GalaxyCon Des Moines 2025: Scottish Panels, Panels with Jess McCord, Dante's Sentimental Swear Words

  

I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss

Bonus: Scottish Panels Galore @ GalaxyCon Des Moines - Day 2

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.

Episode 237 - Dante Hicks's Sentimental Swear Words, GalaxyCon Des Moines (Day 3), and 'Dario Argento's Dark Glasses'

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.

 

Follow me on Bluesky @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

Ninety For Chill: "Pearl", Chicago #FanExpo 2024, and "Mallrats"

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 176: Pearl & an X-traordinary Announcement

CatBusRuss⁠ found ⁠Ti West⁠'s "⁠X⁠" to be a genius work of horror and satire, so of course he is pumped for the trilogy's finale, "⁠MaXXXine⁠", which comes out this Fourth of July Weekend (2024). But, if he does not watch the middle feature of the series, is he showing West the proper respect he deserves? We cannot have that, so our host finally got to this iTunes purchase, "⁠Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story⁠", just in case the ghost of the first film's mass-murderer shows up to close out the franchise.

As for the announcement promised in the title, ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ has gotten a chance to bring Ninety For Chill: The Podcast to Chicago's oldest comic con, ⁠Fan Expo⁠. All the details thus far are discussed.

Episode 178: Mallrats with @CouchManBakes & @JayMewes's Vocabulary

Snoogans!

CatBusRuss⁠ and ⁠Andrew "Couch Man Bakes" Tiede⁠ have been meaning to cover ⁠Kevin Smith⁠'s filmography for some time, but did not know quite how to tackle it. Mrs. Tiede may have had some influence on the proceedings because we are only focusing on one film from the Jersey's auteur instead of taking her man away for hours to cover it all. The show's guest thought it was best to tackle what seems to be every millennials first step into the ⁠View Askewniverse⁠, 1995's "⁠Mallrats⁠".

Our host, being able to see R-rated movies in theaters sooner, introduction to the Red Bank native's world was "⁠Dogma⁠", but good luck finding that feature streaming. ⁠Russ⁠ may consider selling his Blu-Ray for $150...may consider.

"Mallrats" is a movie that was 30 years ahead of its time. Perhaps it is because of Smith's insistence on writing the same type of movie during the last three decades. Only nerds and outcast talked about superhero coitus in the 90s. With geek now being chic, everyone talks like his characters and can relate to them. Or at least the podcasters do.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast - Silent Bob’s Project Mayhem: Fan Expo Chicago 2022

NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 76: Silent Bob’s Project Mayhem: Fan Expo Chicago 2022 (Standing outside for hours with no encouragement).

Silent Bob’s Project Mayhem: Fan Expo Chicago 2022

July 12, 2022

Cool Movies Darth was able to binge "Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi" in 48-hours to prepare for Fan Expo in Rosemont, IL. Did he have the energy to thoroughly enjoy the reskin of Wizard World (and Chicago Comic Con before that)? There was Carl Weathers, Ron Perlman, Boyd Holbrook, and a bunch of Hobbits, but since there is only one "Return" (and it is not "of the King"), CM Darth was dedicated to the Kevin Smith content. Was he willing to put up with the challenges and lack of encouragement to get his Bluntman and Chronic Funko Pop! 2-Pack autographed? Here is his story.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective. 

It is kind of weird to have the lack of pressure to watch movies right now. Dare I say, it is a nice reset. Am I relaxing? Probably not enough. C2E2 is just around the corner, so I will have to get my binging spectacles on at some point. There is "The Boys" and "West World" to get to.

Granted, I have yet to see "West World" have much of a presence at either C2E2 or Wizard World/Fan Expo. HBO lacks a presence at the cons anyhow. COMIC CON San Diego will have occurred by the time I go up to Chicago proper. Is there much to get excited for the first weekend of August? If there is no Quentin Tarantino (which you know there will not be), what can top Kevin Smith when it comes to anticipation?

This episode of the podcast is all about my experiences at this past Fan Expo Chicago. To sum it up, Kevin Smith became Darth Maul. He recalls being at Wizard World 1999 where Ray Parks was the attraction that demanded lines that test the endurance of any nerd. My Saturday evening was devoted to waiting to be in his presence, and when the con organizers failed to realize the debacle that they had created, I accepted their suggestion that I would come to the "secret" signing Sunday morning to allow those cheap fans who only bought one-day passes to get their signatures from the third best screenwriter from the 1990s.

Of course, that autograph session they would arrange for the humble supporters did not go off as they sold it. I cannot blame the "Clerks" director. Being a nobody, me having to wake up early to wait two and a half hours is fine. Being the Smodfather, no way that I am coming in at 9:45 am when you were not scheduled to.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 115: Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

Finding a guest for NinetyForChill was going to be especially tough during Easter week. Fortunately, holidays mean family get togethers. Thus, CatBusRuss was able to tempt his sister, ThePoeticCritic, to give him a couple of hours to chat about pre-code musical cinema (primarily "Gold Diggers of 1933") when he returned to Morton to celebrate the savior (be it the Christ or the patriarch of their family). Of course, most conversations with the wisest cinephile of Central Illinois bring up what is happening at the movie theaters and #FilmTwitter. This week, do the Brothers Mario deserve to rule the box office?

ThePoeticCritic was curious about her little brother's opinion on whether "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" should have focused on the adult fans of the franchise, parents dragged to the cinema by their wee ones, or just the kiddos. CatBus's biggest concern about Hollywood is the alleged comic book movie downfall and what should fill that void. Should it be maximalist extravaganzas like Baz Luhrman's "Elvis" and Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" or just great stories like Luhrman's "Strictly Ballroom" and Nolan's "Memento"? For those fond of Busby Berkeley's glorified music videos (and I suppose "Flash Dance"), our host may not please you with his thoughts about "Gold Diggers of 1933".

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

We are back to the long days. With no conventions to give my health a window, it was not until a day after I posted this episode that I got to work on this blog. I cannot wait till I get to the proofreading stage of this. After screwing up the blog title on Spotify and Podbean (What would be the "Gold Diggers of 1993"?), thus pissing off the big sister, extra care should be taken. But there is only an hour between now and needing to prep my Buffalo wings to properly enjoy AEW Dynamite.

If you visit my Twitter account (@CatBusRuss) or my Mastodon feed (@russstevens@mastodon.social), you can witness me further antagonizing my only elder sibling by suggesting that "Flash Dance" is the closest thing that the 1980s had to a "Gold Diggers" movie. This was a feature that has two other films with the title and theme that followed it. "Gold Diggers of 1933" is also the third adaptation of the original stage play.

I am still determined to keep up the podcast, but the past week was tough. Unless guests want to stay up late, Sundays are the only day that I am certain can be made for podcasting. With that said, if you have a movie or topic that you want to chat about, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

This is a pretty contentious podcast between my sister and I. We get pretty intense about the validity of story telling in this feature, but before that, the two of us decide to address the Twitter debate over how children films should be made. Some of my statements about Studio Ghibli's template were found insulting by the wisest mind for CI Cinema (That's what they get for the YouTube flag on Ally Presents a Semi-Mega Pod).

My stance about why I do not thing we should be pissy about "The Super Mario Bros. Movie's" success is that parents should already be embracing it. This is one of the first franchises that Generation X/Millennials grew up with as kids. We loved the franchise as children, so we should have no issue enjoying this kids movie. It is a return to a time that we came from.

This is not like dragging my parents to see "Super Mario Bros. (1993)". Dad was a "Space Invaders" guy. What does he know about Mario and Luigi? We know Mario. If it amuses me in a way that is exactly like "Super Mario World" did, I will leave happy.

As for the feature that got me this recording session with ThePoeticCritic, I had fun watching it, but I have plenty of knits to pick. My sister stands for the musical performances (which look great), but by no means do I feel like they fit into the feature. One can claim that it is better to suspend your logic instead of expecting a performance on a theater stage to look like a theater stage. All I can say is, watch "Lo" or Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" to see that is not the case.

I will stand for Kevin Smith's performance of "God That's Good" is better than anything offered in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd". One guy takes the time to actually research source material and it is not the guy who gave us "Planet of the Apes". Again, Smith did it better in "Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back".

I guess I maybe overstating how hectic my life is since I was able to muster the energy to watch two movies this week. Of course, one of them was for "Ally's Accessory Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue". "Every Day" is definitely not the type of movie that I go out of my way to see. A movie about marriage and family, how do I relate to that? But, the cast has a handful of character actors I love to watch like Liev Schreiber, Carla Gugino, and Suzie Eddie Izzard, so there was hope...was.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

 

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast: Clerks: Existential Crises for All

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 86: Clerks: Existential Crises for All (It takes a village, as long as it is not is a flyover state.).

Clerks: Existential Crises for All

September 20, 2022

Cool Movies Darth has been wanting to record a Kevin Smith themed podcast, but did not want to spoil “Clerks III” by inane conversation a week after its debut. Our host immediately recorded his review and crushed dreams after checking out this Fathom Event.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective. 

As I have established, I like to produce solo episodes between each one that features guests. Last week just happened to be the same week that "Clerk III" finally debuted. My immediate proposal for the next episode was to bring on some friends for a Kevin Smith-themed episode, but to have a guest on might spoil the feature a week after it was released. The film still needed to be addressed, so it was ideal to just take this one on my own.

All there is to truly complain about with this film is that Smith has yet to push the bounds of his ability to direct. Like John Carpenter, he is concerned with protecting his narrative. If only Smith was a special effects hound, just depending of mise en scene would be fine. Lets hope that the "Tusk" sequel will be even more body horror heavy.

With that said, maybe body horror is what makes the best sub 100-minute movies. I did just buy David Cronenberg's NEW "Crimes of the Future". He has provided me with the best options the past two years. Will he three-peat, or are there not enough special effects to provide eight minutes of closing credits?

My only other wish is that we would have had actual actors this time around instead of everyone else being 30 years older. The story is essentially that Randall Graves is making the original "Clerks". I agree that it should be a shot-by-shot remake that he is producing, but to tell the stories of 24 year-olds with 52 year-olds is a bit distracting. At least Graves's vision means Veronica would not be judged as harshly for the number 37.

This assessment may just be jealousy on my behalf. I have been trying to get people to commit to "Main Event of the Dead" the past 11 years. Why would not my hometown of Morton, Illinois back a creative mind? Where were all the "friends" I made from Next Generation Wrestling who will not get as big a break starring in a pro-wrestling zombie comedy?

Kevin Smith got his hometown to make his career. This is a love letter to Leonardo, New Jersey. My love letter to Morton is my review for the anime "Burn-Up W".

Deviant Art - DenisM79 Denis Medri

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.