239 - Review of the Year 2020: Part II (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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We're so nearly there... 2020 is nearly over. But first, we need to have a frank discussion about Peninsula, Tremors: Shrieker Island, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Tenet, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Mank... in that order. Also: a fun music quiz. Who will win? Allen or Calvin?

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Films covered in this episode:
Peninsula
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 55%

Tremors: Shrieker Island
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Tenet
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%

Mank
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

238 - Review of the Year 2020 (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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It's that time again where we release truncated Diminisode edits from our Patreon (available for $1 a month at patreon.com/dimreturns) into the wild alongside a whole load of extra commentary, quiz games and more! This week covers Cats, Bad Boys for Life, Dolittle, Sonic the Hedgehog, the 2020 Oscars, The Jesus Rolls and the live-action remake of Mulan. Come back next week for the rest of 2020 including Tenet, Mank and more!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Cats (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%

Bad Boys for Life
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

Dolittle (2020)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

The Jesus Rolls
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%

Mulan (2020)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

237 - Christmas Special: Die Hard 2 (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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As is now Christmas tradition, we threw a selection of Christmas movies out to our Patreon subscribers and let them choose which one we should cover for what is now the fifth Christmas special of Diminishing Returns (that's almost as many as One Foot in the Grave). They chose Die Hard 2, so Calvin was furious - hear all about it, now!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Die Hard 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

236 - Monsters, Inc. (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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First up: vote for Sol's iHeart podcast pilot, Development Hell, at nextgreatpodcast.com

Now then... tying into the upcoming release of Pixar's Soul, we let Patreon select a Pixar film for us to cover on the show. They went with Monsters, Inc., so here we are.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Monsters, Inc.
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

Monsters University
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

235 - Con Air

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First of all, head over to nextgreatpodcast.tongal.com and vote for Sol's new podcast pilot, Development Hell, to go to series at iHeartRadio! (It's nothing to do with that previous Development Hell show).

Then you can listen to this week's episode with a clean conscience as Sol repeatedly begs you to go and vote in between discussing Con Air with Allen and preparing/eating his dinner.

Yep, this week's episode is a bit of a shambles. But it's a Nicolas Cage film so that's appropriate.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Con Air
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 75%

234 - Best in Show (with Kate Sketchley)

Guest: Kate Sketchley

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In a move we bet nobody saw coming, Diminishing Returns brings you its first Christopher Guest episode!

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Films covered in this episode:
Best in Show
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Kate: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

233 - Citizen Kane (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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After three weeks of zombie movies, SpongeBob and the worst James Bond movie ever made, it's about time Diminishing Returns got stuck into something a bit high-brow for a change.
That's why we gave our Patrons the option to select a film off the American Film Institute's list of greatest movies ever made. Thankfully, they chose Citizen Kane, which also ties into the upcoming release of David Fincher's Mank, so here we are!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Citizen Kane
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 97%

232 - Die Another Day (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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It's the end of the Pierce Brosnan era! Die Another Day is famously Sol and Allen's go-to answer to "worst James Bond movie of all time". Does it live up (down?) to the hype? As usual, Calvin is on hand to try and keep them in check.

Check out our Patreon here!

Die Another Day
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 44%

231 - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

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Tying into the UK-release of Sponge On the Run, the third SpongeBob SquarePants movie, we're covering the previous two SpongeBob SquarePants movies, which is going to be interesting to say Allen has never seen a single episode of the series before...

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

230 - Podcast of Horror V.III: Day of the Dead (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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The final, most Halloweeny part of this year's three-part Halloween special takes a look at our two remaining George A. Romero zombie movies: 1985's Day of the Dead and 2005's Land of the Dead. We also touch on Taurus Entertainment's continued attempts to draw blood from a stone.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Day of the Dead (1985)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%

Day of the Dead (2008)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ½
Overall score: 30%

Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 30%

Land of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%

229 - Podcast of Horror V.II: Dawn of the Dead (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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This year's three-part Diminishing Returns Halloween special continues with the next two movies in George A. Romero's "Of the Dead" zombie franchise: Survival of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead. We take a look at Zack Snyder's 2004 remake, too.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Survival of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

228 - Podcast of Horror V.I: Night of the Living Dead (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: ?

