Imagine
if that franchise could have had a flick that was under 97 minutes
long. As I write that, I realize how that explains the confusion in the
series's use of parsec. Distance. Time. Both of their measurements are length.
At this point, the only "Star Wars" feature that would qualify for NinetyForChill.com - The Website
(or the Blogger since I am taking a few shortcuts despite my Web-Designer
Certification) is 2008's animated feature "The Clone Wars". IMDb
says it clocks in at 1 hour 38 minutes, but I will bet a digit or my
left ball ("That it ain't no good until the good are appalled". I cannot
resist a Supersuckers reference.) that the length will be rounded down
on the DVD box.
Perhaps a podcast for a later date should be about
cinematic features for animated TV shows. Is "DuckTales the Movie:
Treasure of the Lost Lamp" on Disney+? It has always been tempting to
just grab a copy from my retailer since Disney is not overly proud of
that one (Just like the mid 80's films, the way they treat
pre-renascence is criminal).
As much as I would love to talk about Ziro the Hutt and Stinky the Huttlet, that is not what I and Joe Golwitzer (@quidpro_joe on Twitter and Instagram) chatted about yesterday.
Joe
use to be my manager at the retailer I work at, and thanks to Amazon,
we probably had more times than we should to talk about movies. He is a
fan of cinema who is doing his damnedest to own and/or watch all of the
Best Picture Academy Award winners, so his taste in features maybe
considered better than mine or he is more dedicated to becoming a more
respectable cinephile than I. He is quite the respectful horror movie
fan with "Halloween" being introduction to horror and he had recently
seen and loved "The Thing". This lead to our original intention to do a
podcast about John Carpenter's sub 99-minute movies.
I
decided for the sake of the podcast and my guests not being nearly as
anal as I to up the NinetyForChill.com ceiling to 1 hour 39 minutes. This
only applies to the podcast.
When it
comes to 99-minute Carpenter, Joe realized that he was not as verse in
that filmography as I was. So we decided to go with the second
suggestion that I offered which was the "Saw" franchise, the sequels
more specifically. Only "Saw III" runs too long for the pod's
parameters, but with that being my least favorite, I figured it would
not get too much love.
We still swoon
over Carpenter, which makes my late Saturday viewing of "Dark Star" and
related drunkenness worthwhile, and work in the issues with how computer
generated gore simply will not do. It allows us to transition to some
David Cronenberg chat and my pitch for Jeff Goldblum to be the next
Jigsaw apprentice.
With the original
feature being released at the peak of "The Boondock Saints" fandom, we
do reminisce about how that has aged poorly. We also discuss the need
for these frequent sequel franchises. I also slip in a visceral "Castle
Freak" review and tell the audience from "Jurassic Jeff Jezebel Owes Me Eight Bucks" how my experience with Neil
Marshall's "Hellboy" turned out.
We are
both big fans of the last great horror franchise and we are happy to do
all the excess thinking that the "Saw" audience should avoid. Hope you
enjoy.
It is a good thing that I have started "NinetyForChill.com - The Podcast" because I have blown my annual resolution of eating something with Buffalo seasoning everyday. The main issue with this is that it throws off my diet. I did not buy much food because I would need to eat out every other day to make it work.
Without the resolution, I come home and want to make food because the fictional rule has been abolished. This is really just an issue on Thursdays and Fridays, the days that AEW does not offer content. My apologies for not finding "A Shot of Brandy" to be must watch content. When I leave work at 6:15 pm, there is not really a lot of time to prepare food in time to watch wrestling. Those are good times for Glucerna and cereal.
Thursday's trouble is that I do not have that wrestling to discourage cooking. On top of that, ramen is my Wednesday lunch because I have made it a tradition to watch AEW Dynamite with Buffalo wings as my meal. This means I am eating out during lunch and then making something fatty that night because what else am I going to do with that night? If you miss out on playing video games for a couple of weeks due to podcast work, remembering that they are available can be troublesome.
