Martini Giant Christopher Nichols

Tonight MG kicks off its series on Originals vs Remakes! Our first matchup: 1997's brutally bleak crime masterpiece Insomnia, starring a sleezy Stellan Skarsgård as a detective who might be worse than the murderer he's chasing down - going up against Christopher Nolan's 2002 stylish remake of the same name! The first is a scrappy, sleek, small-scale Norwegian thriller, and the second is - predictably - a big budget, star-studded Hollywood affair. Tune in and find out if Nolan's follow-up to Memento keeps us up late, or puts us to sleep!

It's Chris and Thron's birthdays this week, so for tonight's double feature, they've each picked a film that has, like them, aged inexplicably well! First up, Chris brings us Sergio Leone 's epic reinvention of a classic genre: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Followed by Thron's choice: Michael Mann's feature-length paean to Colin Farrell 's glorious mustache: Miami Vice 2006! So mix up those mojitos, don those sarapes, and join us for a truly Giant celebration!

Tonight MG takes on the first two films by indie director Kogonada - and while they couldn't be more different in terms of subject matter - one set in modern-day Indiana, the other set in a futuristic world and dealing with artificial intelligence - they are equally thoughtful, unusual stories.  First up is Columbus, set in that unlikely architectural Mecca of the midwest, and stars John Cho in a career-best performance as a man dealing with his father's impending death. Next, we have After Yang, in which Colin Farrell wrestles with the meaning of memory in a beautifully sci-fi way!

Tonight MG takes on a double feature based on two John Irving books, and the results couldn't be more different! First up, things start off beautifully weird with Robin Williams' dramatic breakout The World According to Garp, featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by John Lithgow - but then crash and burn as Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster do their damndest to save the tone-deaf mess of The Hotel New Hampshire!  What went wrong?  Join us as we talk about the difficulties of adaptation, and the risks of too much Wallace Shawn!

The late, great Douglas Trumbull was known primarily for his groundbreaking visual effects work in films like 2001, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Blade Runner - but he was a visionary director as well, and though he only made a couple of films, their striking imagery and heartfelt messages have become a formative part of many young science fiction fans' lives - especially ours here at MG! Join us tonight as we take a look at his first effort, the cli-fi classic Silent Running, starring Bruce Dern as a spacebound eco-terrorist!

There are few directors like Yorgos Lanthimos, whose strange blend of icy realism and cringe worthy comedy has the power to make the mundane seem nightmarish, and nightmarish things seem horrifyingly mundane...and tonight MG dives into two of his most effective and upsetting works, each starring the director's most put-upon muse, Colin Farrell!  First up, Farrell explains why, if he can't find love, he'd prefer to be The Lobster - and if that's not freaky enough, it's time to get out your blindfolds and load your rifles for The Killing of a Sacred Deer!