I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss

CatBusRuss and ThePoeticCritic are going to be hosting panels at Quad Cities Comic Convention, so they are going back to the vault to offer up a sample of their rapport. Our host also wants to celebrate Ani-May, but the two siblings have not focused on any anime from their past conversations on the podcast. But they can honor the Land of the Rising Sun with the big sister's love for the Queen and King of the Monsters. This episode is dedicated to their first tussle in 1964, "Mothra vs. Godzilla".Good on Japan for giving the lass top billing.Russ still wanted to attach some anime flair for this 2022 chat. Unfortunately, he does not have any giant-kaiju Japanese animation in his physical media or digital collections. But if the big green lizard can go toe-to-toe with a mechanical version of himself, it is not too much of a stretch to review a mecha anime. Thus, he pulled out his DVD of the motion picture sequel to one of his favorite nineties giant robot comedies, "Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness (1998)".Because sometimes, you just have to get rid of the overly dramatic taste of Gundam. Thankfully, there is a cartoon about mech pilots who love the over-the-top seventies robot shows to do that.If you want something for you taste buds, try a flavor from ⁠⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reality may be getting the best of CatBusRuss. The search for full-time employment has sprouted some leads, but it left our podcast host so exhausted, he may have lost a week. He was doing his best to have the energy to check out the final Ebertfest. Unfortunately, the focus of regaining that power led him to think Champaign's film festival was a week later. Thankfully, parking was free the Friday when Russ arrived at the Virginia Theater to see the Academy Award Winning feature "Get Out". So it was not that much of a gut punch when he found all the lights to be out. He should have gone home to prepare for his early Saturday shift, but he had done his hair up, was smelling good, loaded himself up with "I Dig Crazy Flicks" buttons. It would be a wasted effort not to go to a cinema that was open.This led CatBus to see "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" during its last weekend on the big screen. He and Michael Dubois both enjoyed the original "Ready or Not", so he was expecting a good time. It was just a weird day in the sense that he watched another African-American focused film, "Black Dynamite" to get in the right mind set to watch Jordan Peele's debut film.Russ had always been hesitant about revisiting this Michael Jai White film because, when he first saw it, he thought it was perfect. Why risk staining those memories? Since our host was asking himself that, he decided to also muster up the courage to rewatch "Dude, Where's My Car?".It was a movie where he may have left being the biggest fan of this 2000 flick after watching it with his classmates during their college days. All of them would tell you that was out of character for him. People do change, but does Russ really want to?If you want to make a great change to your snacking routine, try a flavor from ⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

1985 action cinema may have provided the most powerful heroes in fiction. Who would be the last man standing if they were to all enter a melee? It would be a better battle than anything involving Super Saiyans, Nameks, and weird earthlings. "I Dig Crazy Flicks Presents: The 1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match".Could Goku defeat Chuck Norris? If Vegeta could get up to a power level of 9000, what the hell was Sylvester Stallone's level when he beat the Vietcong and Ivan Drago in the same year? Androids with numbers in the teens cannot take out Arnold "T-800" Schwarzenegger.CatBusRuss⁠ and ⁠"Couchman Bakes" Andrew Tiede⁠ may have been the only two presenters at ⁠UI-Con 2026⁠ who were not focused on anime. The two have their favorites Japanese animated series ("Evangelion" & "Dragon Ball" respectively), but when they were kids in the 1980s, those series were not exactly abundant in the United States.The heroes for these two Midwesterners with Gen X attitudes were from cartoons based on toys. Toy lines that may have been the offspring of the most violent cinema. All boys owned at least one "⁠Rambo⁠" toy from Coleco, probably picked up from a K-Mart. And most of these kids tried set them against "Star Wars" and "G.I. Joe". Those with greater imaginations may have had them challenge "Transformers" and LJN's Wrestling Superstars.Maybe Rambo would go "My Little Pony" hunting.In Reagan's '80s, violence was something to be celebrated. 1985 was the peak of that mayhem. Who would not want to know which action star was the baddest? Russ and Andrew hoped their Central Illinois audience would help them determine the answer.Was it going to just be a battle between Arnie and Sly? Or did the Cannon Group's ability to make five action movies for the price of a single flick from the icons too much for them to handle?Were the two hosts afraid to bring in the glow of "The Last Dragon"? Was that the ultimate power in 1985? Can we sleep on the Shogun of Harlem?What about ⁠Sho Kosugi⁠'s ninjitsu? CatBusRuss further researched this when he watched "Nine Deaths of the Ninja". It was a weird watch, but shows the range that the greatest cinematic ninja had that year when compared to "Pray for Death". Are these two flicks going to make Sho the winner?If you want to feel like a winner, try a flavor from ⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss has made it back from Springfield, MO. How did the "1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match" hold up to the power of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Brent Spiner & Jonathan Frakes's panel? Spoiler: Riker is still "Number One".But, there was an audience for Russ's final panel at Missouri Comic Con 2026. This includes a mother who let her son in Eric Cartman cosplay check it out solely for the punch and pie. It was a lesson for our host to realize how old he really is. After the mother and her kid left, he was the oldest person until the cosplayers who decided to sit in 15 minutes early for a panel about working with EVA foam arrived. The oldest person by 16 years. Yikes.Thankfully, the aspiring cosplay masters were lively enough for some discussion about 1985 cinema. Is "The Breakfast Club" an action or adventure dramedy?The people who came into wait for the prop panel also demonstrated the secondary problem with this comic convention. Every panel room's start time began at a different quarter of the hour. This means there is no time to get to other rooms. Here is to hoping that not many people needed to move to a different building to enjoy themselves.As for the rest of the Con, CatBus was pretty much focused on giving away the rest of his popular custom pins from Sticker Mule. It is not like he was going to take the time to tell the con-goers how they were screwed up. Sadly, that means you get to hear about Sticker Mule's third attempt to tell our host to shut up about their bad customer service with $35 of credit instead of providing an apology.The adventure of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" actually concluded in Rolla, MO. Our host had to stop there so that he could be present for the recording of the upcoming 4:20 Special on "Collateral Cinema". It is great that most Hampton Inns now let you access streaming services, so that you can watch "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" on their television instead of your iPad. As Russ waited for the edibles to kick in, he revisited "Monty Python's the Meaning of Life".Russ provides an brief opinion of the last Python film. It ends up being appropriate that our host decided to attach a review for "Screen Drafts's" contributor Rebekah McKendry's "Glorious". This is another review meant for the spooky month of 2025, but "Sinners" and "Tron: Ares" bumped into the back catalogue of "Ninety For Chill".It is a horror-comedy that Terry Gilliam would probably be proud of. Ryan Kwanten is a man devastated by the end of his last relationship who stops by a rest stop to let off steam. Once he tries to clean up in the bathroom, he is called upon by a god in the stall adjacent to his, speaking through a glory hole, voiced by JK Simmons. The call, to provide something through the hole to save the universe. This is a film that seems like it was meant for the concluding Python flick.If you need to give something...a try a flavor from ⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss had arrived in Springfield, MO for his second panelist spot of 2026, the Missouri Comic Con. It was originally intended to just be the "1986: RAD Movies or BAD Movies" for Saturday and the "1985: Action Movie Triple-Threat Match" on Sunday, but he was given a chance to deliver "Ninety For Chill" as a last minute insertion to the schedule.If there is anything to be frustrated about, it maybe Russ⁠ having to miss the "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" reunion. Is he more upset about not getting to attend, or that it took away from his second Saturday panel's audience?Our host probably was not frustrated at Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, and Jewel Staite at all. Because he is more upset about Sticker Mule misleading him about the small plastic pins he received for the con. Actually, it was not the order, it was their response to his review for the order. He should have known better since they are Trump supporters. If the orange twat can just throw money at you to make it go away without apologizing , why can they not?Russ immediately thanks you for your patience as he aired their dirty laundry on this episode. At least that took his mind off his crappy landlord's attempts to nickel and dime him.CatBus was pretty much focused on his two panels today. How the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds are laid out, the main stage arena is 300 yards from the panel rooms and show floor building. There were celebrity panels in the largest panel room, but our host was there to work...and stop himself from buying a "Pokemon Champion" championship belt. He has got to make that tax refund last.The panels went well despite them once again being TEDTalks. They may as well be called successes as he was greeted by many of the audience members afterwards. Or were they just grabbing punch and pie for the road?Regardless of their motives, Russ thinks he earned a victorious meal at Hooters. If only their was not guy taking their prom date to the dining establishment to make weird.During his panels, he did bring up some under-appreciated horror movies. One of them was "Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge". This film does the two things that all mass produced horror franchises should do. Turn the villains into the protagonists (like "Saw X"). And kill a lot of Nazis.If you want a snack that satisfies cravings like the puppets satisfy our dead Nazi fix,  ⁠try Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Brownie Batter, or Birthday Cake a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