Friday's dilemma is that I usually need to take longer lunches to ensure that I am not getting overtime. The flexibility of the new part-time crews schedule prevents leaving early on that day to remedy that. Of course you should expect me to be out and about for those 70 minutes. Errands prevent me from sitting around for a half hour. Watching Smackdown (I should just say supporting the WWE), is not a priority, so the wrestling programming does not inspire me to sit in front of the TV.
I think all of my readers realize I am just bullshitting here. It is fair for them to expect me to have at least a dozen wrestling DVD's (more than likely a score) to watch and with the New Japan Pro-Wrestling World, I could just make myself a wrestling schedule. If anything, I am showing my age by wanting appointment TV. The point is, I need something to do, so I eat. The real issue that I have is that I can handle nearly any kind of body horror, so my late night movies will not allow me to purge my previous sins.
Stuart Gordon could be waistline savior for those who have a weaker stomach. Maybe after seeing a hole carved out of my wrist with pins sticking out of it (WRESTLING! YAY!!!), I can take about anything visually. Perhaps I need to rent some more French Extremism to shake this invulnerability, or I just need to stop cheering for directors to go for the bad taste reactions. Being a direct-to-video feature, "Castle Freaks" is a limited experience for fans of "Re-nimator" and "From Beyond", but makes sure to give the audience the shocks that you expect and push the boundaries of what they are allowed to enjoy. That does not necessarily mean the feature has is good, but if cat and boob mutilation perk your ears up, this film may be worth a view.
Castle Freak (1995, 1 hour 35 minutes).
The Riley family has fallen on hard times. It has been nine months since the patriarch, John, was drunk behind the wheel and was involved in an accident that took his five year-old son's life and blinded his 16 year-old daughter Rebecca. They may have gotten a break when they are informed that they had just inherited a castle in Italy.
Of course, this castle is considered haunted. The duchess who lived their never left the premises after her five year-old son died. This was shortly after John's father left her and returned to the United States with her younger sister. Stories of wailing at night that can be heard through the castle halls do not help the properties reputation.
John does not plan to relocate to Italy, he is just looking to liquidate the assets. The simplicity of this task is quickly lost after Rebecca wonders off during his inventory to follow a cat into the dungeon and crypt. Believing she heard someone, her investigation inadvertently unleashes the Castle Freak.
The home is quickly cursed by strange occurrences mainly centering around Rebecca. John's overbearing wife believes her daughter has an overly active imagination, but as John investigates these happenings, he starts to unravel a dark tale about his parentage and how the duchess's son never died even presuming that she kept him alive to torture the past 40 years. One can only imagine the anger and vengeance that seethe in the mind of this newly freed monster.
The title delivers exactly what it promises. "Castle Freak's" story really expounds upon the simple premise and is a classic in terms of body horror and the family-related horror that is becoming the current rage in cinema. Like the Italian horror legends, Stuart Gordon captures everything he wants you to see despite the 4:3 aspect ratio.
It is difficult to pin down anything this film does wrong. This is not high art nor is it cinema with a capital C. This feature is a solid, brief story which does harken back to the concepts of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft would give you a scenario and left the story to the audience's imagination. "Castle Freak" is not a Lovecraft adaptation like his two undeniable classics, but Gordon flushed this out from only seeing a poster in the producer's office (that producer being Charles Band of "Arena" fame). He saw a freak locked in a dungeon, and created a marvelous narrative.
The film benefits from the established chemistry between the lead actors, Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton (who were also leads in the classics) and I think it is a shame that this is the last performance of Jessica Dollarhide who portrays the confident and caring Rebecca. You may complain about the Italian cast being there solely to become corpses, but that means no chemistry required. This is how no budget cinema thrives.
The most intriguing chemistry may come from how the Freak interacts with the starring cast. This maybe more of a story element, but from the beginning of the feature, you know the Freak has a reason for his actions. What is most important is the Freak trying to be human. It never works out, but he is not entirely evil.
If mutilated pets is not going to upset you, the Freak actions might. This feature likes to mix all kinds of vices, and the mixture is always messy. It may come off at chauvinistic, but I do not think you can argue the realism of the monster's actions. This would just be a French monster story that can be romanticized without them. Renting this title must mean you are here for the horrific. Do not complain about it.
