NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: "Zombieland (2009)" with Nic from "In Love, with Movies"

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

Episode 117: "Zombieland (2009)" with Nic from "In Love, with Movies

”Zombieland (2009)” with Nic from ”In Love, with Movies”

2 days ago

This week's episode is proof that you can actually meet genuine people at comic cons. One half of "⁠In Love, with Movies⁠" hosts, ⁠Nic⁠, comes on the show to chat about ⁠Ruben Fleischer⁠'s only undisputedly good feature "⁠Zombieland⁠". ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ and his guest did not take a lot of notes suggesting that it maybe one of the best paced comedies of the current century. Watching the feature was more than a pleasant palate cleanser after visiting "⁠FeaDotCom (.com)⁠" for ⁠Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's "Trash Feature Revue"⁠.

The two end up realizing the kind of comfort cinema sci-fi comedies can be. It is only appropriate that it pulls so much from "Ghostbusters" with very little shame. Zombieland's characters may not evolve, but like the three NYU professors who got into paranormal investigation, they do not have to. If they did, the audience might leave feeling betrayed (which may explain the lack of success of "Gangster Squad" and what ⁠CatBus⁠ feels is an underappreciated sequel "Double Tap"). If the premise is enough, why mess around with it too much? Of course this film got a crappy television show when Amazon said hold my beer.

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 doing the best I can with the free time that I can find. Currently in my peripheral is "Deadpool" and my hopes that I can manage to call it a sub 100-minute movie. Credits can be so fucking long. Of course there is the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" tribute after the story concludes, but my potential guest and I have determined that just calling that a tease is appropriate to the character and the actor.

There is not much to complain about in the past two days since my last blog post. On top of fitting in a blog post and new (this) podcast, I had to make some head space to worry about my beverage retailer job after my second write up that may have cost the company cash. The review was quick and painless aside from getting my manager to reset my login credentials. If I lose this job, I know its my fault. At this point, it is enough fun that I would hate to disappoint myself.

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.

Since I am rewatching "Deadpool", a film that clocks in at 1:48, a potential guest had asked if we could do it. Well, he suggested it after our first in person meeting (at the booze palace). We plan to record this weekend (Kessel Run rules), but I better stick to the format when it comes to having a guest every other week. As for my binge or theme for a solo effort, nothing is set right now.

I have done the last three podcasts that featured guests sober, so perhaps it is time to just accept that is how I should approach the next one. But there has yet to be an excuse to open up my 103-proof Redemption Pre-Prohibition Bourbon. Trivia (and goth night) is tomorrow, so being sharp(ish) is a necessity. In other words, how am I to see a new release at the cinema to associate with a relevant DVD at home if I am shit faced?

The 9/10 o'clock show I suppose. Maybe I should actually user Uber for the first time. As for opening the bottle, maybe it would have helped me get more out of "The Ring" meets "Hackers" in the early noughties horror flick, FearDotCom (.com).

As for the episode this blog is about, I had a lot of fun squeezing it in between my two retail shifts. Nic and I had little to complain about "Zombieland". We did more to breakdown the performers than we did to breakdown their near perfect characters. Our feelings are divided when it comes to the need for "Double Tap", but we do not really go into that. Nor do we address the mystery that was the TV series.

"Zombieland" is cinematic chili. None of the ingredients are necessarily awesome (aside for Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin...at least for 2009). Ruben Fleischer has yet to offer anything close to the success this feature is (fuck "Venom's" gross). Jesse Eisenberg was a year from "The Social Network". Emma Stone was just the everyday girl amusing nerds instead of Ryan Gosling. It really comes down to the script I suppose. And Sony's interference nearly messed that up.

It is a weird chemistry that created this feature. I think Nic would agree with that statement. If anyone knows anything about movies and chemistry, it would be Nic and his wife Dani.

I am still catching up on "In Love, with Movies", but the stories they tell with their guests about how people get together is a lot of fun. Seeing how the couples survive suggested movies makes it all worthwhile and definitely worth a listen. "Clueless" was a lot of fun. Gods know I am pumped for "Labyrinth".