It is another #RewindWednesday on "I Dig Crazy Flicks". CatBusRuss is getting prepared to host three panels at the Missouri Comic Convention 2026 (April 11 & 12), so he thought it best to bring a classic conversation back to the main feed. He is joined by frequent contributor to the podcast, Andrew Tiede, for a tangent-filled climb to the pinnacle of Steven Seagal's career, "Under Siege".It took a lot of time for our host to edit this episode because when he pulled up the original podcast art with Skimbleshanks the One-Eared Angel (At that time Skimble the Bastard Cat, R.I.P.), the episode was "Under Siege with Couchman & Buffy '92". Russ likes to cut out the extra reviews on these rewinds, but those are usually placed at the beginning of the episode.The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" review was plugged into a bathroom break. That should be an indication how off the rails a film that features a Navy SeAL turned cook fighting off the prototype for Tommy Lee Jones's Harvey "Two-Face" Dent and an unhinged, Gary Busey in drag can take a conversation.Russ went to the "Ninety For Chill" blog to get a better idea on how this episode for a 100-minute long movie got an extra 25 minute tacked on to the podcast:By the point that I have integrated the "The Buffy Vampire Slayer" movie review into the episode, we have had three conversations about wrestling, Kevin Smith memories, and how we have done drugs. This is a PG-13 conversation, at least in terms of language, but the content might not be appropriate for those who have yet to have D.A.R.E class.Russ did not realize that D.A.R.E. is no longer a thing, so perhaps it is appropriate that he attached a review to the front of the episode for the action movie that solidified Jason Statham's place in the action genre, "Crank". That is a film that maybe the best attempt to apply the rules of "Grand Theft Auto" to the silver screen.Chev Chelios is not in a position in that action film to practice a healthy lifestyle. But you are. Try a flavor from ⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss & ThePoeticCritic survived another Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. Perhaps this was achieved by effectively staying out of each other's hair. Maybe it was getting the convention's celebrity sound bite from Geena Davis on DAY ONE. After that, could he really be let down?Well, the White Castle on Cermak and Wabash tried to put a damper on that, but when you have your big sis giving you the time to chat about their convention experiences, the Stevens siblings are unstoppable.ThePoeticCritic seemed to be up in Chicago to focus on making sure her boyfriend had a good time. She did not check out any celebrity panels on day one, but day two she checked out Christopher Eccleston. At the same time, CatBus was checking out Elizabeth Olsen's panel. He had seen the Ninth Doctor at Chicago Tardis while this would be a first with an Olsen sibling. She is in the MCU, so did we get any "Doomsday" spoilers? Lets just say, there were no fan questions.The other celebrity panel he checked out was Martin Sheen & Dule Hill's "West Wing" Reunion. It was fun to hear about Martin passing on his wisdom and his Lawrence Fishburne handshake to the younger actor, and he made sure the audience was with The No Kings protests in spirit. Russ thinks that was his way of apologizing for perhaps inspiring the current orange twat-in-chief with his performance in the "Dead Zone".If there was a decision that Russ may have regretted, it was skipping the Charlie Cox & Krysten Ritter panel to check out Trisrex Studio's showing of their fan film, "Aliens: Resurgence - For the Hive". Russ's fear was, as a critic, he would have probably gotten a better narrative from the cast of "Daredevil: Born Again", but that would deny him the chance to see pure, unadulterated passion that an aspiring fan could put out in 40 minutes.The only panel on Day Two that the siblings attended together was for Svengoolie and the Sven Squad. It was fun honoring the finest horror TV hosts, but Russ may have had more fun at the educational panel hosted by "Femmes Reading Filth" about what is needed for excellent, erotic fan fiction.As for Day Three, the highlight for Russ was handing out the "I (Cannon Group) Crazy Flicks" buttons to the Channel Awesome team. Hopefully, telling them about all the previous media he has purchased from the guys over the years would provide forgiveness for not granting them his patronage. (They should have brought more stickers.)ThePoeticCritic did let her younger brother know he may have missed out on the "Jurassic Park" reunion with BD Wong, Wayne Knight, and the grown up grandchildren. Russ told her if he could not pick Wong's brain about "Men of War", he did not miss much.If there was any problem that truly came to bug our host, it was that watching that short film meant his Letterboxd resolution to 15 documented films was broken. But, since its broken, he decided to post a review for 2023's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie". Did this pump him up for the sequel coming out today, or does he continue to stand by 1993's "Super Mario Bros."?If you need to pick a winner, try a flavor from Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

Thanks to ⁠ThePoeticCritic⁠'s beau, CatBusRuss managed to actually get a pass to all three days of C2E2 2026, so he got to plan on how to approach the convention and get the right amount of sleep. There were not many celebrity panels that he was interested in for the first day, but Geena Davis made the struggle to find the new main stage worth it. Our host is so on the ball that he even got to get a question answered from her.For the sound bite, the con may have been made for him. But I Dig Crazy Flicks is recognized as a business, so networking should be the focus of this excursion. Thankfully, Facebook actually let a post from Chicago Podcasters Unite! to show up in his feed. Russ hopes he has made some new digital radio friends. When one of them is up for chatting about "Six String Samurai", a lot of promise for future guests is what he left with.It also lead him to check out a fun educational panel from Lit-X. "The Learning Dead: What Zombie Stories Teach Us About Education" was the best panel the group has demonstrated since our host had been attending them. Were we celebrating the idea of an apocalypse? Per chance. We all agree that it is better to be ready for that than a Lake Michigan Tsunami.Speaking of disasters, that may be what the rest of the panels led to, but in a fun way. Russ's recent sobriety allowed convention goers to leave unharmed after some of their opinions at Channel Awesome's "Movies Everyone Disagree on with You" panel. As for "Hear Me Out: Smash or Pass", CatBus cannot help but feel like an outcast for not wanting to shag Tony the Tiger while being McCurious about the Grimace.This weirdness seems to be an appropriate place to post his review for Chris Alexander's "Blood for Irina". Russ purchased this film from the editor of "Delirium Magazine" back at last year's Indiana Comic Convention. He meant to post this movie, that is better than its IMDb rating, back in Octorber, but it definitely did not deserve the attention over "Sinners".What also deserves attention is Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss and Andrew "Couchman Bakes" Tiede, knew that UI-Con was primarily an anime convention once they walked into the Illinois Conference Center at the iHotel, but their first of three panels that Friday demonstrated that the crowd may not have that much love for flesh-and-blood, English language-focused conversations. Perhaps they will color their hair or at least get some kawaii wigs for 2027.This was essentially the first empty room for the "Ninety For Chill: The Panel". A situation like this does not really affect an underemployed pro-wrestler and an aspiring comedian. They have both performed in front of smaller crowds. If anything it was educational to the crew from the convention who would walk in and take pity on the two. The staff was provided a demonstration of how to roll with the punches. And it let Andrew practice his crowd work."Ninety For Chill" was what "I Dig Crazy Flicks" evolved from. Russ believes that a movie should be no shorter than 70 minutes and no longer than 100. Andrew is just a few years behind our host age wise, which still places the two closer to 50 than hopeful. So they both grew up squeezing four films on one SLP VHS tape. Despite similar Midwestern upbringings, the Couch Man's past of doing three-hour podcasts based around movie marathons with Russ led him to open up with the thesis, "Perhaps Russ is wrong".Andrew brings up history to demonstrate Russ maybe too narrow minded, but can you win with guy whose Mom insists he should have been a lawyer? Nine hours of putting up with the CatBus to discuss "Tombstone", "The Thing", and "From Dusk Till Dawn", he was going to try.To get you into the mindset of CatBusRuss, our host has attached a review for an under-appreciated attempt to capitalize on the early aughts trend of bad ass heroins in sci-fi with the Charlize Theron starring adaptation of MTV's "Aeon Flux". He enjoyed it, but is a live-action remake of a cartoon something you want more than 100 minutes of?A way that you can be a winner is to give Doich! Snacking Dough a try. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss will occasionally bring up the fact that Harrison Ford does not have a lifetime achievement academy award. He does not work as much as Samuel L. Jackson, but he has as many Oscar nominations. Another actor who deserves similar recognition to the man who brought life to Han Solo is Michael Biehn."The Terminator", "Aliens", "Tombstone". Those three films alone should make us wonder why the radar barely picks up this actor's efforts. So our host is going to do his best to make those blips a bit louder.Mentally, it has been a rough week for CatBusRuss. He is making his best effort to find a guest(s) for his panels at Missouri Comic Con (Springfield, MO, April 11 & 12). There are job interviews that technology seems hellbent on derailing. Trying to be a gym rat takes up a good chunk out of his times. Needless to say, the results at the Academy Awards did not need to be so off the mark."Kpop Demon Hunters" was the best animated feature of 2025? That is probably the worst decision since "Frozen" winning the award in 2013. But after enjoying "Wish", Russ cannot declare that. He needs to watch the Nordic fantasy to be certain. But he has already watched 15 films this month (like the prior two).There are video games to be played. "I Dig Crazy Flicks" is not paying the bills yet, so he need not be obligated to watch another 15 movies per month. If he must watch a movie, why not the only Michael Biehn/James Cameron collaboration he has yet to see, "The Abyss"?Because Russ started this podcast as "Ninety For Chill", 2 hours and 20 minutes is far too long a runtime. Fortunately, this episode will still give you aquatic sci-fi. Before we get to some Biehn flicks, CatBus provides us with a review for the 2020 Kristen Stewart feature, "Underwater".Once he concludes this placeholder for Cameron's under the sea film, this episode has reviews for Biehn flicks from the past three completed decades. Hear about him as an amnesiac assassin in 1991's "Timebomb". He provides great support to Sean Patrick Flanery in the 2006 vampire comedy "The Insatiable". And Russ provides a review of his grindhouse-inspired, directorial domestic feature debut, "The Victim" from 2011.Is Michael Biehn the Harrison Ford of genre cinema? That sounds like a pretty cool title to bestow on him. Perhaps that is better than any statuette.As for other rewards, CatBusRuss discovered Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.⁠⁠https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

