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Sunday, December 10, 2023

John Woo's Silent Night and Eli Roth's Thanksgiving + Wrath of the Ninja & Wrath of MaXXXine

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 147: Eli Roth's Thanksgiving + Wrath of the Ninja & Wrath of MaXXXine

Eva the QueenKitty demands Plymoth

Eli Roth's Thanksgiving + Wrath of the Ninja & Wrath of MaXXXine

Tuesday Nov 22, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

The Thanksgiving season may have become the best weekend to catch a horror feature. Last year, CatBusRuss was blown away by "The Menu". It was released the weekend before the most popular celebration of colonialism. This past weekend, another product of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" became a reality with Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving". Perhaps it is just the association with food that makes flicks released on this weekend work out so well...done.

Of course, fans of that homage to exploitative cinema noticed that Roth's latest feature does not have the feel of worn film, grainy audio, and poor color saturation. The likes of The Cinema Snob found the "fake" trailer for this yet to be realized holiday slasher movie to be the best one thrown in between the double-feature. Could this premise be as much fun while being nice and polished...and without Michael Biehn?

In the event that was the case, CatBusRuss decided to find some gold in "Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue". Instead of watching a sappy Matthew Broderick feature, he chose to replace it with the 1989 anime, "Wrath of the Ninja". Ally never provided the letter X with a film, so our host decided to fill it in with what maybe the best A24 horror movie he has seen, Ti West's "X". Ninjas and Chekov's Alligator: If Roth misses, this podcast will still find a way to hit.

 

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Bonus 5: John Woo's Silent Night (2023) - Muted Action

No cats were harmed in the creation of this promo

John Woo's Silent Night (2023) Muted Action

Thursday Dec 7, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

CatBusRuss wants to remind you that this podcast’s drop day is moving from every Tuesday to every Wednesday. But, he is not a fan of doing two minutes episodes to tell you to tune in next time.

Have American movie goers forgotten the legacy of John Woo? Why have producers thought that Joel Kinnaman is a movie star? Can action movies be experimental? Is "Die Hard" the only badass Christmas movie?

Audiences seemed like they were not ready to ask these questions. Fearing that the feature may not get a chance to become a new holiday classic, CatBusRuss went and checked out "Silent Night" after its opening weekend. It is Woo's cinematic return to Western cinema after 20 years and a feature that takes its title literally. Can a movie only have a soundtrack of gun shots, detonations, and tires squealing? How do you offer up one liners?

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).

More art than Pops! A first

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.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

The Marathon: Child's Play, Wraiths, and Other THING(s) & Nolan's "Dunkirk" Experience

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 144: The Marathon: Child's Play, Wraiths, and Other THING(s)

Eva personality when you disrespect her queendom

The Marathon: Child's Play, Wraiths, and Other THING(s)

Tuesday Oct 31, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

Andrew "Couchman Bakes" Tiede returns to the podcast to discuss a third feature about THE actor of every kid who was babysat by a VHS tape deck, Kurt Russell. The challenge being, Kurt's movies tend to be too long to be discussed on this show. But never to disappoint the audience, CatBusRuss will allow "John Carpenter's The Thing" to be the primary topic. All the Couchman needs to do is come up with a horror movie marathon.

These "quadruple" features are based on two themes that can be taken from what maybe Carpenter's most influential feature: Who can you trust? What is the killer?

CatBus's Six-Raven Cinema House offers up 1956's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and 2011's prequel to 1982's classic to address the first theme. As for the second, he revisited the so rad its good flick, "The Wraith" starring Charlie Sheen.

At Andrew's Sasquatch Cinema House, the "Who" is addressed with a nerdier Elijah Woods versus aliens in "The Faculty". As for the what, how about the origins of Charles Lee Ray's after death adventures with 1988's "Child's Play"

There is obviously a film missing from the Tiede showcase. Can he make up for it with the theater's new massaging chairs? Russ thinks that maybe too distracting. Perhaps you need to be the judge.

 

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 145: Nolan's "Dunkirk" Experience

Eva doing her best to honour the UK

Nolan's "Dunkirk" Experience

Wednesday Nov. 8, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

It took longer than expected, but perhaps it is for the best since Veteran's Day is coming up. 

Sam Marsh is a fan of spectacle, so he returns to the podcast to discuss Christopher Nolan's war epic from 2017, "Dunkirk". CatBusRuss is not as high on the auteur as most seem to be, but since this feature is one that Quentin Tarantino deemed to be a rewatchable, our host had to give it a chance. Fortunately, this is not "The Night of a Thousand Cats", the inspiration for the Til Schweiger character's name from "Inglourious Basterds".

Being a fan of movies that have runtimes which tend to restrict spectacle, Russ has kind of found Christopher Nolan's recent attitude to be pretentious. With his protest over "Tenet" being released on streaming, our host thought that the idea of something being too cinematic was insulting to audiences' intelligence. If your narrative is strong enough, spectacle is secondary. Of course, that is the opinion of someone who aspires to be a screenwriter of small scale comedies. It has been suggested that direction is a skill that intimidates him.

Monday, November 6, 2023

ThePoeticCritic #Halloween Special: #Kaiju, #Vampires, Fear for the Winter Box Office & Swingers (1996)

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 143: ThePoeticCritic #Halloween Special: #Kaiju, #Vampires, Fear for the Winter Box Office

Eva expresses ThePoeticCritic's feelings about modern cinema

ThePoeticCritic #Halloween Special: #Kaiju, #Vampires, Fear for the Winter Box Office

Tuesday Oct 24, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

It would not be #SpookyMonth for "Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast" if ThePoeticCritic did not make her annual villainy felt. She has never been big for slasher movies, so it is Kaiju season. CatBusRuss explores her opinions on the late '70s "Godzilla" movies and admits to light Letterboxd stalking. He just needed to know why she watched "Billy the Kid Versus Dracula". If only Ed Wood could have kept Bela Lugosi clean...

As always when it comes to the CatBus's big sister, the conversation does devolve into a discussion about the current state of cinema. The two butt heads about "Wonka" and "Wish" again. How can she not respect the mere suggestion of an orange Hugh Grant and Alan Tudyk's hooved potential means box office success?

Before all of that, Russ attempts to get the annual trip through Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue back on track with Danny Trejo versus an electrified ghost. "Reaper" also features Jake Busey and English treasure Vinnie Jones. It is a bad movie gamble our host cannot resist.

 

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Bonus 4: Swingers (1996) and a Scheduling Reminder

Eva is Money

Swingers (1996) and a Scheduling Reminder

Tuesday Nov 7, 2023

Help NinetyForChill: The #Podcast get away from paywalls by subscribing to "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss".

CatBusRussCatBusRuss wants to remind you that this podcast’s drop day is moving from every Tuesday to every Wednesday. But, he is not a fan of doing two minutes episodes to tell you to tune in next time.


So, our host returns to “Ally’s Accesories Shop on Etsy’s” Trash Feather Revue” and watched Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn’s break out film, “Swingers”. It is well regarded critically, but Russ saw the poster in every other men’s dorm room in the early noughties. Something must have been misinterpreted by the audience.

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.