Bonus: Fan Expo NOLA: Day 2 - Bootleggers, Arial Artistry, & Renounced Jedi

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Bonus: 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.

Episode 43: "Bill & Ted" Face an Explicit Podcast (Please Pardon the Language and 10 minutes of Apologies).

Films Researched for this Podcast: Valley Girl (1983); Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991); Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020).

Michael Dubois comes back to the podcast to discuss the most excellent trilogy when it comes to doing fan service right, "Bill & Ted". If only Disney had thought about giving "The Rise of Skywalker" to Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters, the galaxy would be what Rufus and Kenobi would consider tranquil. What is there not to like about these films? There is casual homophobia in the first two, but it is fleeting and these films course correct perfectly as they go along. But because of the language used, Cool Movies Darth deemed that this episode's conversation should be left uncensored. 

 There are other flaws to point out about how the first film's historical figures are predominantly male and white (with token Joan of Arc portrayed by the most successful of the Go-Gos, Jane Wiedlin), and the second feature states that we are clearly in a Christian reality. I guess you can say that music is kind of lacking in the franchise's conclusion, but that is better than faking it to a bad Kiss track.

If there is anything that I am upset about, it is that when I started researching on how thorough my self censorship would need to be, I found that most of the podcasts that have R-Rated language classify themselves as clean. These are smart shows, so I would like to think that their audiences can handle them, but "ID10T", everything on the Ringer Podcast Network, and "How Dig This Get Made" have audiences despite the acknowledging the explicit content. Here is to hoping that my being upfront is the middle ground. The cursing starts after the 10-minute mark.

The two of us go on for nearly two hours focusing on the films and how they relate to us. It is nice to get the perspective of someone who was born after the first two films were released opposed to I who was ready to go to the theaters to check them out on day one. All of this means that we do talk about some politics, but it was not hard to get on the same page and I look forward to the next time the two of us record together. Here is hoping I like "Ready or Not". What is Michael's thing with Samara Weaving? 

 

And since San Dimas's accents sound a lot of which came from the valley, I felt it was appropriate to return to Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Reviews. Nicolas Cage finally graces this podcast with his excellent performance in "Valley Girl". This film is the true bridge between "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Say Anything". It may be the finest time capsule for this decade.

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.

 

After WrestleMania Backlash, I will tell you that we need to take zombie pro wrestling back. My suggestion is that we finally get my low-budget zombie movie, "Main Event of the Dead" off the ground. The script lacks a lumberjack match, so you know it has got to be better than the "Army of the Dead" advertisement. Ask for a treatment or give me suggestions on how to get it to a crowd-sourcing stage with an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

 

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"Sucker Punch": A Shot-on-Video Movie from 2008 and the The Start of 2021

 *Blog post started on January 7, 2021.

So I was angry to the point where I did not feel much like joking. If that shit had to happen, why on my day off? Once AEW concluded, it left me feeling like I had wasted all the time before hand with that frustration. In other words, the pissed off conservative trolls were either too confused or too afraid to acknowledge they have been calling for an insurrection to engage me on Twitter.

Fortunately, gambling is not something that I plan to take up this year. I thought we had a chance for a quiet return to normalcy. Dr. Dre seems to be recovering from the brain aneurysm. Georgia went blue. It seems we just cannot have nice things.

My wishes for things to be quiet were pointless though. If things are quiet, then there is less on the internet for me to read. With less to read, more down time has been established. How do I spend my down time? Writing is the answer of course. When the rational world knows Trump should be removed from office, can I really add to it (beyonds recommending Twitter accounts that should be locked out like their leader's)?

Wrestle Kingdom 5: Night 2 was a solid card, but no surprises except for the promise that Jon Moxley will defend the United States Championship for a third time. Unless NJPW is going to work with AEW, thus allowing KENTA of the Bullet Club to return to Orlando and make a trip up to Jacksonville for the match. I suppose since Moxley is battling a Biz Cliz off shoot, Moxley does not have to look weak in defeat.

I do not want to make this blog (Main Event of the Dead) solely about the wrestling business. This must be an indicator that I should get to work on my next fictional project. If you have any ideas on how to move my pro-wrestling zombie comedy, "Main Event of the Dead", out of development hell or would like a script treatment, feel free to send them to russthebus07@gmail.com. That will at least give me some kind of distraction. It may be hard to write my idea for a television pilot on bank hardware.

Then again the "Main Event of the Dead" treatment I composed for Chicago's best wrestler was compiled on the Mark Twain's concierge computer, so perhaps I need to be daring for the sake of being daring. Of course, if someone from Peoria (or Chicago) were to claim my work, I have the copyright so I will get my pound of flesh. It is a catch 22. Write it on my laptop, neglect my cats for a few evenings, and then secure the copyright despite no one will buy copyrighted material. Write it on bank software but leave a trail for it to be stolen before I can sell it.

It seems theft is what all drama is based upon. The Trump base is trying to steal the election. Jon Moxley wants vengeance against Kenny Omega for stealing the AEW World Championship from him. I want to own my ideas, but you cannot sell intellectual property. If only I could come up with a Danny Ocean style crew to turn the negatives into positives.

Demonstrating my charisma is what I hope to start achieving. Tonight, I am going to try and gather a podcast based on NinetyForChill.com out of my former partner. She is pretty reserved, but tell her to drop her Etsy shop into the conversation, this might pay off.

If only I did not have to listen for customers. If it was like my old copy-writing gig, I could just listen to podcasts. That way, I could listen to all of my friends who have started podcasts and start to network with obtainable guests. It seems cheaper than paying for Patreons to secure them.

Unless everyone of the locals have Patreons. The pay walls just takes away the will to struggle to fame and fortune. There are no dues to pay, or at least anyone who is willing to pay for them.

Or perhaps it is all about opening a print-to-order T-shirt shop. It worked for Tony Khan. I wonder why he has not turned to making chic merchandise for the Jaguars. Bullet Club mash up with Jackson de'Ville, and the sales can get you those generational talents that this AFC South team so desperately needs.

*January 8, 2021.

The recording of the first "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast" seems to have went well. I was starting to partake of my whiskey collection during the recording, so needless to say I have not played the Zoom meeting back, recorded an intro, or began editing. Because of the alcohol, there was no way I was going to partake in the NuEra Hybrid that I have at home. Something needed to be done with the rest of the evening, and "Ninety For Chill: The Website" has been falling behind in content.

My original title for this blog was going to be "Theft: The Insurrection; The US Championship; The Podcast", so I thought a heist movie would be good to unwind to. Unfortunately, these movies tend to require a lot of detail, so finding one that was under 97 minutes did not go well. Netflix did mail me a 2008 feature called "Sucker Punch" that was about underground fighting in London. Since those films are about grifting, that seemed an appropriate subject as the Trump presidency comes to an end. Being incredibly ugly by being shot on video...possibly tape also seems fitting when the government was held hostage by a bunch of people who could not program a VCR.

If only the Capital Building had a clock out front flickering 12:00 a.m. at the traitors, the confusion could have slowed the siege down. And it would have kept those twats who objected to the certification from even showing up.

Tom Hardy | Sucker Punch (2008)

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Sucker Punch (2008; 1 hour 32 minutes)

Charles Buchinsky is seemingly a damaged pit fighter who decides London is where he needs to be. He claims to have loose ends to tie up, but it may simply be in the capital because he needs a manager to get his fights set up. After he walks into a fight and dominates, both the menacing manager Victor Maitland and the flamboyant Ray "Harley" Davidson. Something about Maitland's demand of the room leads to absolute no trust from Buchinsky, so he is quick to consider an offer from Harley despite the struggles to survive are worn all over his face.

Maitland is dead set on never letting Harley have an opportunity to show him up, so every fight for Buchinsky comes with ridiculous entrant fees. Harley is a gambler in every facet, so he is always quick to spend whatever his fighter takes in. This results in Harley needing to approach loan sharks to provide him money in hopes that Buchinsky will win the big one for him. As Maitland keeps throwing obstacles in Buchinsky's way, the fighter's perseverance leave all the spectators certain that he will be the top guy in London. With all the spoils that come with being his promoter, will Harley be able to stay on top if that happens, or is he just looking for the next large prize? How long can his fighter continue to represent his dreams of outrageous fortune?

"Sucker Punch" is without a doubt the ugliest film featuring a Tom Hardy scene, but the story has a lot of heart and two every man protagonists that you cannot help but get behind. It can be best summed up as a film for fight fans by fight fans.

Calling it a film by fight fans means it is probably better than one by Tap Out like "Locked Down", but do not expect high art. Writer/director Malcolm Martin did not have the apparel company's pre-Affliction funds. This means no additionally lit scenes that did not take place at a Cage Rage show (MMA home of the film's antagonist, Ian Freeman) and literally no kind of special effects. Thank the gods for England's strict gun laws.