I just need to get myself shipped. The plan is to have me as a guest in May or June to talk about "Trainspotting". Any Scottish-heroin comedy fans out there who want me to help me fake it through the first half of their podcast. Hell, let's break up mid show. That will boost the numbers for everyone.

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.

 

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: John Wick 3.5: Nobody & John Wick Chapter 4

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

Episode 116: John Wick 3.5: Nobody & John Wick Chapter 4

John Wick 3.5: Nobody & John Wick Chapter 4

This is essentially a follow up to last week's episode "Gold Diggers of 1933 and Nintendo 2023". CatBusRuss took time to defend "The Super Mario Bros. Movie", so there was a temptation to see the film that he was attempting to stand up for. But one movie and no guest did not feel right. Also in that episode, our host explained to ThePoeticCritic why the "John Wick" franchise qualifies for NinetyForChill: The #Podcast. If you make a perfect movie that is under 100 minutes, you need to expand that universe, thus earning more time with your sequel.

The decision on what feature to see at the cinema came down to this: What other movie could the CatBus watch at home that would be an appropriate double feature? Sadly, there are not a lot of video games that are either adapted as family movies or animated ones. Russ never played "Rachet & Clank" and he might need to save "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" for another Jim Carrey conversation with his big sister. His iTunes collection does have the Bob Odenkirk comedy "Nobody" which was written by Derek Kolstad, the writer of the "John Wick Trilogy". It seems the better double feature is "Nobody" and "John Wick: Chapter 4".

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.

And time is something that I have lost track off once again. I have actually already uploaded the episode for April 25 before I got around to starting this blog for April 18. There was a lot of tasks to be taken care off on top of my 50-hour work week.

My car is back in working order despite my best efforts. The liquor store I work for has the darkest parking lot, so I nearly ruined my bumper six hours after getting it back. Dad got his vehicle back, and I think I paid the rental off with teaching my mom how to use her own printer and supplying my sister with the over-the-air equipment to watch "Svengoolie".

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.

Of course, the big challenge was none of my trips to Morton, but trying to actually watch "John Wick: Chapter 4". I tried to see the feature at 4:15 pm on Sunday (4/16), but was running five minutes behind schedule after being stuck behind an octogenarian driving 25 miles per hour after leaving the Urbana residential areas.

You are over 80. You need not drive a Prius. You earned the right to polute. It is the boomers who need to change.

When I arrived at the Savoy cinema, it was apparent that it would take 10 minutes to get seated. This kind of makes me wish that "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was a bomb to keep the kids at home.

I guess it was nice Dad was laying in on the pressure to fix all the Stevens's technology issues. This gave me something to do as I traveled across town to see a 6:30 showing in Champaign. This was spent using Facetime for the first time to show printers to Mom and determining how much Jerry-rigging was going to be needed to get an antenna to work in a basement. This was all being done at my electronic retail store. Aside from molesting Vizio televisions to ensure Dad that my sister's TV had a tuner in it, all needs were met. Until the prices changed.

Thankfully, I was able to work out all of this with my longest tenured coworker. It ended up with me returning all of the items to adjust for the best prices and fewer charges to myself. These were just headaches for headaches sake. These were just like getting my sister's TV to work like Dad wanted. It was all resolved last Sunday. If the Rivermen were not robbed by the Southern Professional Hockey League's officials to ensure the President's Cup will not return to any of the Free States, a greater sense of accomplishment would have been felt.

Do I complain too much? I know the answer. Since I am a blogger, the answer is obviously not. Where would the content come from?

Despite the time management issues, this was a pleasant binge. Double feature might be the better way of putting it. If only the AMC in Champaign knew how to run a cinema. At least I know that despite my fault with using my time well, my handle on the fourth dimension is better than any local cinema operator.

I got to the theater with 10 minutes before showtime. This is week three for "John Wick" in the theaters, so surely there would not be 15 minutes of trailers. There were 20. AMC must know that most people run late, probably to skip the trailers, so people were filing in the whole length of the trailer package. The demographics were so wild, I was expecting a frustrating feature experience. Fortunately, the audio and sound editing was excellent for the main attraction.

