Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments, obviously keep in mind why we’re doing this.  Ultimately it’s a good thing and we will let you know what’s happening when we’ve carefully looked at what we’re doing.

Remember you can check out our other blogs:

Also please feel free to have a chat on Facebook and or Twitter.

Lee.

Yes we are watching the 1960s Batman film next week.

Yes it contains the awesome Batboat.

In this case Dan didn’t dislike the film, at all, which despite our on-air bluster is perfectly acceptable and it should be noted that everyone’s opinion is equally valid. I feel I justified why I didn’t like the film in the podcast however I think ...]]> A common thread that’s been coming up from listeners to the Titan AE podcast is that the film didn’t deserve the very low rating that I gave the film. Granted it’s not often that a film cops such a low score, it’s usually reserved for films that both Dan and I have been severely burnt over.

In this case Dan didn’t dislike the film, at all, which despite our on-air bluster is perfectly acceptable and it should be noted that everyone’s opinion is equally valid. I feel I justified why I didn’t like the film in the podcast however I think it might be an opportunity for me to chat about how a film can get a one.

Also I don’t think it was my giving Titan AE a low score that’s the issue here either, I think it’s more the extreme aspect and the surprise that I reached right into the back of my bag and pulled out a one which in this arena is the nuclear option.

The science behind the ten point rating system that Dan and I agreed on is more of an art than a science, in that there is absolutely no scientific method behind it in any shape of form. One thing to remember though is that the scores don’t related to others given when comparing to each other at all and on any given day the scores would probably differ, in fact they differ by the hour sometimes.

So how the hell do I come up with a one?

Well first off the technical quality of the film has very little to do with the score, I can watch a competently put together film that could be considered successful in its ambition to tell a story in a certain way and still prefer a film knocked together by kids in their backyard. The reason being is that the score has everything to do with me and less to do with the film.

I’ll score a film on things such as how it makes me feel, what I take from the film and does the film inspire me at all. And the thing about me is that given such random elements as my mood, what I had for lunch, who I’m watching with and the fickle thing I call an attention span the experience that I might have will influence that score.

So as we’ve mentioned before on the podcast a five from me generally means that I was unmoved. The film is neutral. A ten is good, on a scale that means that I’m probably trying to work out how to form a religion around the teachings of the film. The controversial one means that I disliked my entire experience around the film, that I derived little to no inspiration from it and as long as I live I probably will never seek this film out ever again.

This has of course all the accuracy of a blind goat hogtied in the bottom of an apple barrel listening to the best of Motley Crue with a crossbow made out of breadsticks.

So why score at all?

Well hopefully over time and many many visits to the Midmoclub podcast you’ll get a feel for what I like or dislike, this will help guide you around films that we might share a liking for or for that matter a disliking. The opposite is also true, if you love films that I seem to hate then you might be encouraged to watch Cannonball Run or Titan AE and all I can say is good luck with that.

This might smack of defensiveness, it’s truly not, I thought it might be interesting to share with you guys some of my inner workings on how I pass judgement on these films. Dan may have another process, it’s probably flawed as some of his choices seem suspect at best.

What’s a film that you hate that no one else seems to? Let us know in the comments!!

I’ve tried reading fantasy novels too but much to my lovely wife’s disgust I can’t make it through one of those giant books only to face the knowledge that I’ve got 32 more to work through. But that’s not to say I’ve never watched a fantasy movie (by which I mean sword and sorcery type films) and present for your enjoyment my top five fantasy films:

Yeah I think I liked the middle Lord of the Rings film the most, there was that cool battle and I liked ...]]> Fantasy films aren’t really my bag actually.

I’ve tried reading fantasy novels too but much to my lovely wife’s disgust I can’t make it through one of those giant books only to face the knowledge that I’ve got 32 more to work through. But that’s not to say I’ve never watched a fantasy movie (by which I mean sword and sorcery type films) and present for your enjoyment my top five fantasy films:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Yeah I think I liked the middle Lord of the Rings film the most, there was that cool battle and I liked a lot of the set pieces in this one (note that I didn’t wuss out and just select the whole series). I think they probably do merge together in my head but this one stands out for some reason.

Dragonheart

Every time I watch this film I am a blubbering mess by the end, I don’t what it is.  Bloody dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon

Speaking of dragons the animated ones in this film are almost perfect, some of the sequences are better than any life action film.

Clash of the Titans

Original.  I’m team Bubo. This film conjures up really good memories about the wonder of the cinema and I still love the stop motion work, whenever it’s on television I always watch.

Conan the Barbarian

Sure it’s not the greatest film but I add it on here because it’s iconic.  It’s iconic and it spawned one of the best uses of YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGOQ7SsJrw

So what are your favourite fantasy films (as defined by my narrow view)?