For me, the cast, primarily "Red Dwarf's" Danny John-Jules, was strong enough to keep my attention and look past the ugliness of the production. The story is tried and true and one that I can watch over and over again (The end of "Lionheart" never fails to score some tears from me.). If you want a B-movie of vintage Van Damme, there is "Fight Night" for that fix. But you want to see how well this story can work with no budget, "Sucker Punch" proves it can and even add some Guy Ritchie like twists.

You have to love the effort to make movies to truly appreciate "Sucker Punch". This story was going to be pushed into visual media no matter what, so it is a pity for the dirty appearance that the budget could afford. Despite this, you have entertaining enough characters and a format that rarely fails. It brings MMA back to the 90's, and if you are nostalgic for low blows and soccer kicks, this is worth a watch.

 

Bonus: Fan Expo NOLA: Day 1 - Frustrations (& Valhalla Rising)

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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.

90-Min. Prime Video - "Stage Fright:" The Stylized Slasher for the Stage

*Blog post started on July 27, 2020.

I must be placing too much pressure on myself to be something worthwhile. To make sure I had new content for today's post, Amazon Prime was activated as was my drinking habit. It started with "StageFright Aquarius" to determine whether "Screen Drafts's" number three giallo film of all time was actually part of the genre (As it turns out, I did not need to write this blog till Wednesday). Two drinks were not enough after the film concluded, so I thought it made sense to wrap up the first season of "The Boys".

The conclusion to the first run of episodes ran a little longer than anticipated. Drunk quesadilla grilling and toast with remnants of Domino's garlic sauce caused a couple of pauses. Deciding that I needed to get a back bump in for old time sake led to a delay in the viewing. Skimble even put a stop to the broadcast when I went to pet Eva after I lectured him about being codependent towards me. Perhaps I need to be afraid of his need to love me because his accurate pounce on the Apple TV remote to return to the main menu was impressive. This one-eared fluffy monster must have been a rodent killer at some point.

I apologize for being stressed and depressed my feline friend. There are just times I need to register that and receive fewer boops. Reading my old Adrian Tomine journal led to me realizing how my life SEEMS about the same as 10 years ago, sans my stripper friends to distract me. At least my alcoholism has improved. How drunk did I get at the defunct Peoria Theater for the "Drunken Zombie Double Feature"? Was my five hours in front of the TV triggered by my decade old scribbles? Glory days?

The read on this experience is tough. Am I getting better with my structure or am I still practicing fruitless acts? I can still segue though because I am feeling a bit like a desperate actor trapped overnight with an owl-masked serial killer.

StageFright (1987, 90 minutes)

Everyone is desperate to make this new musical about a serial killer work. With rent coming due, each performer and the director, Peter, need a hit. The problem with the production is primarily Peter. Insistent that his vision be realized, he excepts no excuses for any shortcomings, even injury. This includes his lead actress Alicia who can barely walk let alone dance.

The play's wardrobe woman Betty decides it is best that she get Alicia's injury looked at, so she sneaks her off to the closest hospital for relief. Any doctor should be able to handle a bum ankle, so who cares that it is a mental institution? It is only fitting because a fellow actor is residing there, Irving Wallace. Wallace is responsible for 16 murders and he is awaiting a psychological evaluation before he goes to trial. Relief for her injury or not, Alicia will have an interesting story when she returns to the set.

Things become interesting back at the soundstage because Betty and Alicia had inadvertently provided Wallace a chance to escape and a ride to a place he knows very well. It does not take long for him to go back to his most recent practice as he dispatches Betty within minutes of arriving. The authorities and the press are quick to the scene, and just as quickly, Peter and the producer, Ferrari, have a plan to capitalize on this very recent event.

They decide that as long as the police will be stationed outside the sound stage, the script can be retooled and rehearsed all night. Their retooling is incorporating the fresh on the public's minds killings of Irvin Wallace. There is one problem. The actor portraying Wallace can not find his owl-headed costume. When the rehearsal resume, the scene has the villain ready for to perform, but why does he have a knife when it calls for strangulation?

It is apparent that Wallace is out to kill the cast and crew, and his most recent victim was told by Peter to hide the keys to the soundstage so everyone has to stick around to get this play ready for opening night. The cops cannot hear the going on inside, so it will be up to the crew to decide to fight a prolific and ingenious murder or find some other way to escape. No one will come to open the stage for 10 hours. Can they last that long?

The length of "StageFright's" plot synopsis would seem appropriate for a dime store yellow-novel (a giallo in Italy that inspired the name for the Italian horror/mystery genre), not a slasher movie. This feature lacks the mystery to be anything but a slasher, but when you take inspiration from Dario Argento when it comes to the kills, you are going to have a unique cinematic experience.

