Episode 230: #ATLComicConvention - 1985 Action Movies - Sympathy for the Cannon Group
CatBusRuss may have finally broken the panel code. The audience was not large (What would you expect being placed in the furthest panel room of the ATL Comic Convention?), but the enthusiasm of director/producer Mario DeAngelisand dark fantasy author with a second-degree black belt Hollis Jo McCollum made the three flights to and from Atlanta worthwhile for our podcast host.
After the "V for Vendetta" panel on Friday, DeAngelis and McCollum were great gets for this CatBus's discussion. McCollum was a big supporter of Chuck Norris. DeAngelis wishes he would have been old enough to work for Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus. This ended up being a celebration of the questionable financial decisions made by Cannon, but no one could ignore the influence that Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had on action in the 1980s.
Who wins the triple-threat match amongst Sly, Arnie, and Cannon? Is it box office that Sly had with "Rocky IV" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II"? Is it Arnie with the body count from "Commando"? Could Norris, legend Charles Bronson, and Michael "American Ninja" Dudikoff even compete? CatBusRuss is an underemployed pro-wrestler, so he can at least tell you the loser. Regardless of who got the W, everyone looks good in a one-loser/one-winner scenario. Thanks to Mario and Hollis Jo of course.
If you need an undisputed action suggestion, Russ decided to attach his review for "Ballerina: From the World of John Wick" to this podcast. The "John Wick" franchise has a simple, initial story, so it feels like 1985. We wanted violence 30 years ago. All we need is a motivation to justify it.