The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast

Emilio, Madeline, and Julian continue their High School Movies cycle with a "Mise-Unseen" entry on Alan Parker's 1980 classic, "Fame." Coincidentally a film that none of the trio had seen previously, they look in depth at its ensemble-based depiction of a full four years at New York City's High School of the Performing Arts. Amidst their many talking points, Julian br...

Alright, Alright, Alright!  This week Julian, Madeline and Emilio kick off their newest cycle of High School movies by revisiting a 90s favorite about the 70s, Richard Linklater's 'Dazed and Confused'.   The trio looks back on their own time in high school, and discuss what this movie gets right about this time in life.  What signature Linklater touches are present in this movie?  W...

Bonus episode! Emilio, Madeline and Julian are joined by esteemed NYC musician and bandleader Matt Friedman to discuss one of his favorite films, M. Night Shyamalan's 'Unbreakable'.  The quartet dig into the many fun aspects of this film - the great camera work and the influence comic book imagery has throughout, its status as a revisionist superhero movie, the abundant color symbol...

To wrap up their cycle on "Unique Best Picture Winners," Julian, Emilio, and Madeline take a deep dive into the life and work of the great actor John Cazale. Best known as Fredo Corleone in "The Godfather" Parts I and II, Cazale appeared in only five feature films in the 1970s before his untimely passing. However, all five of those films became iconic, both in and beyond his li...

For our Unique Best Picture Winner "Two-Shot" episode, Madeline and Julian finally see (and Emilio rewatches) two of the more upsetting upset winners of the Academy Award's last twenty years, Paul Haggis' passion project 'Crash' and Peter Farrelly's mismatched-buddy-road-trip picture 'Green Book'.   They reflect on what social conditions existed that mi...

Madeline, Julian, and Emilio continue their cycle on Unique Best Picture Winners with a "Suggestion Box" episode on the 1969 classic "Midnight Cowboy," the first and only X-Rated film to win the top Oscar. As the oldest film the trio have covered to this point, they each think it holds up spectacularly in numerous ways, such as its frenetic dual portrayals of youthful desire an...

While they cycle through Unique Best Picture Winners, Julian, Madeline and Emilio take a moment to reflect on the most recent Best Picture Winner (and recipient of six other Oscars), Christopher Nolan's 2023 mega-hit 'Oppenheimer'.  After some thoughts on this last Sunday's Academy Awards, they dive into the movie.  Would it qualify as a unique Best Picture winner?  What is it...

For this cycle's "Mise-Unseen" entry, Madeline, Emilio and Julian finally pony up for Apple TV Plus subscriptions and see 'CODA', Sian Heder's 2021 Best Picture winning film.  Like the Joni Mitchell classic at the heart of this film, the trio can't help but see both triumphantly good and puzzlingly frustrating aspects to 'CODA'.  For all the powerful an...

To coincide with Oscars season, Julian, Emilio, and Madeline begin a new episode cycle  on Unique Best Picture Winners with a "View-nanimous" on 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Hear them discuss the myriad qualities that distinguish this movie, such as its aesthetic innovations, presciently macabre subject matter, and advancements in filmic portrayals of feminism, all while trying...

With the 96th Academy Awards a little less than a month away, Julian, Madeline and Emilio share their first impressions and some opinions about 'May December', a movie that didn't get the Oscars love most thought it would receive upon its release.  They note that the ambiguous interpretations of motivation and behavior favorably reminds them of Haynes' (previously discussed on...

A Bonus Episode!  Madeline, Emilio and Julian reflect on the last several weeks' films -  what they have in common with each other, how different they actually are when dealing with "sanity" or "insanity", and some of what they learned by considering the same things while watching several different films.   A BIG thanks to all of you who have listened to these episodes! Wa...

Emilio, Madeline, and Julian welcome their first guest Anthony Hollock for a “Close-Up” on the life and work of the one and only Divine. For the final episode in their “Perceptions of Sanity” cycle, the group looks at Divine’s career-spanning collaboration with John Waters with a focus on 'Multiple Maniacs', 'Pink Flamingos', 'Polyester', and 'Hairspray', wh...

This week for their Two Shot episode, Emilio, Madeline, and Julian set their sights on a pair of unconventional, challenging, and highly self-aware movies about falling in love: Steven Shainberg's 2002 film 'Secretary' and Pedro Almodovar's 1989 release 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'  While discussing 'Secretary', Emilio details a personal story about discovering...

In their first episode of 2024, Madeline, Julian and Emilio disembark, hand over their firearms, and investigate Martin Scorsese's 2010 film 'Shutter Island'.  In the third of five episodes considering "perceptions of sanity," the trio consider its place among other well known films with twist endings.  Is this Scorsese's attempt to beat M. Night Shyamalan at his own...

For the last episode of 2023, Madeline, Julian and Emilio continue exploring the theme of "Perceptions of Sanity" with an episode category called "Mise-Unseen", where they  discuss a movie they've all just now seen for the first time.  That movie is Todd Haynes' 1995 release 'Safe', a film as devoid of holiday cheer as it is of clear-cut interpretations, but...

Emilio, Madeline, and Julian kick off a new cycle of episodes on "Perceptions of Sanity" by discussing a classic film they have all seen before, 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Highly regarded by many, the trio discuss whether they agree with the film's stature in the cinematic pantheon, while also discussing much of the history and production details t...

For their first ‘Close-Up’ episode, Julian, Madeline and Emilio take a deep dive into the career of Joe Pantoliano, a great character actor known to many viewers who may or may not realize it.  The trio focus on several noteworthy roles from the extensive filmography of Joey Pants (as he is known amongst fans), namely those from ‘Risky Business,’ ‘The Fugitive,’ ‘Memento,’ and ‘The Sopranos.’  Hea...

This week Emilio, Madeline and Julian beware the Golden Fang and discuss a movie they've just seen for the first time: the convoluted stoner-noir 'Inherent Vice', Paul Thomas Anderson's 2014 film based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon.  With this viewing, Julian and Emilio finally become PTA completists, and give their perspectives on this movie's place amongs...

Emilio, Madeline and Julian talk all things 'Barbie', the breezier of the two simultaneously released films whose portmanteau "Barbenheimer" became shorthand for the cinematic event of 2023 .   Recorded a few days after its theatrical release, they share their initial thoughts and feelings, and do their best to break down this bright, ambitious comet of a film that is going for...

For their third conversation, Emilio, Madeline, and Julian take a look at the iconic original-and-sequel pair of 'Alien' and 'Aliens.' They trace the film landscape into which the 1979 original enters and how the movie shook up the Sci-Fi and Horror genres, before getting into what the 1986 sequel amplifies about the original as well as its own distinct merits. Emilio and Madel...

For their second conversation, Emilio, Madeline and Julian set their sights on a trio of movies from the 1990s - 'Fargo', 'A Simple Plan', and 'Shallow Grave' -  centered around everyday people who stumble into criminal activity.  Opinions are shared and some questions still linger.  Madeline wants to know more about Brainerd's painting scene and the postal servi...

In their first recorded conversation, sleepless cinephiles Emilio, Madeline and Julian do their best to make sense of mother!, Darren Aronofsky's highly allegorical 2017 release.  They consider the multiple interpretations of this film that the director himself has suggested, and decide as individuals which one feels most relevant based on their own personal experiences and readings.  How doe...