The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast
Emilio, Madeline, and Julian love music, and spend their afternoons and evenings working for and teaching at a music school in midtown Manhattan. But they also really love movies. A lot. So when they're done teaching, they stay up late and discuss a movie, sometimes a few, that they've all agreed to see recently. Opinions, musings, personal stories, and sincere film enthusiasm ensue.
Episodes
91 episodes
All "Inn" The Family: 'The Happiness of the Katakuris' (2001) with Lexi Amoriello
For the "Offbeat Musical" cycle's Mise-Unseen episode, Emilio and Julian come in brick cold (and Madeline a tad less frigid) to their selected film for discussion - 'The Happiness of The Katakuris', Takashi Miike's surreal horror/dramedy/musica...
Don't Feed The Plants: 'Little Shop of Horrors' (1986) with Will Reynolds
This week, Madeline, Julian and Emilio kick off a new cycle dedicated to "Offbeat Musicals" with perhaps the pre-eminent offbeat musical movie: 'Little Shop of Horrors', released in 1986, directed by Frank Oz, featuring standout performances fr...
Seventy Years of 'Written On The Wind' (1956) with Christian Garcia
This week, Emilio, Madeline, and Julian welcome in fellow podcaster Christian Garcia for a bonus episode to discuss 'Written on the Wind', Douglas Sirk's seminal romantic melodrama from 1956 starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, an...
A Neil Simon Rom-Com Trio, with James Codoyannis: 'Barefoot in the Park' (1967), 'The Heartbreak Kid' (1972), and 'The Goodbye Girl' (1977)
Madeline, Emilio, and Julian are rejoined by film editor and all-around great cinephile hang James Codoyannis to wrap up their cycle of Oscar-Worthy Rom-Coms with a "Close-Up" on three films written by the prolific Neil Simon. For the first "Cl...
Our Rom Com Oscar Snubs
We've been breaking down Oscar Worthy Rom Coms for several weeks now, but what about movies that didn't get nominations or wins but absolutely should have? This week, Madeline, Julian and Emilio, along with their guests from our latest cy...
Arrival of an Ingenue: 'Roman Holiday' (1953) and 'Pretty Woman' (1990) with Sydney Duncan
This week, Julian, Emilio, and Madeline are joined by comedian Sydney Duncan to discuss two films that launched their leading ladies to superstardom - William Wyler’s “Roman Holiday” from 1953 and Garry Marshall’s “Pretty Woman” from 1990. The ...
Remembering Rob Reiner with Matt Friedman
2025 ended with a real gut punch for us film lovers - the sudden and shocking death of Rob Reiner, alongside his wife Michele Singer. This week, Emilio, Julian and Madeline welcome back friend of the pod and musician extraordinaire Matt F...
A Human Interest Story: 'Broadcast News' (1987) with David Schwartz
This week, Madeline, Emilio and Julian continue making their way through Oscar Worthy Rom Coms and tune into 'Broadcast News', James L. Brooks' beloved 1987 film starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. The group is joined b...
'The Apartment' (1960): Keys to Success, RomCom-Wise
Julian, Madeline, and Emilio continue their cycle of Oscar-Worthy Rom-Coms with a Suggestion Box episode focusing on "The Apartment," Billy Wilder's unforgettable multi-Oscar-winning film from 1960. The trio dig into this classic tale of work-r...
Starry-Eyed Bard: 'Shakespeare in Love' (1998) with Anna Stone
If podcasting be the food of love, record on! Continuing with their cycle of "Oscar Worthy Rom Coms", Madeline, Emilio and Julian fire up 1998's Best Picture winning 'Shakespeare In Love', directed by John Madden, starring the likes of Jo...
Gnomes, Pay Phones and Deux Moulins: 'Amelie' (2001) with Anu Valia
It's a new year, and Emilio, Madeline, and Julian kick off a new episode cycle of "Oscar Worthy Rom Coms" with 'Amelie', Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 film starring Audrey Tautou that is as well-crafted as it is refreshing and life-affirming. ...