Instead they’ll be posted on Sunday over on the Facebook page and then here Monday morning. With a few strips in the bag already we’ll run double posts this and next week and the week after which will bring us in line.  That ...]]> The decision has been made to bring the new release of Ensign Dave strips closer to the release date on the blog, about twelve hours difference to be exact.  Whilst we still want to reward the Facebook friends with early ensign Dave goodness we also think that running them so far behind was a little silly as well.

Instead they’ll be posted on Sunday over on the Facebook page and then here Monday morning. With a few strips in the bag already we’ll run double posts this and next week and the week after which will bring us in line.  That is of course if you guys are still interested in the strip?  I’ve had a chat with Dan about it being slightly derivative of what we do here on the Midnight Movie Club but Ensign Dave did get his start here in the first place.  Dan is supportive but I’m aware that this will probably run a limited life span here, unless it’s still entertaining you lot in which case we’ll keep pushing ahead.

Of course there was no new strip on Facebook this week because I have a depressing case of manflu and I also began reading The Hunger Games and it has completely knocked my socks off.

I assume there is some sort of rostering system going on for the holodeck which has got to suck for the non bridge crew who just need it to take the misery out of their dull days and then Picard and Data are always in there stuffing it up somehow.

I wonder if the popular culture juggernaut Star Wars existing in the Star Trek universe?

Let us know in the comments if you still want to see new Dave!

My relatively limited exposure to the Daredevil comics has given me the impression that Daredevil’s faith plays a large part in the character as well as the iconology of the series. Indeed the image of Daredevil clinging to a large cross on ...]]> So I forgot to discuss something in yesterday’s podcast about the comic book film Daredevil that I really wanted to touch on, fortunately since Dan and I are now embracing the blogging side of thing I still get the chance to chat about the religious nature of the Daredevil character which I do think bears a little more examination.

My relatively limited exposure to the Daredevil comics has given me the impression that Daredevil’s faith plays a large part in the character as well as the iconology of the series. Indeed the image of Daredevil clinging to a large cross on the top of the church was replicated for the film.

Whilst not Catholic myself I do find this aspect of the character to be quite fascinating and I find myself wondering about the theological leanings of other characters. Particularly when so many would seem to contradict a church view of the universe (Superman is an alien for instance).

To be honest the only other character I can think of who is open around their faith is probably Thor, for obvious reasons I guess.

I’m also not calling for more openly religious characters either, the same way that I’m not calling for more openly gay characters. If a character feels naturally inclined towards a disposition then I say go for it for story sake. Not to check a box and pat yourselves on the back for how fashionable you are.

So I like the Daredevil having this dance with committing to his faith outright (as I believe is implied by the film). He has to work outside of the system which in this case also means the institution of the church.

I did wonder however if Bullseye’s stigmata towards the finale of the film was not a little heavy handed in the imagery? Although the character that they built in the film would certainly be open to the overly dramatic particularly in a church.

So can you guys think of any other religious characters in comic books?

Do you feel faith is undervalued or under represented in the comic book industry?

But as you are probably aware if you want to see these strips first then you’ve got to head on over ...]]> Last week there was no new Ensign Dave because essentially I forgot, but my insensitivity is your win because there’s two Ensign Dave strips coming at you this week. I’m actually considering bringing the release times much closer together so there is only a couple of days difference rather than three whole weeks, I just have to work out a way to stop these posts showing up on Facebook and Twitter so as not to over saturate the social feeds.

But as you are probably aware if you want to see these strips first then you’ve got to head on over to the Midnight Movie Club Facebook page, whilst you are there you could always Like us and why not spread the word of Ensign Dave by throwing a couple of shares or tweets his way?

On to the Dave strips!

So there we have it, the introduction of possibly one of the worst continuing slaps in the face to Ensign Dave, his training, his capabilities and his loyalty: the Chief Medical Officer’s son, Wesley Crusher.  More importantly the first appearance of Wesley Crusher’s godawful jumper.

It has to be frustrating for all the staff of the Enterprise who never get to go along to away missions and then Wesley Crusher gets chosen (a lot) and then he screws it up for everyone.  Also I firmly believe Worf would pull some it’s my Klingon heritage rubbish to make sure he still gets pudding. I also want to point out that in an alternative timeline Dave did get to beam down to the planet and actually meets the love of his life, but this doesn’t happen in the main timeline thanks to Crusher (appropriate name).

This could be the center piece of your Wesley Crusher fan alter:

Dan and myself have been discussing the future of the podcast recently with all the life events and stuff going on around us.  Fortunately there’s no debate whatsoever, we’ll keep doing this until we don’t enjoy it or when someone offers us a big bag of sweaty cash to stop (the cash does not need to be sweaty). So in these discussions we’ve plotted out all the exciting things that ...]]> If you do visit the blog rather than subscribe through iTunes or reading these updates in your RSS you’ll notice a giant difference in the way the blog is set out.

