Jess McCord, co-creator of TTRPG "Skies of Fortune", left GalaxyCon Des Moines's edition of "Ninety For Chill: The Panel" with a suggestion for an anime that best represents the premise of "Ninety For Chill: The Podcast". CatBusRuss had been hearing about "Pompo: The Cinephile" from Jess before he met him in Iowa's capital city. Presuming this film was something that this anime expert was passionate about, how could our host not talk about this flick? We will soon discover that this was not necessarily about passion, but a punchline.

"Pompo" is the story of a movie producer who is more dedicated to giving new talent opportunities than chasing critical awards. Her PA is Gene, a true cinephile who loves to see the finest art made for the silver screen. Because of this passion, she insists that he will direct her script for such a movie. Is Gene up for that task and can he finish it in time for the investors?

The two podcaster admire the concept of this flick, but is it actually good? There is a lot to love about it. As content creators, they both understand the struggle of making a thing, but everything seems to just work out for our protagonists in this world. Jess is left feeling overwhelmed at points with such a brief, all-encompassing look at Western cinema. Russ loves the inside baseball look at what is essentially a love letter to Roger Corman. With these two perspectives, does this film actually work or was it better left as a webcomic?

Regardless of the final consensus for "Pompo", the two know it is the end of the year, and as "critics", their determination of the best films that they saw this year is expected. CatBus declares his "Best Ninety For Chill" of 2025 and Jess offers his favorite films released this year.

Here's hoping this episode of "I Dig Crazy Flicks" is a fun Christmas gift, the ideal way to avoid family interaction if need be.