270 - Keanuvember: Speed (with Nightmares from the Discotheque)

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Guests: Nightmares from the Discotheque (Canz Rickman & Rick Schaple)

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Keanuvember concludes with a look at Speed, perhaps the greatest Keanu Reeves movie of all time. Joining us are Rick Schaple and Canz Rickman (collectively: Nightmares from the Discotheque) who have written songs about things like Die Hard. Who better to talk about Die Hard on a bus?

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Speed
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Canz: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Rick: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 88%

269 - Keanuvember: The Matrix (with Jeremy Kaplowitz)

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Guest: Jeremy Kaplowitz

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Keanuvember rolls on with special guest Jeremy Kaplowitz and a look at Keanu's magnum opus: The Matrix (and its lesser sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions) - just in time for The Matrix Resurrections.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The Matrix
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Jeremy: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%

The Matrix Reloaded
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Jeremy: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

The Matrix Revolutions
Allen: ✰ ½
Jeremy: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

268 - Keanuvember: John Wick (with Alice Fraser)

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Guest: Alice Fraser

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It's Keanuvember! Our entire month of Keanu Reeves begins with a look at the no-holds-barred John Wick franchise, thanks to special guest Alice R. Fraser!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
John Wick
Alice: rating parlayed
Allen: rating parlayed
Sol: rating parlayed
Overall score: rating parlayed

John Wick: Chapter 2
Alice: rating parlayed
Allen: rating parlayed
Sol: rating parlayed
Overall score: rating parlayed

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Alice: rating parlayed
Allen: rating parlayed
Sol: rating parlayed
Overall score: rating parlayed

267 - Podcast of Horror VI - Live! (with Calvin Dyson and Gareth Allen)

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Guests: Calvin Dyson and Gareth Allen

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It's an (extremely visual) live Halloween spectacular! This episode was broadcast exclusively to Patreon subscribers on the 6th of October and now you're getting a (severely truncated) audio edit. The video version will be posted to our YouTube channel closer to Halloween, so keep your eyes peeled.

Check out our Patreon here!

Or enjoy a rare opportunity to watch the show instead:

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266 - Grown Ups 2 (with Tim Batt of The Worst Idea of All Time)

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Guest: Tim Batt

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It's the second-worst idea of all time as Tim Batt joins us to dredge up past trauma by revisiting Grown Ups 2, a film he watched and reviewed once a week as part of The Worst Idea of All Time podcast, back in 2014. Is Chris Rock better than this? Did South Park end Rob Schneider's career? Did Grown Ups 2 inspire Quentin Tarantino to make Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? All this and more in Diminishing Returns!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Grown Ups 2
Allen: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Tim: ½
Overall score: 24%

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265 - Quantum of Solace (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

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No Time to Die is (allegedly) finally being released! To mark the occasion, we're marching on from the ending of Casino Royale and straight into the beginning of Quantum of Solace, the Bond movie that was infamously written on the fly thanks to the 2007 writers' strike. Will Sol stay true to his contrarian nature and actually like this one? Someone's got to because Calvin certainly doesn't.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Quantum of Solace
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 37%

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264 - The Inbetweeners Movie (with The British Sitcom History Podcast)

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Guest: The British Sitcom History Podcast (Allen Turing & Gareth Allen)

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The British Sitcom History Podcast is back for its second series, so it's crossover episode #2: this time looking at the film that singlehandedly relaunched the Britcom movie genre.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The Inbetweeners Movie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 64%

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263 - Candyman (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

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Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman... well, we definitely say it five times over the course of this episode, so that's what happened to us if this ends up being the last episode of Diminishing Returns.

Yes, Calvin is here to help us tackle the Candyman trilogy (the 1992 original, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman: Day of the Dead) as well as to discuss the upcoming 2021 Candyman sequel / reboot from Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Candyman (1992)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%

Candyman: Day of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 30%

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262 - Arrival (with Grammar Girl)

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Guest: Mignon Fogarty (aka Grammar Girl)

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We're joined by Grammar Girl herself, Mignon Fogarty, for a look at Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-nominated, language-based sci-fi movie in which Amy Adams attempts to communicate with space aliens against a ticking clock.

