The Midnight Run

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The tricky 31st episode features Female protagonists. Was it left this long to see if it could tempt Lewis into going to the cinema to see Furiosa, or Inside Out 2? The answer is 50% yes with Lewis, wearing his new Midnight Run shirt recalling his experience of going to the cinema as a wheelchair user. 
Female protagonists are more fragile and vulnerable than their male counterparts, but there are so many strong characters, such as Scarlett O'hara, Erin Brockovich and Ellen Ripley, which meant that there were lots of diverse films to watch in preparation. Which film that Matt watched made it into his top 10?
We discuss the best genre for female protagonists and why animation is so good in that respect. We also talk about our favourite scenes, performances and Actresses.
In order to get a female perspective we ask a super friend of the show to provide us with her top 10 list.
Cunningly woven inside all of this delight we talk about our preferred soup, Matt bunking off school to go to London, people who use sports icons/badges as their social media avatars, Matt's misdirected anger at alphabetical order songs and his top 10 songs sung by women. They don't make him angry at all I might add.

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Feeling flushed with pride due to our new "On Air" sign, we triumphantly returned from a 2 month break with a different kind of subject. The American Film Institute top 100 films (10th Anniversary) list gave us an absolute scope of films to watch. Who had seen the most and which films could we not get hold of? What did we both think of Gone with the Wind after putting if off for so long. We discuss the AFI criteria and pick a film that we think should be included and one that we think should come off the list. 
Matt has to identify the Directors, Actors and Actresses that have appeared most in the list and we also talk about favourite performances and scenes from films that we haven't previously talked about often.
The top 100 contained so many whoppers that it was monstrously difficult leaving films out of the top 10s and the agony of choice resulted in some surprises along the way.
Our usual ramble resulted in us talking about subjects such as getting involved in other people's arguments, the most rousing National Anthem, The Traitors, our preferred dessert pie and the latest information on our new play.
We have determined that listening to all of our episodes back to back would only get you halfway to the Moon, so there is some work for us to do.

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We at the Midnight Run Podcast think that we would make good detectives. Not as ourselves of course, although we have managed to conquer 2 Escape Rooms. The good detectives would probably consist of a combination of John McClane, Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade and Marge Gunderson. It is a subject rich with great characters and genres such as comedy, thriller, action and drama. In fact, nothing is off the table here as long as a cop or detective is prominent. Is Vertigo a detective film? Is Shutter Island?  We discuss these and Lewis reveals his theory regards the point of the subject.
Our upbringing covers film and tv series, and we talk about why we wanted to be Columbo, Crockett, or David Addison. As it is a detective episode there are also lots of challenging quizzes for Matt to solve. 
We talk about film series and determine which installment in each is our favourite. We both lament Jim Steinman & Michael Bay  and a missing scene from one of our top films does not escape unscathed. Only 4 of the same films make our lists this time, so there are 16 films to talk about when revealing our 10s. Lewis reveals his list in a different way to usual and Matt changes his list at the last minute. 
Along with these topics we talk about the correct pronunciations of words, watching black and white films late at night, Eric Stoltz, the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You theme and Blacksmith's, or is it Locksmith's?
It is fair to say that we will not rest until we have explored the subject thoroughly and meticulously. Now let's grab a bite to eat.

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The tearjerker definition is a story, song, movie etc that makes you cry or feel very sad. It is very difficult to classify what makes us cry when watching films however, as it is very personal and based on previous life experiences.  The differences are reflected in our respective top 10 lists and yes, Shelley Winters does come up. We discuss what makes us cry and try not to tear up doing so, failing on occasions.
Is Casablanca a tearjerker? What about Interstellar? What are the differences between men and women tearjerkers? We also discuss the 2 different endings for Lethal Weapon 2.
Watching films in preparation for this episode was an odd experience due to the expectations surrounding them, but we reveal which films we squeezed in and talk about our memories growing up.
There is a music quiz for Matt and we talk about our favourite performances and scenes, including Onward, Paddington 2, A Star is Born and Inside Out.
Wedding breakfast menus and disintegrating swimming trunks also get a mention and we are interrupted by a postman.
Please listen to our episode, otherwise it will make us cry or feel very sad.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Brian Miller.

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Ever wondered how Tom Cruise manages to defy both age and gravity consistently? We cover all of this and more. We're unpacking the glittering career of this beloved action star, from dissecting his breathtaking stunts in movies like Mission Impossible and Top Gun to understanding his knack for picking successful projects. Into his 5th decade of moviemaking, we pick our favourite decade of his films and don't decide on the same one.

