Sunday, December 8, 2024

"Labyrinth" a.k.a. "Bowie: The Movie" & "Hard Target" or "JCVD vs. The Mummy"

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 193: "Labyrinth" or What My Niece Called "Bowie: The Movie" with HappyBeebsMeowMeow

It was not a very scary "spooky month" for "⁠Ninety For Chill: The Podcast⁠", but ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ can deliver on finding guests who can provide monsters to enjoy. ⁠Brandy "HappyBeebsMeowMeow" Stonum⁠ returns to the podcast to discuss her favorite movie of all time, "⁠Labyrinth⁠" from ⁠Jim Henson⁠.

Brandy remembers this film fondly. She was only two when the film came out in 1986, but it had such an impact on her family that her little brother was named Jareth, the character portrayed by the father of modern alternative rock, ⁠David Bowie⁠. As for the lasting impact on ⁠Russ⁠ and his older sister, ⁠ThePoeticCritic⁠, this was the two's first real exposure to this musical god, but more importantly, The Muppets (more accurately, Jim Henson's Creature Shop) as a source of drama. It also may have prepped them for Mom's love of anything English as ⁠Terry Jones⁠'s script left them in a good place to appreciate "⁠Monty Python's Flying Circus⁠".

And of course, as many suggest, all parties involved with this episode consider the children's feature to be a catalyst of sexual awakening. Those wardrobe choices will be discussed.

Episode 197: Pik'n Away at "Hard Target" with CouchManBakes

Eva the Queen Kitty is comfortable knowing she is too hard a target

Andrew "CouchManBakes" Tiede⁠⁠ must have been sure that ⁠⁠CatBusRuss⁠⁠ was going to get his panel approved for ⁠Fan Expo New Orleans 2025⁠⁠. Why else would he have requested to cover perhaps the best narrative ⁠⁠Jean-Claude Van Damme⁠⁠ had ever starred in, ⁠⁠John Woo⁠⁠'s "⁠⁠Hard Target⁠⁠"?

That is presumptuous statement, but would it not be great for "⁠Ninety For Chill: The Podcast⁠" to have provided a friendship for our host where a guest can be on the same wave length? ⁠CatBus obviously had posted a fan art image of this nineties gem on his Instagram⁠ when he was making a call out for guests. It is a surprise that it took so long for this show to cover this feature because it is essentially, "What if "⁠Commando⁠" had known assets to face off/support our uber hero".

We do not mean that as shots against the talents of William Duke, David Patrick Kelly, Bill Paxton, and Rae Dawn Chong, but ⁠Wilford Brimley⁠ Cajun accent is a lot more fun than Dan Hedaya's Central American. Sorry Vernon Wells, you were not a known commodity in 1985. ⁠Lance Henriksen⁠ was very mush that in 1993.

This is a charming take on "The Most Dangerous Game" set in New Orleans. At least ⁠Sam Raimi⁠ decided to give the rundown Detroit tropes a rest for this feature. It is a silly tale of a Louisianan merchant sailor from the Marines being hunted for sport, but it delivers great action and asks the question, how could we ignore "The Mummy" giving us a virtually mute ⁠Arnold Vosloo⁠?

After this film, not letting him deliver English dialogue is awful. Surely Stephen Sommers did not want to hurt our feelings.

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.

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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.

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