CatBusRuss and ThePoeticCritic conquered another B-Fest. If you had to endure "A Gnome Named Gnorm" after watching at least 11 movies in 20 hours, you would definitely feel like you earned a win. For our podcast host, it was seeing "Demons" on the big screen for the first time (and a blu-ray of "Best Defense" that no one else claimed after the raffle concluded). For his sister, it was just further cementing the friendships the world wide web has provided her (and probably further bashing her younger sibling's appreciation of "Disney's Wish").When the CatBus arrived back in Morton, Illinois on Sunday, his father asked, "How was the festival?" He told his dad that, "The movie qualities were lesser, but the reactions were greater." To which he responded, "So, bad movies, good times." As long as you get the latter, the trip to Northwestern is worth it.The two siblings both agreed that B-Fest is a harder habit to break than tattoos. If you enjoy your first lock in at the Norris University Center, you will be back every year. It takes at least two ink appointment before you insist on using your skin as canvas. This is cinema heroin, but there are times that feel like movie-house fentanyl.Like Russ jamming himself into roller skates to once again introduce "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "The Wizard of Speed and Time". He did not fall which is what his big sister feared, but when he got to see one of his childhood favorite space operas, "The Ice Pirates", he realized he over thought his presentation. But the sores in his toes were worth realizing that this early Ron Perlman film is damn near perfect, at least for B-Fest with its skates and blacksploitation. This is one he and his dad will probably try to sneak on for his little sister's kids."Voyage of the Rock Aliens" checked off the other element that makes for a great B-Fest, a kaiju (and lovable monsters like Michael Berryman).As for films that required drugs to either enjoy or forget, the "24 Hours of the Best of the Worst Movies Ever" had them. The two siblings debate whether or not the biggest Australian bomb, "The Pirate Movie", had anything redeeming about it. Should Russ regret not watching the Yuletide Nazi Elf movie "Elves"? Were too many household pets maimed in this marathon? Were Clint Howard and Alfonso Ribeiro's fates too gruesome or too funny in "Arachnophobia" knock off "Ticks"?There were some definitive crowd pleasers. We cannot call them art, but Bruce Lee's battles with other pop culture icons from "The Dragon Lives Again" and the absolute insanity of the elevator horror feature "Down" have to be seen by all cinephiles to grasp what B-movies can be truly offer.As for other offering, CatBusRuss discovered Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough a try.https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/RUSS76280

With B-Fest occurring this weekend (March 6 & 7, 2026), CatBusRuss feels there can never be too many monsters to chat about around Northwestern's annual event. So he reached back in the original "Ninety For Chill dot Com: The Podcast" feed for his first conversation with the crew of the B3 Podcast. Rae and Ween join the then Cool Movies Darth to discuss James Whale's most famous monster features, "Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man".Since ThePoeticCritic was on the most recent episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks", and CatBusRuss will be chatting with her about B-Fest 2026 for the next canonic episode, our podcast host decided that there needs to be a little more variety when it came to the voices on the feed.Russ and the duo of dames from Cleveland have a conversation where nothing is off limits, so this will be a longer episode, and perhaps a bit raunchy. It is from a time where the three "B's" stood for something, so you may want to brace yourself for the next two and half hours.To honor his friends from the Buckeye state, our host decides to try "Tubi or Not Tubi". He may have cheated since he always meant to get around to this Z-budget "Fantastic Voyage" X "Jaws" feature, but "Nanoshark" may serve as further evidence that cheaters never prosper.

CatBusRuss and ThePoeticCritic get ready for B-Fest 2026 by having a conversation about an overblown b-movie premise, "Kpop Demon Hunters". The feature is about to get a blu-ray release. Our host does not have an issue with that. What he takes issue with is that it gets to hold a spot in the Criterion Collection.Russ would refer you to Screen Junkie's Honest Trailer for this feature to support his argument. His big sister thinks its okay to let Netflix have its fun. And then she suggest that it will get the Oscar for best animated feature, which that leads to CatBus on a it would be better for Chris Benoit to be in the WWE Hall of Fame rant.This conversation also serves as a birthday gift for TPC's little brother, so she seems a little more patient with his controversial takes. She provides a means of reason, but how can she deny the damage this fad of a flick will cause. Kids will just throw around copies of "Kagemusha", "Killers", and "Koko: A Talking Gorila" to fight over the tale of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey".At least the other animated features in the Collection are further away in the alphabet. Films like "Fantastic Planet". This may have been one of the first Criterion blu-rays he had purchased, but he thinks there is a particular mood one may need to be in to watch a French film that has a trailer with gives off "Mad God" vibes. To be done, done, done with the Huntrx, the mood has been found.

Like the "Great American Bash" in the late eighties, "⁠I Dig Crazy Flicks⁠'s" 1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match: Stallone v. Arnie v. The Cannon Group (⁠Dudikoff⁠, ⁠Bronson⁠, Norris) continues its tour. It had arrived at GalaxyCon St. Louis on October 12, 2025. ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ was joined by ⁠Nix Eclips⁠ of ⁠Cinema Shitshow⁠ to determine who was the TRUE action hero of the last year where an action film could be violent just for the sake of it.Arnold "John Matrix" Schwarzenegger left GalaxyCon Des Moines winning his first "1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match". No one left ATL Comic Convention's Triple Threat with their hand raised, but it was determined that two of the Cannon Group's heroes fell to Sylvester Stallone and The Governator. (It was also determined that Chuck Norris left unscathed as per the rules of the Internet.)Saint Louis was a fun environment. They had their own candidates of who was the baddest, the meanest, and the master. CatBus left the city that he has an unspoken rivalry with (Go Cubs Go!) knowing that perhaps "The Last Dragon" Taimak's Converse's should be kissed.Russ will be heading back to Show-Me State for another edition of this cinematic brawl. To be prepared for the Missouri Comic Con in Springfield, he is looking for other action flicks from 1985 that he may have missed. This led him to continue filling his Letterboxd with Christopher Lambert movies."Subway" was sold as such. It was Luc Besson's sophomore feature effort. He would be the director of "Lucy", "The Fifth Element", and "The Professional", so that would lead one to believe that this would be action-packed cinema. What is certain, it fits his Cinema du Look aesthetic.

CatBusRuss returns to the "Ninety For Chill Dot Com: The Podcast" archives to discuss five films from the original "Scottish" hero, Christopher Lambert. He hopes Henry Cavill and Chad Stahelski will provide genre fans with a great reboot of the "Highlander" franchise, but when are we going to get an actual Scotsman to portray the title role?When are we going to get a Latin actor to play a man named Juan Ramirez? Russell Crowe should be great as a Sean Connery stand in, but Pedro Pascal does plenty of dying on screen.Russ was trying to decide which actor he was going to pull up for this #RewindWednesday when he was going through Plex's action movie line up. To add something fresh to this 2022 episode, he saw the promotional material for "Highlander II: The Quickening". This was his first "Highlander" movie since 2nd Cinema Home Video in Morton did not have a copy of the original 1986 feature. Even then he could not call it a good movie, but it was just so silly, he could not help but revel is the absurdity.As it turns out, they were streaming the 1997 "Renegade Version" (Director's Cut) of the Russell Mulcahy film. It is a better constructed film, but CatBus has been arguing whether or not the changed story beats were better than the original "Immortals are Aliens" angle. With the Internet Archive, he may get to figure that out at some point.In the end, there can be only four other movies that will be discussed on this episode. CatBus ended up enjoying all three parts of the Connor MacLeod trilogy. How can anyone hate "⁠Fortress⁠", his collaboration with legends Stewart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs, Kurtwood Smith, Vernon Wells, and Clifton Collins Jr.?And until the sequel to the 2021 reboot is released, Lambert was the biggest name from Paul W.S. Anderson's "Mortal Kombat", the best adaptation of the franchise thus far (per our host & Beau from "Collateral Cinema".There is a lot of action that will be discussed. What better way to lead into another edition of the "1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match" on February 25?

CatBusRuss returned to Morton, IL to visit his family which includes his big sister, ThePoeticCritic. If it is not a comic convention or film festival, the two rarely have schedules that allow them to record a podcast together in person. Thus, our podcast host was happy to rap with her about the poor state of the box office.It is hard to nail down when the older sibling got jaded against Disney. Russ thinks it may be every time an animated feature under performed. With all the live-action remakes of animated classics, a piece of her seems to die. We have heard rant a plenty about the House of Mouse being responsible for superhero cinema once dominating the box office.But in the end, she just wants them to return to creating great animated features, be it the Walt Disney Animation Company or Pixar. She just is not optimistic about "Hoppers" and is fed up with sequels to the billion dollar franchises. As always, her primary worry is a lack of personal stories being told on the big screen. CatBus pities for her not appreciating Star Wars' tale of fatherhood, "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu".Russ also focuses on the fact that if a story is good, it should impress all, even if it is not the target demographic. We need more musicals for the lasses. Exploitation is not a bad thing (just come to a B-Fest).Our host actually thinks Disney is not as bad off as ThePoeticCritic thinks it is. Inspired by this conversation, he finally sat down and watched the feature that the supposed fans of the oldest animation studio were determined to despise "Wish".It may just have been released at the wrong time. Perhaps the film should not have sold itself so blatantly as 100 Years of Disney. Russ left thinking this is the appropriate feature for children at this time. You will have to check out catbus316.bsky.social to see the two Stevens argue about the revolution CatBus thinks Asha, Valentino, and Star are calling for.

