NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 122: AniMAY...be 2 Furious: Redline & MFKZ

AniMAY...be 2 Furious: Redline & MFKZ

4 days ago
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CatBusRuss could not have fallen into a more appropriate way to close out the month of May (a.k.a. AniMay [anime + May]). Coinciding with the release of "Fast X", our host watched a couple of features that actually succeed at what the Vin Diesel franchise tries to capture. These are crazy stories that do not get caught up in male soap opera and "Just Kiss Already!" moments. Unlike "The Fast and the Furious" franchise, both "Redline" and "MFKZ" are must see films for entirely different reasons.

Neither of them are thankfully a "Point Break" knock off. Each represents an element that "The Fast" franchise that just seems to be too ridiculous. "MFKZ" is all about the craziness presumed of non-white communities and how action packed that must be. "Redline" is all about the living life a quarter mile at a time, or should I say parsec. Each feature should be seen by any animation fan. One for its "Saints Row" vibe. The other for nearly being perfect.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

I am always busy, but it does not feel too hectic right now. The bills have been paid. Fun was had at Pour Bros. Free Trivia. Hell, there was minor league (A-ball like the Peoria Chiefs) flirting to be had.

On the flipside, there was trying to be supportive to a friend who feels like the outcast of their trivia team. (I only feel like the one to be ousted from my trivia team). Then there was taking home a 25, generally wise, year-old home after an alcohol and medication mishap. The crew at the Barrel House 34 on Walnut were kind of assholes about him taking up the only stall in the men's room to find relief from that.

I am not a fan of Quality (the bar on Neil) because of the lack of atmosphere, but at least the staff does not judge someone for getting sick. You make sure they are cleaned up and ridicule them playfully their next visit. If we end up there next week, that best be their attitude. Of course, there is a great deal of pride that I possess about being the ideal patron.

Do these details of my week make for a fine excuse to not writing this blog until four days after the podcast was posted? Probably not. I guess I am really patting my own back about just living my life a little healthier. Wednesday was a movie night, but I only had one shift to worry about. Tuesday, dinner was had and it was straight to bed. Tucking myself in before 11 pm narrows down my time to blog, but do I need to? The answer is yes. If I am going to post the support of Chris Hardwick from the "ID10T" podcast before my episodes that tell the listener to head to ninetyforchill.com, I have to.

Yes, I only had one shift yesterday, but I had to finish my rewatch of "WestWorld" Season 3. All it took was one ad for Kevin McCarthy's victory lap over the debt ceiling deal on YouTube to tell me to further appreciate my physical media. There is a work story to be told about regretting some charges to secure there building, but I digress. But a PS5 media controller would be nice.

So, this episode is me just talking about cartoons for a half hour. I am doing my best to come up with a guest for the June 6th episode (if you can recall my episode which was dedicated to Jim Carrey's sub 100-minute movie filmography, "The Number 23" can officially make the upcoming episode 666.). Hopefully somebody will step up. Two weeks of me on my own seems a bit much. June 13th will be my "Renfield" podcast to celebrate the feature's physical release.

I am still determined to keep up the podcast, but the past week was tough. Unless guests want to stay up late, Sundays are the only day that I am certain can be made for podcasting. With that said, if you have a movie or topic that you want to chat about, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

Ani-May ended up being a lot of fun. Of the five features that I watched, none of them were disappointing. As I stated in the opening of this blog, it ended with a couple of must see features. "Redline" has been on the queue for a long time, but the most surprising feature that I watched was "MFKZ" (or MuthaFukaz if you prefer). It was an iTunes purchase that I may have forgotten buying.

For someone who embraces trashy cinema, this one had most of my favorites when it came to the voice cast. You get Danny Trejo and Rza reciting Shakespeare as they exchange bullets. The film explains lucha libre as a means for the luchadors to stay in shape as they wait for the call to save the world. There is a "They Live" conspiracy that is headed up by Giancarlo Esposito. Its narrative could have been stronger, but when you are adapting a French comic book about Latin gangsters, I think the weaknesses are forgivable when you embrace the absolute craziness of the feature.

"MFKZ" is a must see feature, but I might be suggesting that so I can actually talk to people about it. Some may not enjoy it, but they will not know until they watch it. Fortunately, if you feel cheated by me with that suggestion, "Redline" will not dissapoint you.

"Redline's" animation is stunning and not too modern. It feels like a VHS tape I would have picked up in the 90s. What makes it great is that it provides me elements of all our favorite things from the Noughties.

You get the racing that drew us to "The Fast and the Furious", but you get the podracing vibes that absolutely justifies "The Phantom Menace". I wish Takeshi Koike would have just made this 100-minute feature nothing but one long race, but the satirical feel of establishing the characters was a lot of fun. It is like "Robocop" commercials. How can anyone resist these elements?

I suppose the only thing missing in this anime is a cat sidekick. We cannot always expect perfection.

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.