If it does not involve pro-wrestling, this is Russ Stevens's effort to create the one stop blog for movies that are cut to the ideal run-time, 90 minutes. This blog may feature films that may range from 71 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, but 101 minutes and up are too long. An hour and a half can justify cutting a film into two chapters and a book into three. Hobbits and Katniss have too many ending, consider this an effort to stop that.
Bonus Episode: Skimble's Ghost presents "Night of the Demons" with Tim Bates
1987 may have been the peak of eighties horror. The Tommy Jarvis trilogy had concluded and Freddy was not going to top his bout with Patricia Arquette. Few would argue that neither of those franchises had what it took to surpass "Evil Dead II". The wise thing to do would have been to ride on Sam Raimi's coattails. In steps Kevin Tenney with "Night of the Demons".
Bonus Episode: Thankskilling, Thankskilling 3, and Black Friday
CatBusRuss is not really a Thanksgiving fan. The high school wrestling season started that weekend, so enjoying the feast was not really an option. Granted, NinetyForChill's host grew up a picky eater, so the holiday did not really offer anything for him. Let us not even get into familiar anxiety. Horror may be too extreme a term for the fourth week of November, but then came his career in customer service. So the "ThanksKilling" franchise and the Bruce Campbellproduced "Black Friday" may be appropriate comfort viewing for the holiday season kick off.
Episode 100: David Cronenberg vs. the Top Discoveries of 2022.
It is the end of the year, and ThePoeticCritic gives us some input on what some of the best movies Cool Movies Darth (b.k.a. Cat Bus Russ) found in 2022. Russ counts down his top 10 favorite finds from this year. To be thorough, this years collection of Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Reviews is concluded with "2020 Texas Gladiators". And how can 2022's top 10 list be complete without a David Cronenberg movie? "Crash" and "Crimes of the Future" are last minute watches durings Russ's six-day stint of holiday retail shifts.
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 hope you do pardon all the details of my exhaustion. The end of the year does not seem like it will be an overly exciting one. My energy levels just will not be there. There is another trip to the Heart of Illinois which I cannot avoid. Thursday in Champaign/Urbana should be big, but again, I am exhausted to the point of illness. Will I have the energy to try and get up to an AAW show at Chicago's Logan Square Auditorium?
And there are hundreds of Pokémon that I need to catch. Where is the time? This is supposed to be my vacation.
There is no rest for the wicked I suppose. I have yet to do a first week of the year episode of the podcast. In 2021, it was because I was still putting the pieces together to start it. 2022's excuse was the Disney World trip. It is just a bad time for me due to all of the exhaustion and my hopes of getting the most out of my time off. If there is ever a time for someone to have a movie that must be talked about, now would be the time. Send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.
Our host decided to open this bonus episode of the podcast with tales of day three of the con, which was not much more than the Brian Posehn and some shopping. This decision was made after he listened to his drunken audio to make sure it was usable. As it turns out, Russ failed to talk about the day two "Hazbin Hotel" panel during that recording, so at least day three chatter is more than asking Brian about not getting to curse in his "Deadpool" comic book run.
As for day two, the two siblings talk about how well they thought the panel went and a panel that our host attended about what makes "Junk Food Cinema". This at least kept his mind off of the lousy karaoke and security set up.
So we have the Brian and the Booze, where's the blood and bone? Well, to justify the Netflix write off, CatBus went and reviewed the 2009 Michael Jai White action flick "Blood and Bone". It is like "Lionheart" but without JCVD's tears.
Episode 50: Bill & Ted versus Jeff & Geena (Top Ten Discoveries of 2021)
This past Christmas, ThePoeticCritic spent an hour with her little brother Cool Movies Darth to help comprise a list of NinetyForChill's best discoveries of 2021. Her movie research is not as narrow as this podcast's host, but she chooses five movies that will make the list. It is up to CM Darth to determine which five of the remaining 15 films will make for a well balanced countdown.
ThePoeticCritic did spend Christmas Eve and Day at her source of income, so she was not in a playful mood to try and draft a list. So instead of a "her pick, his pick" game, she offers some analyst of how her brother is choosing this list. The challenge for CM Darth becomes how not to offend previous guests by dismissing films they came to the show to praise.
It pained him, but there is a chance that "John Dies at the End" falls from number two to oblivion. My apologies Kodiak, but in a way, it seems fitting.
David Cronenberg's "The Fly", European, animated family feature "Nocturna", Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas", Robert Zemeckis's "The Polar Express" and the Hammer horror feature that started the modern take on classic monsters, "Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula)" are TPC's choices. These are the remaining features CM Darth has to choose from:
Bill & Ted Face the Music
You're Next
Lady Snowblood
John Dies at the End
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Bit
Castle Freak (1995)
Death Race 2000
Hellraiser
Nighthawks
Risky Business
Rushmore
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Teddy Bear
Waiting for Guffman
And Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Features Revue offers a post recording variable. Does the gangster feature with Jena Malone and Joe Mantenga is supporting roles, "10 Cent Pistol", sneak into this top ten list. Does completing the computer alphabet (A to #) by featuring this flick catch CM Darth off guard?
As a struggling screenwriter, he is empathetic to actors JT Alexander and Damon Alexander along side writer Michael C. Martin putting everything on the line to get this feature made.