Dolls in Toyland: 'Tangerine" (2015) with Edo Choi
Madeline, Emilio, and Julian wrap up their cycle of Unorthodox Holiday Movies with a film befitting of a Christmas Eve episode - Sean Baker’s “Tangerine”, released in 2015. Joining Emilio as a first-time-watcher is Edo Choi, Film Programmer at ...
The Criterion Disc Holiday Share
This week, Emilio, Madeline and Julian make good on something that has been in works for over two years - a conversation about the movies they gifted each other back in 2023! To be specific, these were discs from The Criterion Collection,...
There You Are Peter!: 'Hook' (1991) with Rob McClure
Bangarang! Emilio, Madeline, and Julian fly, fight, and crow their way through this next "Unorthodox Holiday Movie" suggestion, and this is a special one, a movie suggested to them by multiple guests - "Hook", Steven Spielberg's take on t...
'Wicked for Good' (2025) Reactions with Down The Yellow Brick Pod and Courtney Iventosch
This week, Madeline, Emilio and Julian discuss the recently released 'Wicked For Good', the second part of a pair of films that together have brought the beloved Broadway musical to the big screen. After chatting a bit themselves, the co-...
'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999): Escapade, Cavalcade, Masquerade
Madeline, Emilio, and Julian continue their seasonal cycle of Unorthodox Holiday Movies with a discussion about "Eyes Wide Shut," Stanley Kubrick's enigmatic final feature from 1999. Marking their first discussion about a Kubrick film, the trio...
Dads, Daughters, and the Revolution: "One Battle After Another" (2025) with Brendan McDonald
Julian, Madeline, and Emilio are rejoined by Brendan McDonald, former producer of the iconic podcast WTF with Marc Maron, for a bonus episode about Paul Thomas Anderson's latest masterpiece, One Battle After Another. Kicking off with a check-in...
The Worst Noel: 'Black Christmas' (1974) with James Codoyannis
To kick off the latest cycle of "Unorthodox Holiday Suggestions", Emilio brings the original 'Black Christmas', Bob Clark's other holiday themed masterpiece from 1974, to the group just in time for spooky season. Joining the usual three c...
Found Footage Evolution with Shaun Seneviratne: 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999), 'Creep' (2014), and 'Searching' (2018)
For their Audience Interrogation cycle "Close Up" episode, Emilio, Julian and Madeline hit record and explore a genre that they are, admittedly, not as familiar with: Found Footage Films. They are joined by writer/director/teacher/m...
Movies That Scarred Us
If you're a lover of movies, there is, without a doubt, a disturbing movie (or several) that you saw when you were too young to process it. With imagery and scenes that have lodged themselves in your brain. And since the memory of t...
Pursuing the Money Shot: 'Nightcrawler' (2014) and 'Civil War' (2024) with Michael Cramer
Julian, Madeline, and Emilio continue their episode cycle on Audience Interrogation with a "Two-Shot" on Dan Gilroy's "Nightcrawler" (2014) and Alex Garland's "Civil War" (2024), and are joined for the conversation by Michael Cramer, professor ...
Rock and Roll Re-Creation: 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues' (2025)
As a bonus this week, Julian, Emilio, and Madeline gear up for Spinal Tap’s reunion in the new release “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues”. Released 41 years after the previously discussed “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984), this legasequel catches up ...
Spike Lee's 'Bamboozled' (2000) at 25 with Idris Goodwin
For the "Audience Interrogation" cycle's Suggestion Box episode, Emilio, Julian and Madeline go with a pick that's been a long time coming: 'Bamboozled', Spike Lee's unapologetically confrontational satire from 2000 about racial stereotypes and...
Rerelease - 'This is Spinal Tap' (1984)
With 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues' arriving to theaters this week, England's "loudest band" is coming back to the big screen! If you haven't yet listened to it, or would love to remind yourself of what makes the original film such a ...
Hindsight is 2020: 'Eddington' (2025) with Mariquita Reese
Continuing their episode cycle discussing films related to "Audience Interrogation", Emilio, Julian and Madeline strap on their masks, observe social distancing guidelines, and harken back to the recent past with 'Eddington', Ari Aster's darkly...