It still took me a while to mentally calm down. The lights were not dimmed for the trailers. There were two horror movies and a Russian underworld-themed comedy as part of the package, I could not see them. AMC might be pissed that the studios made a lot of money during the pandemic due to streaming, so they might be trying to sabotage the studios by poorly promoting their latest features.

AMC (and Phoenix) are presuming that the theater experience is enough to bring people in. The movies might be good, but everything else sucks. So fuck Christopher Nolan for being too pretentious and insisting we need to be in the theater. Fuck maximalist cinema, unless you earn it with a perfect 90-minute movie like "John Wick".

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.

 

90-min HBO Max: "Lost Boys: The Tribe" and The Lazy

What will I be doing with my downtime since this blog will finish the "Chinese 211: Satire/Movie Reviews" journal? I am fairly confident that Chinese 210 may also have a notebook with many Western ramblings, but that would just be the depressed rants of 28-year old me. It maybe interesting to explore the brink of my last relationship, but again, depressing. After transcribing the review for "Lost Boys: The Tribe", that may have been enough torture for me.

This blog is going to inspire enough extra work. I loved the second and final made-for-video sequel of the classic adventure/horror film. Since there is proof of potential in term of "The Lost Boys" franchise, "The Thirst" must be reviewed.

I never thought I would go out of my way to rent a Corey Feldman title, but when you combine him with anything undead, something interesting should occur. Interesting defines "Bordello of Blood" (at least to the 16-year old Mortonite who still found Dennis Miller to be clever). Since I passed on watching Michael Jackson's funeral, it would not be fair if I passed up on "Lost Boys: The Tribe".

Chris and Nicole Emerson have just moved to California's latest missing persons capital. Who cares about suspected murders if the surf is good especially when it is a haven for the disenchanted heroes of the sport?

Surfing legend Shane Parker takes an interest in the Emerson siblings and will offer them anything to join his vampiric tribe. Nicole is quickly seduced, but luckily surfboard shaper and vampire hunter, the Reverend Edgar Frog is on the scene. Frog will be the perfect mentor to prepare Chris for war against the suck heads, if he can resist their overtures of course.

"Lost Boys 2" does whatever it can to avoid being as gay as its predecessor. An unfair approach to take since not all of Joel Schumacher's films are directly about sausage, but it allows the film to engage to the cult movie fan. Graphic violence (including Tom Savini's guts being busted), gratuitous nudity, and jokes about muscle-bound saxophonist are fun, but this film does not know whether it wants to be a reinvention, a sequel, or a parody.

Despite some great humor at points, a lot of the time the picture wants to either remind us how stupid the first film could be or rip off elements and characters from the classic. Because the only character from the predecessor is Feldman's, it is insulting to want us to feel like this is the same film by coming up with Diane Weist and Barnard Hughes (Lucy and Grandpa) knock offs. It is downright offensive because the landlady is doing an impersonation of an Oscar-winning actress.

It seems like the only thing LB2 wants the viewer to like about the first film is Edgar Frog (Feldman). If that is the case, it would have been a lot more fun if the entire movie was about him. With such lame villains, it would have be far more entertaining to see Feldman in the "Blade" role than a supporting one.

Vampires are suppose to be charismatic, but these surfers are just douchebags. Who would want to be friends with a guy who cannot determine who to channel from "Point Break", Brody or Utah?

These pathetic antagonists are not provided with a twist, so when they are defeated (spoiler), nothing is gained from it. Nothing worthwhile or clever happens, and that is essential to a vampire flick. Since the action in the film does not build to anything, when it stops, the viewer is not satisfied and no amount of gore or breasts will make up for that.

"Lost Boys: The Tribe" wastes all of the good ideas it has, and in an attempt to show that it is not a rip off, celebrates its bad ideas. If gore and nudity does not alienate some to "The Lost Boys" fans, the poor replacement characters will. Corey Feldman is the only reason to rent this disc, but that is for his featurette, not the movie itself.

