Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Taking Quad Cities Comic Con to 1985, Fan Expo Chicago 2026, Video Game Cinema

I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss

Episode 282 - Missouri Comic Con: 1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match

The Protector DVD artwork

CatBusRuss ⁠once again presented a TEDTalk about what might be the greatest year in action movies, 1985. ⁠Sylvester Stallone⁠ had "⁠Rambo: First Blood - Part II⁠", ⁠Arnold Schwarzenegger ⁠had "⁠Commando⁠", and the ⁠Cannon Group⁠ threw everything at them. But as this panel evolves, could ⁠Sho Kosugi⁠, ⁠Taimak, or perhaps Julius "Sho'nuff" Carry⁠ walk out as the king of violence?

It was a smaller audience, but they were more than happy to participate in determining the champion. By the end of his time, ⁠Russ⁠ got to sell his ideas to a crowd of aspiring cosplayers. They were a crowd that appreciated 1985 cinema in general, and offered up new contenders to the action hero title. That is, if you think Marty McFly, Andrew Clark, and John Bender were action stars.

Our host continues to research this year in action cinema, and this led him to find the second attempt to make ⁠Jackie Chan⁠ a movie star in America. "⁠The Protector⁠" is essentially "Rush Hour 2". Instead of Chris Tucker accompanying Chan to bring justice to Hong Kong, it was a pre-prime ⁠Danny Aiello⁠ as comic relief. How does this work out with the most serious Jackie of the 1980s? How serious can it be when you have a showdown between Chan and ⁠Big John Studd⁠?

Could Jackie Chan someday win this panel? Who knows? But if you are looking for a winning snack, try a flavor from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Episode 283 - Miike's "Dead or Alive" & John Carpenter's Fan Expo 2026

Takashi Miike

It has been a rough month for ⁠CatBusRuss⁠. His new warehouse job is expecting 11-hour days starting at 6 pm, and with every other weekend being mandatory Saturdays, he considers himself lucky to have the strength to check out the last day of ⁠Fan Expo Chicago⁠. Then the convention organizers kicked him between the legs.

Was it a worthwhile trip? Yes. Our podcast host got to hang out with ⁠ThePoeticCritic⁠, gave out of all his "⁠I Dig Crazy Flicks⁠" promotional buttons and pins, and got to ask ⁠"The Horror Master" John Carpenter⁠ a question at the "⁠Halloween⁠" panel. Unfortunately, if you did not give Fan Expo all your money up front, they could care less about how your experience was. They basically decided that one-day visitors are losers.

⁠Russ⁠ had been to three conventions last year hoping to get an autograph from ⁠Keith David⁠, and the legend had to cancel all three appearances. Life happens, the podcaster understands that. Unfortunately to Fan Expo, life only happens to celebrities. If you cannot make it to all three days of their attempts to take all your money, you do not matter. The fault for not getting his signature this time solely rests on Russ.

Sorry you were not in a position to buy a fan experience in advance. It is your fault for not calling in sick to work. And you call yourself a "fan". A fan will bend over backwards to accommodate ⁠Epic Conventions'⁠ income like Russ did at the ⁠2022 Fan Expo Chicago⁠.

And fans should only want to bow down to celebrities. If they go to panels facilitated by other fans, where is the money for us to make?

It kind of makes CatBus wish the convention would have concluded like the end of ⁠Takashi Miike⁠'s "⁠Dead or Alive⁠". Russ will be on "⁠Collateral Cinema⁠" for their annual Miike episode. To give you a preview of what is to come over there, our host got a really incisive rewatch in and does his best to provide us with a limited review of this brilliant feature.

If you are looking for a brilliant snack, try a flavor from ⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

 

Episode 284 - Doom (2005) & The Dungeonmaster (1984) with Ta2Squid & TrashPanda

Doom Poster from Pinterest

CatBusRuss was considering keeping this conversation behind the ⁠Patreon⁠ paywall. This was a chat where nothing seemed to workout as planned.

The Wheel of Horror⁠ podcast suggested covering the first American leading role for ⁠Karl Urban⁠ as he was billed beneath ⁠The Rock⁠ in the video game adaptation for the legendary first-person shooter "⁠Doom⁠". In the better times of Twitter, ⁠Kolin from Trashpanda Podcast⁠ and video game movie enthusiast ⁠Andras from Ta2squid Podcast⁠ (⁠Check it out his return to "Ninety For Chill", a conversation about the first "Super Mario Bros" movie.⁠) wanted to get in on the conversation. They had a date set to record, but WoH had to dropout to catch a showing of "Top Gun: Maverick" for their upcoming episode. Then Kolin thought that this was just going to be a podcast for podcasters, like his and Andras show tended to be. Why would he be expected to watch the movie?

Thankfully, they all had libations prepared for the chat, so it ended up being a fun conversation ranging from 

⁠Russ⁠ arguing that the "⁠Iron Eagle⁠" franchise was superior to Tom Cruise's, sharing wrestling tattoo stories, and some opinions from Kolin's little kids. If you come prepared with a cocktail or cannabis product, you should feel comfortable hanging out with the three of them on this recording.

To make sure there would be inarguable movie talk this week, CatBus took a cue from past podcast guest 
⁠Tim Bates⁠ and gave the ⁠Empire International Pictures⁠ anthology film "⁠The Dungeonmaster⁠ (aka "Ragewar") a viewing. This is a charming ⁠Charles Band⁠ produced film that features seven vignettes from seven different directors. There are AI concepts that now seem to be reality, puppets, stop-motion animation, and hair metal act ⁠W.A.S.P.⁠. These elements all serve the devil in a quest to ensnare the souls of two young lovers. Hope your ready for the shock of PG-13 full frontal nudity. With all the film has to offer, how could you leave it feeling like a loser?

If you want to feel like a healthy winner, try a flavor from 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doich! Snacking Dough. It is cookie dough with more protein, less sugar, and none of the eight major allergens. Our host is not a cookie fan, but this stuff taste great and leaves you feeling full quickly. Follow the link below to save 20% on your order and give Chocolate Chip, Birthday Cake, or WTFudge Brownie dough a try.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ta2squid Podcast: anchor.fm/ta2squidpodcast⁠

I chat about all different topics some that are subtle,others that are crazy and that probably make no sense. Main topics: Halloween 🎃 Horror movies Camping Wrestling Heavy metal music or music in general Help support this podcast ,buy me a coffee at 

⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/ta2squidpodcast⁠

⁠Trashpanda Podcast: trashpandapodcast.com⁠

Trash Panda Podcast is your next great binge! Follow Kollin, Gotts and the Mogwais as they try to navigate life in their 30's , arguing pop culture topics, finding themselves in hilarious situations, rant about the way people park, and tell great stories. Always NSFW but guaranteed to not disappoint! Join us to stay up to date on all things Trashpanda!

Follow me on Bluesky @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.

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Taking Quad Cities Comic Con to 1985, Fan Expo Chicago 2026, Video Game Cinema

I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss Episode 282 - Missouri Comic Con: 1985 Action Movie Triple-Threat Match CatBusRuss ⁠ once again present...