Nighthawks' Podcast

After taking a week off, please join us in welcoming Alamo Drafthouse Founder and C.E.O. Tim League as our first guest in the Nighthawks Cafe.This week we talk a little bit about what makes The Alamo Drafthouse theatre chain a household name among cinephiles and a pilgrimage destination for all true-blood movie fans. However, beyond that, we discuss FANTASTIC FEST, the United States' largest genre film festival. We talk with Tim who is the festival's co-founder about what sets FANTASTIC FEST apart from other film festivals in the country and why Matt and Trevor have earmarked this festival in particular as the first one we cover on the podcast.So join us as we begin getting excited for this wonderful time of the year, at Ground-Zero Austin, TX; then join us this September when FANTASTIC FEST lands and lays the Nighthawks to complete waste.

Getting out there, trying new things, keeping an open mind, knowing yourself, and being comfortable with the skin you live in (or the skin that's been foisted upon you.) Some heavy themes from a couple of cult classic films are being discussed in the Nighthawks Cafe. First up is the 1975 THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, a rock musical that takes a couple of unsuspecting virgins into the clutches of an alien transvestite mad scientist, the final destination? A world of absolute pleasure.Then a story of duality, questioning of the self, personal identity, and more Rock and Roll. John Cameron Mitchell is the title character of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, another rock musical, the film follows a person struggling to find sexual and gender identity in a world of love, loss, fame, greed, sex, and some pretty slick one-liners. Hedwig and her band travel the country telling Hedwig's challenging story of change, self, and broken hearts.

This will be the final episode for the Nighthawks before the 4th of July weekend, so they decided to honor the birthday of the U.S.A. in a special way. Finding INDEPENDENCE DAY a little on-the-nose, and not wanting to corner themselves into the uber-patriotic or the uber-cynical films about the country, of which there are many of both, Trevor and Matt decide to look at a uniquely American institution:Rock and Roll.For this coffee and pie date at the Nighthawks' cafe, the boys watch the psychedelic and trippy rotoscope-animated AMERICAN POP. Following that the excellent semi-autobiographical film ALMOST FAMOUS from filmmaker Cameron Crowe.

It is Father's Day in the United States, and the Nighthawks sit down at the cafe diner for a piping hot cup of films about pabulum and patres familias, diet and dads, food and fathers.First up is the John Favreau passion vehicle CHEF, a heart-warming film about a man who must learn to sift his love of cooking, to find the ingredients of bonding with his son.Similarly, the documentary JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is about the world's greatest sushi chef who not only must perfect his craft, but pass his knowledge down to the next generation.Gang, fair warning: don't watch these films with an empty stomach.

For their first supplementary episode, the Nighthawks discuss the divisive Jurassic World. The fourth film in a franchise that hasn't really seen a good entry since the original. Does the latest entry, starring Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Terminator: Salvation,) manage to live up to it's ancestor?Well...

In this episode, Matt and Trevor dim the lights of the Nighthawks cafe, remove their hats, and raises their glasses to the recently departed Sir Christopher Lee.In his honor, the boys watched the 1958 Hammer Films' production of DRACULA (aka THE HORROR OF DRACULA), Sir Lee's first time playing a role that would become iconic in his career.

This Week: Matt and Trevor are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Steven Spielberg's JAWS, with a special JAWS-centric episode. We talk about the big "Bruce," himself, as well as some films that owe a great deal to JAWS. One of these films also owes us some kind of refund.

Trevor and Matt hop on the Doof Wagon for a break neck journey down the Fury Road, discussing their love for the latest Mad Max film, the first in nearly 30 years.The action, the artistry, the metaphor, and the feminism are all guzzled out for your listening pleasure.Also on tap: Netflix suggestions.