Cereal At Midnight

Kris Kristofferson has left this plane of existence and I find the world without him to be a little bit dimmer, the sky a bit darker without his star shining as a guide for those lost at sea.   I don't remember when I first became aware of Kris Kristofferson. I've been fairly open about my sheltered, hyper-religious youth in which the majority of movies and music were kept away from me--I was told they were distractions from the straight and narrow of a holy, spiritual life. As such, it's quite likely that he wasn't on my radar at all until I started to get out from under their thumbs around the age of 16. What I do know with certainty is that Kristofferson's appearance in the first Blade  film made quite an impression on me when it hit theaters; this grizzled, worn man with a craggy face, each line telling a story that I didn't yet know. He seemed out of place somehow in this polished comic book confection, too real for such escapist fantasy. Blade was The Dayw...

September is a HUGE month for Kino Lorber--FIVE 4Ks, two Kino Cults, and classics, deep cuts, westerns, horror, noir, and studio classics--including TWO that feature a commentary by me! My review of Naughty Girl https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2024/08/review-naughty-girl-cette-sacree-gamine.html Further Viewing Film Restoration with Charlotte Barker, Paramount's Director of Preservation and Restoration https://youtu.be/emtWrSFJoSs Top 5 Film Noir with Max Allan Collins https://youtu.be/GB94fXJR9Ps 50 Westerns From the 50s with Toby Roan https://youtu.be/vQTO92ndqRg **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtub...

At times heartfelt, yet worldly enough to never feel pretentious or preachy, My Old Ass is thoroughly modern and deeply affecting. Freshly out of high school and college bound, 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella of the series Nashville ) takes mushrooms with her friends in the woods one night and has a hallucination that she meets her 39-year-old self (international treasure Aubrey Plaza). The premise is silly and fun, but writer/director Megan Park soon steers us into troubled waters immediately following this strange one night stand.  In the able hands of Park, we care that Elliott is leaving her home on a cozy cranberry farm for the big city. We care that she hasn't taken the time to appreciate her mother and father or her brothers. When her future self warns young Elliott not to hang out with a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White, of Wednesday fame), we care that she finds herself drawn to him anyway. What starts as a light-hearted mushroom trip becomes a poignant tale about gro...

When George Lucas sold his empire to Disney in 2012, the press asked him what retirement would look like for him. The filmmaker and visionary said he was going to make personal, experimental films that nobody would see. Over a decade later, whether Mr. Lucas has made any of those movies or not remains a mystery.  But Francis Ford Coppola has, and it's called Megalopolis .  Both Coppola and Lucas were once faces of Young Hollywood, a group of upstart filmmakers in the 1960s who were steeped in classic studio pictures of the 1930s-1950s, but who also identified with the rebellious creators of the revolutionary French and Italian art scene, adopting the more experimental, gritty, and verite style of filmmaking that would go on to embody the American New Wave. For the last 25 years, Coppola has been so far under the radar that he's barely been on it at all. But with Megalopolis , his first feature film in many years--and very likely the last one he'll ever make--the filmmaker h...

Charlotte Barker, Director of Film Preservation and Restoration at Paramount Pictures, takes us behind the scenes of how film restoration really works. From 4K to film grain, this is an eye-opening discussion about how movies are given new life! https://perfdamage.com/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perf-damage/id1637019132 Perf Damage on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9DsSRjIuXREfESd_sxsa7Q **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal...

September's new arrivals from Imprint include one of the best box sets of the entire year, and I'm not just saying that because I'm on it! For the serial lover and beyond, this is an incredible batch of releases. Let's unbox them together! https://viavision.com.au/shop/category/imprint-films/ More Imprint coverage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLms82QIo-B9mzrKoPo-5dzf-gv4KbkWH3 **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Mid...

Bang a gong, it's time for the NEW RELEASE SUPER SHOW! Get the sweet lowdown on nearly 2 dozen new #physicalmedia titles from Arrow, Radiance, Eureka, 88 Films, Cult Epics, and more!  Thanks to HAMILTON BOOK for sponsoring this episode! Find many of these tiles and so much more at Hamiltonbook.com Check out Max Steiner: Maestro of Movie Music at DianaFriedberg.com **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Thread...

Punk Rock Media Maestro: Terror Vision's Head of Acquisitions, Brad Henderson (formerly of Vinegar Syndrome), riffs on collector mentality, curation, being a challenger brand, and living in the moment. Terror-vision.com https://x.com/BradFHenderson https://x.com/terror_vision https://www.facebook.com/brad.henderson.16 https://www.facebook.com/terrorvisionvideo More with Josh Jabcuga Batman (1989) Commentary https://youtu.be/Eltf5tX47kA The Rocketeer Commentary https://youtu.be/MWfrmDZsN10 They Live Commentary https://youtu.be/dPiGV5Y6jWs **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membe...

From director Fred F. Sears , frequent collaborator of Sam Katzman and a B-movie maverick who literally worked himself to death at the age of 44, Wyoming Renegades tries hard to rise above the traditional low budget fare. After all, this film was made in 1955: Poverty Row was becoming a thing of the past, soon to be replaced by television. Gunsmoke had been a radio staple, but in September of 1955 it would be beamed into the homes of every TV owner in America. It wasn't just Gunsmoke , either; mid-fifties families could stay home and watch The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Jr., Death Valley Days, Gene Autry , Roy Rogers, Judge Roy Bean, The Lone Ranger. ..well, you get the picture, and that's not even all of the westerns playing on television in 1955. The theatrical product had to innovate and offer something that audiences couldn't see at home.  For lower-budgeted pictures, that was easier said than done. Columbia's Wyoming Renegades r...

