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 ...

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 Out, Mad Max: Fury Road and Gravity. There were revivals for the Star Wars and Jurassic franchises and it was a gr...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 and if so, why it would be important to be undefeated in a competitor's career. Our favourite scenes and performances are...

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 rubbish weather or we are unwell? As a result, for the first time in the series our top 10 lists are completely different. We...

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 trickier quiz where he has a chance to gamble and win a small rubber football. Matt also has a quiz for Lewis, whose...

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 being short.  After all, it is a genre that has produced so many iconic films (Psycho/The Exorcist), scenes (chest...

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 Annie Hall, or The Sting there was a Carry On Emmannuelle or a Confessions of a Window Cleaner, so which films did we agree...

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 Academy Awards have been won for biopic portrayals. This made it a very difficult choice for the much sought after...

A sequel is a film that continues the story of, or expands upon an earlier work. Lots of them are made and although there are undoubtedly gems, many don't seem to be any good. We discuss our opinions on why that is (apart from them earning a truckload of cash) and try to determine which genres are best and worst suited to them. Some right old tripe have been watched in preparation, but which film could Lewis not bring himself to watch? What do we think of the new Top Gun: Maverick film,...

Science fiction films are perfect for the cinema because of the visual effects and the escapism that they provide. The Sci-fi genre, which has produced groundbreaking classics such as Metropolis, 2001, Bladerunner, Avatar and Plan 9 from Outer Space is a complicated one, which raises a debate on what to include and what not in in our top 10s. Our favourite scenes and performances are discussed, as well as a Star Wars themed quiz for Matt. But as usual we go off topic with gems such as how to...

What makes a great scene and why? A difficult episode for us this time as we have to pick our top 10 scenes of all time. An almost impossible task and Matt does very well to reduce his shortlist from 97 originally.  Are we counting montages? What about end scenes, which prompts Matt into revealing his favourite ending of all time. Does Omaha Beach count? Many aspects of a great scene are broken down along with which murderer still gives Lewis the creeps when remembering scenes growing up....

What is a romantic comedy? We discuss the ingredients and Matt is put brutally on the spot in the "Yes/No" game, but ultimately a romantic comedy is what you decide it is. Our own interpretations result in the largest number of different films in our top 10s to date. Lewis reveals the record number of films he watched in preparation for the episode and we also welcome 5 new countries to our series of lovely listeners. Our favourite performances and scenes in romantic comedies feature in the...

At the time of recording and according to the internet, Samuel L. Jackson is the highest grossing actor at the box office (We are not counting Stan Lee). The main reasons for this are his association with the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, but he also appeared in Jurassic Park, which would have helped. He also had appeared in (at least) 140 films, which meant that we had our hands full in watching as many as we could on preparation. Any film that he ever appeared in counted for our lists,...

There are so many elements to a musical. The choreography. The big show-stopping numbers. The wow factor it creates, along with a great story in it's own right. A musical is an attack on the senses. Our strong musical upbringing is discussed, along with our favourite numbers and performances. We decide on our favourite decade and reveal our top 10 lists, resulting in 2 quite  different number 1s. Along side that there are 2 quizzes for Matt and we bring up Lewis's most embarrasing moment on a...

Steven Spielberg. A master craftsman. Unsurprisingly we are big fans on this show and it has been a difficult task picking our top 10s from his current list of 33 feature films (yes, we are including Duel in that number). Which of his films resulted in the creation of a new classification in American cinemas and why did you not see the shark in Jaws until the second half of the film?  A number of films have been watched in preparation for it, including a trip to the cinema for both of us....

Our festive episode. We tackle the difficult question “What is a Christmas film" the best we can, but also talk about our favourite Christmas songs and TV special episodes. Which films were watched in preparation (many in Lewis's case) and what non Christmas films do we like to watch during the festive season. Is there a connection between JFK and Freddy Krueger? Why did Irving Berlin write “White Christmas”? Which Home Alone villain suffers the worst injuries are also covered. The  top 10...