For CatBusRuss⁠ and ⁠"Couchman" Andrew Tiede, UI-Con truly kicked of for them at 8 pm on Friday night. The convention had taken a break from panels to let the visitors kick it to Otter Chaos and to prepare for the anime-themed rave. In other words, if you were there to be nerdy, the evening panels were where you wanted to be. Even if some may have lacked that Japanimation flair.This was "I Dig Crazy Flicks" debut for a new panel, "1986: RAD Movies or BAD Movies". CatBus had listed the similar movies and Andrew brought the box office stats to see what audiences thought at the time. It was a time where the important thing was to be first to a new film premise.Some would say one flick would be a blockbuster while the other a mockbuster. This panel takes you back to when there was no direct-to-video market for studios to spend little on a VHS tape to capitalize on a major motion picture. It was a time to go big or go home.Some match ups included in the panel are: "Iron Eagle" vs. "Top Gun", "An American Tail" vs. "The Great Mouse Detective", and a Robot Triple-Threat Match. Was it the audiences who won or was it just Steve Guttenberg?The two panelists/podcasters' first panel was 4 pm's "Ninety for Chill: The Panel". With its poor attendance (At least the staff found it cool.), the two got to talk shop about their remaining two panels. Here is where they realized that "Big Trouble in Little China" may have had a similar battle in 1986 with "The Golden Child". To be ready for the next time Russ runs this panel, he gave Eddie Murphy's Chinese dark magic adventure a watch.

CatBusRuss and "Couchman" Andrew Tiede may have felt like Frank Dux and Ray Jackson walking into Kowloon for the Kumite when they arrived at the UI-Con. There was too much anime cosplay to feel like they belonged. Would they need to demonstrate the Dim Mak to show they were the right kind of nerds?For those who feel this description is not appropriate since anime is not from Hong Kong, when CatBus was collecting tapes, the plot of "Bloodsport" was used for Episode 3 of "Street Fighter II V", an anime inspired by the video game.They both visited the UI-Con's website. The top photo is an image of the exterior of the Illinois Conference Center above a header of, "Champaign-Urbana's Anime and Comic Convention". Anime is first on the call sheet, but comic con led them to both think that you need not be an otaku to feel welcomed. Thankfully, it ended up being true, but there was an initial culture shock for two 40-somethings in Midwestern nerdy garb.When it came to panels not centered around Japanese animation, I Dig Crazy Flicks may have been the only representatives at the convention. Russ and Andrew were there to pitch the concept of "Ninety For Chill", determine which movies from 1986 were RAD and which ones were BAD, and to further determine who was the greatest action star from a time where we watched violence for the sake of violence, 1985. Without a focus on Japanimation, would anyone come to these panels?With Ally Higgins coming to be a cheerleader, they were at least going to put on a good show. And maybe buy some fan art to expand to their culture.Aside from cool trinkets on the floor, CatBus was introduced to "Off the Balcony Podcast". They offered up a great panel about lost media that anyone can connect with (anime being featured on every other slide), but they also brought out the anime-themed conversations to demand attention. Attention that also attracted legendary anime translator David Fleming and his awesome laser disc collection.Our two podcasters left having a great time. Russ even thinks it was a successful effort. You will be able to listen to these panels in the upcoming weeks to be the judge.But to further focus on CRAZY FLICKS, CatBusRuss has attached a review for another Lamberto Bava (Director of "Demons" and "Demons 2") film, Blastfighter. It is essentially "First Blood" exploitation but with box art that suggest its an Italian apocalypse film. Chekhov's gun has nothing on what Jake "Tiger" Sharp is packing.

Jason Parker offered up a lot of options when he petitioned to be the first guest on "I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss" in 2026, but the first one he offered was "Caught Up" starring Bokeem Woodbine. It fit the standards of "Ninety For Chill". After watching "The Breed", CatBusRuss determined that this under-appreciated actor is good in anything, so if Jason was a fan, our host was intrigued.And then Russ saw that Tony Todd and Jeffrey Combs were in the cast. This near guarantee of cinematic insanity demanded his attention."Caught Up" was written and directed by Darin Scott, the producer of the critically acclaimed Menace II Society. This is not of the quality of the MTV Movie Award's Best Picture of 1993. It is not a gritty tale from the streets. It is a story of an ambitious ex-con getting seduced by a "psychic" portrayed by Cynda Williams which leads him into a world of diamond smuggling, noir-inspired gunmen, effeminate hoodlums, crooked cups, and Jamaicans mobsters led by Basil "Screwface" Wallace.Some may say this is Agatha Christie in the Hood. CatBus thinks it is a Keith David away from absolute perfection.The ending alone makes this feature a must watch. To avoid the spoiler, you may need to check out another episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" after an hour of the conversation.

While watching the 74th Anniversary of the National Wrestling Alliance (August 28, 2022)Gregory Carl blessed "NinetyForChill: The #Podcast" with his presence again to discuss Ralph Bashki's "Fritz the Cat", the "first" X-Rated animated feature and the most successful independent animated film of all time. This is a movie that discusses a lot of issues that are still extremely sensitive today in regards to race relations while being as explicit as narratively possible. It is a film that needs to be chatted about, but not around the kiddies.It has been a film that CatBusRuss had always wanted to get around to, but the reputation still seemed a bit much. How can you sexualize cats? Our host knew that the creator of the comic, the legendary Robert Crumb, disowned the feature, but I did not know it was about race relation issues.As a fan of "American Pop" and who is appreciative of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Fire and Ice", Russ was surprised and impressed to see Bashki tackle such topics, but is he the person that should be addressing them?To add some less complicated concerns to this podcast, CatBus includes his review for the "Die Hard" at a beauty pageant feature "No Contest". It is only appropriate since Russ just got back from Fan Expo New Orleans where Robert Davi was one of the celebrity guests. This film also has a cast that is kind of the summation of Gregory's attitudes. The lead villain is Andrew Dice Clay and his number one guy is Rowdy Roddy Piper.With all the wrestling chatter, the podcast runs over 2 hours in length, but if you do not need to hear about Russ's past war stories, the movie conversation is concluded before the second hour starts.

CatBusRuss successfully survived all three days of Fan Expo New Orleans 2026, and has stories to tell and a Joel Schumacher tale from Jamison Newlander. Do not worry. There is enough fun stuff to be discussed that you will forgive our host resurrecting the disastrous "The Crow (2024)".Having to get up early to catch the Billy Boyd panel, Russ took it as easy as he could when dealing with an ill-conceived remake to wind down Saturday night. He could not get his question answered in front of the panel, but per chance an autograph would give us the answer to, "Where are all the Scottish superheroes?"Speaking of autographs, CatBusRuss may have done his most gushing over a celebrity in the presence of Joe Pantoliano. The podcaster did his best to state how important to film and television he finds him as a stamp of approval for a project, someone worth having a drink for whenever he appears on screen as the ultimate that guy.The biggest name from "The Goonies" cast (per 1985 Corey Feldman), does not listen to many (if any) podcasts, so he did not know the impact he has had on podcasting about cinema. When Russ brought up the "Joey Pants Award" on the "The Rewatchables", he may have pissed the ultimate "That Guy" off. With that said, Russ has been on a social media campaign to get Bill Simmons to get in touch with Mr. Pantoliano to answer for not having the nerve to call him "That Guy" to his face.It is only appropriate that when you have a cinematic legend, that a movie he starred in should conclude the main festivities at Fan Expo. The movie was "The Goonies", and along side Joey Pants was his Fratelli Brother Robert Davi and three of those meddling kids, Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, and Kerri Green. These cast-mates had fun ribbing the conservative Davi's claims of being the nice Fratelli. More importantly, they spoke highly of how impactful this film was on Generation X, be it the foul language they spread or that this is a film that can actually be kept alive unlike the franchise fair of today.Sorry kids, Hogwarts is fake. Mikey's home is still standing.Russ brings up his walk down Bourbon Street and how three beignets hindered any real partying energy. He also gives some critiques of Bizzaro Wrestling and security at the cons needing to keep con artists (the types who may have been inspired by that twat Trump) from trying to sell their music "for the kids". If only our host was up for starting some shit, but an arrest 17 hours from home would not be a wise gamble.Stick around after the wahoo request to hear "The Hardest Working Man in Comics" Victor Dandrige stand up for young vampire hunters, like the Frog Brother from "The Lost Boys". If you think the legendary director of "Batman & Robin", can be questioned, of course.

CatBusRuss was waiting for panel approvals that did not come. But as he waited, he checked out the room rates available during the Fan Expo New Orleans weekend. Under $150 a night in the Big Easy was too good to pass up. Hence, our host is off on his first networking and promotion trip to a comic con.How well is Russ doing promoting "I Dig Crazy Flicks"? Not as well as Brian Plaideau from "NOLA Film Scene" (Check out "Ninety For Chill X Nola Film Scene" to get to know Brian and TJ.), but if he has enough Studio Ghibli attire, guests will come up to him to chat. Day One worked out a lot better with four separate pieces (six if you count the Jiji and Cat Bus earings). The Cat Bus hat on it owns might just seem too weird.It has mostly been a good experience, but CatBus is upset that hosts will no show panels that could be useful to so many content creators. If they are not going to use their time, he feels he better get in next year. There may be a little too much "Kpop Demon Hunters" influence as well, but he will say the Aerial Space Squad burlesque team made the idea look better than what made it to Netflix. Once Russ gets out of his shell, he is rolling.And the panels that he did attend were mostly great. Mike "Luke Cage" Colter came off to him as a little "alpha" male, but he at least knows that enduring struggles will pay off. Anyhow, can you be a alpha when John Cena is present? The 17x champ's humbleness puts us all to shame.Perhaps Jamison Newlander can. A hero from "The Lost Boys" is hard to upstage.Now, was Cena as much fun as Aaron Reynold's "Bootleg Safari" or a Mardi Gras-themed kick off to the Hobbits 25th Anniversary tour? You better have the extra $25 for the next Fan Expo they attend to find out yourself.It has been an odd experience for CatBusRuss's return to the Gulf Coast, so it feels appropriate for him to review the DC Animated Movie "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox". We will see with Day 3 if this podcaster fixes the Time Boom.