Dan and myself have been discussing the future of the podcast recently with all the life events and stuff going on around us.  Fortunately there’s no debate whatsoever, we’ll keep doing this until we don’t enjoy it or when someone offers us a big bag of sweaty cash to stop (the cash does not need to be sweaty). So in these discussions we’ve plotted out all the exciting things that we want to do in here and one of them was to revisit the blog design.

As much as our Facebook and Twitter interactions are completely blowing our minds with their awesomeness we are both old school bloggers at heart and want to start using this site more than it currently is.

I don’t want to go too much into our plans but it’s going to be cool.

You’ll see with the new theme that there are spots that still need to be sanded and painted over (the logo for instance) and a lot of the posts need to be retagged and cleaned up slightly. This work will take a couple of weeks but ultimately I believe that it’s worth it. One of the big changes is the featured section in the middle with the three latest podcasts displayed.  The podcast itself remains the most important aspect of the site and so I felt that this really showcased the episodes. Blog posts like this one will appear on the home page now but under the main attraction.

You’ll also see that with the new five star ratings that you can get an idea of what Dan and my combined feelings towards the films in question is.  This score has to be rounded to the closest half star and averaged out from our out of ten ratings in the podcast, those won’t change.

So it’s a bit of a change and as with anything in the end if it doesn’t deliver a decent experience or it creates too much trouble we’ll look at redesigning again but I do ask that everyone give it a chance!

Let us know what you think (I know I’m going to regret that invitation)

I’m not sure we can stress the importance of Riker growing a beard in this strip.

It’s very important.

Also you may have noticed that the strip has been moved to Monday (Aussie time) instead of Sunday, that’s because we post the brand new strip on Facebook on Sundays and they were overlapping.  If you want to see the latest strip head on over to the multi billion dollar Facebook page for the Midnight Movie Club and “like” us.  You’ll also get to see the impressive shark film conversations and poor Star Wars puns!

Of course if Facebook just isn’t your ...]]>

I’m not sure we can stress the importance of Riker growing a beard in this strip.

It’s very important.

Also you may have noticed that the strip has been moved to Monday (Aussie time) instead of Sunday, that’s because we post the brand new strip on Facebook on Sundays and they were overlapping.  If you want to see the latest strip head on over to the multi billion dollar Facebook page for the Midnight Movie Club and “like” us.  You’ll also get to see the impressive shark film conversations and poor Star Wars puns!

Of course if Facebook just isn’t your thing then be back here next Monday for the next exciting instalment!!

Why not support Riker’s beard by buying a t-shirt? (Lee takes an XL in case anyone was wondering…)

And so begins the age old rivalry between Worf and Dave.  Of course rivalry makes it seem like there was actual competition and Worf actually knowing who Dave was…

Remember you can always skip ahead to the new Dave strips over on the Midnight Movie Club Facebook page!

Hey you could eat what Ensign Dave eats:

Ensign Dave is a cartoon strip that we’re featuring on the Midnight Movie Club Facebook page. He’s a character that was borne of the Star Trek podcasts as we realised that someone always seemed to get screwed out of a job when Worf came onboard.

Each week we’ll feature a strip here on the Midmoclub blog so our non Facebook using friends can still revel in the crushing disappointment of Dave’s life but if you want to see the newest without waiting head on over and like our page on Facebook!

Drink the drink that soothes Ensign Dave at the ...]]>

Ensign Dave is a cartoon strip that we’re featuring on the Midnight Movie Club Facebook page. He’s a character that was borne of the Star Trek podcasts as we realised that someone always seemed to get screwed out of a job when Worf came onboard.

Each week we’ll feature a strip here on the Midmoclub blog so our non Facebook using friends can still revel in the crushing disappointment of Dave’s life but if you want to see the newest without waiting head on over and like our page on Facebook!

Drink the drink that soothes Ensign Dave at the end of a disappointing shift:

This week Lee and Dan watched Fright Night as it’s been remade and that’s the “other” movie marathon they are doing in between Star Trek films.

This week amongst other things Lee and Dan discuss:

This week in Week of Geek:

In week of geek Lee and Dan discuss:

The film this week is of course the ...]]> This week laziness defines the new structure of the Midnight Movie Club as we enter a bold new period of the club of the sameness just shuffled around.

In week of geek Lee and Dan discuss:

• Y: The Last Man – the brilliance of the series and our take on the end
• The slowest Harry Potter film marathon ever and how Lee is unimpressed by JK Rowling
• Pottermore (Lee predicts it as a fizzer)
• Some of Dan’s thoughts on Green Lantern and how Australia doesn’t get to see it for ages
• 2D tickets outselling 3D tickets – 3D Graph

The film this week is of course the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Lee watched the Blu-ray special edition and Dan watched the theatrical release.

