The Midnight Matinee

The hosts celebrate a most momentous occasion: one year of the show! First, we enter a cold night as an execution is the only thing on the minds of an American home is an execution set to happen….at a certain time of night. Tension is high, Bogart is young, and the film is Midnight from 1934! Next is a jump three years to the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The population of a Florida naval town has a sense of doom, feeling that at any moment…they could all be wiped out by a powerful explosion…but come on! Lawrence Woolsey is in town! And he’s got a new sci-fi thriller that pays homage to the gimmick filled sci fi films of the time with the lovable John Goodman at the helm. It’s of course Joe Dante’s 1993 film, Matinee!

Today, the hosts find themselves in the deadly world of the entertainment industry and the even more deadly world...of murder! First up, Sidney Bruhl is a Broadway director with little success as of recent, until a former student gives him the perfect script. So good...he may need to kill him for it. Of course there’s always more complexity than that with this spiralling mystery thriller helmed by Sidney Lumet...1982’s Deathtrap! Next up, we travel to the hills of Hollywood where Tim Robbins plays Griffin Mill, a producer who’s rubbed more than his fair share of writers the wrong way. But now, he’s faced with constant threats from one of those writers of murder. Mills goes through a journey of guilt, paranoia, and fear all while being surrounded by the mechanical film industry in Robert Altman’s 1992 film The Player!

Today’s episode is dripping in paranoia as the three hosts delve into a double feature of uncovered conspiracies. For the first flick, Harry Caul gets a simple job to record a conversation between two people walking in a crowded square. However, Caul begins to feel worry and guilt over his work in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film “The Conversation”. Next, Jack Terry is a B-movie sound engineer who happens to record the car crash that kills a presidential candidate. It’s only when he saves a girl from the car and the whole situation begins to get silenced that Jack begins his investigation of what really happened. It’s Brian De Palma’s 1981 film, Blow Out!

The spookiness continues and reaches a climactic high with the hosts delving into the good ol’ movie creature we all know and love....the zombie. First up, we go back to the beginning of the zombie flick with a group of survivors locking down an old farm house in order to defeat the new onslaught of creatures lurking beyond the boarded up windows. It’s the horror classic from Mr. George. R. Romero, 1968’s Night of the Living Dead! For our next picture, we go across the globe to Japan where a film crew has a tumultuous time filming their very own zombie flick in a film that’s best to go in cold. It’s the recent hit and soon to become cult classic, 2017’s One Cut of the Dead!

As the spookiness arises, the hosts delve into the more conceptual and maddening side of horror. Inspired by the likes of Lovecraft and King, the hosts delve into two spiralling journeys with Sam Neill at the helm. First up, the mysterious author Sutter Caneleaves Sam Neill on the hunt for where the author disappeared off too. This descent would eventually destroy his mind and the world around him in John Carpenter’s 1994 film, In The Mouth Of Madness! After that, we head off to a not-too-distant future. Space travel has grown more and more in technology and a distress beacon is heard from a long lost ship. Neill’s Dr. Weir takes the crew of the Lewis & Clark to see what unknown universes have been reached on the titular ship from the 1997 film...Event Horizon!

On this episode, the hosts go on two separate chaos-filled adventures through New York City. It’ll be scary, but we’ll have each other along the way. First up, Paul Hackett has a horrible night of large characters after a date in Soho goes awry. It’s from the visionary himself, Martin Scorsese, 1985’s After Hours! Following that, we’re led down the grimy world of sports betting and jewel trading as we follow the escapades of one Howard Ratner, played by Adam Sandler. It’s 2019’s wonderful Safdie Brothers film...Uncut Gems!

After a short break, The Midnight Matinee returns to discuss two genre-bending murder mysteries. First up is an ensemble comedy lead by the endlessly charismatic Tim Curry as a dinner party tries to find out the killer amongst them. It’s 1985’s classic Clue! Following Clue is a more modern take on the “murder in a big mansion” mystery with a tight and twisting script following the caretaker of the famous Harlan Thromby. Of course, it’s Rian Johnson’s 2019 film Knives Out!

On today’s episode of The Midnight Matinee, the hosts kick back and watch a couple fun and comfortable films with some genuine filmmaking behind them. First up, we take a look at the classic tale of King Arthur and his Knights through the mind of 5 Brits and 1 American at a surprisingly low budget. It’s, of course, 1975’s influential silly film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Next up, we take a look to 80’s Japan as a pair of truck drivers help a struggling Ramen shop, leading to a tangential comedy commenting on many aspects of pop culture and film. It’s kind, it’s warm, it’s absolutely delicious...it’s 1985’s Tampopo.

