eighties kids always have a ball watching this vampire feature, and throw in their parallel paths to their forties, we get some fun Cubs and wrestling themed tangents to accompany the blood sucking fun.
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So "Ninety For Chill" is addressing the Chris Klein-led "Rollerball" remake. This obviously means the past couple of weeks have been a comedy of errors for CatBusRuss. These faults include: car issues, difficulty finding guests for the show and balancing them with his dating life, and enduring another "far right" kick.
Comedy is the key term in that paragraph. The "How Did This Get Made" movie podcast will be covering John McTiernan's "Rollerball" on Friday, January 26, 2024. To get the most out of this, our host is doing his homework.
To further be on the same page as the HDTGM crew, CatBus went into his vaults to review "Blitz". This British police procedural stars patron saint of Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael's podcast, Jason Statham. In other words, Russ could not manage the time to see the latest Statham action flick, "The Beekeeper". Nothing seems to be working out for the overworked podcaster.
To further emphasize the difficulties Russ has been having, he did have another chat about the state of cinema with ThePoeticCritic. Too bad the mics were not set up ideally. But the audio can be heard with a bit of static, so it maybe worthwhile to stick through this week's featured reviews.
After two movies reviews and forty minutes of chatter, you also get to further participate in the burial of Chris Jericho. CatBus may need to get through the "Terrifier" franchise to be fair to The Ocho, but after "Albino Farm", he is left thinking that Y2J may not be able to provide any positive contributions outside of the ring.
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