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PODCAST

Matinee Heroes

Matinee Heroes is a podcast dedicated to exploring hero cinema - from adventurers, heroes, and superheroes; from Jedi to buddy cops; from the Wild West, to the distant past, to futures both hopeful and dystopian, from ancient lands to the deepest reaches of outer space. In a time when we need heroes more than ever, Alan and Craig will try to understand just what makes our cinematic heroes tick, and how we can use that heroism in our everyday life.

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

01:11:13

Alien Nation

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/04/25

ALIEN NATION In Los Angeles, three years after an alien ship comes to Earth, humans and extraterrestrial newcomers live side by side in a city divided by fear, prejudice, and violence. When a human police detective is assigned a newcomer partner, they must learn to work together while investigating a dangerous drug ring spreading through the alien community. As the case deepens, their uneasy partnership becomes the key to exposing a larger threat. Craig, Elisabeth and Alan talk about concepts vs

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01:41:08

Starman

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/04/18

STARMAN An alien answers a NASA message and comes to Earth in peace, but his ship is shot down by the military. Stranded, he takes the form of a dead man and forces the man's widow to drive him to Arizona so he can meet a rescue ship. As the government hunts them down, the two form an unexpected bond. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Steve and Izzy talk about aliens on earth, road trips, Ape-ril and the movie "Starman" on this week's Matinee Heroes! Show Notes 0:51 Craig, Elisabeth and Steve & Izzy

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01:26:42

Men In Black

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/04/11

MEN IN BLACK A smart-mouthed New York cop discovers that aliens are secretly living on Earth and gets recruited into a hidden agency that keeps them under control. Paired with a stone-faced veteran, he must stop a deadly alien invader searching for a powerful object that could spark an intergalactic crisis. As he adjusts to a bizarre new world of disguises, weapons, and cosmic secrets, his first day on the job turns into a fight to save the planet. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Tami Anderson talk about

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57:25

Episode 16 - Dane DiLiegro - CONversations with Craig

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/04/06

Dane DeLiegro did not exactly take the usual road to Hollywood, and that is what made this live conversation at the 2024 Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio so entertaining. Before becoming the Predator in Prey, he played pro basketball in Europe, spent years apprenticing under a legendary Tuscan butcher, and nearly ended up in the culinary world instead of the film business. By the time he started describing what it took to bring the Predator to life, it was clear this was not your standard actor

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01:39:38

Paul

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/04/04

PAUL For the past 60 years, a wisecracking alien named Paul has been held at a top-secret military base in America's UFO heartland. When he decides he's had enough of Earth, he escapes and jumps into the first vehicle he finds, a rented RV driven by two British sci-fi geeks, Graeme and Clive. With federal agents and an angry father chasing them, the two come up with a wild plan to help Paul get back to his spaceship. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Paul Hitchcock talk about sincerity in comedy,

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01:08:07

The Long Goodbye

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/03/28

THE LONG GOODBYE Private detective Philip Marlowe gives his friend Terry Lennox a ride to Mexico. But when Marlowe gets back to Los Angeles, he is pulled into the investigation of Terry's wife's death. Then comes word that Terry has died by suicide in Mexico but Marlowe isn't buying it. As he starts chasing the truth, he takes on a new case from a woman who has a surprising connection to Terry's past. Craig, Elisabeth and Alan talk about Robert Altman's disjointed style, candle cults, the Oscars and

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01:24:18

Rear Window

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/03/21

REAR WINDOW Confined to his apartment with a broken leg, a newspaper photographer passes the time by watching the lives unfolding outside his window. But what starts as idle curiosity turns into something far more dangerous when he becomes convinced he has witnessed a murder. With help from his nurse and the woman he loves, he sets out to prove it, before the suspected killer realizes he is watching. Craig, Elisabeth and Movies that Make Us cohost Tracy Mangum talk about Voyeurism, BDE,

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01:36:41

Chinatown

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/03/14

CHINATOWN A Los Angeles private detective thinks he is handling a routine infidelity case, until he meets the man's real wife and realizes he was hired by an impostor. When the husband turns up dead, the case pulls him into a web of corruption, deception, and disturbing family secrets, with the wife's powerful father at the center of it all. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Jeff Penn from Deep Cuts the game talk about private investigators, Canadian utopias, LA in the 30s and the movie "Chinatown" on

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01:25:42

The Third Man

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/03/07

THE THIRD MAN Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives broke to visit his childhood friend Harry Lime, only to discover that Harry is dead. Suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, including reports of a mysterious third man at the scene, pull Holly into a growing conspiracy. As he digs deeper, he faces resistance from a British officer and falls hard for Harry's grieving lover, Anna. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Derek McCaw talk about black markets, inept protagonists, Horror Not Hate

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51:59

Episode 15 - Kevin Conroy - CONversations with Craig

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/03/02

Kevin Conroy was not just the voice of Batman to a generation of fans. He was the voice. In this live conversation from the San Francisco Comic Con in 2018, he pulls back the curtain on how he landed the role, why his classical theater training made him the perfect Dark Knight, and how the emotional core of Batman shaped every performance he gave. Kevin Conroy explains how his classical theater training and deep understanding of Batman's trauma helped him create a version of the character that

