180 - Charlie's Angels (with Emily Slade)

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Guest: Emily Slade

Films covered in this episode:

Charlie’s Angels
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Allen: ✰ ✰
Emily: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 34%

This week we are joined by Emily Slade of the Why This Film? podcast to take a look at the turn of the century super spy action comedy Charlie's Angels along with its sequel and television series forebear. It's an episode full of nostalgia and sheer disbelief. It's a film that will take you straight back to the turn of the century and leave you wondering how we ever thought that was normal.

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179 - Joker

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Films covered in this episode:

Joker
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

In what might be a Diminishing Returns first, we take on a film while it's still playing in the cinemas! Is it a good idea or are we betraying everything the show stands for? It's Joker, anyway - the weird, DC, Batman side-piece starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips.

Check out our Patreon here!

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178 - Podcast of Horror IV: The Thing

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

The Thing from Another World
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

The Thing (1982)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%

The Thing (2011)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

It's our fourth annual Halloween special! What does that mean? It basically just means that we cover a horror movie that doesn't have to tie into an upcoming sequel release. We threw this one open to our Patreon subscribers and they selected John Carpenter's 1982 classic The Thing. In true Diminishing Returns fashion, we take pitstops at 1951's The Thing from Another World and the 2011 prequel of the same name, too. It's Dimini-Thing Returns!

Check out our Patreon here!

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177 - Dimishining Returns: The Shining (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

The Shining
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

We've cultivated something of a reputation for our willingness to dismiss the classics and take them down a notch or two and that's on full display in this episode, taking aim at The Shining. Thankfully, Calvin is on hand to defend Kubrick's vision against Sol, who's on hand to defend Stephen King's.

Check out our Patreon here!

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176 - Part Twominator (with Gareth Allen)

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Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered this episode:

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Allen: ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

Terminator Salvation
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

Terminator Genisys
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%

This week, we continue our look at the Terminator franchise, but we covered the good ones last week (The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Why would you want to listen for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys? Well, other than looking forward to Terminator: Dark Fate, we're also joined by special guest: Angry Christian Bale!

Check out our Patreon here!

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175 - The Terminator (with Gareth Allen)

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Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered in this episode:

The Terminator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 87%

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%

In anticipation of Terminator: Dark Fate, we begin a retrospective look at the franchise, starting with the good ones (The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

Check out our Patreon here!

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174 - Zombieland

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Films covered in this episode:

Zombieland
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

We spend 4 years getting round to Shaun of the Dead and now, a couple of months later, we're doing Zombieland? What's that about? (I'll tell you what that's about; it's about Zombieland: Double Tap coming out soon).

Check out our Patreon here!

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173 - The Addams Family

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Films (and TV) covered in this episode:

The Addams Family (1964 series)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

The Addams Family (1973 series)
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Halloween with the New Addams Family
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

The Addams Family (1991)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 75%

Addams Family Values
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Addams Family Reunion
Allen: ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 20%

The New Addams Family
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 30%

Another TV episode (kind of) as we turn our collective heads towards The Addams Family - all of it! The 1964 sitcom, the 1991 film and its sequels, the weird attempts at relaunching the show and even the original Charles Addams comic strip - all because there's a brand spanking, new 2019 Addams Family movie on the way.

Check out our Patreon here!

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172 - Rambo: Diminishing Returns Part II - More Blood:: Rambo III and Rambo (IV) (with Gareth Allen)

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Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered in this episode:

Rambo III
Allen: ✰ ½
Gareth: ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 27%

Rambo
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 47%

Diminishing Returns continues an exhaustive look at the First Blood film-franchise, better known as the Rambo series because they star Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo. Last week covered the first two films (First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II), leaving Rambo III and Rambo (the fourth one) for this week, as well as a speculative look at the upcoming Rambo: Last Blood.

Check out our Patreon here!

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171 - First Blood (with Gareth Allen)

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Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered in this episode:

First Blood
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%

Rambo: First Blood Part II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 44%

We begin a two-week look at the Rambo franchise, starting with First Blood (aka Rambo), then moving swiftly onto Rambo: First Blood Part II. Because Rambo: Last Blood is on the horizon; that's why.

Check out our Patreon here!

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170 - Downton Abbey (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

TV shows covered in this episode:

Downton Abbey
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%

We mix things up with a rare television episode, turning our heads to Downton Abbey ahead of the upcoming theatrical film spin-off of the series.

Check out our Patreon here!

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169 - It (2017) (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

It (2017)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

Much like how Pennywise returns every 27 years to cause havoc, we're seemingly returning to Stephen King's It every 2 years to talk about the most recent screen-version of the story.

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168 - Diminishingump Roasturns (with Calvin Dyson, Dan Straw and Conor Murray)

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Guests: Calvin Dyson, Dan Straw and Conor Murray

Films covered in this episode:

Fifty Shades of Black
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%

We're on our Summer hols and Allen actually has some acting work lined up for a change, so here's a very special outtakes episode in which esteemed film-maker Werner Herzog takes a look (listen?) at some previously unheard Diminishing Returns material from the archive.

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167 - The World's End

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Films covered in this episode:

The World’s End
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

The final instalment in our look at Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's Cornetto Trilogy is The World's End. Reputedly the worst of the three, but will we be won over by the Pegg-Wright magic once again?

Thank you to our Patreons who voted for this series at patreon.com/dimreturns

Check out our Patreon here!

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166 - Hot Fuzz (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Hot Fuzz
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 87%

Our Patreon-selected trilogy of episodes covering The Blood and Ice Cream (Cornetto) Trilogy continues with a look at Hot Fuzz - where we're joined by James Bond (and, therefore, Timothy Dalton) enthusiast: Calvin Dyson. Does it live up to the record-setting score set by Shaun of the Dead?

Check out our Patreon here!

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165 - Shaun of the Dead

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Films covered in this episode:

Shaun of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 100%

Note: rating was later revised when Calvin added his score in our first live episode

We kick off our first Patreon-selected season of episodes with a series looking at The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy (aka The Three Colours Cornetto Trilogy, aka Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End).
Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, zombies and ice cream! How's that for a slice of fried gold? (Yeeeeeeeeeahh booooooooiiiiiii!)

Check out our Patreon here!

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164 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

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Films covered in this episode:

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Allen: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Bet you didn't see this one coming; this week, we're doing John C. Reilly spoof-biopic Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and it features maybe the highest number of audio clips out of any episode we've done.

Check out our Patreon here!

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163 - The Lion King (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

The Lion King
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%

The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

The Lion King 1½
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Nants a podcast bagithi baba! Sithi uhm podcast! We're doing The Lion King Trilogy. You know the drill.

Check out our Patreon here!

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