For those who only know master thespian Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Magneto, you have missed some of the finest acting this side of The Old Vic. Take, for example, his portrayal James Whale, the tortured director of Frankenstein in Gods and Monsters . Or his heartbreaking portrayal of an aged Sherlock Holmes battling dementia in Mr. Holmes . Now we have another impressive role to add to the long list of Mr. McKellen's accomplishments: that of the cruel and manipulative title character in The Critic .  It's London, 1927. McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, a theatre critic for one of the biggest newspapers in circulation. For decades, he's been writing with a poison pen, living a decadent lifestyle and destroying the lives of those poor performers who fail to live up to his jaded expectations. But now the paper he writes for is under new management and with the change in leadership comes a change in expectation. Tone it down. Be kinder. Rein it in, he's told by Mark Strong, t...

The latest arrivals from IMPRINT include FIVE Worldwide Blu-ray debuts and two TV on Blu-ray exclusives!  More Imprint coverage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLms82QIo-B9mzrKoPo-5dzf-gv4KbkWH3 **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealA...

With Sean Connery (freshly cast as James Bond) and Italian stunner Gina Lollobrigida leading the cast, Woman of Straw should be more memorable than it is. Lollobrigida plays the nurse of an aging tycoon (Ralph Richardson). He's a real piece of work: hateful, merciless, and generally unloved and unlovable, but she brings out a spark of kindness in him. Enter the tycoon's nephew (Connery) who hatches a murder scheme to bump the old man off and have the nurse--who he's wooing--inherit all his cash. If it all sounds rather Hitchcockian, that seems to be by design. However, the film lacks the sense of purpose that Hitchcock films are known for, taking far too long to get going. Without spoiling much, the murder of the old man comes at around the 75 minute mark of a 120-minute film. Instead of relying on the score of a cinematic composer, the movie uses classical music to mixed effect. It all feels very British because that's precisely what it is, complete with the standard ...

Given the direness of its subject matter, Synanon , aka Get Off My Back , is a compelling watch that mostly avoids tedium. Named after a famed L.A. rehabilitation facility, Synanon offers refuge and recovery for substance abusers and addicts of all stripes. The film stars Chuck Connors, Stella Stevens, Eartha Kitt, and Alex Cord as recovering junkies who are overseen by a stern Edmond O'Brien, a believer in tough love and accountability. For a 1965 film, things are brutally candid; we observe the unvarnished use of hard drugs (one actor injects a needle into his arm and it isn't a visual effect or prop syringe--you see the skin tearing) and the harm that results from addiction. Another character has resorted to prostitution to feed her addiction. Even the poster features a character shooting up, but with a small black square covering the needle to protect the delicate sensibilities of the mid-sixties, but it's clear that the times, they were a-changing. Synanon is the unfl...

We've seen Batman Forever: The Joel Schumacher Cut! Heath his joined by Brian Krey to discuss this elusive, rare workprint version and how it expands and improves on the theatrical cut in almost every way.  More episodes with Brian Krey: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLms82QIo-B9lepnTLoVlogR_eMJAlkTRq Further viewing:  Batman (1989) Retro Review   Batman (1989) Commentary feat. Josh Jabcuga   The Batman Complete Series Review   Batman: Gotham By Gaslight Review   A Lifetime of Comics Fandom with Brian Krey   Overlords of the UFO with Brian Krey   **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at...

I just got home from my very first classic film festival ever--Cinecon in Los Angeles! In this wrap-up video, I bring you along for the experience: the movies, the stories, and the thrill of it all.  Further Viewing: Cinecon 60 https://youtu.be/B8RpobigaI0 Laurel and Hardy https://youtu.be/CrwqNn68guE Pre-Code Primer https://youtu.be/VjbrjJ4LPDE **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/c...

Deadpool & Wolverine is less a movie and more a collection of fan service, references, and easter eggs. At the same time, it's a shot in the arm for the flagging Marvel Cinematic Universe, which really should have ended (or at least gone into hibernation) following Avengers: Endgame. Listen, everyone knows the score here: Deadpool exists to break the fourth wall and offering meta commentary on the experience of the film as it happens. It's both refreshing and exhausting in equal portions, but the constant inside jokes that call out everything from other Ryan Reynolds movies to the Disney purchase of Fox to deep cuts for comic book aficionados effectively render non-stop dopamine hits for the viewer that keep things moving along and distract us from the shortcomings of the story. Take out all the fun references and what we're left with isn't much: Deadpool's reality is collapsing because Logan sacrificed himself a few years ago (in 2017's LOGAN, natch), and n...

Films don't get much more innovative and fresh than 1988's Beetlejuice , with its practical effects that rely on everything from stop motion to puppetry, and a chaotic performance from Michael Keaton. Maybe that's why it's taken 3 1/2 decades to mount a sequel, and it took the people behind the smash hit Wednesday to finally make it happen.  The Good: Michael Keaton is--again--the real star of the movie, delivering a manic performance that feels like a vaudeville act from hell. Winona Ryder, the Gen-X Manic Pixie Dream Girl Obsessed With Death, continues to ride the second (or is that third?) wave of success that Stranger Things has provided, and Catherine O'Hara remains to be one of the funniest people walking the planet. Tim Burton must have conducted a seance to commune with the version of himself which ceased to exist circa 2005, resurrecting the dark fairy tale storyteller that once gave us Edward Scissorhands . While BJBJ certainly uses CGI and modern techn...

In this Q&A, I'm answering your questions!  **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through YouTube Memberships at https://www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite