Warning: the movie we watched was rated TV-14, but it definitely earned an R rating in its portrayal of women. Be advised that we warn viewers of the content with vivid language.

We finally did it. We watched an anime movie on Tubi. Tubi has some very good gems from Japan so we weren't worried that this was going to be slop, but it is fun to see what arrives on the free streaming platform.

Tubi Decided reviews Redline (2009), a seven-year passion project with animation so smooth you could do a Dukes of Hazard slide on it.

This is the closest thing we will get to a gritty F-Zero reboot.

Today's special episode asks our viewers to determine whether a movie is real or fake. We either watched a crazy and bizarre story about Russian politicians turning into rats, or we made it up. Either way, it is an exciting episode where we ponder the fate of Casper Van Dien and theorize what movie Rebel Wilson would be good in.

Ratpocalypse is set in 2015, Senator Casper Van Dien addresses the Russian government that every rich person will turn into rats if they don't stop their greed and corruption. He is laughed out of the law building, but then realizes that he was 100% correct. With Russian diplomats and oligarchs turning into rats, Casper must team up with two prostitutes to clear his name.

Did we make this movie up to trick you, or is it real? You decide.

John Candy and Eugene Levy are in a buddy cop film about two security workers uncovering corruption in the force. Also stars Meg Ryan in one of her early roles.

Written by Harold Ramis and Directed by Mark Lester

This movie came out in 1986 in the wake of Beverly Hills Cop and Police Academy.

The Guyver, directed by Screaming Mad George and Steven Wang stars Vivian Fu, Mark Hamil, and some blonde guy who never got over playing with action figures. Mark Hamill does his best to give dignity and respect to this live-action manga adaptation, but secretly, he is cursing out his agent. I mean...Jimmie Walker plays a rapping monster that scares children when he is on screen.

The Guyver is what happens when someone sees TMNT and says, I think I can do that for 10 million less. This movie is gritty, scary, and darker than a Snyderverse movie on downers. But it has Mark Hamill in a mustache trying his darndest not to reminisce about Star Wars.

Join Mike, Ivy, Vin, and Adam for Tubi Decided.

Join Ivy, Mike, Adam, and Vin for a movie that is hard to understand, but not easy to look away from

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) is one of the quintessential "cult classics"—a movie that was almost universally ignored at the box office but became a legendary piece of pop culture due to its bizarre, dense world-building and dry wit.

The movie is famously written as if it is the 10th or 11th entry in a long-running franchise that doesn’t actually exist. It follows Dr. Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller)—a physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, and rock star.

• The Catalyst: Buckaroo successfully drives his "Jet Car" through a mountain using the Oscillation Overthruster, a device that allows matter to pass through matter. In doing so, he briefly travels through the 8th Dimension and inadvertently discovers alien life.

• The Conflict: This success catches the attention of Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow), a scientist possessed by the tyrannical Lord John Whorfin. Whorfin is the leader of the Red Lectroids, a group of evil aliens from Planet 10 who were exiled to the 8th Dimension in 1938.

• The Stakes: Whorfin and his Red Lectroids (all named "John" and disguised as humans working at Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems) want the Overthruster to free their army and retake Planet 10. Meanwhile, the peaceful Black Lectroids threaten to orbitally bombard Earth to prevent Whorfin's escape, which would trigger a nuclear World War III.

• The Resolution: Buckaroo and his team, The Hong Kong Cavaliers (including Jeff Goldblum as "New Jersey"), team up with the Blue Blaze Irregulars (his civilian fan club) to storm Yoyodyne, rescue Buckaroo's love interest Penny Priddy, and destroy Whorfin's escape pod before the Black Lectroids pull the trigger on Earth.

Despite its star-studded cast, the film was a significant financial failure upon release, largely because audiences didn't know how to categorize its deadpan, "in-on-the-joke" style.

Fun Fact: The film ends with a teaser for a sequel titled Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League. Because of the poor box office performance and complex legal rights issues, the sequel was never filmed, though it has since been adapted into comics and a novel.

Would you like me to find out more about the "World Crime League" sequel that never happened, or perhaps the famous "watermelon in the vise" mystery?

The Plot: A "Day in the Life" of a PolymathBox Office & ReceptionMetricDetailsBudgetApproximately $12 million (some sources suggest up to $17M with marketing)Domestic Gross$6.3 millionOpening Weekend$620,279VerdictBox Office Bomb. It grossed roughly half of its production cost.

Woodchipper Massacre (1988) is an ultra-low-budget "shot-on-video" (SOV) horror-comedy that has gained a cult following for its amateur charm and campy execution. It was written, directed, and scored by its lead actor, Jon McBride.

​Plot Synopsis

​The story follows three siblings—Jon, Denice, and Tom—who are left home alone for a weekend while their father is away on business. Their father leaves them under the strict supervision of their Aunt Tess, a religious extremist who forbids music, dating, and television, insisting they focus solely on chores and scripture.

​The conflict begins when the youngest brother, Tom, receives an "Official Rambo Hunting Knife" in the mail. When Aunt Tess discovers the weapon and tries to confiscate it, a physical struggle ensues. During the scuffle, Tess is accidentally stabbed and killed.

​Panicked and fearing they’ll be blamed for the death, the siblings decide to cover up the crime. After realizing the body is too "soft" to be processed by a woodchipper immediately, they freeze her remains in the family freezer. Later, they feed the frozen parts into a woodchipper in the backyard. Their cover-up is further complicated when Tess's erratic, foul-mouthed son, Kim, arrives looking for his mother and some money, leading the siblings to consider adding a second victim to the chipper.

In the 2014 holiday film The 3 Dogateers (also known as The Three Dogateers Save Christmas), three talking dogs must save the day when their family's Christmas is ruined.

The story follows three pampered pooches—Barkos, Wagos, and their leader Arfamis. When their owners leave them home alone on Christmas Eve, a pair of burglars breaks into the house and steals everything: the presents, the ornaments, and even the Christmas tree.

Refusing to let Christmas be ruined, the "Dogateers" set off on a journey across the city to track down the thieves and reclaim their belongings. Along the way, they have to dodge a relentless dogcatcher named Barney Gloat and eventually team up with a man they believe is the real Santa Claus to ensure they get home in time for Christmas morning.

The movie features a mix of live-action actors and voice performances for the dogs:

• Dean Cain: Plays Matt (the dogs' owner).

• Richard Riehle: Plays Santa Claus.

• Bill Oberst Jr.: Plays Barney Gloat (the dogcatcher).

• Jesse Baget: Not only directed the film but also provided the voices for Arfamis and Barkos.

• Danielle Judovits: Provided the voice for Wagos.

• Andrea Monier: Plays Lisa.

• Rodney Kageyama: Plays Mr. Hiroshi.

Mike, Adam, Vin, and Ivy review a Full Moon studio movie about getting trapped in a video game.

A troubled teenage girl, Alex, discovers that the VR game Arcade is trapping the souls of the players who lose. When her boyfriend and several friends disappear after playing it, she realizes the game is sentient and evil, having been created using the brain cells of a dead boy. Teaming up with the game's worried programmer, Alex decides she has to enter the virtual world herself and win her way through the levels to rescue her friends before they are permanently imprisoned. However, even after she manages to free them, the digital villain finds a way to escape into the real world.

​​Megan Ward played the lead role of Alex Manning.

​Peter Billingsley played Alex's friend, Nick (he is best known as Ralphie from A Christmas Story).

​John de Lancie played Difford, the arcade's shady owner (he is famous for playing "Q" on Star Trek: The Next Generation).

​Seth Green played Stilts, one of the friends (an early role before his later fame in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Austin Powers).

​A. J. Langer played Laurie.