"I Dig Crazy Flicks's" last stop on its 2025 comic convention tour was the debut of GalaxyCon St. Louis. CatBusRuss is out to further promote the concept that the ideal runtime for feature-length cinema, 90 minutes, with "Ninety For Chill: The Panel". To help him present his thesis, he is joined by Nix Eclips, co-host of the "Cinema Shitshow". The two podcasters had a challenging first day (day two for the con goers). Russ had to figure out what to do having never received the email with his credentials and figuring out the layout of the America Center. Nix was doing his damndest to work in the panel and get a Bruce Campbell autograph. If their panel goes bad, would they be up to slay at the next day's "1985: Triple-Threat Match".Fortunately, they ran out of punch and pie. That means there was an audience to argue the pretension of Christopher Nolan with. The two get to reminisce about the "good" times of the nineties where we only had physical media to amuse us. Nix also got to more thoroughly pitch his podcast.Reminder to Russ. When are you going to take on the challenge of the Shitshow? What movie can they offer that you cannot handle?To demonstrate he is up for nearly anything, Russ reviews "Lady Terminator". This is a movie that he discovered from Rob Hill's "The Bad Movie Bible" and endorsed by Aaron Reynold's "Bootleg Safari". It is Indonesia's knock off of "The Terminator". The twist, it is a reincarnation of a witch that is obsessed with castration instead of a bodybuilding robot from the future. After that, you get a beat-by-beat remake of the best scenes from James Cameron's best film.

2025 had left CatBusRuss joyfully busy this year with "I Dig Crazy Flicks". Busy to the point where he cannot stand the idea that Apple Podcast will claim that the podcast is updated "biweekly". To make sure 2026 starts off well, our host watched one more new (to him) movie and brings back another fun episode from the original "Ninety For Chill dot Com: The Podcast" feed.The title of this episode seems to suggest an awesome way to start any year. Can you go wrong with a triple-feature that goes from Emily Blunt to Kevin Bacon? Russ has found that he needed all six degrees to make that work out perfectly, but it can be made better with five degrees if you include the 1995 indie-comedy anthology "Four Rooms".The movies featured in the three degrees of Blunt via two degrees of Bill Nighy are "Wild Target", "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (starring Ryan Reynolds), and "R.I.P.D."If you need a quality six degrees of Kevin Bacon that includes "Four Rooms", the movies needed would be Bruce Willis & Emily Blunt in "Looper", Blunt & Nighy in "Wild Target", Nighy & Reynolds in "Det. Pikachu", Reynolds & James McAvoy in "Deadpool 2", and McAvoy & Bacon in "X-Men: First Class".Pardon if the bad movie had been spoiled. Hopefully an appearance from ThePoeticCritic to talk shop will make up for that giveaway.

Jess McCord, co-creator of TTRPG "Skies of Fortune", left GalaxyCon Des Moines's edition of "Ninety For Chill: The Panel" with a suggestion for an anime that best represents the premise of "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast". CatBusRuss had been hearing about "Pompo: The Cinephile" from Jess before he met him in Iowa's capital city. Presuming this film was something that this anime expert was passionate about, how could our host not talk about this flick? We will soon discover that this was not necessarily about passion, but a punchline."Pompo" is the story of a movie producer who is more dedicated to giving new talent opportunities than chasing critical awards. Her PA is Gene, a true cinephile who loves to see the finest art made for the silver screen. Because of this passion, she insists that he will direct her script for such a movie. Is Gene up for that task and can he finish it in time for the investors?The two podcaster admire the concept of this flick, but is it actually good? There is a lot to love about it. As content creators, they both understand the struggle of making a thing, but everything seems to just work out for our protagonists in this world. Jess is left feeling overwhelmed at points with such a brief, all-encompassing look at Western cinema. Russ loves the inside baseball look at what is essentially a love letter to Roger Corman. With these two perspectives, does this film actually work or was it better left as a webcomic?Regardless of the final consensus for "Pompo", the two know it is the end of the year, and as "critics", their determination of the best films that they saw this year is expected. CatBus declares his "Best Ninety For Chill" of 2025 and Jess offers his favorite films released this year.Here's hoping this episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" is a fun Christmas gift, the ideal way to avoid family interaction if need be.

CatBusRuss did not intend to pull out an episode from the archives, but with the passing of Rob and Michelle Reiner on Sunday (December 14, 2025), he felt it was important to keep them in our minds and in the proper light. Rambling Ronnie and ThePoeticCritic kept their language at a "PG-13" level during this conversation about Reiner's debut feature, so our host hopes that he did not make this a "R" with stating his feeling towards the criminal who is squatting in the White House during the introduction.For the first time, "NinetyForChill: The #Podcast" has gone international. Rambling Ronnie has come on to discuss one of her favorite comedies and what is unquestionably the most important mockumentary of all time, "This Is Spinal Tap". This was the first R-Rated feature that ThePoeticCritic rented along side her little brother Cool Movies Darth. Needless to say, all parties are excited to tell the world aboot the excellence of this film.Russ (I) definitely saw this picture before I entered the world of professional wrestling. It was hilarious, if just for picking out the cameos like Billy Crystal as Mort the Mime and the oldest (and perhaps first) Fred Willard appearance that I had ever seen. After entering a showmanship profession, this film is even funnier because it is beyond authentic.For me, it was not a puppet show where I sustained my most severe documented concussion. It was wrestling during a Christion-promoted boxing expedition. Puppet's would have been an honor.ThePoeticCritic spent her teens as an amateur actress. Needless to say, she has her tales of nearly falling off balconies because of poor backstage crew. Being trapped like Derek Smalls is something all performers are or will become familiar with.Rambling Veronica (TPC's Twitter account impressed her since she was using Veronica as an alias), did not happen to have any tales to tell as a performer, but with the sincerity and politeness of Canadians, they all seem to share a common vibe. Provided they are not from Quebec. I am sorry I did not give the listeners a warning about the mocking of Montreal during this podcast.We all seemed to have been on the same page when it comes to comedy. Ronnie's last episode was about "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Us Stevens children were raised on British comedy. Monty Python was the only MTV we were allowed to watch. With "The New Red Green Show" being Central Illinois's "Red Dwarf" lead in, this podcast seemed destined to happen.Discussing Monty Python lead us to bring up "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash". This was Eric Idle's Beetle mock that was produced by Lorne Michaels. When you bring up Lorne Michaels, you bring us "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV". We end up talking about all of the best Western comedy that was influenced by the British.By proxy, I guess you can say all of Christopher Guest's mocumentaries are British comedies. He is a British Baron after all.ThePoeticCritic and Rambling Ronnie are even bigger fans of Guest's directorial efforts than I am. We do get to address and compare and contrast these films. It was kind of a silly part since none of us have seen them all. Ronnie is a big fan of "A Mighty Wind" and TPC seemed to lean towards "Best in Show". One thing is certain, you must give "Waiting for Guffman" a chance.

The feature that CatBusRuss is revisiting was originally titled "3615 code Père Noël", but is also known as "Game Over", and "Hide and Freak". It only feels appropriate to have so many titles when you take into account that the Cannon Group handled the international distribution of this film. The title of "Deadly Games" at least secures it a place on Shudder. That platform can never have too many holiday-themed horror flicks.This movie was released in 1989, a year before "Home Alone". Director René Manzor stated that he feels John Hughes may have ripped him off, but the film is way too dark to be compared to the Macaulay Culkin star turn. At least that is our host's opinion.Gregory Carl thinks it is closer to the American blockbuster. It is about a nine year-old who is quick to come up with improvised weaponry to defend him and his grandfather against a deranged Father Christmas. Both Kevin and Thomas live in large houses and you wonder where their parents came up with the money, but that is where the comparisons may end.Russ thinks this feature answers what if Chris Columbus penned "Home Alone". Just check out the wiki for "Gremlins" to see where our host is coming from. Kevin McCallister did not have to deal with insane, delusional criminals. Joe Pesci can be scary, but we did not find Harry to be murderous. Even worse, Gregory suggests that this film's antagonist may have perverse intentions. Lacking humor to accompany the violence, this maybe what a realistic bout with the Wet Bandits would look like.To get away from the darkness, CatBusRuss received a Christmas gift from Tubi. After 15 years, Albert Pyun's take on "Bloodsport" has finally made it back to streaming. "Heatseeker" stars two of the most under-appreciated martial artists in cinema, Keith Cooke and Gary Daniels, as two champions heading towards a rematch. What makes this a different kind of fight is that Daniels is being sponsored by a biotechnology corporation trying to prove that it is not enough to be human to become a champion. If you come into this feature after the first act, you will want to see where this story goes. Like most Pyun films, the question becomes, can you stand what you see?

CatBusRuss might need to do some research because this may be the last Merry Mark L. Lester Christmas. Last year, he covered what maybe perhaps his most memorable films, "Showdown in Little Tokyo" and "Commando". Our host is prepping for a 1986 panel to tour the comic cons, so maybe he will get around to watch "Armed and Dangerous" to compare and contrast with "Police Academy 3: Back in Training", but reviewing "Class of 1984" and the "Class of 1999" franchise may address the pinnacle of his filmography.He did not direct "Class of 1999 II: The Subsitute", but when you compare it to his attempts to become the next Roger Corman, like "Groupie", there is a lot of potential left on the table. It should be accepted as fact, a little more or just some Eric Roberts could elevate them both to B-Movie classics.Lester is a man who knew his limitations, and these class of movies show that he was a wise director because of it.