This week on The Midnight Matinee, the hosts go back to the turn of the century with the battles of World War I. Particularly, looking back at Britain’s involvement in the war. First up, a war hero rises as he must cross the desert to help the Arabs defeat the Ottoman Empire. However, the mental battle may outway the physical in the mind of T.E. Lawrence in David Lean’s 1962 epic, Lawrence of Arabia. Next, we look to a more recent picture that shows an important message being conveyed to a British commander, all while taking place in one continuous shot. Why yes, it’s 2019’s war film, 1917.

On this episode of The Midnight Matinee, we explore themes of race and justice as the summer sun beats down on the characters. First, 12 men are put into a jury to vote on a young man’s death sentence. An “open and shut case” gets turned on it’s head with a single non guilty vote in 1957’s 12 Angry Men. The next film takes us to a bustling street in Brooklyn with a cast of characters making their way through the hottest day in the summer. The film’s main conflict centers around the family owned Sal’s Pizzeria and those who eat at the shop. Indeed, we talk about Spike Lee’s 1989 smash hit Do The Right Thing.

Today, we celebrate the birth of one of the best working actors and personal friend of the show, John Goodman. First up, we look as John Goodman charismatically kicks off his career with a fun comedy adaptation of the classic Saturday Morning Cartoon...The Flintstones. Next, we go to a later Goodman film as his comedic and loveable presence is put to the test. Goodman plays a dark and disturbed doomsday prepper who may be hiding the truth from his newfound band of cabin mates. It’s the suspenseful thriller from 2016, 10 Cloverfield Lane.

On this episode, the hosts return Trevor back to the show just in time for summer. We start our trek of school closure with five students stuck in Saturday School. What’s thought to be a boring couple of hours turns into a very fun and rebellious time in John Hughes’s 1985 film, The Breakfast Club. Next up we take a dive into animation as we go through a musical road trip film about a father-son relationship...with Goofy. That’s right, we get to talk about the 1995 Disney classic, A Goofy Movie.

12- In today's episode, we continue our Trevor-less trek through movies with a returning, but still special guest as we look at the black and white debut films from two filmmakers. First up is David Lynch’s cult classic debut that leaves you more confused and disturbed than anything, it’s 1977’s Eraserhead. Next, we go into the beginning of director Jim Jarmusch’s filmography as we take a peek at three lead characters as they travel from New York, to Cleveland, and finally to Florida. It’s 1984’s Stranger Than Paradise.

In today’s episode, the hosts fill the Trevor-shaped hole in their hearts with a special guest and some warm Studio Ghibli movies. First up, we get whisked away with a girl named Chihiro to a world parallel to ours, filled with fun and chaotic spirits. It’s Miyazaki’s 2001 film, Spirited Away. Next, we go along a journey with a party of characters helmed by a troubled, transmuting wizard in a moving castle...why yes it’s 2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle.

On this episode, the hosts delve into the filmography of American action director, Michael Mann. First, we start at the world of LA Safecracking as James Caan’s Frank tries to escape from crime and start a family with his girlfriend in the 1981 film, Thief. Then, we scale up to a string of major robberies headed by Neil McCauley as LA’s police chief is right on their tails in the 1994 classic, Heat.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee

Today, the Hosts take a delve into humanity, or more accurately, the dehumanization that humanity can face. Up first is Elem Klimov’s horrific Soviet classic, Come and See. Following that is a film that looks into the corruption of a businessman, Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee

The hosts take a look at movies about movies with the tales of two directors. First with Tim Burton’s lovingly rose-tinted look at “The Worst Director of All Time”, 1994’s Ed Wood. What follows is a whiplash inducing look at directing and legacy with Orson Welles’s final film released 40 years after production, The Other Side of the Wind.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee

In today’s episode, the hosts are joined by special guest Nico Diviccaro as they discuss the monumental 90’s American Classic, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction…and Shorts.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee

The Hosts continue their journey into Foreign Film February with some serial killer fun! First up we have Fritz Lang's classic German thriller M and after that we travel to Belgium for the dark comedy Man Bites Dog. Join us in our discussion as Trevor questions the films... as well as underwater basket weaving.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee

Foreign Film February has arrived! And with it, our Hosts cover a samurai epic with Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and a stunning tragedy with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. The Hosts dive deep into discussions about life, death... and cheese in an episode brimming with a love for classic films.Instagram: @themidnightmatinee