A quick note about the sound quality, Dan feels that the sound levels had some trouble this week and apologises.

Lee didn’t notice any problems.

Next week: Dan and Lee are watching Raiders of the Lost Ark

Let us know what you thought of the podcast in the comments and remember you can use your Facebook login below the comments!

When you get unpaid interns to do all the office admin work then you get exactly what you pay for.

Actually it’s just one of those weeks where Dan and I haven’t been able to line up our times and so we never actually got a chance to watch and talk about The Three Musketeers though rest assured next week we will be back swashbuckling our way through another podcast.

In the meantime why not wrap your ears around a super extended Week in Geek as Dan and I chat about everything wrong in comics and some other pop ...]]> What can you say?

When you get unpaid interns to do all the office admin work then you get exactly what you pay for.

Actually it’s just one of those weeks where Dan and I haven’t been able to line up our times and so we never actually got a chance to watch and talk about The Three Musketeers though rest assured next week we will be back swashbuckling our way through another podcast.

In the meantime why not wrap your ears around a super extended Week in Geek as Dan and I chat about everything wrong in comics and some other pop culture thingos:

So next we’ll be back, leave us a comment in the comments below and shed your own light on the subject of The Avengers or defend Green Lantern!

PS I have no idea what Dan was doing with those songs

Okay enough chit chat go listen to ...]]> Whilst Lee and Dan are finishing sunning themselves and generally lazing around watching films made within the last ten years during their break we thought we’d treat you to a special episode of the Midnight Movie Club.  Dan and Lee invited the Chris’s from the podcast Casta La Vista over for a cup of tea and a bit of a chat around the 1984 comedy adventure film Romancing the Stone. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito and was followed up with a sequel called The Jewel of the Nile.

Okay enough chit chat go listen to the podcast you’ve been hanging to listen to!

Sigh.

There now, wasn’t that worth it!?

Only another week without the boys and then season three of the Midnight Movie Club kicks off!!!

Big thanks to the Casta La Vista boys and you should add them to your listening selection (here’s one to ease you in… starring Lee and Dan!!)

Be back in two weeks or be… ummm absent… ummm you know, from the podcast…

Damnit.

Take a chance on me (That’s all I ask of you honey) Take a chance on me

Yes that’s right this week Lee and Dan are watching the 1993 John Woo action ...]]>

If you change your mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve got no place to go, if you’re feeling down
If you’re all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me
(That’s all I ask of you honey)
Take a chance on me

Yes that’s right this week Lee and Dan are watching the 1993 John Woo action film Hard Target. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux (see what we did there?!?!… fine whatevs).

It’s a pretty awesome podcast this week so stop gawking at the scary ABBA song lines and listen to the podcast!!

Big thanks to Alex this week for taking part in our Three of the Best! Check out his blog “Do it Anyway”.

Now next week is possibly the first horror film (there must have been another… maybe Jaws) on the podcast, if you listen carefully you can hear Dan shaking in his boots already!! Lee and Dan are checking out From Dusk Till Dawn!!

It won’t though so you might as well just give in to the punishment and listen to the podcast:

Many thanks go to Matt Cavendish… no, wait… Caverstone… no, that’s not right… Caverhill! That’s it Caverhill! Many thanks to Matt Caverhill from the blog Culture Kills…wait, I mean ...]]> Grab your helmet, lawgiver and your lawmaster and bring justice to unruly masses because this week Lee and Dan are visiting the mean streets of Mega City 1 in the 1995 film adaptation of Judge Dredd. Alternatively you can simply hide within a food dispensing robot and hope it all goes away.

It won’t though so you might as well just give in to the punishment and listen to the podcast:

Many thanks go to Matt Cavendish… no, wait… Caverstone… no, that’s not right… Caverhill! That’s it Caverhill! Many thanks to Matt Caverhill from the blog Culture Kills…wait, I mean cutlery for such a sterling job on both Week in Geek and Three of the Best. Thanks man.

Join us next week when we’ll be watching the 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, Hard Target.

If you’ve seen Top Gun then you know the soundtrack, it’s one of those happy alignments that happen ...]]> I think we have a new contender for most iconic soundtrack featured on the Soundtrack Saturday weekly feature and it be Top Gun.  When Jeff suggested the soundtrack on Facebook I immediately thought to myself “duh” of course.  I had a copy of the Top Gun soundtrack when I was younger, I may have an old CD copy of it floating around though I haven’t seen it for a long time and may be making it up but it’s such a popular soundtrack.