"Castle Freak" is a horror movie for fans of the genre. Those who do not like graphic and nearly unthinkable violence need not view. That is sad because it is a brilliant take on stories like the Hunchback and the Phantom. Stuart Gordan could take any classic story premise and flush it out into something all his own.
This is a display of gore horror fans want without any unnecessary narrative to endure. "Castle Freak" is a classic from a horror master that fans of the genre owe to themselves to view.
The Disgruntled's Real Championship Wrestling blog needs a wrestling related post. I could say that "Sucker Punch" was pretty much a wrestling project, but "MMA is for those who cannot spell Pro Wrestling". That is still the favorite AAW Pro shirt that I own.
The
timing for this need could not be worst. We are essentially in a
holding pattern because WrestleMania season is about to begin. Raymond
James Stadium in Tampa is supposed to be the location so that they may
allow fans, and after Wrestle Kingdom 15 getting to host 12,000, I
think WWE will successfully push this through.
I
guess the Thunder Dome could work out fine. Does WWE really want a loud
crowd to hijack the showcase of the immortals when they could just continue to pipe the crowd noise
in? Still, for the biggest show of the year, you need life for it to work. We
cannot have another two-day spectacle at the Performance Center. That
synthetic arena vibe at WrestleMania 36 killed everything except the
cinematic matches. It would have been better off at the empty Trump
Plaza Hotel and Casino. Was Linda McMahon's cabinet position the only
repayment Vince McMahon received for keeping that property operating in
the late 80's?
Since
we are still in the pandemic, I imagine that WrestleMania will again be
two nights. There will not be any indie shows to ride off its coat
tails. My question is: Is it special enough for two nights?
Wrestle
Kingdom has built up two main event stories that require both nights.
Last year's Mania was two nights just to make it seem important. Night
One did not effect Night Two. Unless there is going to be a title
unification, what story worth two nights is there?
I
wonder if the WWE fans are over the disappointment of "WrestleMania 4".
The sloppy tournament is not appreciated by most. Even with four hours
to run, 18 matches was too many to expect half of them to get the time
to be classics. But with nine (knowing WWE, possibly 10 hours), is there
a better time to reintroduce The King of the Ring?
It
is good to just type "out loud". This was originally going to be a blog
about tertiary titles that sound unique enough to bring to major
promotions. For some reason, I thought that would be how to make
WrestleMania special.
I
think what AEW wishes they could have are tournaments like NJPW's G1
Climax. That is not practical for them since they are a long way from being a
touring company even in non-corona virus times, but I think the idea of
making the product feel more like a sport is the charm of the
tournament that made the likes of Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Tetsuya
Naito.
This hardcore American wrestling audience wants more spectacular
matches for the sake of spectacular matches instead of blood feuds. We do not need a story to have Cesaro and Daniel Bryan go 25 minutes. If
this was not the case AAW Pro would still be a place for trainers in the
Midwest to showcase their students instead of serving as a preview for
what will be seen on NXT and AEW in the next three years.
*Blog post returned to on January 20, 2021.
When I have not been editing, lining up new guests, and binging Jeff Goldblum movies for "NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast",
I have tried to get my mind back on wrestling. A part of my brain is
always on wrestling since I used my podcasts to take digs at Hulk Hogan and CM
Punk, but it has been burned out quite a bit. Yesterday may have been
the most important edition of Impact on AXS TV, but I was too
exhausted to make it through Private Party versus Chris Sabin and James
Storm for the Impact World Tag Team Championship's number one contendership.
This could be because of watching and reviewing "Hellboy (2019)" as a midnight movie (I just had to reference it on "Episode 2: Jurassic Jeff Jezebel Owes Me Eight Bucks",
but I will say, the piped crowd noise is not helping the audience to stay involved
with. To make canned noise work, you have to be able to shoot around the
lack of live people interacting with the product. Stadiums benefit from
the advertisements that cover the empty seats. Who is to say there are
not live fans in the upper decks? According to NBC, Ralph Wilson Stadium's 6,700
fans sounded like 67,000.
If
a crowd of 6,700 did sound like 67,000-person gathering, this country
is never getting over the pandemic. Wrestle Kingdom had 12,000 people
who followed social distancing and mask practices. They were committed
to clapping to give the noise the boys required to excel with no spit
spread. They are doing well at Daily's Place, but not so much when it
comes to the Dawg Pound or the Bills Mafia. Did we win our independence
to abandon Anglo/European discipline?
And
that is an excellent transition to why the masses will not accept a
revival of Ring of Honor's "Round Robin Challenge". After three of those
event, ROH decided to abandon this concept which is sad. In principle,
who would not want to see Drew Gulak, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Adam Cole
face of against each other in three separate matches? The best concept
deserves the best showcase.
Sadly,
people do not have the attention span to accept drama where they must
keep track of circumstances or accept draws. Win or go home is so much
easier to understand. Since WrestleMania is officially two nights
this year, it is time to make King of the Ring the best pay-per-view
premise once again.
The
first question is, how large should the field be? Well, Wrestle
Kingdom's main cards this year each had six matches. Night two initially
felt like it needed an extra match, but who was anticipating Jay White
proving his quality by going 50 minutes with Kota Ibushi in the main
event. Just to be safe, lets start with each night of WrestleMania's
main card featuring seven matches. And then we have to keep in mind that
WrestleMania will still have more than that, so lets make it eight
matches (as it was in 2019).
I
loved the story of Randy Savage defeating four opponents in one night
to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania IV, but 16
men would be too many. A tournament of that size is suppose to leave the
fan believing the tourney would have seven matches in the first night.
This would knock the women off the show. This makes the ideal number
eight.
*These
cards are based on the belief that the Universal Champion will be
challenged by the Royal Rumble winner. Card Subject To Change.
King of the Ring Quarter Finals Match 1
Women's Tag Team Championship
King of the Ring Quarter Finals Match 2
Smackdown Tag Team Championship
King of the Ring Quarter Finals Match 3
King of the Ring Quarter Finals Match 4
WWE Championship
Miz successfully cashes in the Money in the Bank Championship
Smackdown Women's Championship
This
leaves us with whomever wins the King of the Ring needing to win two
matches to then challenge the WWE Champion. With such a weaselly way of
winning the championship, and in the interest of fairness, I think the
rematch for the title should occur after the semi finals of the King of
the Ring tournament.
WrestleMania Night Two Card:
King of the Ring Semi Finals Match 1
King of the Ring Semi Finals Match 2
Raw Tag Team Championship
WWE Championship
Raw Women's Championship
King of the Ring Finals
WWE Champion versus The King of the Ring
Universal Championship
After
laying this out, I could see moving the Raw Tag Team Championship to
the pre-show of night two to insert the Intercontinental Championship to
feature another Smackdown match. I think the United States title should
then be contested on the night one pre-show.
The
only real flaw of this concept is that the amount of performers
receiving that big WrestleMania bonus would be fewer. I suppose you can
just make the Intercontinental Championship a ladder match that was
becoming a great tradition from WrestleMania 31 and 32. There is always
one Women's Championship that is defended in a multi-person match. When
has there not been at least one Tag Team Championship not defended in a
multi-team bout? Are there that many tag teams to be concerned about.
If
there is a let down to the tournament idea, it is that we do not get a
proper coronation for the tourney's winner. Some would argue, how do we
get the "new Edge versus Orton Three"? Just make that an opening round match.
At least this way, you either have a reason why they are not going to
win the tournament or you silence the cynical fan about a part-timer
challenging for a championship with them going through three matches.
This
looks like the only year this can be pulled off. To state it better, it
is the only year that I can see reestablishing the prestige of King of
the Ring. I can see WWE making the show of shows a two night affairs to
further kill the indies. With the profits they made off the pandemic and
the Saudi blood money (Newcastle United really needs new ownership, but
there is a sense of relief that the Saudi buy out has yet to come
through.), why would they not?
Curse
WrestleMania season. They will get at least two months of subscription
fees from me. Three if the WrestleMania card on paper is worthwhile. I
know it is good to have multiple TV wrestling companies that are
separate from each other, but I really wish Tony Khan would go on a tape
library buying spree. Wrestling (AEW) needs another digital platform to
make sure WWE will bust their asses all year round.
