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: 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 ThePoeticCriticand 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.
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.
Episode 199: '70s Cinema Marathon: Before the Excessive Coke.
CatBusRuss decided to dive into some of his purchases this year. He explores half of his first Vinegar Syndrome order, the 1973 horror comedy "Arnold" and a classic he picked up on iTunes which was nearly his top discovery of 2020, the 1972 Bruce Dern sci-fi vehicle "Silent Running". Marrying corpses for inheritance loopholes and a conservationist space movie prove the seventies were a special time. Too bad cocaine and capitalism ruined these unique ideas come the 1980s.
Russ also discovered the difficulties of finding movies before 1980 on major streaming platforms. He found the offerings on Netflix and Paramount+ to be quite poor. Fortunately, Shudder is aware of what a classic horror feature is and Prime Video is a video library with fewer rental fees. The second half of this seventies marathon brings the full-frontal nudity with David Carradine's failed spiritual successor to "Death Race 2000", "Death Sport", and the steamy, lesbian-vampire classic "Daughters of Darkness".
The influence of the 1971 vampire film can still be felt on vampire cinema 50 years later. This inspired our host to revisit his review for the queer-vampire, indie-horror comedy, "Bit" to cap off this episode.
Ninety For Chill 200: A Christmas Miracle with ThePoeticCritic
It might be an overstatement to suggest that ThePoeticCritic is miraculous, but she allows for this year (and this incarnation) of "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast" to conclude the only way CatBusRuss would allow it. That is with a guest. This was a near last minute arrangement, so the two siblings will not be chatting about a movie. They will be reviewing their experiences from this year in cinema, but with our host's work situation, his big sister wanted to bring in a little Christmas right now.
The two do investigate what makes a holiday picture. Does it need to be released (or intended to be released) around the season? How Christmassy does it have to be? Has Shane Black actually wrote a genuine Xmas movie? Are all Oscar-bait features representative of the holiday spirit as "Mystery Science Theater 3000" suggests?
As for the best experiences this year, ThePoeticCritic does not offer too many opinions, but helps guide Russ in coming to a decision in the three feature race of "Coraline (09)", "A Boy and His Dog (1975)", and "Shredder Orpheus (1990)". Maybe CatBus will get caught up on 2024's actual movies once he can step away from the retail hell that might have driven his cynicism. Buy batteries before the kids open the damn gifts.
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.
Brandy remembers this film fondly. She was only two when the film came out in 1986, but it had such an impact on her family that her little brother was named Jareth, the character portrayed by the father of modern alternative rock, David Bowie. As for the lasting impact on Russ and his older sister, ThePoeticCritic, this was the two's first real exposure to this musical god, but more importantly, The Muppets (more accurately, Jim Henson's Creature Shop) as a source of drama. It also may have prepped them for Mom's love of anything English as Terry Jones's script left them in a good place to appreciate "Monty Python's Flying Circus".
And of course, as many suggest, all parties involved with this episode consider the children's feature to be a catalyst of sexual awakening. Those wardrobe choices will be discussed.
Episode 197: Pik'n Away at "Hard Target" with CouchManBakes
We do not mean that as shots against the talents of William Duke, David Patrick Kelly, Bill Paxton, and Rae Dawn Chong, but Wilford Brimley Cajun accent is a lot more fun than Dan Hedaya's Central American. Sorry Vernon Wells, you were not a known commodity in 1985. Lance Henriksen was very mush that in 1993.
This is a charming take on "The Most Dangerous Game" set in New Orleans. At least Sam Raimi decided to give the rundown Detroit tropes a rest for this feature. It is a silly tale of a Louisianan merchant sailor from the Marines being hunted for sport, but it delivers great action and asks the question, how could we ignore "The Mummy" giving us a virtually mute Arnold Vosloo?
After this film, not letting him deliver English dialogue is awful. Surely Stephen Sommers did not want to hurt our feelings.
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.