Pinterest.com - Rodney Smit

https://www.pinterest.com/rodney1808

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

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

Episode 115: Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

Gold Diggers of 1933 & Nintendo 2023 with ThePoeticCritic (PG-13)

Finding a guest for NinetyForChill was going to be especially tough during Easter week. Fortunately, holidays mean family get togethers. Thus, CatBusRuss was able to tempt his sister, ThePoeticCritic, to give him a couple of hours to chat about pre-code musical cinema (primarily "Gold Diggers of 1933") when he returned to Morton to celebrate the savior (be it the Christ or the patriarch of their family). Of course, most conversations with the wisest cinephile of Central Illinois bring up what is happening at the movie theaters and #FilmTwitter. This week, do the Brothers Mario deserve to rule the box office?

ThePoeticCritic was curious about her little brother's opinion on whether "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" should have focused on the adult fans of the franchise, parents dragged to the cinema by their wee ones, or just the kiddos. CatBus's biggest concern about Hollywood is the alleged comic book movie downfall and what should fill that void. Should it be maximalist extravaganzas like Baz Luhrman's "Elvis" and Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" or just great stories like Luhrman's "Strictly Ballroom" and Nolan's "Memento"? For those fond of Busby Berkeley's glorified music videos (and I suppose "Flash Dance"), our host may not please you with his thoughts about "Gold Diggers of 1933".

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.

We are back to the long days. With no conventions to give my health a window, it was not until a day after I posted this episode that I got to work on this blog. I cannot wait till I get to the proofreading stage of this. After screwing up the blog title on Spotify and Podbean (What would be the "Gold Diggers of 1993"?), thus pissing off the big sister, extra care should be taken. But there is only an hour between now and needing to prep my Buffalo wings to properly enjoy AEW Dynamite.

If you visit my Twitter account (@CatBusRuss) or my Mastodon feed (@russstevens@mastodon.social), you can witness me further antagonizing my only elder sibling by suggesting that "Flash Dance" is the closest thing that the 1980s had to a "Gold Diggers" movie. This was a feature that has two other films with the title and theme that followed it. "Gold Diggers of 1933" is also the third adaptation of the original stage play.

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.

This is a pretty contentious podcast between my sister and I. We get pretty intense about the validity of story telling in this feature, but before that, the two of us decide to address the Twitter debate over how children films should be made. Some of my statements about Studio Ghibli's template were found insulting by the wisest mind for CI Cinema (That's what they get for the YouTube flag on Ally Presents a Semi-Mega Pod).

My stance about why I do not thing we should be pissy about "The Super Mario Bros. Movie's" success is that parents should already be embracing it. This is one of the first franchises that Generation X/Millennials grew up with as kids. We loved the franchise as children, so we should have no issue enjoying this kids movie. It is a return to a time that we came from.

This is not like dragging my parents to see "Super Mario Bros. (1993)". Dad was a "Space Invaders" guy. What does he know about Mario and Luigi? We know Mario. If it amuses me in a way that is exactly like "Super Mario World" did, I will leave happy.

As for the feature that got me this recording session with ThePoeticCritic, I had fun watching it, but I have plenty of knits to pick. My sister stands for the musical performances (which look great), but by no means do I feel like they fit into the feature. One can claim that it is better to suspend your logic instead of expecting a performance on a theater stage to look like a theater stage. All I can say is, watch "Lo" or Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" to see that is not the case.

I will stand for Kevin Smith's performance of "God That's Good" is better than anything offered in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd". One guy takes the time to actually research source material and it is not the guy who gave us "Planet of the Apes". Again, Smith did it better in "Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back".

I guess I maybe overstating how hectic my life is since I was able to muster the energy to watch two movies this week. Of course, one of them was for "Ally's Accessory Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue". "Every Day" is definitely not the type of movie that I go out of my way to see. A movie about marriage and family, how do I relate to that? But, the cast has a handful of character actors I love to watch like Liev Schreiber, Carla Gugino, and Suzie Eddie Izzard, so there was hope...was.