​Sharon Farrell played Alex's Mom

Overview

• Tammy and the T-Rex is a 1994 American horror-comedy/teen sci-fi film directed by Stewart Raffill. Wikipedia+1

• The film stars Denise Richards as “Tammy” (though in the credits she’s listed as “Tanny”) and Paul Walker as her high-school boyfriend Michael. Wikipedia+1

• Plot synopsis: Michael is brutally attacked and falls into a coma, and meanwhile a mad scientist (Dr. Wachenstein) implants Michael’s brain into an animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex. The dinosaur (now Michael) escapes and seeks revenge on his tormentors, while Tammy tries to reunite with him. Wikipedia+1

• The film blends teen romance, high-school drama, dinosaur monster mayhem and mad science — a wild mix of genres. Critics and viewers generally view it as campy and “so bad it’s good”. rottentomatoes.com+1

• It has achieved cult status over time, partly because of its absurd premise, early performances from Richards & Walker, and the bizarre execution. The Independent

• The original U.S. release was in 1994 and has a runtime of about 82 minutes in its standard version. Wikipedia+1

• The film was originally shot with more gore and horror sequences, but the U.S. release had some of the gore edited out to broaden its audience. Wikipedia+1

• A later “uncut” or “Gore Cut” version was restored and released in 2019 by the label Vinegar Syndrome, which includes previously excised material. amherstcinema.org+1

• On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the standard version of the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews. rottentomatoes.com+1

• The “Gore Cut” version (2019) apparently has a higher approval among a niche audience (100% based on 9 reviews) though these tend to be fewer and favourable for cult-appreciation rather than mainstream. rottentomatoes.com

• Audience commentary often highlights the film’s joyfully absurd nature and low-budget charm. For example:

  “My ‘bad movie club’ and I just watched this … Every single scene … entertaining.” Reddit

• Despite its cult status, I could not locate reliable, publicly documented box-office grosses for Tammy and the T-Rex. The usual databases (Box Office Mojo, The Numbers) do not list complete theatrical earnings for this title (or at least not visible publicly).

• Given its nature (low-budget, limited release, niche appeal) it appears the film was neither a major commercial hit nor widely reported in box-office tracking.

• Therefore, in absence of verifiable figures, it’s best described as a cult film that likely had modest theatrical returns and found more of its audience later via home video, re-releases, and streaming.

• Early career appearances by future stars: Denise Richards and Paul Walker.

• A truly bizarre concept: brain transplant into a mechanical dinosaur.

• The mix of genres (teen romance, horror, sci-fi, monster movie) gives it a unique position.

• Its status as a “so bad it’s good” B-movie gives it enduring interest among cult-film fans.

Release & VersionsReceptionBox OfficeWhy It Stands Out

The 1993 movie Love Bites is a comedy-horror film starring 1980s pop star Adam Ant as a vampire named Zachary Simms.

​🧛 Plot Summary

​Zachary Simms is a 350-year-old vampire who wakes up in his coffin after having overslept for 100 years.

​He finds his crypt is now under the house of a modern career woman named Kendall Gordon (Kimberly Foster).

​Zachary and Kendall fall in love, leading the vampire to try and "re-humanize" himself to be with her—by doing things like eating human food.

​His attempts are complicated by his jealous vampire creator and former lover, Nerissa (Michelle Forbes), who demands his return, and Kendall's jealous ex-boyfriend, Dwight (Roger Rose).

​The humor comes from Zachary's comical collision with the modern world as he tries to adapt to the 1990s.

​🎭 Box Office Performance

​Information regarding the theatrical box office performance of Love Bites is not widely available in easily searchable public records. This is often the case for smaller, independent, or straight-to-video releases from that era.

​The film was released in 1993, but it does not appear on typical lists of top-grossing films for that year, suggesting it had a limited theatrical release or was quickly moved to the home video market (VHS/rental), which was common for genre films and lower-budget comedies at the time.

​The film is sometimes listed with the alternate title Love Bites: The Reluctant Vampire.

​Would you like to know more about the cast, or perhaps other vampire-themed comedies from the 1990s?