CatBusRuss was doing his best to enjoy Chicago TARDIS. ThePoeticCritic has done her best to get him to invest in "Doctor Who", but sixty years of content and everyone having their ideal Time Lord (or Lady), he was very much lost in the Westin of Lombard.The most fun he had the first day may have been spent in his hotel room watching "A Whisker Away", an anime exclusive on Netflix. A story that investigates the escapism of turning into a cat was not one that they presented to the 17 Doctors. This cartoon harkens back to "The Cat Returns". If that Studio Ghibli feature inspires other Japanese artists, why should the BBC not take a hint?Pardon the harshness towards the Whovians. Day two ended up offering a lot to amuse our host. The Christopher Eccleston panel was a lot of fun leaving us with the message, "Don't Trust the Wiki." CatBus then got to admire the dedication this fanbase has to keep all their favorite heroes alive in the form of the massive Big Finish Productions panel. If the BBC does not want to spend the cash to make new television episodes, the fans will buy audio stories where the original actors (and their kin) bring back their greatest characters.Eventually, Russ got to cut loose. There were panels about television shows that lack aliens from Gallifrey and looks at the futures of the DCU and MCU'. The latter panels only had the Stevens siblings and the panelists' podcast co-hosts in the audience, so it allowed the Peoria contingent's voices to be heard, dare dominate the direction of the panels.And then, there was the "Don't Blink Ball". You cannot complain about a day that ends with a DJ pulling out David Bowie, the heroes of new wave/early emo, and the less angry sounds from Chicago's Wax Trax.

ThePoeticCritic is having a good time at Chicago TARDIS, but CatBusRuss is not quite feeling it. This is indeed a convention DEDICATED to "Doctor Who", and our host is not the target audience.It is a neurospicy neighborhood. Russ has his eccentricities, but he also has patience and a degree of innate empathy. Make this crowd wait, and this crowd wants their true feelings known. This is a boys of "Big Bang Theory" vibe that brings CatBus comfort in knowing that he does not need to be tested like Sheldon, but taken a back by the stereotypes Hollywood sells.He found the panel with Jo Martin, the Fugitive Doctor, and supporting actresses Steph de Whalley and Susan Twist to be fun, but he was there to find out what he has seen them in that is not from the BBC. With his sister and her beau leaving him on his own, the challenge became finding the panels that were not too Whovian. When the one half of the panels that did not mention the Time Lord was hosted by two of the organizers, it maybe a fool's errand.

CatBusRuss & ThePoeticCritic did not have a traditional Thanksgiving. If you want to stay at the hotel that is hosting Chicago TARDIS, you gotta check in on the night dedicated to the false narrative of pilgrims and natives. Thus, where are you going to get a meal when all the restaurants are closed? The answer, head to Lombard's AMC Dine In and watch a family flick. For the older Stevens kid, "Wicked for Good". For her little brother, "Predator: Badlands".Russ would think that a feature involving animal prosecution would earn a PG-13, but his sister explains its PG rating. He is cool with that despite musicals seemingly be an out when it comes to a more restrictive rating. As for the latest Predator movie, making all the bad guys robots kind of takes the fun out of a creature that we know can rip a spine and skull out of a human in a single tug.The story is about a Yautja runt, so maybe it is for the kids who may only know the term from "Charlotte's Web".Like most episodes of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" that this brother/sister duo partake in, the two do talk about the state of the movie industry and the excessive amount of trailers you have to endure. The two finished their respective meals before the Nicole Kidman spiel. Perhaps more importantly, the elder of the two does give the younger an idea of what TARDIS will be like. Will be that enough for CatBus to manage a fandom he has no investment in? If not, at least there is a swimming pool on the second floor.

It is Thanksgiving Week, and CatBusRuss is very thankful for the opportunity to interview the writer/director of "Cuisine de la 'Pocalypse", Kyle Weingart. If you want a story about good food in a desolate land, this is a far better tale than the white washing of colonialism's effect on Native Americans."Cuisine de la 'Pocalypse" stars Kevin Jack as Chef John. John is an aspiring cook who yearns for fame in a world where all conceivable apocalypses have occurred. But his pursuit of this dream may have just put the newest bastion of civilization, New Missoula, at risk of destruction. If Hollywood learns of this paradise, it will inevitably be overrun with solar-powered homicidal robots, roaming biker gangs, and whatever scum the television industry can come up with. Zombies outside the city limits will be made to look quite quaint.To save New Missoula, he must go on a quest to stop this dial up transmission. Joining him on this mission are his sister-in-law Laura (Zuzu Weingart), her father and town preacher Wallace (Douglas 'Hurricane' Hall), local celebrity Landeaux (Nelo Butler), and "Hercules" Kevin Sorbo.Kyle Weingart went to film school, and after a few years serving as PA, returned to Montana to make movies. And the state was happy to help him. Thanks to a Big Sky Film Grant, there was no limit to hokey B-movie special effects he could use. It also helped him secure other established Hollywood actors like Natasha Leggero and Emilio Rivera. What more can one ask for in a sophomore directorial effort?Russ does his best to ask about the filmmaking process. Where did this idea came from? Is "Iron Chef" comfort television for him? What does he and the film have to say about granola? Our host may even try to pick his guest's brain on what needs to be done to be a successful (and since this film is over 100 minutes) and overly ambitions filmmaker.The film is worth a purchase on Prime Video, but Kyle would just be happy that you give this film a watch on Tubi. Happy Thanksgiving.

This is the conclusion of CatBusRuss and Gregory Carl's conversation about the most politically-minded movie from The Horror Master John Carpenter, 1988's "They Live". Being a film that stars Rowdy Roddy Piper, these two marks (an underemployed wrestler and a wrestling podcaster) will have their pro-wrestling tangents, but they have paid enough attention to the film to recognize the actor/stuntman legend Al Leong and the use of props from far more renowned films. Let's go bust some Reagan policies.Russ also suggests how Kevin Smith maybe Generation X's incarnation of Carpenter, at least in terms of directorial style. Our host may have suggested this in the podcast about "Big Trouble in Little China", but its good to run this concept by another cinema aficionado. There may not be many action films in the Jersey guy's filmography, but "Tusk" and "Red State" show he has a grasp on horror. A completed the "Great White North" trilogy is something that CatBus and Greg are hoping for.Smith is primarily comedic director, so it seems appropriate to attach a review of Carpenter's sci-fi comedy "Memoirs of an Invisible Man". Again we are made to ask, "Is this a Carpenter flick?" Regardless of how Carpenter it is, if he can handle James Woods, surely he can manage divas Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah.

CatBusRuss is dedicating this week to the film that truly opened him up to the works of "The Horror Master" John Carpenter. This was a frequent post WCW Nitro/Thunder movie back during the Monday Night Wars. Featuring Keith David and Rowdy Roddy Piper, our host does not consider it the best Carpenter flick, but it maybe his favorite. If David had a role in "Big Trouble in Little China", it may not be able to claim that title.Russ is joined by Gregory Carl. He may not have been the ideal guest because there are a lot of wrestling tangents that come out. This should have been expected since Russ is an underemployed pro-wrestler and Gregory was an aspiring pro-wrestling podcaster. Of course they were going to honor the legend of the Kilted One. If it was not for that, this conversation would probably have been a one a one episode endeavor.Gregory was Zooming in via a Motorola Stylus phone (This is a conversation from 2022.), so his audio is a little choppy. His points are still made, but our host may not have been able to remove all of his guest's R-rated language. But if its not audible, did it actually get said?To add a little more Carpenter to the mix, CatBus has finally gotten around to the last film that he directed, "The Ward" from 2010, starring Amber Heard. Our host is sympathetic to this actress after Johnny Depp defamed and essentially blackballed her from Hollywood. Is she enough to carry a film that Carpenter directed, but did not score or pen?On Thursday, November 20, "I Dig Crazy Flicks" will further investigate what a John Carpenter movie is along with concluding this conversation about "The Live".

CatBusRuss headed to GalaxyCon Des Moines to see if the capital of Iowa could help determine who was the baddest action hero(es) from forty years prior. 1985 was the last year where action movies were celebrated solely for being violent. One liners are fun, but chaos reigned supreme.Sylvester Stallone may have had the box office with "Rocky IV" and "Rambo: First Blood - Part II", but this may have been the dawning of Arnold Schwarzenegger taking over the action hero crown from Sly. But is there a dark horse?The Cannon Group may have only survived as long as it did because of their low-budget action flicks. Michael Dudikoff and Chuck Norris bring the martial arts while Charles Bronson returns to the Death Wish franchise.And to make sure CatBus is not looking over any of the action legends, he reviews Sho Kosugi's fourth ninja film of the eighties, "Pray for Death". After Golan-Globus replaced his with the girl from "Breakin'", he started making hooded assassin flicks just to spite them.Russ provides a TED Talk energy to this panel. Without having a cohost for the panel, our podcast host talks a lot and goes on some very pertinent tangents. These were the movies that Ronald Reagan loved. Are these movies truly more than right-wing escapism? Is this the machismo that modern male influencers trying to capture?In the end, was it a good thing that PG-13 action movies would dominate the next 35 years? Are we mature enough as a society to know that these ultra-violent affairs should not be taken seriously?There is a charm to these films. They are mindless crazy flicks. Please leave your brain at the door.