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.

 

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: #C2E2 2023: #Toys, Celebrities, & #Movie Bitching

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

Episode 114: #C2E2 2023: #Toys, Celebrities, & #Movie Bitching

#C2E2 2023: #Toys, Celebrities, & #Movie Bitching

"⁠NinetyForChill⁠: The #Podcast with ⁠@CatBusRuss"⁠ is officially reborn. It kind of seems appropriate that we celebrate the festivities with another festival, the ⁠Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo⁠. The headliners (Chris Evans, Zachary Levi, Tenoch Huerta, etc.) are not usually featured in films that are common to this podcast, but their stories are worthwhile listens that may inspire. For the likes of ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ and ⁠ThePoeticCritic⁠, their primary reason of attending is to just enjoy and embrace the nerd culture. ThePoeticCritic is there for the shopping and her "Supernatural"-obsessed boyfriend. CatBusRuss is there for the networking and the panels. Panels to burn down with his hot takes against maximalist cinema and how Bulbasaur is truly the 001 Pokémon. As for networking, 2023's event shows his weaknesses and his willingness to learn to open up. Come and learn about the fun and trauma that can be had at Chicago's premier geek convention.

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.

It has been a stressful few weeks. To get up to Chicago, my dad picked me up in Urbana for me to drive to Morton, spend the night, and drive his van up to Chicago with ThePoeticCritic. Fortunately, my car went into the shop to get the front bumper repaired yesterday, so I was able to borrow my folk's Pontiac Vibe to get back home. Even better, my mom understood the two loads of laundry since I have not been able to get back to the HOI for nearly a month. There were no complaints on her behalf.

Perhaps, it was also wise to give her a Funko Pop! from one of her favorite Disney movies, "The Jungle Book". Did that feature not have the most fun characters of any of their animated features until "The Lion King"? It was like "Bambi" on steroids.

Well, there is a possible podcast topic. It is tough to find the time to record, but I at least left with some leads for guests from the convention. And of course Easter has to be the immediate week after the con. I did not ask about individual denominations when I met people to check for availability.

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.

I wish I had my Ativan prescription. From a mental standpoint, C2E2 was a journey. My biggest hopes were to network, but nerds are not that outgoing. If you did not bring your own crowd, you will feel like your alone in a one. The cost of agoraphobia is $110.

And then the floor closes way too early. I get it, vendors working more that eight hours is not fair, but if they do not line up something for everybody, every panel timeframe to encourage after hours attendance, you are too stressed to deal with it. Thank the gods for AEW Rampage.

The wisdom and the cool cosplay come on Saturday, so once I got my feet under me, it instantaneously got better. There was a great networking panel, I got to burn down Channel Awesome during "The Movies We Cannot Agree On" panel. It is good to feel like a heel again. And Sunday was filled with great guests who may have sold me back to the MCU.

Returning to the MCU despite ThePoeticCritic's friends on the "Junk Filter" podcast. "Black Adam" cannot possibly be compared to the Clint Eastwood musical "Paint Your Wagon".

There has not been any blogs the past few weeks, and I apologize. We still have content. Content through which I think I can still use Podbean ($108 this year), but time was also being used to establish the new branding "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss". If you have been depending on the blog to listen to the podcast (Allyson), here are the past, reissued episodes.

• The Adam Sandler Mega Episode with @QuidPro_Joe

  Tuesday Mar 14, 2023

• BONUS: Vampires and 15 Years of Cinematic Cena

  Sunday Mar 19, 2023

• Semi-MEGA Henry Rollins & Jeff Goldblum Pod

  Monday Mar 20, 2023

• Ally Presents a Semi-Mega Pod with Anime, Screen Gems, Killer Klowns, and Flashdance

  Monday Mar 27, 2023

• TV Animation & Disney Damnation the MEGA Pod
  Mar 23 • 3:43:28
• ThePoeticCritic Mega Pod: Scorsese/Disney/Vampire Cinematic Salad

  Mar 30 • 2:20:55

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.