If you’ve seen Top Gun then you know the soundtrack, it’s one of those happy alignments that happen when a soundtrack so perfectly fits and encapsulates a film and a time in space which Top Gun does.  Danger Zone whilst often parodied or used jokingly (most notably for me right now in the animated series Archer) it’s perfect for this film.

Now I can’t embed the soundtrack because the Grooveshark plugin has become a bit of a pain in the arse and was disrupting the WordPress method of putting images into a post so I’ve disabled it for the time being until I can get it to work without making all the red lights flash and pushing the needle into the danger zone (see what I did there) so I’m going to raid the YopuTube cupboard for some Top Gun soundtrack lovin:

I would be interested in hearing if anyone has a better way aside from Grooveshark for me to embed music into the blog, either use the contact form or a comment below.

More importantly though share your own memories about the Top Gun soundtrack!! Love it? Hate it? Never heard of it?!?!

It’s a shame that the next generation of film goers don’t really have the same landmark shifts in film that we growing up got to experience.  Whilst I was too young to see Superman: The Movie when it first came out and enjoy the hype that surrounded the film i have an appreciation from my childhood of how groundbreaking Superman was. The effects don’t hold up so well today but back in 1978 people were blown away by a man flying captured on film.

And that’s what this poster is all about.

The simple statement that we ...]]> You’ll believe a man can fly.

It’s a shame that the next generation of film goers don’t really have the same landmark shifts in film that we growing up got to experience.  Whilst I was too young to see Superman: The Movie when it first came out and enjoy the hype that surrounded the film i have an appreciation from my childhood of how groundbreaking Superman was. The effects don’t hold up so well today but back in 1978 people were blown away by a man flying captured on film.

And that’s what this poster is all about.

The simple statement that we are going to show you something that you’ve only ever been able to read about in comic books.  I love the simplicity of combining the motion blur, logo and the sky.  I think it wouldn’t have worked so well if they had done the same as Batman would years later with just the logo.  There’s something larger about the imagery than just the Superman symbol which is powerful and iconic all on its own.

I think when I was first becoming more appreciative of the artwork that goes into these posters that the Superman one always felt awkward or unbalanced (remember even as a young man I had a remarkable affinity for symbolism, minimalism and icons)  but I’ve since grown a deeper appreciation for what the poster actually delivers and embodies.

The poster’s artist is Bob Peak who I can assure you I will be featuring a lot more of his work in the coming months!!

So does this poster capture the magic that is Superman: The Movie?

Although I do have to admit that the Mortal Kombat suffers the same fate as some of most beloved 80s comedies, the first half ...]]> Personally I have a soft spot for the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, in my own opinion it’s actually a reasonable adaptation of a game that doesn’t really have that much on screen story to begin with.  One of the aspects of the film that for me elevates it above say your Double Dragon or your Street Fighter is the soundtrack which has spent a lot of time on rotation in my house whilst I cage fight downstairs.

Although I do have to admit that the Mortal Kombat suffers the same fate as some of most beloved 80s comedies, the first half of the CD is fantastic and the second half feels like a second, not so crash hot beast. MK is a hybrid soundtrack, the first half is techno and ambient electronic groove music whilst the second half is more heavy metal/thrash which sometimes I don’t mind listening to but more often than not I’ll skip altogether and jump straight to track 15 which is the probably the best known track from the CD, certainly a popular one in gyms I imagine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMf40daefsI

I kind of like the Utah Saints take on the track though at the same time, it’s a good edition to the CD because you’re guaranteed to want to hear the main track more than once and this gives a nice alternative take on the track.

What do you guys think of the soundtrack?

Yes that’s right Lee and Dan venture out into suburbia to mix it up with the military tragics, the irresponsible teens (who are responsibly painting their house so… umm never mind) and of course the local freak fest family who never mow their lawn and only have sardines and pretzels!  The boys are watching the 1989 black comedy starring Tom Hanks “The ‘Burbs”.

All sorts of disaster conspired against Dan and Lee in bringing the podcast to you this week but here it is!

A big thanks also to John from the blog Going Gently ...]]> Don’t look now but Walter’s dog is taking another dump on your lawn!

Yes that’s right Lee and Dan venture out into suburbia to mix it up with the military tragics, the irresponsible teens (who are responsibly painting their house so… umm never mind) and of course the local freak fest family who never mow their lawn and only have sardines and pretzels!  The boys are watching the 1989 black comedy starring Tom Hanks “The ‘Burbs”.

All sorts of disaster conspired against Dan and Lee in bringing the podcast to you this week but here it is!

A big thanks also to John from the blog Going Gently for being part of the podcast with his Three of the Best.

Next week Lee and Dan are taking a break despite advertising that they’d be talking about Mr Mom.  Be back here in two weeks where they actually will be talking about the Michael Keaton film Mr Mom!