My only frustration about the finished product this week is that I cannot figure out how Skimbleshanks managed to get a picture that was easier to edit with Snapchat (@catbusruss) than my queen kitty Evangeline. My best offerings never seem to get the respect that they truly deserve. Should I really be selling that chip on my shoulder?
Judging that I decided to promote my Letterboxd account on this edition of "NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast", perhaps. My handle on that site is cmdarth, so despite the focus on the world of sub 97-minute features, the wrestling businesses always seeps in. I may need to a CM Punk and Soska Sisters' combination podcast. After the Colt Cabana drama, someone should take his initials away. If CM Venom is not going to step up...
To Punk's credit, he knows how long a movie's runtime should be. His 2019 starring roles both fit into the NinetyForChill.com time standards. I guess I still cannot help but to admire him. But he is not what professional wrestling needs right now. What it needs is a "No Holds Barred" remake with Jurassic Jeff Goldblum.
This week, I chat with my older sister ThePoeticCritic to talk about her favorite (living) actor, Jeff Goldblum and his features that range from 91 to 96 minutes. Her immense knowledge and research (Thanks Mike and Mike at "Now and Then Movie Podcast") allowed her to give me a lot of incite into the story of one of the best character actors of the past 45 years. She also explains why half of my four-day Goldblum binge required some means of chemical escape.
Tje features that are discussed in depth on this podcast are the David Cronenberg classic "The Fly", Larry Bishop's mess of a debut feature "Mad Dog Time", "Shooting Elizabeth" from his European excursions, and "The Great White Hype" a funny fighting film featuring the fresh from "Pulp Fiction" Samuel L. Jackson. ThePoeticCritic also provides opinions about every other Goldblum feature that qualify for the NinetyForChill.com standards.
We also discuss the idea of raising the ceiling of 97 minutes to 99 minutes. I have made it clear that a three-figure film length will not be considered. A little editing never hurts.
Then again, a little editing is what "ThePoeticCritic" might ask for when it comes to a joke about David Cronenberg's role as Geena Davis's gynecologists in "The Fly". It may also apply to my reminiscing about Stuart Gordon's "Robot Jox", a film that places Michael Bays attempts at robotic comedy to shame.
And as always, I do take the time to mention the feature I have been trying to get out of development hell "Main Event off the Dead" a no to low-budget flick about indie wrestlers versus 80's gimmicked zombies. If you want a treatment or have any pointers on how to pull it out of development hell, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.
And of course the podcast drop ruins the blog dropping schedule. I cannot really add additional NinetyForChill.com posts once the latest podcast is released. Cannot have visitors scrolling to find the play button.
In
case you have not heard about the first episode of "NinetyForChill dot
Com: The Podcast" finally dropping. Feel free to hit play below to hear
"Ally's Abbreviated Anime Adventure".
The
next problem that the podcast has presented me with is that I promised to
address a 90-minute movie that I had rented the night I finished
producing the last episode. Needless to say, the visceral review for "The New Mutants"
was a necessity for the next episode. Do I retread that feature with a
written review?
There
are a lot more podcasting issues. Right now, I am waiting on my older
sister to listen to the first episode to determine if her reputation would be
besmirched if she was to be the the next guest. It is tough for
me to comprehend. Not that she wants to make sure she will not humiliate
herself. My initial pitch was a Jeff Goldblum theme, and she is the Jurassic Jeff Jezebel. All this pitch does for me is force myself to watch "Mad Dog Time"...or "The Fly" since Ally and I gave
"Videodrome" some love last week. Which seems cooler:
Too
bad I do not mean to post this blog till tomorrow (I think). This
homage to the Tyrannosaurus Pecs may have sold big sis on doing the pod. Why
do I always fail to think of the bribery angle?
Speaking
about bribery, there was an article that I came across discussing how
Disneyland will become a mass-vaccination site for COVID-19. Everybody
loves the Disney parks. Get a shot, hop on "The Jungle Cruise". Why was
this not the Federal response to begin with? I guess Big Mouse was never
a fan of Big Orange.
If
only we had the vaccine options this summer. You could go to the movies,
get a shot with your popcorn, and give Christopher Nolan the respect he
deserves (I guess. After his "Batman" sequels and "Interstellar", I get a
pretentious vibe from him.).
It
would have worked out for Disney. If the concept of an "X-Men" horror movie was not
going to sell you on seeing "The New Mutants", perhaps protection from
the premier plague would.
It looks like we have made it. My Blue Snowball microphone, a Zoom meeting room, and Audacity open source, cross-platform audio editor has allowed me to produce my first true podcast. If anyone is interested, I do have an old assignment from a 2009 IICC mass media class that elaborates on my liberal leanings and how they are necessary for colleges to truly benefit their students, but I do not know if you want to perceive me as even being more pretentious.
Ally Higgins from AllysAccessoriesShop comes on and does her best to express her affection for anime, an animation style she was introduced to during our three and three-quarter year long relationship. We started with Studio Ghibli's classics like "My Neighbor Totoro", "Porco Rosso", and "The Cat Returns" and move on to the flicks where they just drew too many pictures. Makoto Shinkai's latest releases get some love and we find out Ally's surprising love for Mamoro Hosoda's library.
Please pardon our little asides about her recent COVID-19 related quarantine, the discovery that her current significant other is a mark, the brawls between my cat Eva and her cat/my roommate Skimble, and the influences of the podcasts "ID10T" [A Christopher Columbus rant (the director/writer/producer, not the genocidal moron)] and "Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling".
What can I say except to those podcasts' pets, "What you gonna do when Eva and Skim run wild on you?" It is not a threat. The furry ones and I just want to take that over from the Hulkster. I suppose I need to start using "brother" a lot more.
At this time, I am looking for a guest for the next episode, and would love to have the next episode out next Tuesday. Want to talk about sub 97-minute movies? Send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.
Just to cover all legalities, the opinions expressed do not reflect those of Best Buy, Inc.
So
I was angry to the point where I did not feel much like joking. If that
shit had to happen, why on my day off? Once AEW concluded, it left me
feeling like I had wasted all the time before hand with that
frustration. In other words, the pissed off conservative trolls were
either too confused or too afraid to acknowledge they have been calling
for an insurrection to engage me on Twitter.
Fortunately,
gambling is not something that I plan to take up this year. I thought
we had a chance for a quiet return to normalcy. Dr. Dre seems to be
recovering from the brain aneurysm. Georgia went blue. It seems we just
cannot have nice things.
My
wishes for things to be quiet were pointless though. If things are
quiet, then there is less on the internet for me to read. With less to
read, more down time has been established. How do I spend my down time?
Writing is the answer of course. When the rational world knows Trump
should be removed from office, can I really add to it (beyonds
recommending Twitter accounts that should be locked out like their
leader's)?
Wrestle
Kingdom 5: Night 2 was a solid card, but no surprises except for the
promise that Jon Moxley will defend the United States Championship for a
third time. Unless NJPW is going to work with AEW, thus allowing KENTA
of the Bullet Club to return to Orlando and make a trip up to
Jacksonville for the match. I suppose since Moxley is battling a Biz
Cliz off shoot, Moxley does not have to look weak in defeat.
I do not want to make this blog (Main Event of the Dead) solely about the wrestling business. This must be an indicator that I should get to work on my next fictional project. If
you have any ideas on how to move my pro-wrestling zombie comedy, "Main
Event of the Dead", out of development hell or would like a script treatment, feel free to send
them to russthebus07@gmail.com. That will at least give me some kind of distraction. It may be hard to write my idea for a television pilot on bank hardware.
Then
again the "Main Event of the Dead" treatment I composed for Chicago's
best wrestler was compiled on the Mark Twain's concierge computer, so
perhaps I need to be daring for the sake of being daring. Of course, if
someone from Peoria (or Chicago) were to claim my work, I have the copyright
so I will get my pound of flesh. It is a catch 22. Write it on my
laptop, neglect my cats for a few evenings, and then secure the
copyright despite no one will buy copyrighted material. Write it on bank
software but leave a trail for it to be stolen before I can sell it.
It
seems theft is what all drama is based upon. The Trump base is trying
to steal the election. Jon Moxley wants vengeance against Kenny Omega
for stealing the AEW World Championship from him. I want to own my
ideas, but you cannot sell intellectual property. If only I could come
up with a Danny Ocean style crew to turn the negatives into positives.
Demonstrating my charisma is what I hope to start achieving. Tonight, I am going to try and gather a podcast based on NinetyForChill.com out of my former partner. She is pretty reserved, but tell her to drop her Etsy shop into the conversation, this might pay off.
If
only I did not have to listen for customers. If it was like my old
copy-writing gig, I could just listen to podcasts. That way, I could
listen to all of my friends who have started podcasts and start to
network with obtainable guests. It seems cheaper than paying for
Patreons to secure them.
Unless
everyone of the locals have Patreons. The pay walls just takes away the
will to struggle to fame and fortune. There are no dues to pay, or at
least anyone who is willing to pay for them.
Or
perhaps it is all about opening a print-to-order T-shirt shop. It
worked for Tony Khan. I wonder why he has not turned to making chic
merchandise for the Jaguars. Bullet Club mash up with Jackson de'Ville,
and the sales can get you those generational talents that this AFC South team
so desperately needs.
*January 8, 2021.
The
recording of the first "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast" seems to have
went well. I was starting to partake of my whiskey collection during the
recording, so needless to say I have not played the Zoom meeting
back, recorded an intro, or began editing. Because of the alcohol, there
was no way I was going to partake in the NuEra Hybrid that I have at
home. Something needed to be done with the rest of the evening, and "Ninety For Chill: The Website" has been falling behind in content.
My
original title for this blog was going to be "Theft: The Insurrection;
The US Championship; The Podcast", so I thought a heist movie would be
good to unwind to. Unfortunately, these movies tend to require a lot of
detail, so finding one that was under 97 minutes did not go well.
Netflix did mail me a 2008 feature called "Sucker Punch" that was about
underground fighting in London. Since those films are about grifting,
that seemed an appropriate subject as the Trump presidency comes to an
end. Being incredibly ugly by being shot on video...possibly tape
also seems fitting when the government was held hostage by a bunch of
people who could not program a VCR.
If
only the Capital Building had a clock out front flickering 12:00 a.m.
at the traitors, the confusion could have slowed the siege down. And it
would have kept those twats who objected to the certification from even
showing up.
Charles
Buchinsky is seemingly a damaged pit fighter who decides London is
where he needs to be. He claims to have loose ends to tie up, but it may
simply be in the capital because he needs a manager to get his fights set up. After he walks into a fight and dominates, both the menacing manager Victor
Maitland and the flamboyant Ray "Harley" Davidson. Something about
Maitland's demand of the room leads to absolute no trust from Buchinsky, so
he is quick to consider an offer from Harley despite the struggles to
survive are worn all over his face.
Maitland
is dead set on never letting Harley have an opportunity to show him
up, so every fight for Buchinsky comes with ridiculous entrant fees.
Harley is a gambler in every facet, so he is always quick to spend
whatever his fighter takes in. This results in Harley needing to
approach loan sharks to provide him money in hopes that Buchinsky will
win the big one for him. As Maitland keeps throwing obstacles in
Buchinsky's way, the fighter's perseverance leave all the spectators
certain that he will be the top guy in London. With all the spoils that
come with being his promoter, will Harley be able to stay on top if that
happens, or is he just looking for the next large prize? How long can
his fighter continue to represent his dreams of outrageous fortune?
"Sucker
Punch" is without a doubt the ugliest film featuring a Tom Hardy scene, but the
story has a lot of heart and two every man protagonists that you cannot
help but get behind. It can be best summed up as a film for fight fans
by fight fans.
Calling it a film by fight fans means it is probably better than one by Tap Out like "Locked Down",
but do not expect high art. Writer/director Malcolm Martin did not have
the apparel company's pre-Affliction funds. This means no additionally lit scenes
that did not take place at a Cage Rage show (MMA home of the film's
antagonist, Ian Freeman) and literally no kind of special effects. Thank
the gods for England's strict gun laws.