He has worked with great directors such as Scorsese, Spielberg, Pollack, Reiner and Mann. Although mainly used as a leading  man he has had a few eye catching minor roles, but do any of those make our list of favourite performances? He won 3 Golden Globe awards and Matt has to guess what they were as well as a running themed quiz.

Also featuring in this episode is how we believe that we brought down Woolworths, underrated guitarists, dressing room demands before a show, plunge pool stories and Matt's lovely wedding plans.

Did Tom Cruise save cinema after COVID? Listen and make your own mind up, but be warned. After listening to it, this podcast will self destruct in 5 seconds.

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Get ready to journey back in time with us, to a decade filled with iconic movies. We'll also lead you through memory lane, revisiting some of the 90s' most beloved films - yes, we're talking about classics like Goodfellas, Schindler's List, and Good Will Hunting. We saw such Director's as Burton, The Coen's and Tarantino. Has anyone had a better year as Spielberg did in 1993? As if that's not enough, there is also a quiz on the songs that won an Oscar for Best Original Song during the 90s (hint: Disney classics might have dominated the scene). There is also a car at stake for another quiz for Matt.

But what's a celebration of the 90s without a nod to some of the decade's most influential albums?  We discuss the soundtracks of our lives during this memorable era. Join us as we discuss our favorite film moments of the 90s, from Alec Baldwin's chilling opening in Glengarry Glen Ross to Ray Liotta's Copa Cabana entrance in Goodfellas. 
 
Such a rich group of films to pick from it is no surprise that only 4 films feature in both top 10 lists.

We go off topic with tunneling out of the family home, expectation ruining concert experiences and running away from the TV license authorities.

Get ready for a nostalgic trip down memory lane, full of laughter, debate, and appreciation for a decade that left an indelible mark on us all.

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Being British this should be right up our street, but what is British comedy and how has it evolved over the decades? From Ealing to the Carry On films to the Cornetto trilogy, with lots of Monty Python along the way, we discuss our upbringing and what makes us laugh along with our favourite scenes, performances and top 10s.

Matt has a quiz for Lewis and there is a gripping sealed envelope quiz which comes down to the wire.

We also reveal our top 5 British tv situation comedies, which reveal many similarities. 

Is Dr Strangelove a British comedy? How about Paddington 2? Is Alfie a comedy? Much debate over page turning topics such as these along with our top 3 favourite voices, how the last Beatles album’s are like the Python films and why we think that The Boxer contains the best lyrical line in song history. Lewis also miscounts not once, but three times, I mean twice. 

We also debate how long comedy films should last, which is a lot shorter than this episode, but please see us out.

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Episode 23 of the Midnight Run Podcast is in the dock. It is charged with the following offence. That the episode is not informative, fun and a bit silly while discussing the subject of courtroom films.
The case for the Prosecution. They talk about crisps a bit too much.
The case for the Defence. That, along with discussing what makes a good courtroom film, what films are being counted, a 12 Angry Men quiz, which lawyer would we want defending us if we were on trial for our lives, our favourite Judges and the usual favourite scenes, performances and top 10 courtroom films, we talk about our own experiences in a courtroom, what sauce would we put in a Kevin Bacon roll, which Adam West Batman TV villians would we pick on Pointless and also squeeze another rendition of "Oh What a Circus" in, whilst wondering if Bob Ewell is the biggest scumbag in the film genre.
Is the episode guilty as charged? Please listen to it and judge for yourself.

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Villains are a particularly juicy subject. There are so many iconic screen villains to choose from such as Mr. Potter and Darth Vader. We discuss what makes a good villain and which actors make the best ones in our opinions.
We talk about our upbringing and recall which villains scared us then and now. Are comedies or westerns the best genre and do we think that Gollum and Travis Bickle are villains. What about Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and why did Cesar Romero cover his moustache with makeup even though it could clearly be seen?
There are lots of new subjects such as our favourite villain entrance, best supporting villain and comedic villainous characters alongside a Hot Fuzz themed quiz for Matt. Which characters do we particularly like seeing get their comeuppance and which villain had the best or most unpleasant death? Matt states a case that the shark in Jaws is just being mean instead of behaving on instinct and Lewis is controversial with his pick for the most annoying evil performance.
Also featuring in the episode is which song will Lewis always dance to in a club, what the most important thing in buying a house is and who do we prefer out of Taffy from Captain Caveman or Daphne from Scooby-Doo
Please listen to this episode. If you don't we will twirl our moustaches, wring our hands together, laugh maniacally and plot your downfall, which may or may not involve railway tracks.