It perfectly captures the era that this film was set in and in itself is an impressive work of art.  Interestingly the poster was pulled in the UK market in favour of the more tradition one that drew more attention to the cast which includes Timothy Dalton. ...]]> I can’t say that I cared all too much for the film The Rocketeer, it’s been a while but I think it failed to capture the adventure that it really should’ve.  That being said I absolutely love the character design which is showcased in John Mattos’ wonderful art deco style poster for the film.

It perfectly captures the era that this film was set in and in itself is an impressive work of art.  Interestingly the poster was pulled in the UK market in favour of the more tradition one that drew more attention to the cast which includes Timothy Dalton.  There was also concern with a couple of other sketches produced because they were worried that people would think of it as an animated feature.  I’d love to see some of those other sketches.

The problem with this poster is that it’s too good for the film, it promises way more fun than the film ultimately delivers which is a real shame because I want to see the film that’s in that poster!

So are there any Rocketeer fans out there who want to defend the film?  Any Art Deco fans who want to praise the poster?  Let us know in the comments!!

So yes I know what I’m doing when ...]]> I’ve always been a fan of orchestral soundtracks ever since I bought my very first one which for the record was Danny Elfman’s Batman score.  The unpleasant teenager behind the counter asked me if I was aware that it was only the score and not the Prince album. Actually in fairness she probably wasn’t unpleasant and was no doubt trying to save me a bit of disappointment.  To be honest I hadn’t actually considered what “score” meant but after listening to it for the first time on my cassette tape walkman a lifelong love affair with film scores began.

So yes I know what I’m doing when I am featuring a CD that doesn’t have any actual “songs” on it.

Of course that being said The Last Starfighter actually does have a couple of 80′s tracks on it in addition to the musical score, a surprise to me the other day because for some reason I’d blocked it out, previous ipod installations must have seen me leave those songs off to focus purely on the score.

Now Dan and I have reviewed The Last Starfighter in the past so you possibly already know that this is one of my favourite science fiction films of all time.  The concept is simple, the execution well done and the music is downright heroic. Which is probably why I love the soundtrack so much, it may not be as recognisable as say Star Wars or Star Trek but once you know it, the music is forever ingrained as the Starfighter theme.  The theme captures that essence of the adventurous spirit of 80s young adult adventure scifi films. These themes are some of the richest ones heard in cinema, music that seeks to invoke wonderment, excitement and probably escapism.

Craig Safan has achieved something that I think is becoming harder and harder which is develop a theme that is intrinsically tied to the property.  John Williams is the absolute master of this with his Superman, Star Wars and Jurassic Park themes (actually 99% of his themes tend to be pure icon) but it’s always a treat to discover another artist producing soundtracks on the same level which The Last Starfighter certainly does.

As with a lot of these kinds of soundtracks there are at least two versions, the copy I have is the 1987 release that also contains the songs: Never Crossed my Mind and Incommunicado both written by Craig Safan and performed by Cliff Magness.  The second soundtrack released in 1996 apparently has an expanded score and does not feature the two 80′s style songs.

I unfortunately could only get a hold of the one track from the film on Grooveshark but it’s probably the best of them anyway.  Have a listen and let me know what you think in the comments!

The internet was quite a while off.

But then a friend ...]]> There is little contest over what film has my heart, it’s always been Ghostbusters ever since I saw it in the cinemas when I was only six years old.  Naturally the novel of the film became worn through as I read it several times a year and eventually I discovered the soundtrack.  Back then it was really hard to come by a soundtrack, my parents weren’t into music that much and money was tight enough that tapes or LPs were a luxury that at the time I wasn’t really into anyway.

The internet was quite a while off.

But then a friend of mine went overseas and picked up both the Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 soundtracks on tape, dodgy tape because it cut off the songs at the end of each side.  I still anticipate the break point in Air Supply’s I can Wait Forever.  But for several years that was the only copy I had and I made good use of it!

There’s some confusion over the ultimate edition of the Ghostbusters soundtrack as apparently there were bonus tracks on some editions including Disco Inferno (which is in the background at Louise’s dinner party – I assume he got the album quite cheap somewhere!).  But I grew up without Disco Inferno on the soundtrack and it’s an unwelcome edition now for me.