For
me, the cast, primarily "Red Dwarf's" Danny John-Jules, was strong
enough to keep my attention and look past the ugliness of the
production. The story is tried and true and one that I can watch over
and over again (The end of "Lionheart" never fails to score some tears
from me.). If you want a B-movie of vintage Van Damme, there is "Fight Night"
for that fix. But you want to see how well this story can work with no
budget, "Sucker Punch" proves it can and even add some Guy Ritchie like
twists.
You
have to love the effort to make movies to truly appreciate "Sucker
Punch". This story was going to be pushed into visual media no matter
what, so it is a pity for the dirty appearance that the budget could
afford. Despite this, you have entertaining enough characters and a format
that rarely fails. It brings MMA back to the 90's, and if you are
nostalgic for low blows and soccer kicks, this is worth a watch.
I
somehow ended up with a three-day weekend, so productivity was not a
primary concern. If anything, the schedule left me worried that a
furlough is coming up at my retail job. After December 27, the curbside
pickup shelves were pretty barren. The upside to this is that it should
have at least made the "weekend show up and walk out" coworker have to be
counted on. What a way to celebrate a birthday. This seems like inverse
karma, but I will enjoy it however it comes.
Unfortunately for pro-wrestling, a lack of productive fandom was present. WrestleTalk and WhatCulture released a lot love with year end lists, but since I work a day job
and January 4th did not fall on the weekend, I have not seen any of
Wrestle Kingdom's first night. Fate's bigger kick in the teeth is that
the bank's five-day work week regardless of Saturday coverage means I
will have a day off in the middle of the week. Sadly, that is Wednesday,
thus I cannot watch eight hours of wrestling in one sitting tonight to
be up to speed.
I
blame fate, but now that I am the third most powerful person at the
branch (That does sound like being the third tallest on an "NBA Jam"
roster.), the wisdom should have been their to request those days off in
advance. Not watching Wrestle Kingdom 15: Night 2 live is inexcusable
for someone who has essentially become nothing more than a mark. Thank
the gods for COVID-19 so I can just proclaim any non-signed talent is in
the same status as I. If you are finding booking because of lack corona
virus restrictions, you have a priority issue or an inability to accept
reality. And that sounds like the pot calling the kettle their word.
*January 5, 2021
A
pot of coffee has been brewed at the bank. It is not for me. The new hire
needed it to plow through the regulatory training and the new father
only had three hours of sleep. Though, since the new dad talked about
finishing "Cyberpunk 2077" (as a nomad) last night and restarting (as a
corpo), I doubt the son was the reason for that. This is all a long way
of questioning what kind of wrestling fan I am. Surely I could have
stayed up and watch the live stream of Wrestle Kingdom: Night 2 and not
be any worse for wear.
I
did work through Night 1, and it was a pretty solid card. My change
would have been Will Ospreay defeating Kazuchika Okada because you
should not let both up and coming talents loose out. Hiroshi Tanahashi put over
the young upstart Chris Jericho the year prior, so he should not be made
to lose to The Great-O-Kharn. Okada got to delay the Kota Ibushi
ascension last year, so he should not be hurt by doing the favor. Call
me old fashioned, but your Super Bowl is suppose to be the end of the
story not the beginning. Are we working towards Okada giving Ospreay his
win back next year?
Surprisingly,
WrestleTalk did not cover the event. They are based in London. No one
would have to stay up all night to watch it. At worst, you are waking up
at six in the morning. It is your job guys. We all wake up at least an
hour before the time clock needs to be punched. I am not regretting being a patron with the
laziness being displayed.
They
may have been covering it live on the Wrestle 2 channel, but if you do
not even do predictions video for the second biggest show in wrestling
on your primary channel to promote your secondary, did you really care.?Cutting those ties to a #SpeakingOut name (Will Ospreay) are we?
At
least you can still count on them in regards to Western wrestling news.
Knowing that Raw was would be the only show be covered in their daily
news video, they mentioned that Marty Scurll coming to terms on his
release from Ring of Honor, along with his #SpeakingOut allegation. I am
just stuck wondering why Jay Lethal is still on the ROH payroll.
