I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss
Episode 245: 1985 Action Movies: Part 2 - The Noise in Des Moines
CatBusRuss headed to GalaxyCon Des Moines to see if the capital of Iowa could help determine who was the baddest action hero(es) from forty years prior. 1985 was the last year where action movies were celebrated solely for being violent. One liners are fun, but chaos reigned supreme.
Sylvester Stallone may have had the box office with "Rocky IV" and "Rambo: First Blood - Part II", but this may have been the dawning of Arnold Schwarzenegger taking over the action hero crown from Sly. But is there a dark horse?
The Cannon Group may have only survived as long as it did because of their low-budget action flicks. Michael Dudikoff and Chuck Norris bring the martial arts while Charles Bronson returns to the Death Wish franchise.
And to make sure CatBus is not looking over any of the action legends, he reviews Sho Kosugi's fourth ninja film of the eighties, "Pray for Death". After Golan-Globus replaced his with the girl from "Breakin'", he started making hooded assassin flicks just to spite them.
Russ provides a TED Talk energy to this panel. Without having a cohost for the panel, our podcast host talks a lot and goes on some very pertinent tangents. These were the movies that Ronald Reagan loved. Are these movies truly more than right-wing escapism? Is this the machismo that modern male influencers trying to capture?
In the end, was it a good thing that PG-13 action movies would dominate the next 35 years? Are we mature enough as a society to know that these ultra-violent affairs should not be taken seriously?
There is a charm to these films. They are mindless crazy flicks. Please leave your brain at the door.
Episode 248 - Kyle Weingart's Guide to "Cuisine de la 'Pocalypse"
It is Thanksgiving Week, and CatBusRuss is very thankful for the opportunity to interview the writer/director of "Cuisine de la 'Pocalypse", Kyle Weingart. If you want a story about good food in a desolate land, this is a far better tale than the white washing of colonialism's effect on Native Americans.
"Cuisine de la 'Pocalypse" stars Kevin Jack as Chef John. John is an aspiring cook who yearns for fame in a world where all conceivable apocalypses have occurred. But his pursuit of this dream may have just put the newest bastion of civilization, New Missoula, at risk of destruction. If Hollywood learns of this paradise, it will inevitably be overrun with solar-powered homicidal robots, roaming biker gangs, and whatever scum the television industry can come up with. Zombies outside the city limits will be made to look quite quaint.
To save New Missoula, he must go on a quest to stop this dial up transmission. Joining him on this mission are his sister-in-law Laura (Zuzu Weingart), her father and town preacher Wallace (Douglas 'Hurricane' Hall), local celebrity Landeaux (Nelo Butler), and "Hercules" Kevin Sorbo.
Kyle Weingart went to film school, and after a few years serving as PA, returned to Montana to make movies. And the state was happy to help him. Thanks to a Big Sky Film Grant, there was no limit to hokey B-movie special effects he could use. It also helped him secure other established Hollywood actors like Natasha Leggero and Emilio Rivera. What more can one ask for in a sophomore directorial effort?
Russ does his best to ask about the filmmaking process. Where did this idea came from? Is "Iron Chef" comfort television for him? What does he and the film have to say about granola? Our host may even try to pick his guest's brain on what needs to be done to be a successful (and since this film is over 100 minutes) and overly ambitions filmmaker.
The film is worth a purchase on Prime Video, but Kyle would just be happy that you give this film a watch on Tubi. Happy Thanksgiving.