CatBusRuss originally thought that this week would be a simple #RewindWednesday release, but as he was going through the "NinetyForChill dot Com - The Podcast" archives, he noticed that he had crammed a couple of classics from John Carpenter into the summer of 2022. So every other week this November will be dedicated to "The Horror Master", and this podcast will kick the theme off with what his friends would call his masterpiece, "Big Trouble in Little China".It is may be safe to say that Russ and his guests Andrew "Baking While Baked" Tiede & "Not a Strong Start's" Jorge Marrero would agree. If not Carpenter's masterpiece, perhaps Kurt Russell's.Like most Carpenter films, it was under seen upon release. Thankfully, VHS and HBO has made this a must own feature. The film proves the West is fascinated by Eastern culture, so it only seems appropriate for CatBus to attach his review for the children's version of "Big Trouble", "KPop Demon Hunters".Next week, "I Dig Crazy Flicks" will return to GalaxyCon Des Moines for the second "1985 Action Movie Triple Threat Match". Then the week of November 16 will have two episodes dedicated to the first great starring performance from a pro-wrestler with Roddy Piper in "John Carpenter's They Live".

CatBusRuss & Faydra Black were going to amuse an ATL Comic Convention audience by gushing over the film that features Brandon Lee's final and finest performance, "The Crow". It is safe to believe that neither of them expected a packed room, but as our podcast host arrived after just concluding his first "1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match", he was surprised by the turn out. And then a FanX representative told the two that they would be hosting a Q&A with the comic book's creator James O'Barr and stars Bail Ling, Rochelle Davis, and Laurence Mason.No wonder Bai Ling was insisting to CatBusRuss to ask good questions when he met her the day before.Ms. Black handled the questions from the audience as Russ tried to seem cool sitting by the guests. Hopefully, he does not embarrass himself too much when he wanted to speak about the soundtrack.This panel was a love letter to the late Brandon Lee, and the cast and writer speak about how this is THE ONLY "CROW" MOVIE. So, yes. We get to hear about their unified disdain for the 2024 remake. It just does not have the heart of this masterpiece. When you hear everyone's tales of Brandon, be it Brandon insisting to Bai that his dad was a huge movie star in China or borrowing Rochelle's Game Boy, it is clear this property should never have been filmed again.There is nothing but great stories from this panel, and it might be Russ's greatest honor of 2025 to share the stage with them. Hope you enjoy the episode.

CatBusRuss had a four-movie marathon of sub 100-minute features that he intended to kick off the last week of spooky month. But since he currently has only one retailer to be responsible to, he had time to watch a longer flick or two. Lets just say Ryan Coogler's vision changed that plan. And our host had promised to go back to the Grid while it was still in theaters.It cannot be the "Ninety For Chill: Discovery of 2025" with its extra 37 minutes, but Russ will be very disappointed in the Academy if "Sinners" does not take home best picture. He needs to see "One Battle After Another", but there are just three too many Oscar winners to tell me that they should receive one more. Never mind that it is 24 minutes longer than Coogler's film while lacking a time-traveling musical number, and, most importantly, anti-Klan vampires."TRON: Ares" also lacks the vampires, but a Nine Inch Nails soundtrack and a love for Depeche Mode checks off all the boxes to amuse this CatBus. It does what "TRON: Legacy" forgot to do, play to the nerds. Jared Leto is no Michael Sheen, but he does not mess up, and the geeky fanservice made it a fun two hours. And since it is the son of "TRON" (runtime 1:36), it does qualify to be the NFC D25.The idea of Jared Leto is scary, but to make sure this bonus episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" fits the spooky tone, Russ revisits four movies that he covered in 2022. We will transition to more fun special effects with "Puppet Master (1989)" and then maintain a no budget vibe with emo-vampire flick "Quench (2007)".And to test your threshold of pain (Let's see how long you last.), the podcast will conclude with movies our host may have misunderstood. He doubts it, but you cannot hate the idea of a Hilary Swank and Idris Elba movie on paper. Not be the religious type, "The Reaping (2007)" may never have been up his alley. On the other hand, Peter Weller possibly portraying the devil, is a premise that you cannot deny the potential. Does "Shadow Hours (2000)" deliver?

CatBusRuss went to GalaxyCon Des Moines to once again preach the gospel of "Ninety For Chill". He is joined by Jess McCord from "Skies of Fortune" to further back his stance that modern movies are just too damn long, and to promote Jess's panel "A24: Horror Goes to the Art House."It is a fun conversation that celebrates a shared love for cinema, so much so that there is not much space for audience participation. That may have been a bad thing as the Jess proposes that flicks with a runtime between 70 and 100 minutes are not respectable. Why else would there be a lack of Best Picture Oscars for cinematic offerings of the ideal runtime? Russ takes a literary approach to this concept.Which films get the capital F and which films are spelled with a lowercase F? Perhaps, Russ should have let the audience decide. A note for next time.If the argument that our host takes on tour has been overplayed, to keep up the spooky month vibes, CatBus watched the highly praised A24 feature "I Saw the TV Glow". This was a challenge for him. He was skeptical having watched Jane Schoenbrun "We're All Going to the World's Fair", and not being overly impressed. How does Schoenbrun's sophomore personal tribute to 90s Nickelodeon fair in comparison?

The past two Octobers have been tough for CatBusRuss. He stands by the concept, "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw", and after the brilliance of "Saw X", it sucks that we are still waiting for the 11th installment to what might currently be the most profitable horror franchise. Our host is hoping that going back to episode three of the original "NinetyForChill dot Com - The Podcast" feed will serve as metaphorical methadone for his Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Costas Mandylor cravings.Russ was joined by @QuidPro_Joe Joe Golwitzer to discuss the best cinematic series that James Wan and Leigh Whannell have gifted us. The two discuss the first eight films in the franchise and its evolution from gory police procedural to the epitome of torture porn. At least for the CatBus, that is a sweet spot for his taste in cinema.Don't you threat. This podcaster has included reviews of "Saw X" and "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" in this podcast feed. But if you are looking for current movie chatter, CatBusRuss is joined by ThePoeticCritic before we get into John Kramer's world.Russ's big sister is still maintaining an anti-Disney IP stance and is reveling in the disaster of "TRON: Ares". She hopes this will finally make The House of Mouse go back to work to creating "original" masterpieces instead of efforts to promote theme-park rides. Having participated in a "TRON" panel at Indiana Comic Convention, this is a beloved franchise by at least 40 nerds. If there is anything trashy about the series right now, the two siblings agree it is the idea that Jared Leto can be a box office draw (alongside his music and public attitude...and...).Speaking of trashy, Russ's older sister manages to scrounge up some Halloween PTSD when she brings up a slow, drawn out, biassed documentary about the man who sold licensed "costumes" that were just a stamped mask and plastic tunic. For the parents and OCD-riddled kids who hated applying excessive makeup, there were Ben Cooper outfits, and "Dressing Up Halloween: The Story of Ben Cooper, Inc." is that celebration.

CatBusRuss went into GalaxyCon St. Louis a little bit on edge. He had the "Ninety For Chill: The Panel" and the third edition of the "1985 Action Movie Triple Threat" to prepare for with a virtual stranger who was crashing at his hotel room in Nix Eclips. Unlike GalaxyCon Des Moines, this podcast host did not have a day to relax, especially when he wanted that groovy autograph from Bruce Campbell. Good thing the man who was Ash Williams was there to verbally slap him in the face to get his head on straight.It was a bit of a rough trip to get to GalaxyCon. Russ's mind was all over the place and poor hotel service did not help him out. He also may have had too many goals to accomplish. This was the first convention since he started taking "I Dig Crazy Flicks" on the road where he was looking to interact with celebrities.Managing time was a worry for him. Horrible parking left him in a virtual food desert. If he was not ready to get the most out of all the panels he participated in, this trip may have been a bust. Of course, he is a podcaster, so getting a chance to hear his own voice gave him some comfort.With the exception of 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm on Sunday, panel room one was the place to be at the America's Convention Center. He tried to be the smartest person without a doctoral thesis at Ruby T. McCoy's panels about the psychology behind "The Boys" and grief with "Calling in Sick Because my Favorite Character Died". CatBus also sat in on a history of "The Addams Family" panel hosted by animation legend Joe Wos. The point is, there was plenty of fun to be had if he would just relax.Too make sure he got the names straight in regards to everyone who impressed him, CatBus does take a break in the recording to throw in his movie review for Lamberto Bava's "Demons 2". This film was suggested to him from his appearance on Jamie Ray's "Fave Five from Fans" podcast since it was produced and written by his favorite horror auteur, Dario Argento. It is a film that is also "Cinema Shitshow" approved.

CatBusRuss was given the honor to be a panelist at the first GalaxyCon St. Louis. For the second day of the convention, our podcast host is joined by 'Cinema Shitshow's' Nix Eclips to have another go at "Ninety For Chill: The Panel". And this time, they come sporting punch and pie.Nix dedicated the day to worship at the altar of Bruce Campbell, but the queue was so long that he tried to cut some deals with those stranded in the line to get him some merch. Russ on the other hand was able to finish much of his Christmas shopping, reconnecting with the associate producer of "Galaxy Warriors", and bugging "KPop Demon Hunter's" Danny Chung on behalf of his niece.And of course, the two podcasters did check out some panels like another installment of the "None of this Matters" podcast and the psychological draw towards "The Boys". CatBus tells his tales of the day while trying to deal with the Cubs efforts in the final game of the NLDS.Hopefully, the crowd was impressed enough to come to Day 3's "1985 Triple Threat Match". They will need it since it was scheduled in the "let's beat traffic time slot".

