CatBusRuss was unable to secure a guest this week, but thankfully has some leads on some experts of spookiness. This left our host relying on his streaming services to warrant tax write offs for I DiG CRAZY FLiCKS. Here he discovered that after the "Twilight Saga", studios are making some wild choices when it comes to vampires on the big screen (43 inches and up).

Netflix had the official dawning of Universal's Dark Universe with "Dracula Untold". Russ's suspicions are soon met when it comes to PG-13 vampires as Luke Evans portrays Bram Stoker's titular character. This feature looks like it wants to show, "What if Sauron from Peter Jackson's Trilogy was on our side?" Laughingly, it is lots of bodies flying without viscera or proper lighting.

Paramount+ was only promoting two vampire movies, and the CatBus has already spoke of "From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money's" excellence. So he watched the weirdly titled "V for Vengeance". To the producers' credit, in the age of mock busters, the nomenclature will bring eyes to it. Hopefully, those pupils will not be too miffed about getting the lightweight "D.E.B.S." of vampiric action instead of a dystopian England with Guy Faux masks.

This double feature is for those who are into schlock since Stephenie Meyer took more time establishing vampiric lore. Too bad the only thing these creatives took from her franchise is that the sun is no longer a curse. It is a major flaw because darkness, can hide poor fight choreography and only implies the gore your effects cannot deliver.

NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast is starting Michael Dubois's proposed Gene Wilder trilogy by discussing his favorite movie of all time, "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory". At least, it was his favorite coming into these recordings. Can two ultra-left anti-capitalists watch a feature about the Howard Hughes of chocolatiers and leave with the same respect that they had for this feature as children?

After CatBusRuss reviews John Leguizamo's "Empire" our host and Michael Dubois resume their conversation about one of the most impactful children features in their lives, "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory". The two discuss the charms of Gene Wilder that Johnny Depp could only wish for, and how they may allow a real megalomaniacal chocolatier to get away with the crimes against humanity that Roald Dahl's most famous character commits.

It is only appropriate that for episode 187, the podcast will be about films from a gangster rap founding father, Ice Cube. He is a man so hard, that you never see him get killed on screen. CatBusRuss verified this on the Cinemorgue Wiki.

This all stems around our host finding "Trespass" from 1992 on iTunes for $4.99. It is a movie that has Cube as fourth billed behind Bill Paxton, Ice Tea, and William Sadler. Not a bad place to be when the film is written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale and directed by the man who gave us "Streets of Fire" & "48 Hours", Walter Hill.

But O'Shea Jackson can lead a film, or at least share top billing with The Chick from "Species", Natasha Henstridge. With The Horror Master, John Carpenter, at the helm, surely you will be entertained by "Ghosts of Mars". If that is not enough this to sell this feature to you, "The Beekeeper" Jason Statham further stacks the cast.

"Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss" always opens with a legal disclaimer taken from "Phantasm: OblIVion" followed by the Angus Scrimm's laugh of the Tall Man. At this year's Chicago Fan Expo, our host tried to open his panel by requesting that someone give their best tribute to the late Scrimm's trademark "Boy!" The audience gave the panel a "what the hell is that?" look. So Russ, needs to make sure the internet knows the importance of Don Coscarelli.

When you need to mix up the themes and tones of your movies for spooky month, Don Coscarelli is a great auteur to turn to. CatBusRuss's introduction to this director was the nightmare fuel that is the "Phantasm". Kodiak Thompson's comes from the comedic craziness that is "John Dies at the End". Who can resist Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis Presley in "Bubba Ho-Tep"? If horror is not your bag, Doscarelli will still draw you in with one of his films.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Darkman, The Rundown, and Sons of Steel (1989). Aside from action and outrageous spectacle, what do these films have in common?

CatBusRuss is tempted to do some research to determine if he has ever had a guest for a Labor Day Weekend episode of "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast", but why dwell on the past? Let's experience some flicks that are new to him, and help warrant writing them off when I Dig Crazy Flicks, LLC. files their taxes.

Our host believes that he came up with a fun four film marathon based on films from the subscription services that he pays for (Netflix & Paramount+), his recent iTunes purchases, and a film that he was tempted to purchase during Vinegar Syndrome's Labor Day Sale, but thanks to JustWatch, found that it was free on Tubi. We are sure that we will address the Blu-Rays that he did buy on a later episode.

Kodiak Thompson returns to offer up his insight about another horror comedy, Travis Betz's "Lo" from 2009. This romantic tale is all charm with a sense of humor that is akin to "John Dies at the End". It is like "Evil Dead" except the demons are more concerned with spouting and mocking philosophies instead of swallowing souls.

2024 may have been CatBusRuss's most productive Fan Expo Chicago, but it came at a cost. He had a great time learning how to host a panel when he presented "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast with CatBusRuss" live. Too bad the obsolete Fender PA system failed to record it. Or, the blame may fall upon the flash drive he bought from a dodgy phone repair kiosk at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. But it was all about education, so sweating out a six-hour hangover after Fan Expo's Cosmic Celebration was a battle worth fighting.

Should Russ have drank half-a-fifth of Deep Eddy's Cranberry Vodka? He thinks he earned it after successfully debuting his first masked cosplay, Cubpool. This allowed him to impress his fellow nerds with photo ops and, with the mask being so confining, left him quite blind. Which means, it is difficult to shop when you cannot see. Money was saved. The owner of I Dig Crazy Flicks, LLC. cannot write off every toy he wants to buy.

The Deadpool mask's eye holes were so small, it felt like his eyes would soon be dried out. Thankfully for CatBus, the stars were out for day two of the convention. Sitting in the darkened main hall to hear tales from Alan Tudyk, the voice actors of "Hazbin Hotel", and the shared casts of the first two "Terminator" films allowed him to remove the hood and properly hydrate.

It was a fun three-days, but it did leave Russ feeling like he had been dropped seven feet by Sid Vicious. This means it felt appropriate to splice in his review of the 2020, no-budget, Cleveland-based, indie-wrestling feature, "Powerbomb" into this podcast episode.

The first day on any Chicago Comic Con is dedicated to getting your bearings to determine where and when you need to be. This has always been a bit rough on CatBusRuss. He knew that he had to be 1 hour and 40 minutes early for the Mark Hamill panel (and find a way to seamlessly insert a review for "Loaded Weapon 1" into this episode), but what does he need to know to host a panel at the Creators' Stage (Sunday, August 18, 2 pm) and sell "I Dig Crazy Flicks" buttons and stickers?

Checking out a podcast recording about cosplay and an underrated gems panel with no microphones for fan input is leaving him worried, but perhaps CatBus can just get money by feigning naivety. It works for some of those in the Artist Alley.