"StageFright" left me pondering if Darren Lynn Bousman was inspired by this film when he created "Repo: The Genetic Opera". Music plays a great supporting character in this film and all of the set pieces are fun. Director Michele Soavi has some difficulty with the wider shots, but what is going on in the shot keeps the audience amused. All the kills are up close and personal, and serve as the perfect, brutal reward for the viewer's patience.

This may be one of the most brutal slasher movies before the end of the century. I do not want to spoil anything, but we do have a pregnant couple featured in the film. Slasher movies tended to be a little more shy (or were forced by the MPAA) when it came to presenting brutal death when compared to giallo. Because the Italian director is a product of the latter genre, he stretches out the length of the murders with strong camera cuts and close ups. It is trickier than it sounds since we get some powertool kills, the seemingly most efficient weaponry in slashers. Nothing is off limits in terms of violence, so every murder finds a fun new way to present discomfort.

This perfect merging of giallo style and slasher formula only suffers from budget hinderances. The film is literally filmed on a sound stage, when a theater would have been appropriate. Nothing is done to look like an opera house or even a college theater, so no thought is put into placing the audience in the right atmosphere. In a sense, it feels like a knock off of Dario Argento's "Opera". When I take that into consideration, the lack of intensity through out pushes it further from being considered an example of giallo.

Intensity only comes with action, so that space between the premise establishment and the kills is void of emotion. It leads you to wish something tragic to our expecting couple or our antagonist lets us in on his lore to start pulling on some heart strings. The writers must have been aware of this because you get one of those.

"StageFright" is a slasher movie that delivers because of its unique approach. Besides inspiring ridiculously-premised films like "Repo: The Genetic Opera" and the "The Wizard of Gore (featuring the Suicide Girls), the stylized approach to violence can be seen in most European horror that came at the turn of the century. This film is what "Friday the 13th" if it was handled by an adored indie director. 

"StageFright" has vision and gore. Who could ask for anything more? Well, perhaps trained dancer. It could use some rhythm.

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"Heroic Duo": Lacks the Excitement and Benefits of a Black Lives Matters March

Podcasts at Fan Expo New Orleans & Clerks from Chambana

Ninety For Chill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss

Episode 202: Ninety For Chill X NOLA Film Scene: Fan Expo New Orleans 2025

CatBusRuss⁠ ventures to ⁠Fan Expo New Orleans 2025⁠ to host his first podcast panel of the new year, and he could not have asked for better guests than local podcasters ⁠TJ & Plaideau from NOLA Film Scene⁠. This was the first panel these hometown actors have starred in and this was the first in person roundtable discussion Russ has been able to post on this podcast. It was a learning experience for all, but more importantly, a fun conversation about why 100 minutes is the ideal maximum movie runtime. But the NOLA boys do help our host figure out how you can grab for a few extra minutes.

TJ and Brian were gracious in providing their Southern Hospitality to a shy Yankee. And fortunately both their wives approved their efforts (despite birthdays) or attended (and helped produce). It shows that there were witnesses to that this moment in history happened. The cast of "Back to the Future" cannot take that away from them.

Episode 204 - Clerks on "Clerks" with CouchManBakes

The host of ⁠"Baking While Baked", Andrew "Couchman" Tiede⁠, returns to the show to discuss the feature that put ⁠Kevin Smith⁠ on the map, "⁠Clerks⁠". ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ and his guest determine this is a feature about trying to find one's own identity. And, since these two make a living as customer agents, how this film serves to remind them not to take life too seriously, and always have a true hustle too focus on. Unless slacking is something you find comfort in. Thus, this podcast may have been better titled, "The Book of Randle".

The conversation the two have serves as a chance to share their own war stories about customers and expectations set on them. It is interesting because Smith's film only seems crazy to those who have not been employed in the retail space. Every scene triggers trauma our two podcasters have endured, and they love the story for that. Smith made a film that shows the clerk is not alone, despite what the customers want us to think. Damn, more people need to see this movie so they know what kind of douches they choose to be.

And since craziness was brought up, Couchman and CatBus review how "⁠Ninety For Chill⁠" has evolved into "⁠I Dig Crazy Flicks⁠". They look back on some of the films they have discussed, and which ones are truly bonkers. An argument can be made for all of them after they stopped and determined that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday from "⁠Tombstone⁠" are parallels to Joliet Jake and Elwood from "⁠The Blues Brothers⁠".

 

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.