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Diminishing Returns are going big for Halloween, this year, with a three-part "Podcast of Horror" special! We've been wanting to cover George A. Romero's "Of the Dead" zombie franchise for years, now, but we've finally found a solid place to fit them all in in a way that can do them justice. Looking at the films in the order of their internal chronology, we're starting, this week, with Night of the Living Dead, its hundreds of remakes and Diary of the Dead.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%

Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 20%

Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%

Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%

Diary of the Dead (2007)
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

227 - Teen Wolf (with Jeff Davis)

Guest: Jeff Davis

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It's a particularly exciting week for Diminishing Returns - not because of the films we're covering (definitely not). No, it's an exciting week because we're joined by the one and only Jeff Davis to discuss all things Teen Wolf, including its transition from a questionable Michael J. Fox vehicle into a sexy, teen-drama series on MTV.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Teen Wolf (1985)
Allen: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%

Teen Wolf Too
Allen: ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 25%

226 - Murder on the Orient Express (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

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Murder, murder, murder! In a Diminishing Returns first (not counting that Diminisode where we covered Knives Out), we take a look at a murder mystery movie! It's Murder on the Orient Express, taking aim at the 1974 Sidney Lumet film starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot and the 2017 Kenneth Branagh version in anticipation of its sequel, Death on the Nile, which was due out this week but has since been delayed until December. We considered delaying this episode but figured we couldn't be bothered.

Also covered are the 2001 Alfred Molina version, the 2010 episode of the Poirot TV series and the 2015 Japanese version.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films (and TV) covered in this episode:
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Murder on the Orient Express (2001)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 60%

Poirot episode:
“Murder on the Orient Express” (2010)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 80%

Murder on the Orient Express (2015)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

225 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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We had arguably the most exciting episode of Diminishing Returns yet all lined up, but our special guest had to postpone at the 11th hour, leaving us scrambling for content. We popped on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and two and a half hours later, we recorded this: an unusually impromptu edition of the podcast. Fret not, though, because we have yet another incredibly special guest coming up two weeks from now…

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

224 - Watchmen (with How Didn't This Get Made?)

Guests: How Didn’t This Get Made? (Sol Harris & Conor Murray)

Films covered in this episode:
Watchmen
Allen: ✰ ✰
Conor: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 54%

What is this, a crossover episode? Diminishing Returns are joined by How Didn't This Get Made? (who, confusingly, were going by "Development Hell" when this was recorded), the brand-new podcast from Sol Harris and Conor Murray that examines the history of movie projects that never got made.

Why? To examine one of the most infamous cases of a film that nearly never got made, but eventually fought its way out of Development Hell, only to finally make its way up and onto the big screen: Watchmen.

Is there a legitimate place for Zack Synder? Where does the film fit into the DC universe now that The Flash is going to go all Spider-Verse on us? Is the #SnyderCut better? All this and more in this week's edition of Diminishing Returns / How Didn't This Get Made?!

Find How Didn't This Get Made? on Apple Podcasts, here. (Or just search for them on your podcast provider)!

Check out our Patreon here!

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223 - Diminulum Unreturnable (with Calvin Dyson and Dan Straw)

Guests: Calvin Dyson and Dan Straw

In an effort to make the show more woke, Definitely-Not-Racist Liam Neeson takes a look at some never-before-heard, deleted moments from previous Diminishing Returns recording sessions.

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222 - Vampire's Kiss

Films covered in this episode:
Vampire’s Kiss
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

It's finally here: Diminishing Returns doing a Nicolas Cage episode! If you've never seen (or heard) of Vampire's Kiss, don't let that put you off as we're going to hold your hand through what is quite an obscure relic. Audio clips abound, along with a Nic Cage quiz and the birth of a new phrase, destined for the Oxford English Dictionary: "Cinematic Concealism".

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221 - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (with Gareth Allen)

Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered in this episode:
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%

Bill & Ted Face the Music is finally upon us, after years (followed by additional months of delay-based) waiting! To mark this most excellent of occasions, Sol and Allen are joined by Gareth to discuss Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.

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220 - The Meg (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:
The Meg
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

It's the surprise return of #CalvinsSharks, the poorly named sub-series of Diminishing Returns episode where Calvin makes us cover shark movies! Except this time, it's Allen making Calvin do it. "It" being Jason Statham vehicle The Meg. Why? Well, you name another shark movie worth doing that we haven't already covered...

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