Tracklisting

1. Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr. [4:06]
2. Cleanin’ Up The Town – The Bus Boys [2:59]
3. Savin’ The Day – Alessi [3:24]
4. In The Name Of Love – Thompson Twins [3:20]
5. I Can Wait Forever – Air Supply [5:09]
6. Hot Night – Laura Branigan [3:23]
7. Magic – Mick Smiley [4:21]
8. Main Title Theme (Ghostbusters) – Elmer Bernstein [3:01]
9. Dana’s Theme – Elmer Bernstein [3:32]
10. Ghostbusters (Instrumental) – Ray Parker Jr. [4:48]

I managed to get the full soundtrack below:

What I find interesting about the Batman Returns poster personally is that when it was released I don’t believe I cared for it.  I think it was the third poster to be released for the movie and the main poster was ...]]> Whilst we are having a little bit of a Michael Keaton’fest this month that’s not why I’ve included the Batman Returns poster in Movie Poster Monday.  I was actually reminded of it a couple of weeks back as I wrote about the Gremlins poster and realised that the “trio” poster for Batman Returns was by the same artist John Alvin.

What I find interesting about the Batman Returns poster personally is that when it was released I don’t believe I cared for it.  I think it was the third poster to be released for the movie and the main poster was a homage to the original Batman poster featuring just the bat symbol, only this time it was in snow to match the tone of the film.  When this poster was released I didn’t really understand why they would bother.  It certainly wasn’t very epic.

I’ve since warmed to the poster, over the years I’ve actually come to really like it if only that it stands out in my mind.  The poster actually is made up of three posters, kind of, the Catwoman and Penguin poses are off the character posters and whilst there is a Batman standalone character sheet he’s at more of an angle so they must have felt the composite needed him to be face on.

I think all of the Batman Returns posters do a great job of capturing the feel of the film whilst maintaining the simplicity of the first poster that I love.  I’ve included some of the other posters below.

Which is your favourite?

So like his other films John Carpenter was very hands on ...]]> I don’t think it’s any great secret that one of my favourite films of all time is the John Carpenter masterpiece Big Trouble in Little China.  Now the thing a lot of people don’t realise when it comes to John Carpenter films is that the dude likes to write the music for his films and will perform it.  Classic soundtracks such as Halloween and Escape from New York capture the feel of the films perfectly in no small part thanks to John Carpenter envisaging everything he wants from his film.

So like his other films John Carpenter was very hands on for the soundtrack of Big Trouble in Little China and it only adds to the Carpenter feel of the film.  I’m not 100% certain but I can’t recall any other films he performed lyrics for the music like he did here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D03E9kUTTtQ

Yes that’s right, the main singer there is none other than John Carpenter himself!

The CDs are pretty scarce on the ground unfortunately, my impression is that I have an actual copy in my collection somewhere but it’s equally likely that I’m confusing the Escape from New York soundtrack and that the copy I have is borrowed from my cousin Larry.  iTunes doesn’t carry the music either except for a couple of tracks on compilations.

Here’s the track listing for those of you keeping score at home, this is of the original soundtrack, not the re-release:

1. Coup de Villes — “Big Trouble in Little China” 3:13
2. “Pork Chop Express” 3:40
3. “The Alley” 2:00
4. “Here Come the Storms” 2:20
5. “Lo Pan’s Domain” 4:30
6. “Escape from Wing Kong” 8:00
7. “Into the Spirit Path” 7:07
8. “The Great Arcade” 10:00
9. “The Final Escape” 4:47
10. Coup de Villes — “Big Trouble in Little China” -Reprise- (3:08)

Couldn’t track down too many of the tracks I’m afraid and on eBay you’re looking anywhere from $30 to $65.

Personally I think I’m probably a couple of years too young to really have a full appreciation of the soundtrack because it’s not one from my actual youth, The Breakfast Club was a film I discovered many years after its release through the wonder of heavily edited television.  I was shocked many years after seeing it on television today ...]]> I think if you are going to write about the soundtracks from the Midnight Movie Club era of films then you may as well start with the big ones first and frankly they don’t come much bigger than The Breakfast Club soundtrack.

Personally I think I’m probably a couple of years too young to really have a full appreciation of the soundtrack because it’s not one from my actual youth, The Breakfast Club was a film I discovered many years after its release through the wonder of heavily edited television.  I was shocked many years after seeing it on television today with all of the swearing back in.

So I’m going to admit it right now, the main song from the soundtrack “Don’t you (forget about me)” is the only song I have any real connection to.

Now this is a new thing for the Midnight Movie Club, we’re trying to add the soundtrack here through Grooveshark.  So Grooveshark is outside of our control and if the tracks ever get removed or the service changes then you need to cut us some slack

Here is the track listing in case it does disappear or not embed properly:

1. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds
2. “Waiting” – E.G. Daily
3. “Fire in the Twilight” – Wang Chung
4. “I’m the Dude” (instrumental) – Keith Forsey
5. “Heart Too Hot to Hold” – Jesse Johnson, Stephanie Spruill
6. “Dream Montage” (instrumental) – Keith Forsey
7. “We Are Not Alone” – Karla DeVito
8. “Reggae”(instrumental) – Keith Forsey
9. “Didn’t I Tell You?” – Joyce Kennedy
10. “Love Theme” (instrumental) – Keith Forsey

So did you grow up with The Breakfast Club soundtrack? Is it one of your favourites? Let us know in the comments!!