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01:35:28

Do The Right Thing

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/02/28

DO THE RIGHT THING Sal Fragione owns a pizzeria in Brooklyn, where the Wall of Fame features only Italian celebrities. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, argues that a business in a Black neighborhood should also honor Black icons, but Sal refuses. The wall becomes a symbol of exclusion, and as more people take sides, tensions escalate. Craig and Elizabeth talk about racial tensions, boom box culture, the Winter Olympics and the movie "Do the Right Thing" on this week's Matinee Heroes! Show Notes

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01:05:11

Tightrope

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/02/21

TIGHTROPE A New Orleans detective hunts a brutal sex killer stalking the French Quarter, but the case forces him to face the darkest side of his own personality. His Jekyll-and-Hyde inner conflict grows more intense when he falls for the psychologist assigned to help catch the killer. Craig and Elisabeth discuss awkward sex thrillers, New Orleans, directors with porn names and the movie "Tight Rope" on this week's Matinee Heroes! Show Notes 0:57 Craig and Elisabeth talk about their visits to New

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01:26:57

All the President's Men

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/02/14

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN Two rookie reporters and rivals at The Washington Post investigate the botched 1972 break-in at the Democratic Party's headquarters in the Watergate complex. With help from a shadowy source known as Deep Throat, they connect the burglars to the White House and keep digging despite mounting pressure and threats. Following the money, they uncover a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of power. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Annie Bulloch talk about the current state of

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01:34:30

Legends of the Fall

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/02/07

LEGENDS OF THE FALL In early 20th-century Montana, Colonel William Ludlow lives on a ranch with his three sons: Tristan, Alfred, and Samuel. Their unconventional but tightly bonded life is shattered when Samuel is killed in World War I. Tristan and Alfred make it home, but the damage does not stop there. Soon after returning, both brothers fall for Samuel's fiancée, Susannah, and their growing rivalry starts tearing the family apart. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Brendan Agnew talk about love

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28:27

Episode 14 - John and Joan Cusack - CONversations...

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/02/02

eels like a family reunion where the relatives happen to be movie icons. From the jump, the room lands on the perfect vibe: not "you were in my childhood," but "we grew up together," like distant cousins swapping stories you already love hearing. John talks about playing Brian Wilson and how meaningful it was to feel like they did right by him. He also shares a great detail about working alongside Paul Dano: they did not compare notes, but both found their way in through the Smile Sessions box

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01:10:12

The Sound of Music

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/01/31

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Maria is a spirited, tomboyish young woman training at an Austrian abbey, and she's sent out to work as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval captain. In the captain's strict, quiet household, she shakes things up with warmth, playfulness, and music, gradually bringing the family back to life and forging an unexpected bond with their guarded father. Craig and Elisabeth wrap up F#@K Nazis month by talking about what's happening in America right now, living with 8

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01:00:28

Sisu

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/01/24

SISU During the last days of World War II, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the soldiers decide to steal his gold, they quickly discover they just tangled with no ordinary miner. Craig, Elisabeth and Cary Gordon discuss revenge fantasies, adaptable anti-heroes, heavy metal cruises and the movie "Sisu" on this week's Matinee Heroes! Show Notes 0:47 Craig, Elisabeth and guest Cary Gordon talk about heavy metal cruising. 7:01

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01:39:40

Judgement at Nuremberg

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/01/17

JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG Judge Dan Haywood presides over the trial of four German judges accused of collaborating with the Nazi regime by sentencing innocent men to death during World War II. As testimony unfolds, the visiting Americans and their wary German hosts are forced to confront what the war did to their countries, and the lasting moral damage it left behind. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Valerie Cameron talk about society's role in atrocities, fighting fascism at home, the film sports nerd Venn

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01:58:28

Marathon Man

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/01/10

MARATHON MAN A Columbia grad student and committed long-distance runner has no clue his older brother is a government agent hunting a Nazi war criminal, until that brother is murdered and he's yanked into a vicious web of stolen gems and sadistic killers. Even his girlfriend starts to look like she might be hiding something, and in a hurry, everything he believed about his life gets turned inside out. Craig, Elisabeth and guest Adam Marcus talk about paranoia thrillers, never under estimate an old

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45:26

Episode 13 - Christopher Eccleston - CONversations...

Matinee Heroes ·

2026/01/05

Recorded live in Utah after a two year wait, this CONversation with Craig drops you straight into a packed room with Christopher Eccleston and an audience ready to sprint into Doctor Who territory at full speed. Craig kicks things off by digging into Christopher's take on Fagin in Dodger, including how you approach an iconic role that comes with real baggage. From there it turns into a smart, funny, occasionally sharp Q&A about stepping back into the Ninth Doctor with Big Finish, what it was like

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233 results

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