Friday, May 24, 2024

"The Beekeeper" or "John Wick" If It Was Produced by Roger Corman

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 166: The Beekeeper (2024)

Eva the Queen Kitty will protect the hive

No laptop, no #rewindwednesday.

CatBusRuss is coming at you with a new movie review for another
movie that was released in the last year.

This week, he watched Jason Statham in “The Beekeeper”.

It is essentially a solo action hero flick for the Brit
which yells at you about what they did wrong with “Expend4bles”
and how capitalist are awful once they inevitably sell out.

Both messages we can all get behind thanks to British actors
heading to Boston for a paycheck.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 169: Hail to the #Bmovie King: #RogerCorman with ThePoeticCritic

Eva the Queen Kitty enthused as a Corman actor

CatBusRuss thought about calling the episode “Celebrating Roger Corman-I-May”,
but then ThePoeticCritic corrected him by explaining he had left his studio, New World Pictures,
by the time they first translated “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.

But if Roger Corman was not the producing legend who founded that distributor and AIP,
would we even have anime in the States?

Those cheap Streamline Pictures dubs had to find inspiration somewhere.

Our host and his big sister talk about the influence that Corman had on independent cinema
and how that led to the careers of at least two auteurs with Best Director Oscars
(Ron Howard and James Cameron). With his recent passing,
the two also discuss how cinema will now fair without the continuation of the opportunities
he was providing to young filmmakers.

Is “Resist the Disney machine” is all they can offer?

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Three Days of @C2E2 2024: Alien Day, Hannibal Reunion, James 'Lightning' Pax

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 1: C2E2 2024: Alien Day

I still think that I am the only Captain N: The Gamemaster Cosplayer

CatBusRuss has arrived at C2E2, and he is surviving. He is doing his best to vacation, but like anything you plan out, it is more hustle than relaxation. It was a fun day because 4.26 is “Alien Day”. Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright provided a great panel about the 45 year-old film. Celebration was the theme of the day as Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes showed their respect to their audience that owes their sense of humor to “Clerks” a movie that is celebrating its 30th Anniversary.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Season 4 - Bonus 2: @C2E2 2024: ThePoeticCritic, Hannibal, Rick and Morty

CatBusRuss had a fascinating day at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

He got the slap in the face about how far behind he was on the Adult Swim classic, “Rick and Morty”.

And the gut punch of how great “Hannibal” sounds when he went to the Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy panel.

Then it got serious after hours with Nerdlesque and Cosplay Karaoke.

It becomes more intense when ThePoeticCritic interjects herself on the pod.

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 167: @C2E2 2024 Conclusion

CatBusRuss is still exhausted from the trip to Chicago, but day three was worth the physical toll. He got to argue for one of his favorite “Alien” movies with Channel Awesome. The acting insights of Maya Hawke were quite impressive. But the biggest thrill may have been meeting James Pax. Lighting from “Big Trouble in Little China” had podcast advise. How can you top that?

The Undrafted and Wrongfully Drafted

"Bull Durham" was not drafted on the Baseball Draft (A film that can only be drafted at #1)
"No Fear of a Black Hat" on the Fictional Band Mini-Mega Draft
The entire George Lucas Draft
"The Birdcage" instead of "La Cage Aux Folles" on the Drag Draft
"Road Trip" was not even mentioned during the Road Trip Draft
"Major League" instead of "Drop Zone" on the Wesley Snipes Draft
"Black Swan" instead of "Mermaids" on the Wynona Ryder Draft
"Akira" instead of "Ghost World" on the Comic Book Movie (Non-Super Hero) Draft. Tetsuo is a Supe.
"Now You See Me" instead of "Diggstown" on the Con Artist Movie Draft
"The Onion Movie" instead of "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask" on the Sketch Comedy Anthologies Draft
"The Big Lebowski" not being marked eight on the Coen Bros. Draft
"Labrynth" or "Dark Crystal" not receiving the number 1 or 2 spot in the Jim Henson Draft
"Stage Fright" on the Giallo Draft. It is a slasher despite the presentation.
"Assault of Precinct 13" and "Prince of Darkness" Instead of "Escape from New York" and "The Thing" on the John Carpenter Draft
"Con Air" instead of "US Marshalls" and "Universal Soldier" instead of "Time Cop " on the 90's Action Draft
"WarGames" instead of "Spies Like Us" on the Cold War Draft
"Traffic" instead of "Side Effects" on the Steven Soderbergh Draft
"Fight Club" instead of "The Virgin Suicides" on the 1999 Draft ("Suicides" made the Actor Directorial Debut Draft)
Any Kirk Douglass instead of "The Shining" being on the Kubrick Draft
"Return of the Jedi" instead of "Tokyo Drift" on the Threequels Draft (there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi.")

Deserves a Second Chance

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

I find the DC movies, or at least Zack Snyder, was trying to bring comic books to the big screen as opposed to adapting comic books for the big screen. If you read, (or watch the excellent animated adaptation of) "The Dark Knight Returns", it is a very slow build to the battle between the Bat and Supe. This is regarded as one of the best threads in comics.

As a guy who fell in love with wrestling in the 1980's, the very methodical showdown is what I loved. It's a love letter to comic book fans who read and note every detail and want to try figuring out the plot before the character do. Come at the flick this way, and I think you will get something out of it.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

This is a feature that dares you to be offended. When director Ben Stiller is that forthcoming like Robert Downey Sr. was with 1969's "Putney Swope", an audience saying that something is in poor taste, hence not funny, means they are afraid to make a mockery of a concept.

My own experience with junkies bankrupting me allows me to thoroughly enjoy Jack Black's making addiction seem ridiculous. Robert Downey Jr. nails his taboo performance and I would say helps the call for actors from a demographic to be the first people called on for the roles representing them. As for the "Forest Gump" knock off jokes, they serve as a way to ridicule us for what we accepted (and encouraged) as fine a decade prior. The narrative that controls the pace in the second act can drag, but the content that is delivered cannot be cut.