It’s also clever in that it features the creature in question without actually showing it thus leaving the surprise for those who had yet to see a trailer (remember this was 1984 and no internet spoiler images!). ...]]> I’ve always been really impressed with the way the artist John Alvin depicted Billy’s hands in this poster.  I know it’s a weird thing to pick up on but I think it’s probably the illustrator in me who appreciates it. The overall concept of the poster captures Gremlins and I wonder how much information he was given around what Gizmo would ultimately look like?

It’s also clever in that it features the creature in question without actually showing it thus leaving the surprise for those who had yet to see a trailer (remember this was 1984 and no internet spoiler images!). Of course if you stare long enough you start to wonder how Gizmo actually fits in that box!?

There was a rerelease or something, maybe the video release that featured this poster but had Spike as a Gremlin ripping through and scrawling We’re Back.

In case you missed it (and honestly how could you be so thoughtless!!!?) Dan and I did a Gremlins show a while back!

It just scrapes in the ten year mark being released in April 2000.

Next week’s move is a mystery… maybe Lee’s open to suggestion…

It’s Lee here with a little bit of a departure from our regularly scheduled programming, if you’ve arrived on the home page looking for the latest podcast it’s the previous post.

Dan and I have been having a discussion regarding the level of swearing in the Midnight Movie Club and whilst Dan and I only do the podcast because it is neat to meet up online once a week and talk about a film that we’ve probably seen 100 times before we do care about what you the listeners think as well.

Now you may have read on Twitter that things did not ...]]> Hi guys,

It’s Lee here with a little bit of a departure from our regularly scheduled programming, if you’ve arrived on the home page looking for the latest podcast it’s the previous post.

Dan and I have been having a discussion regarding the level of swearing in the Midnight Movie Club and whilst Dan and I only do the podcast because it is neat to meet up online once a week and talk about a film that we’ve probably seen 100 times before we do care about what you the listeners think as well.

Now you may have read on Twitter that things did not go so well with The Monster Squad podcast.  Mostly because the film serves as a reminder that we’re getting old and some films that we treasured as youth do not hold up particularly well and that’s disappointing and can top off an already less than remarkable week.

I only say this to put the podcast that you guys won’t get to hear until next week into context when I say that I use the F word a total of 47 times.  Clearly this is too many times.  I’m not effing Gordon Ramsey.  But I was having a bad day and swearing enters my vocabulary when I’m ruffled.

So obviously as mentioned 47 times is going over the top but it did highlight for us a question we have and that is whether or not we should be a ‘clean’ podcast or not.  Reality of the situation is that we both swear, but we are also able to conduct conversations in our day to day lives that don’t include swearing, so it’s more than possible.

My own opinion and I hope Dan will either add his to the end of this or in the comments is that one or two swear words are fine, it’s how I talk but it also means that you probably can’t listen to it around your kids.  But with that said I’m also more than happy to be censored or bleeped out.

I guess what we’re looking for is a little feedback on the subject, so if you would be so kind please fill out the poll and maybe leave a comment around your own feelings on the subject – if you would like to drop us a private line that is fine too!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

If you know someone who only listens to us on iTunes could you let them know about the poll!

Cheers

Lee

*washing his mouth out with soap*

This week Dan goes AWOL and Lee struggles with a film that he compares to giving his extracted eyeballs a salt bath.

He’s a baby.

Now next week should appeal slightly more to Lee’s delicate tastes: The Monster Squad

*Please note that Lee’s opinions on discussing this ...]]>

This week Dan goes AWOL and Lee struggles with a film that he compares to giving his extracted eyeballs a salt bath.

He’s a baby.

• Marvel as Lee struggles with the basics of the internet.
• Gasp as he refers to the star of the movie as Justin Bateman
• Stare slack jawed as he demands you leave no comments*
• Sigh in relief as a special guest pops in
• Sigh in disappointment when he leaves again
• Wonder why there’s a huge pause at the start (Lee is)…

Now next week should appeal slightly more to Lee’s delicate tastes: The Monster Squad

*Please note that Lee’s opinions on discussing this movie in the comments does not reflect the policy or opinions of The Midnight Movie Club or that guy down the street who collects plastic bags and yells at the kids as they walk by. Please discuss away.

Directed by Thomas Schlamme Starring: Mike Myers, Nancy Travis and Anthony LaPaglia

Apparently Dan felt that the swearing in the podcast has reached an unacceptable high and whilst he may be correct you won’t have to worry because we have our all new, all dancing swear noise!  You can only hear it by listening to the podcast and it should not be missed.

Also hear the boys talk about: