Nighthawks' Podcast

There's a lot to be said about The Avengers: Infinity War. There's a lot to discuss, there's a lot to examine, there's a lot to question. There's also a lot to spoil.

Walking that fine line, like they do, the denizens of the Nighthawks Diner have divided this episode up into two separate parts: Spoiler-Free, and Spoiler-Riddled. If you want to avoid spoilers in this episode, a rough verbal approximation, but wholly different and distinguishable from the genuine article, Thanos will let you know when to stop listening.

In our first segment, a broad strokes discussion on Trevor and Matt's general feelings about the movie. As well as a frank discussion, looking back on 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Franchise. Has the grand Marvel experiment fully paid off?

In the second half... the boys get down to the granular grist of what happens in the latest Marvel tent pole. But the less said about that here, the better.

The Nighthawks Diner is many things to many people.

It's conceptual. That's how it works.

For some people, it's a great place for coffee and pie, after you catch a movie. For others, it's a good place for coffee and pie, after you catch a buzz.

No matter if you're satiating your artistic interpretation, or satiating your munchies; Jennie the Waitress has you.

But on 4/20, the Nighthawks like to celebrate both breeds. In this special TOTALLY UNCENSORED and TOTALLY SPOILER-FILLED episode, Matt and Trevor decide to celebrate the unofficial holiday, by exalting one of the most beloved stoners of the silver screen:

The Dude.

We've been sitting on this episode idea for a very long time, and now the time has come.

An off-the-wall mixture of the grittiest of film noir and the indiest of film character study, THE BIG LEBOWSKI is a Coen Brothers movie that stands on its own. A movie that belongs nowhere, yet is so beloved it is synonymous with cult following.

We're not kidding. There's a religion.

Want some good movie chatter with your edibles, or lack thereof?

The Nighthawks abide.

Much like the slice of conceptual pie that our listeners treat themselves to at the end of every NIGHTHAWKS episode, this slice of the NIGHTHAWKS PODCAST is indulgent.
The boys sit down and reach into the slimy and slippery muck that is their interior feelings, you'll find this movie nestled snug against the heartstrings: GONE IN 60 SECONDS (2000).

Not the O.G. exploitation movie from the 1970s, this remake comes to us straight from the turn of the millennium. A car theft ring runs afoul of the law, meaning that the head heist-er is on the hook for 50 cars, to be stolen in a matter of hours.
It's up to the retired master thief, Memphis Raines, to sail into industrial Los Angeles to bail out the young hotness, who also happens to be Memphis's estranged brother.
Starring a cavalcade of stars in an ensemble car-chase heist film, GONE IN 60 SECONDS is an official NIGHTHAWKS "Underappreciated Gem."

Listen, gang. The Nighthawks get it. We're not out to snag a few clicks and a few downloads by offering a contrarian opinion to the Zeitgeist.

However, they also feel the need to be completely honest with you, and the truth is that sometimes these opinions run contrary to the overwhelming opinion of the populace. The Nighthawks' track record for Oscar predictions should be testament to that.

That being said, the world seems ready to love and embrace Ready Player One.

Trevor and Matt are not among those people.

This doesn't mean that people are wrong, there's no need to flame in the comments, and The Nighthawks don't think any less of those who disagree. But when it came to Ready Player One, the boys found their after-dinner-cake to be heavy on frosting and light on actual cake.

Sit back. Enjoy. Agree and embrace. Argue and test your might. When it comes to art, there are no wrong opinions.

Except Asylum's Shark Week. That movie can go to hell.

It is the 60th Episode of Nighthawks Podcast, and it is time for the 90th annual Academy Awards.

In just a few short days, Hollywood (the broad concept) will gather at the Kodak Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (the actual physical place) to celebrate each other and to celebrate the art of film. Meanwhile, outside, Angelinos will be laying on the horn and screaming at traffic, wondering why it’s taking them an hour to even get on the 101.

But inside the theatre is where the interesting stuff happens. This is the Nighthawks Podcast, if you want the other stuff listen to KJLH radio’s traffic report.

Joining us for a third year in a row is the official Nighthawks Oscar Czar, Cameron Maris, who guides Matt and Trevor through some hand selected categories and nominees, in an attempt to figure out who is going to take home the weird little naked man who covers his nudity with a sword.