It was CatBusRuss's pleasure to be invited to be a panelist on Jess McCord's panel at GalaxyCon Des Moines. The topic of said panel, A24's rich horror movie history and influence. But, perhaps, more importantly, is calling it "elevated horror" a good thing?One half of the "Skies of Fortune" tabletop, role-playing game team put on quite a presentation, and must have his finger on the pulse of what nerds wants to chat about. The crowd of 40 people is not something a CatBus panel is accustomed to. In other words, if you have issues with the audio from the panel, that and a powerful air conditioning system are to blame.Jess offers up clips and Joe Bob Briggs commentary to try and do away with the term of elevated horror. Russ is there to defend those who think certain horror movies are high brow, like A24 offerings, when compared to the horror movies that Gen-Xers and Millennials group up with. Our podcast host also offers reasons why arthouse does not equal box office since A24 has yet to distribute a feature that has made over 100 million dollars when other studios are desperate for one billion dollar box offices.Elevated. Emo. Neuro-Spicy. After this panel, hopefully we can all determine what kind of horror A24 truly offers.

Comic book writer and novelist Josh Nealis is on a virtual promotional tour for his latest book, "Cocaine-Stripper Stronghold: Issue 2", so a podcast called "I Dig Crazy Flicks" seems an obvious production to reach out to. His project's wild premise makes him seem like the ideal guest for CatBusRuss, but can these two demented minds talk about films that can reach the lofty expectations they carry with themselves?Josh is obviously a passionate man, and that took priority when he offered the podcast's host one of his favorite films, 2002's "The Count of Monte Cristo", Alexandre Dumas's tale of long-gestating revenge in post Napoleonic France. The film has many supporters, but it is a half hour too long for "Ninety For Chill" and is pretty grounded in the historic environment. Director Kevin Reynolds may have given us "Waterworld", but this podcast needs some insane idea(s) like that Kevin Costner flick to work.Russ still has his skills that will allow anyone to talk about any movie they want on the podcast, so he decided to offer up a movie with similar themes, but with monsters and a manageable runtime. Someday, he would love to discuss Timur Bekmambetov's Russian action-monster movie hybrids that got him to the Stateside attention, but "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" may be a great jumping off point to this director's filmography.CatBusRuss met the founder of Cutthroat Comics & Publishing at Capital City Comic Con 2025 in Lansing, Michigan. Josh's table on artist alley featured comic books and novels with titles that will grab your attention like "Pedoman and Kid Friendly" and "Stuffed Squirrels & Porcelain Angels", so our host could not resist talking shop with this talent. Comics were bought and information was exchanged. And now its Russ's turn to make something from this new friendship.

After the small audience at the Indiana Comic Convention "Ninety For Chill: The Panel", circumstances prevented screenwriter Chuck Thomas from "Atlanta Film Chat" meeting with CatBusRuss for a panel at ATL Comic Convention.Russ still wanted a chance to chat with one of Atlanta's best movie podcasters. So, it is only fitting for Chuck's cinematic wisdom to select a feature that fits the "Ninety For Chill" parameters and star an actor with quite the outrageous career, Eric Roberts. Throw in James Earl Jones and Chris Penn, and you have to call this a crazy flick. This film is Taekwondo's answer to Karate's box office dominance, 1989's "Best of the Best".These two podcasters had a ball to start since Chuck wanted to find out about what he may have missed from the convention, and Russ was fascinated by his guest's PROPER football scarf selection. It serves as a preview of what will become of this year's Devil's Night's podcast with the cast and creator of "The Crow". With so many similar interests, the language is a lot looser than usual, so ear muffs for the kids, please.Despite the similarities of these talking heads, CatBus was not impressed by this feature. It may have brought up past trauma from "Over the Top". But again, Chuck has a great mind for movies, and like our host, raised on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Thus, it may not be too challenging to turn Russ's opinion around on the first chapter of Phillip Rhee's franchise.

CatBusRuss was too worn out to catch the "Josie and the Pussycats" reunion panel with Rachel Leigh Cook & Tara Reid, but he still had a handful of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" buttons to give out, so he made it to day three of GalaxyCon Des Moines. Just in time to catch the Q&A with Brian O'Halloran⁠ the star of "Clerks".This was an insightful panel where our host was impressed about how active he is in film and television, and every actor's fascination with Jason Mewes. It also gave CatBus a sound byte to open this episode with. If Russ is not tempting the Hollywood big wigs to start sending out cease and desist letters, is he putting enough effort in promoting this podcast?Our host also ran into Jess McCord at that panel and the two stuck around to check out the "Inglourious Treksperts" panel/podcast recording with Bret Spiner. It was a fun panel that pretty much ignored the series and films that are the actor's claim to fame, "Star Trek: The Next Generation".With October coming up, CatBus has been trying to figure out when to release all of his banked podcasts/panels (Hopefully to coincide with Spooky Month). While he was figuring out that schedule, he decided to post up a review for the latest feature from Dario Argento, "Dark Glasses". Russ is going to be on Jamie Ray's "Fave Five from Fans" podcast where the two will discuss all elements of the Italian auteur's career some Friday in the upcoming weeks, until it doesn't.

CatBusRuss may have missed the "Speed Friending" event as he recovered from the stress of making it to day one of GalaxyCon Des Moines (Never mind the stress of his personal dramas.), but he worked his promotional butt off and is damn near out of the con's "I Dig Crazy Flicks" buttons. This is thanks to the help of Jess McCord of the tabletop RPG "Skies of Fortune". The two guested on each others' panels respectively and had so much fun, Russ nearly lost his Yeti microphone.But ThePoeticCritic may think that is justified because he was in a rush to get to see his first John Barrowman panel. It was a fun show, but Barrowman's lack of humbleness leads our host to believe he getting paid way too much to frolic around and curse at conventions. If only the appreciative Karen Gillan's panel would have followed his instead, CatBus may have felt better about his love for the country that is cool with the C-word.Russ also had fun running into some familiar faces from his travels this year, and if it was not for his hard out, Darby Harn from ScreenRant (Check him out on the "The Last Jedi" episode.) would have had him as a guest on his "Humanity of Superman" panel. Perchance this professional nerd gig may pay off for this kid from Peoria.

Barry Bostwick debuts "Making Megaforce", a documentary/love letter about a bomb of his from 1982.Standout Adult Swim actors MC Chris & Dana Snyder gain a learning experience from their first attempt to record their podcast, "None of This Matters".Out podcast host learns he may have to keep up with what the kids love after a well conceived panel, "Eternal Love: Vampire Media Renaissance", out draws those celebrities.CatBusRuss is putting up his best fight to keep pushing "I Dig Crazy Flicks" to recognition. There has been a lot of drama in his life recently with the state of Illinois, a sibling who is not as cool as ThePoeticCritic, and losing his primary job due to a typing error. That is a lot of stress to leave at home for a short notice opportunity to take part in GalaxyCon Des Moines 2025.This resulted in a tougher drive to a new convention center which took half an hour to figure out the layout of. No time for the show floor, so the panels better deliver. Thankfully, they have, and he had a decent sized audience for the 1985 Triple Threat Rematch. Things may finally be looking up for the CatBus.

For GalaxyCon Des Moines, CatBusRuss and the Dread Pirate Syzer from Skies of Fortune are going to be guests on each others' panels. Our podcast host thinks that maybe DPS got the easier assignment since he will just have to argue that the best movies are over 100 minutes in length at the "I Dig Crazy Flicks Presents: Ninety For Chill - The Panel" (2 pm, Saturday, September 13). Russ, on the other hand, needs to quickly become an expert in A24 movies for the Dread Pirate's "A24: HORROR GOES TO THE ARTHOUSE" (8 pm, Saturday, September 13). Thus, this episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" (only one feature fits the ideal runtime between 70 and 100 minutes) focuses on his four-movie, preparation binge.After receiving a list of movies from the panel host, CatBus was relieved that he had covered many of these films on this podcast ("Saint Maud", "X", "Pearl", "MaXXXine", "We're All Going to the World's Fair"). He also saw "The Witch" when it arrived at RedBox and you know he has seen every Kevin Smith movie, so "Tusk" did not need to be re-queued.The films that he picked for this binge all had something to entice him except for one. Ari Aster maybe the name best associated with elevated horror, but CatBusRuss was always suspicious of this. When it comes to elevated, Russ thought it meant the runtime in Aster's case. Therefore, he chose to watch "Midsommar", the one with the middle range of his features (148 minutes).As for the three enticing flicks, the cast of "Death of a Unicorn" is stacked. CatBusRuss has yet to see a bad Alex Garland movie, so "Men" felt like a wise choice. (We may speak about "Ex Machina" at the panel.) Who does not like Hugh Grant's other forays into horror (like "The Lair of the White Worm")? "Heretic" (directed by the Iowan duo of Scott Beck & Bryan Woods) was his final movie choice.CatBusRuss will come into the capital of Iowa with 11 movies from the studio seared into his brain. That is nearly one per year of A24's existence. Will that be enough to gain the rank of expert?As for his two panels at GalaxyCon, he will be providing punch and pie to as many audience members as possible. His first panel will be "1985 TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: STALLONE V. SCHWARZENEGGER V. CANNON GROUP" (Friday, September 12, 7 pm). Will we actually declare a winner or will this be another draw like ATL Comic Convention?

CatBusRuss was able to participate in a lot of panels at ATL Comic Convention for movies that he loves, but one of those panels was for a feature not enough people have seen. He was honored to get to chat with the co-creator of the comic "Blood Orange", Tim Avers about Rian Johnson's 2005 debut feature, "Brick". Hopefully, the two were able to convince those who were early for the anime voice actor panel that followed them that they were missing out on a classic.There was no audience to start, but since the two had a movie that they both adore, who needed them. Johnson sold this story as "A Detective Story", but if you were combing the aisles of Blockbuster in 2005, was Joseph Gordon-Levitt name enough to get you to rent this flick? CatBus really thinks that the ad campaign for this Sundance darling should have really pushed that this is film noir for high schoolers. Both panelist agree that this is a feature that soon-to-be freshmen should watch to better understand the drama of high school.