NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 101: SideFX & Aeon Flux - Dropping Bombs to Open 2023.

SideFX & Aeon Flux - Dropping Bombs to Open 2023

January 3, 2023
While most celebrate the New Year with libations and giant balls, CoolMoviesDarth was binging features with reputations that are less than savory. Inspired to get to his next Netflix DVD and kick off the latest series of movies for Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Reviews, our host tackles a pre-fame/infamy Amber Heard video from 2004, "SideFX", and Charlize Theron's first attempt at neo-femme fatale, "Aeon Flux (2005)".

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.

I should have tried harder to get a guest lined up for this episode. It is a catch 22. New comers to the show are more likely to check out the shorter episodes, but I do not think that I am interesting enough to carry it on my own every week. The fact that I do it every other week is enough of a boost to my ego.

The lack of a guest could be expected to kick off the New Year. Sunday would have been the last day I could record it, and I hope everyone else would be too hung over to be up for that. My lack of excitement allowed for this episode. No friends around me means there was no excuse to watch a few weird flicks.

This episode should be looked at as a triumph because depression had committed some gnarly attacks. It maybe more alienation than sadness. I do not need that reinforced though. Thursday was the most excitement of my vacation with my trivia team's Pour Bros. victory to close the year, an attempt at karaoke at Guido's, and goth night at the Rose Bowl. But, I was the only one staying out for the third leg. When the music sucks (If you are a good DJ, you would have other places to be, so play the fucking requests.) and you see the bitch who most recently ghosted you trying to make it about her, the loneliness gets the better of me.

Heading up to see AAW Wrestling at Logan Square was off my itinerary for the following night (but maybe that is because I can easily sneak into to their next venue) and I did not do anything on New Year's Eve. Champaign/Urbana might just be a poor place to be with two-thirds of the population being students. There was one time I celebrated at Kams in 2002. Still have yet to get the sticky floors off of those shoes.

Pardon the interruption to this episode's narrative. That is my shortcut to not removing the below portion of this cut and paste job.

I have determined that I just need to find a cohost for two weeks of the month. There will be invitations sent out to people I have had on the show that I think fit my attitudes. If you want to apply, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. We could do both recordings in one night. The only issue with that is that I will be more shitfaced than usual.

A lot of "Pokémon: Violet" was played over the weekend, but I did try to come up with a fun theme for this solo episode. I had watched (and recorded a review for) Syfy Original: "Android Apocalypse" which featured Chris Jericho in a supporting role. "MacGruber" was a flick I picked up during a Disc/Mega Replay B3G3 sale. As it turns out, Jericho has only been in four feature-length "movies" and three-quarters of them qualify for the podcast. All of them do if you include the Aview Askewniverse. Too bad the one I did not have access to, "Albino Farm", does not have streaming availability. But it was on DVD.com.

To get access to the disc (should arrive this weekend), I needed to watch and return my last disc from Netflix, "SideFX". This was a movie I had been curious about since I saw VHS copies at Wal-Mart in 2006. The majority of that year was spent living in a junkie den that only had a tape deck and a small TV. A movie about a vampiric/zombie drug seemed timely to me, but I never grabbed it because it may have been too on the nose for my peers of the time.

In the end, not viewing it then was a good thing. This was before I embraced no-budget cinema, so would I even have appreciated it? Joke is on me of course. Did it offer anything to appreciate? Perhaps pre-fame Amber Heard.

A good palate cleanser for this would have been "The Lost Boys: The Thirst", but I think that franchise may deserve its own episode. This lead me to open up the newest year of "Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue". With only one movie starting with A, this maybe the last year for this portion of the podcast. Once again, Buy 3 Get 3 saves the day.

I do not think any of the women who became/attempted to become action stars of the early noughties look back fondly on "Underworld" and "Resident Evil" sequels. "Domino" did not do Keira Knightly any favors and they did nothing to capitalize on Jessica Alba's turn in "Sin City". There are even suggestions that Milla Jovovich looks down on "Ultraviolet". But at the time of that project, she was willing to provide a commentary track for the feature's DVD release.

Criterion did not release the disc, so you can suspect that it gushes over the film. One would presume that would be the same for Charlize Theron when it came to "Aeon Flux".

The reputation for that movie had been in the gutter since before its release. We all know why. How could you sell out and tone down the innovative animated femme fatale? Well, MTV needs to hold on to the rights of the project, and it was before the time of streaming. For me, if the Academy Award winner was willing to put a stamp of approval on it via a special feature, I needed to see what this panned train wreck was about. It is great to start the year off with a surprise.

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.