I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss cover art

I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss

I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss

By: Cat Bus Russ
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About this listen

 I Dig Crazy Flicks is the home of "Ninety For Chill". We do not always have the time for a two-hour movie. No one ever wants to sit down and watch a one-hour TV drama knowing that they might end up sticking around for a second (or a third...even a fourth) episode. With this said, 70 to 100 minutes is the ideal runtime. This concise timeframe has given us some of the most rewatchable movies that may not win any Oscars, but are properly fun-sized for the audience. Fun-sized sweets that may be experimental terror, outlandish horror, over-the-top action, or the most radical comedies and dramas.Cat Bus Russ Art
Episodes
  • UI-Con: Eighties Movie Podcaster in an Anime World

    UI-Con: Eighties Movie Podcaster in an Anime World
    Feb 2 2026
    CatBusRuss and "Couchman" Andrew Tiede may have felt like Frank Dux and Ray Jackson walking into Kowloon for the Kumite when they arrived at the UI-Con. There was too much anime cosplay to feel like they belonged. Would they need to demonstrate the Dim Mak to show they were the right kind of nerds?For those who feel this description is not appropriate since anime is not from Hong Kong, when CatBus was collecting tapes, the plot of "Bloodsport" was used for Episode 3 of "Street Fighter II V", an anime inspired by the video game.They both visited the UI-Con's website. The top photo is an image of the exterior of the Illinois Conference Center above a header of, "Champaign-Urbana's Anime and Comic Convention". Anime is first on the call sheet, but comic con led them to both think that you need not be an otaku to feel welcomed. Thankfully, it ended up being true, but there was an initial culture shock for two 40-somethings in Midwestern nerdy garb.When it came to panels not centered around Japanese animation, I Dig Crazy Flicks may have been the only representatives at the convention. Russ and Andrew were there to pitch the concept of "Ninety For Chill", determine which movies from 1986 were RAD and which ones were BAD, and to further determine who was the greatest action star from a time where we watched violence for the sake of violence, 1985. Without a focus on Japanimation, would anyone come to these panels?With Ally Higgins coming to be a cheerleader, they were at least going to put on a good show. And maybe buy some fan art to expand to their culture.Aside from cool trinkets on the floor, CatBus was introduced to "Off the Balcony Podcast". They offered up a great panel about lost media that anyone can connect with (anime being featured on every other slide), but they also brought out the anime-themed conversations to demand attention. Attention that also attracted legendary anime translator David Fleming and his awesome laser disc collection.Our two podcasters left having a great time. Russ even thinks it was a successful effort. You will be able to listen to these panels in the upcoming weeks to be the judge.But to further focus on CRAZY FLICKS, CatBusRuss has attached a review for another Lamberto Bava (Director of "Demons" and "Demons 2") film, Blastfighter. It is essentially "First Blood" exploitation but with box art that suggest its an Italian apocalypse film. Chekhov's gun has nothing on what Jake "Tiger" Sharp is packing.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Caught Up (1998) with Jason Parker (@formelynicdestro.bsky.social)

    Caught Up (1998) with Jason Parker (@formelynicdestro.bsky.social)
    Jan 28 2026

    Jason Parker offered up a lot of options when he petitioned to be the first guest on "I Dig Crazy Flicks with CatBusRuss" in 2026, but the first one he offered was "Caught Up" starring Bokeem Woodbine. It fit the standards of "Ninety For Chill". After watching "The Breed", CatBusRuss determined that this under-appreciated actor is good in anything, so if Jason was a fan, our host was intrigued.

    And then Russ saw that Tony Todd and Jeffrey Combs were in the cast. This near guarantee of cinematic insanity demanded his attention.

    "Caught Up" was written and directed by Darin Scott, the producer of the critically acclaimed Menace II Society. This is not of the quality of the MTV Movie Award's Best Picture of 1993. It is not a gritty tale from the streets. It is a story of an ambitious ex-con getting seduced by a "psychic" portrayed by Cynda Williams which leads him into a world of diamond smuggling, noir-inspired gunmen, effeminate hoodlums, crooked cups, and Jamaicans mobsters led by Basil "Screwface" Wallace.

    Some may say this is Agatha Christie in the Hood. CatBus thinks it is a Keith David away from absolute perfection.

    The ending alone makes this feature a must watch. To avoid the spoiler, you may need to check out another episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" after an hour of the conversation.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • "Fritz the Cat" with Gregory Carl and NWA 74

    "Fritz the Cat" with Gregory Carl and NWA 74
    Jan 21 2026

    While watching the 74th Anniversary of the National Wrestling Alliance (August 28, 2022)

    Gregory Carl blessed "NinetyForChill: The #Podcast" with his presence again to discuss Ralph Bashki's "Fritz the Cat", the "first" X-Rated animated feature and the most successful independent animated film of all time. This is a movie that discusses a lot of issues that are still extremely sensitive today in regards to race relations while being as explicit as narratively possible. It is a film that needs to be chatted about, but not around the kiddies.

    It has been a film that CatBusRuss had always wanted to get around to, but the reputation still seemed a bit much. How can you sexualize cats? Our host knew that the creator of the comic, the legendary Robert Crumb, disowned the feature, but I did not know it was about race relation issues.

    As a fan of "American Pop" and who is appreciative of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Fire and Ice", Russ was surprised and impressed to see Bashki tackle such topics, but is he the person that should be addressing them?

    To add some less complicated concerns to this podcast, CatBus includes his review for the "Die Hard" at a beauty pageant feature "No Contest". It is only appropriate since Russ just got back from Fan Expo New Orleans where Robert Davi was one of the celebrity guests. This film also has a cast that is kind of the summation of Gregory's attitudes. The lead villain is Andrew Dice Clay and his number one guy is Rowdy Roddy Piper.

    With all the wrestling chatter, the podcast runs over 2 hours in length, but if you do not need to hear about Russ's past war stories, the movie conversation is concluded before the second hour starts.
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    2 hrs and 13 mins
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