Will the show ever get the phrase "cinema unawarité" added to the dictionary? Is the video game Fortnite a pun? Do Allen and Sol like the film more than back when they covered it as part of 2017's Oscar season? All this a more in this edition of Diminishing Returns!

This year is the 15th anniversary of the Grammar Girl podcast, so it's an extremely proven entity at this point. Head here to give it a listen.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Arrival
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Mignon: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

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260 - Space Jam (with Chris Antista)

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Guest: Chris Antista

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Space Jam, I always wanted you to go into space, jam (intergalactic Chris). Yes, our latest offering is a deep dive into the peak-'90s cinematic monstrosity that is Space Jam. Joining us is special guest, animation expert and host of numerous Laser Time podcast network shows, Chris Antista!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Space Jam
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Chris: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

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259 - The Purge (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

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Calvin's back, everyone! Well, sort of. This episode was recorded over a year ago to coincide with the original release of The Forever Purge. When COVID delayed the movie, this episode got put on a shelf... until now! We walk through every last entry in the The Purge franchise, even the TV series!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The Purge (2013)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 54%

The Purge: Anarchy
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 64%

The Purge: Election Year
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

The First Purge
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

The Purge (2018 TV series)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 35%

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258 - Jackie Chan and Armour of God (with Imran Yusuf)

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Guest: Imran Yusuf

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We're joined by Chan-fan, Imran Yusuf, for a Jackie Chan deep-dive focused on 1986 martial arts classic Armour of God.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Armour of God
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Imran: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

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257 - Rushmore (with Allie Goertz)

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Guest: Allie Goertz

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We're joined by musician, former editor of MAD Magazine and all round quality-comedy-person, Allie Goertz, for a look at one of her favourite non-Simpsons things: 1998 Wes Anderson movie, Rushmore.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Rushmore
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Allie: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

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256 - Pretty Woman (with Dr. Wendy Walsh)

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Guest: Dr. Wendy Walsh

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The ever informative Dr. Wendy Walsh (Mating Matters, Time Magazine Person of the Year 2017) joins us to discuss classic rom-com Pretty Woman (and to psychoanalyse Allen's sex-life).

Is the classic Julia Roberts / Richard Gere pairing a fluffy fairytale dream or an insidious, problematic nightmare? Listen to find out.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Pretty Woman
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

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255 - Casino Royale (2006) (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

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In a heartfelt apology for the hilarious April Fools' prank we pulled last month, here's a sincere, legitimate bit of film analysis focused in on the 2006 version of Casino Royale - the real one, starring Daniel Craig - that you wanted to hear us discuss in the first place.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Casino Royale (2006)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

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254 - Oscars 2021

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It's the fifth annual Diminishing Returns Oscars special, in which Sol and Allen review each of 2021's Best Picture nominees in the order of least to most diverse.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The Father
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 85%

Judas and the Black Messiah
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

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

Minari
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

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

Promising Young Woman
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

Sound of Metal
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

The Trial of the Chicago 7
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

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253 - Mortal Kombat (with Ashley Esqueda)

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Guest: Ashley Esqueda

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With the new Mortal Kombat movie in our sights, Diminishing Returns take a trip back to 1995's cinematic abomination, directed by Sol's arch-enemy, Paul W.S. Anderson.

Joining us for this, as well as a look at 1997's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, is writer, host of Stream Economy and Senior Editor of CNET, Ashley Esqueda!

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Allen: ½
Ashley: ✰
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 17%

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Allen: ½
Ashley: ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 14%

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251 - May Day Special(?): The Wicker Man (with Calvin Dyson)

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Guest: Calvin Dyson

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It's time for our annual Diminishing Returns Easter Special where we take a look at a piece of religious cinema. We let Patreon choose the film we'd cover and they wanted The Wicker Man. We threw in the awkward spiritual sequel The Wicker Tree as well, because we're nice like that. There's even talk of the unmade third Wicker Man movie, The Wrath of the Gods.

Check out our Patreon here!

Films covered in this episode:
The Wicker Man (1973)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

The Wicker Tree
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 27%

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