My Twitter account is @catbusruss. This is where I want your hate to be directed if you disapprove. Otherwise, positive feedback would be best displayed as subscriptions to my podcast and five-star reviews. Lets work that algorithm.
If you think you have a film or franchise that you are an expert on. Send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. Most franchises have at least one feature that will qualify for NinetyForChill. The runtime just needs to be between 74 and 99 minutes. We have four episodes to fill.
I have been asking for weeks for assistance in composing an episode dedicated to vampire features like "The Lost Boys" trilogy, "Near Dark", and the "Underworld" movies. Here is to hoping that this bunch of critiques will stir up some inspiration in my audience to step up and hold off on the garlic. If this is a topic you up for discussing, feel free to send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All I need is a half hour on Zoom to get this done.
I hope I am impressing or at the very least amusing you with this podcast and I am open to any and all criticism. My biggest want is more guests and more suggestions on what to chat about (@catbusruss, russthebus07@gmail.com@coolmoviesdarth). If we can get 3 hours out of "Little Nicky", the possibilities are endless. Thanks for visiting.
Bonus: Fan Expo NOLA: Day 1 - Frustrations (& Valhalla Rising)
CatBusRuss made the 17-hour train ride to New Orleans to try and outshine the "40th Anniversary: Back To the Future" cast reunion panel. With the backing of TJ and Plaideau from the NOLA Film Scene podcast, surely there would be an audience despite the stiff 7 pm panel competition at Fan Expo New Orleans. No one can deny the "I Dig Crazy Flicks" fighting spirit. But, most of our host's friends can recall what his role in the pro-wrestling ring was. Which won out? Lets just give a participation trophy for Russ's effort.
That maybe overly melodramatic. CatBus had fun meeting and hanging out with his panel guests, and appreciates them forcing him to be a little more social. A lot of promotional buttons were given out, and no one told him to jog off, so it is a winning day for this podcast. It is definitely a winner when compared to the Danish English language viking film "Valhalla Rising", the feature Russ watched to unwind the night prior.
Fan Expo NOLA: Day 2 - Bootleggers, Arial Artistry, & Renounced Jedi
Not a perfect day in New Orleans for CatBusRuss. He did not set his alarm early enough to catch the Anthony Danielspanel and convention center food is not how he wanted to sample Cajun/Creole cuisine. But he was a little more social thus providing more potential for "I Dig Crazy Flicks" in the future. Thank Brian Plaideau for the shove there. He is still a little shy when it comes to approaching attractive arial artists, but he will always be a work in progress.
CatBus did make it to some fun panels. It was not C3-P0, but the humble Ashely Eckstein provided Fan Expo a fun "Star Wars" love fest. He was not there for a long time, but it was a good time checking out the "Fave Five From Fans" podcast. So far, you can never go wrong with a "Bootleg Safari" panel.
Perhaps his biggest score of the day was getting a Husk cat plushie and having the nerve to hit up some "Hazbin Hotel" cosplayers for a pic. It makes up for him not talking to the Arial Space Squad after their performance. Social baby steps.
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.
Bonus: Ninety For Chill 200: Night 2 - Kevin Smith v. The World.
Last week (12/23), CatBusRuss talked about movies that he would like to see take on "Coraline" as his best sub 100-minute film discovery of 2024. One of these films was "Shredder Orpheus" which, after he chatted with ThePoeticCritic and consulted HappyBeebsMeowMeow, determined that the skater-punk, shot-on-VHS take on Greek mythology was not going to top the Henry Selick classic.
Our host purchased the Brandon Lee starring "Rapid Fire" on DVD 15 years ago, and despite not giving it the proper attention when viewed on cable TV, he has seen Walter Hill's "Last Man Standing" in its entirety. Thus, it is up to Russ's favorite comedic screenwriter, Kevin Smith's, most recent film to end the streak of animated features from ending up as "Ninety For Chill's" top movie of the year.
"The 4:30 Movie" is Smith's version of Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans". It is an "autobiographical" take on how he became a filmmaker. If anything, this film has inspired CatBus to put the Spielberg flick on his queue just to see if he makes all the tongue-in-cheek jokes that Smith does about how movies have changed since then. Thank the gods Smith has only been doing this for 30 years, and his love for cinema was an inspiration to all of Russ's entertainment projects.
I Dig Crazy Flicks: Captain America v. #Filmsky & ThePoeticCritic
It is a new era for "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast". CatBusRuss insists that 70 to 100 minutes is the ideal runtime for most movies, but when something topical comes along, it may capture his or potential guests' curiosity. If it is crazy enough, the film may grab hold of the collective attention, at the very least Russ's.
Welcome to the "I Dig Crazy Flicks" era of the podcast. It allows for a greater range in cinema to discuss and is definitely more marketable. And the craziness kicks off this year after Russ saw his father's reaction to a television ad for "Captain America: Brave New World".
His dad has never been to the theater to catch a Marvel movie, and with his reaction to Harrison Ford transform from POTUS to Hulk, it is unlikely he will despite CatBus explaining why it makes perfect sense.
Let it be stated, Russ is not the most logically sound of his family. He probably should not have left that conversation so pumped to skip pass "Wakanda Forever", "Quantumania", and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3". Our host might just be quick to excite, so he decided to consult with his older sister, ThePoeticCritic, to perhaps talk him down...or trigger his argumentative nature as the two breakdown the flaws of franchise factories and post-pandemic cinema.
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.
