Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Bonus: 1985 Action Movie Rumble in the Quad Cities with ThePoeticCritic

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Bonus: 1985 Action Movie Rumble in the Quad Cities with ThePoeticCritic

CatBusRuss⁠ is looking to prepare the Heart of Illinois for the ⁠Illinois Comic Con⁠ at the Peoria Civic Center, November 14 & 15, 2026. What better way to do so by offering up a taste of the panels to come?

Our podcast host was joined by his big sister, ⁠ThePoeticCritic⁠, at the ⁠Quad Cities Comic Con⁠ to help determine who was the king of the most violent year in action cinema, 1985. Was it ⁠Sylvester Stallone⁠ with "⁠Rambo: First Blood Part II⁠"? Could the actual dialogue "heavy" debut of ⁠Arnold Schwarzenegger⁠, "⁠Commando⁠", be the superior feature? And what does the ⁠Cannon Group's⁠ murderers row of "heroes" have to offer?

It was a panel, but with the small audience at another anime-focused convention, the conversation is more of a podcast. This was the last panel the two Stevens siblings put on, and being the last day of the convention, high attendance would have been anomaly. Why listen to nerds talk when the vendors are putting items on clearance for lighter rides home?

For ⁠Russ⁠ and company, this may not feel like the geeks gave them a fair shake. It kind of leave the podcaster feeling alienated. Alienated like ⁠Chuck Norris⁠ was in his only film not produced by Golan & Globus from 1985, "⁠Code of Silence⁠". Norris is a Chicago cop who needs to take on two mafias while being abandoned for testifying against a fellow officer.

The feature leads one to wonder, was Steven Seagal a better actor than Norris? ⁠Andrew Davis⁠ did work with action cinema's greatest grifter two time after this. "Code of Silence" is no "⁠Under Siege⁠", but it was a great warm up on how to utilize the Windy City in his best picture nominated "The Fugitive".

In the end, "Code of Silence" maybe the only winner for Norris from 1985. If you are looking for a winning snack, try ⁠⁠⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

"I Dig Crazy Flicks's" theme is "8bit Tournament" by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Oblio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Find it on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PremiumBeat.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ V3C9QSF6F62HWWWR

German Poster for Code of Silence from Pinterest @jose_blood

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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.

MainEventofTheDead.com

Wednesday, November 11, 2026