This is the second of our two episodes covering the Oscars, if you missed the first episode, check it out. We’re fully convince that we’re better people after making it, why not you for listening?

It is a time of fabulous celebration, million-dollar dresses, hundred-million-dollar movies, and billion dollar returns. But more than the monetary value, and the superficial outward appearance, Hollywood is getting together this weekend to honor achievement in film.

Joining us for a third year in a row is the official Nighthawks Oscar Czar, Cameron Maris, who guides Matt and Trevor through some of the interesting changes that the Academy has gone through in the last few years, and what that could potentially mean for the future of the awards.

This is the first of our two episodes covering the Oscars, stay tuned this week for our double-dip at the Oscar fondue, where we will explore this year's nominees, as well as our head and heart bets. But if you want to play along at home, you'd better beef up with THIS particular Oscar pre-game tailgate party, right in the Nighthawks Cafe.

words of the prophet Mercury:

"Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?"

Well, in as much as we're prerecorded voices speaking from a conceptual diner, this is (in the words of another Prophet, I. Ron Sheik) "the real." What is not real is the movie we're watching for this episode of the Nighthawks Podcast. Well, the movie is real enough, but it's about actors in the "real" (not real) world, who inhabited a fantasy world (double not real) and then get mixed up in a space battle in the "real" (still not real) world.

It makes more sense in the podcast. It's like The Three Amigos- IN SPACE

Galaxy Quest is a film from 1999, that had a modest box office, and then went largely untalked about for nearly 20 years, before streaming accessibility reminded fans, old and new, what a delightful film it is.

But is Galaxy Quest a parody of such science fiction properties as Star Trek, or is it something more? Something bigger? Something different?

Pour a cup of coffee, as we boldly go into the granular grist of Galaxy Quest.

Come with us, across the Atlantic and into the Great White North, as the boys in the Nighthawks Diner explore the Norwegian black comedy IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE.

Equal parts FARGO-era Coen Bros. and Scandinavian Noir (Nordic Noir... "Noirdic?"), this little movie has a lot going on for it. A favorite of festival audiences, IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE seems to have fallen between the cracks with mainstream audiences in the U.S. Why is this? Is it the cultural differences? Is it the subtitles? Is it the relative age of the characters?

Matt and Trevor take a superficial glance at IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE, in the hopes that our listeners will give it a chance and check it out. If you've already seen the film, take a peek behind the spoiler curtain and get granular with us.

The Netflix tentpole big-budget-juggernaut was released on Netflix recently.

Is Netflix's future so BRIGHT they have to wear shades? Or is the new David Ayer film BRIGHT low on luster?

The shadow of sexual misconduct hangs over the film's writer, Hollywood legacy Max Landis. Is it possible to separate art from artist?

The boys in the Nighthawks cafe have to see if they can sort out a lot of problems, and even more expository world building, to get to the heart of a film that's big on ideas, but maybe not so hot on execution.

What's more is, in honor of BRIGHT's shortlisting for a Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar nomination, we decide to give you an update on the road to the Academy Awards. Nighthawks' own Oscar Czar, Cameron Maris swings by the Nighthawks diner AFTER the episode, for a very special awards season update.

We are one with The Force, The Force is with us. We are one with The Force, The Force is with us. We are one with The Force, The Force is with us.

In Nighthawks Episode 55, we talk about Star Wars Episode VIII- The Last Jedi. Like Donnie Yen wandering deftly, but blindly, through the crossfire, Matt and Trevor wander into the battleground as they opine about the latest film in the core Star Wars saga.

A movie that has proven to be divisive among fans, it seems like you either love it or hate it. The Nighthawks have their own opinions about the film. They also, in a not-too-surprising meta twist, have their own opinions about your opinions.

Then again, the movie seems to have an opinion about all of our opinions.

Director Rian Johnson, of LOOPER and BRICK fame, takes the 2017 edition of the Star Wars franchise into bold new territories, subverting expectations, forging ahead, and putting its own brand on the beloved property. Did they go a step too far?

Meanwhile, the political conversation continues to boil. Is The Last Jedi an allegory for our modern political spheres? Our modern pop culture fan spheres? Both?

Or is this Carababba tabac cigarra just a cigarra?

Join us at the conceptual Nighthawks cafe as we avoid the Star Wars Christmas Special, and talk about the wars among the stars that you want to hear about.

Disagree with us? Agree? Let us know.