The Midnight Run

Send us Fan Mail For our 40th episode we thought we would provide our listener with a public service. Films seem so much longer now, (they probably aren't, but that is what it seems). So, we at The Midnight Run Podcast have devoted this episode to shorter films. Picture the scene. You are at home on your sofa, bed, or sofa bed. It is 8pm, you have had your dinner and you want to watch a film,...

Send us Fan Mail The Rotten Tomatoes website was launched in 1998 and is a widely used review aggregation tool for film and TV. Each film is scored using a percentage and the higher score the better. If a film scores above 60% it is considered as "fresh", which means that 59% or lower is a "rotten" film. The site is as good a gauge as any and they largely get it right....or do...

Send us Fan Mail The films from 2000-20009 had many a peak and trough. There were some huge hits such as Avatar, Gladiator, The Departed, The Dark Knight and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but attempting to choke them like a mean old vine were Battlefield Earth, The Ladykillers and The Room. It was a decade that saw a new James Bond, the re-emergence of fantasy and comic book hero genre's and...

Send us Fan Mail In many ways, fantasy films shaped the wonder and imagination of the film lover. Incredible scenes, such as the skeleton battle in Jason and the Argonauts, jumping into chalk paintings in Mary Poppins, ice dancing in Edward Scissorhands and seeing Hogwarts for the first time, live long in the memory. It is a genre, which is perfect for the cinema, with magnificent effects and vent...

Send us Fan Mail It is too easy to suggest that remakes are a bad idea and yes, there are some pointless stinkers to pick from. But if you look properly you will find there are some absolute classics which are remakes, possibly many films that you had no idea were remakes, either from a film with a different name, a film made long ago, or a foreign language film.  Remakes are tricky, get it wrong...

Send us Fan Mail Black and white films were practically the film industry for the first 40 years, so there is an embarrassment of riches for us to choose from. No genre is off the table here, and with such classics as Casablanca, Psycho, 12 Angry Men and Plan 9 From Outer Space we have plenty to ponder for our top 10s. Black and White films haven't gone away, so more recent films such as Ragi...

Send us Fan Mail The perfect popcorn movie. The adrenaline rush you get from watching an action film is like no other cinema experience. Thrilling set pieces, chase sequences and great stunts are just some of the weapons in its armoury and the very good action films have the wow factor. The bad ones however can be hilarious as it is arguably the film genre with the worst acting standards. We revea...

Send us Fan Mail A true legend of the cinema. The great Gene Hackman, who sadly passed away recently, was always going to command his own episode. With a career spanning over 4 decades and more than 70 films there is plenty of variety for our top 10 lists. Gene Hackman won numerous awards, including 2 Oscars. As an actor he was equally good in lead or supporting roles, or playing the hero or villa...

Send us Fan Mail We need to offer a groveling, humble apology to our listeners for our lengthy absence. We have had a lot going on with weddings and less pleasant events affecting our lives. Fear not though as we are back to captivate you over the next 2 hours with an episode that covers most genres. We can be brokers of world peace as a result of some of the new countries that joined our listenin...

Send us Fan Mail 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 counterpar...

Send us Fan Mail Fresh from the success of their new play, our boys return with their long awaited 30th episode. The 2010s were a time where they admit to being less prolific in visiting the cinema. Did life get in the way, or did it seem like films became longer and we are talking generally and not specifically referring to The Irishman. This was a decade that featured prominent whoppers like Get...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 favour...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail Don't go away, just because you don't like sport. This is not a niche subject. Most sports movies are not about the sport itself. A sports move is about the personal experience in order to achieve. It is about the fine line between success and failure, it is about heroes and villains, great montages, great drama and humour. We also decide if Gladiator is a sports film an...

Send us Fan Mail What do we want from a comfort film? The answer is it depends on how you feel. Nothing is off the table here and it doesn't matter whether the film is great or not. Jaws and Zulu are great films for example, but we wouldn't consider them comfort movies. The film just has to be right for the occasion. So, what films do we like to watch when we are tired, down, it is rubbi...

Send us Fan Mail With a film back catalogue spanning 70 years, this was always going to be a rich topic for us. Michael Caine is a British film legend, with success in lead and supporting roles and his portrayals of such iconic characters as Alfie Elkins, Charlie Croker, Jack Carter and Hoagie. He has won 2 Academy Awards, but who was he up against? Matt is put to the test with this and another tr...

Send us Fan Mail Horror is a genre that we at The Midnight Run have struggled with over the years. There are a large number of sub genres such as Slasher, Supernatural and Psychological, so are we tarring a huge genre with a single brush or are specific types of horror what we really don't care for? There are lots of good things about horror films however, apart from the majority of them bein...

Send us Fan Mail It could be argued that the 1970s was the best decade in movie history. So many iconic films such as The Godfather(s), Jaws, Taxi Driver and Star Wars meant that picking a final 10 was just as difficult as figuring out why Jodie Foster didn't realize it was her own team she was scoring against in Freaky Friday. But the 70s wasn't all champagne and caviar, as for every An...

Send us Fan Mail Determining what we have decided to include as a biopic is the source of much debate in this episode. A biopic should be about a real person over a period of time and not necessarily the specific situation they are in...we think. So does The Queen, Moneyball, Spartacus and The Insider count? Subsequently this was a tough episode to prepare for. We have theories on why so many Acad...