43 - Ghost in the Shell

Released 27/03/2017

Our love of discussing films where an actor portrays a character of another race culminates here, in an episode focused on Ghost in the Shell, the seminal 1995 anime adaptation of the manga of the same name and, also, the upcoming live-action remake starring Scarlett Johansson.
Is the old film any good? Does the new film look any good? How many puns based on the title can we think of? All of these questions are addressed and more in yet another thrilling installment of Diminishing Returns.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud
Stitcher
PlayerFM

Films covered in this episode:

Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

We review Ghost in the Shell (2017) in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

42 - Power Rangers

Released 20/03/2017

Go, go Diminishing Returns! Power Rangers will soon find new life in the movie of the same name, so we felt it apt to look back to our nostalgia (or lack of, depending on which host you're talking about) for the series, compiled from a re-edited Japanese series, Super Sentai, combined with new footage featuring American 'teens'.
As always, we round things off by pitching our own takes on what the new Power Rangers movie should have looked like.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud
Stitcher
PlayerFM

Films covered in this episode:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

We review Power Rangers (2017) in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

41 - Live-Action Disney Remakes

Released 13/03/2017

Disney's new take on Beauty and the Beast follows hot on the heels of films like The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon, Cinderella, Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland. Is the new trend of Disney remaking all of its animated classics harmless, nostalgia-driven fun or a tragic symptom of the end of cinematic creativity? We explore that as well as aforementioned films, Disney's upcoming slate of (at least) 17 further remakes and our pitches for the remakes that Disney should greenlight next. Oh and, also, does the new Beauty and the Beast look any good?

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud
Stitcher
PlayerFM

Films covered in this episode:

Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%

Maleficent
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%

Cinderella (2015)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

The Jungle Book (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

Alice Through the Looking Glass
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

We review Beauty and the Beast (2017) in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

40 - King Kong

Released 06/03/2017

With Kong: Skull Island upon us, we take a look at the long history of King Kong films, starting with the 1933 original, but also the 1976 and 2005 remakes, Son of Kong, King Kong vs Godzilla, King Kong Lives and, even, some lost Japanese Kong movies.
As always, things are rounded off with pitches for what the next entry in the King Kong franchise should have been.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud
Stitcher
PlayerFM

Films covered in this episode:

King Kong (1933)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 74%

Son of Kong
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

King Kong vs. Godzilla
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

King Kong (1976)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 54%

King Kong (2005)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

We review Kong: Skull Island in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

39 - The Wolverine

Released 27/02/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

Logan is upon us and, so, we take the opportunity for a Wolverine retrospective, looking at X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine and Hugh Jackman's role in the X-Men films to date, including X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse. Also discussed are the future of the franchise - will there be a Deadpool crossover? (Probably not).
And, as always, we round things off with pitches for what the next Wolverine movie should be.

Films covered in this episode:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 50%

The Wolverine
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Episodes in the X-Men series:
"The Wolverine"
"Deadpool"

We review Logan in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

38 - Oscars 2017

Released 20/02/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

The 89th Academy Awards take place in a week, so it seemed like a good time to explore all nine of this year's Oscar Best Picture nominees (Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight).

Also included in this episode:
- discussion and exploration of Oscars (and other film awards like the BAFTAs) in general, including years past
- the hosts predict this year's Oscar winners in various categories
- The 1st Annual Dimmy Awards
- instead of the usual sequel pitches, Oscar-bait pitches
- James Bond and Frasier for some reason

Films covered in this episode:

Arrival
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Fences
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 75%

Hacksaw Ridge
Allen: ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

Hell or High Water
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Hidden Figures
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

La La Land
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

Lion
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%

Manchester By the Sea
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

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

 

The First Annual Dimmy Awards

The Allen Turing Award for Best Vince Vaughn Performance

Awarded to Ellen Degeneres for her performance in Finding Dory

The Calvin Dyson Award for Best James Bond Movie

Awarded to Pierce Brosnan's Instagram account

The Señor Sevens Award for Best 7/10

Awarded to Prevenge

We discuss the outcome of the awards in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

37 - Thunderball

Released 13/02/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

Finally, Diminishing Returns makes its long-awaited return to the James Bond franchise! In this episode, the hosts (Allen Turing, Sol Harris and YouTube's premiere James Bond reviewer: Calvin Dyson) look at the 4th entry in the 007 series, Thunderball, before pitching their own ideas for direct sequels that could have been. Somehow, Frasier manages to sneak back into the mix, too, just like it did in last week's Fifty Shades of Grey episode.

Films covered in this episode:

Thunderball
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

Episodes in the James Bond series:
"Dr. No"
"From Russia with Love"
"Goldfinger"
"Thunderball"
"You Only Live Twice"
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
"Diamonds Are Forever"
"Live and Let Die"
“The Man with the Golden Gun”
“The Spy Who Loved Me”

36 - Fifty Shades of Grey

Released 06/02/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

In which we learn far more than anybody wanted about the show's three hosts and what they choose to do with their bodies. With the impending release of Fifty Shades Darker, the Diminishing Returns gang take a look at Fifty Shades of Grey - the book and the film - and, as usual, pitch their own ideas for the sequel.

As if 50 Shades and the hosts' sex-lives weren't enough, the discussion also repeatedly turns towards Kelsey Grammer for some reason, culminating in a bonus pitch at the end; this time, for an episode of Frasier.

Films covered in this episode:

Fifty Shades of Grey
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ½
Overall score: 24%

Episodes in the Fifty Shades of Grey series:
"Fifty Shades of Grey"
"Fifty Shades Darker"

We review Fifty Shades Darker in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

Cut material from this episode's recording session can be heard in:
"So It's Come to This: A Diminishing Returns Outtakes Show"

35 - The Ring

Released 30/01/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

This week, the Diminishing Returns gang dig up a time-capsule in the form of this episode of the show that was recorded in October 2016 to coincide with the release of the new entry in the The Ring franchise: Rings. When Rings was delayed to 2017, so, too, was this episode which covers every film in the franchise to date, as well as all of the Japanese The Grudge (or as they're known in their native language, Ju-On) movies.

Films covered in this episode:

Ringu
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Rasen
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Ring 2 (1999)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 35%

Ring 0: Birthday
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 30%

Sadako 3D
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

Sadako 2 3D
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

The Ring (2002)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%

The Ring 2 (2005)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%

We review Rings in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in:
"It Follows"

34 - Resident Evil

Released 23/01/2017 as “Resident Evil: Retribution”

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

In one corner, we have Calvin, who loves these films. In the other corner, we have Sol, who considers them to be the worst film-franchise of all time, and Allen, who watched them for the first time in order to record this episode. If you think things got heated when Calvin and Allen went head-to-head over Suicide Squad, you ain't heard nothing yet!
In anticipation(?) of Resident Evil: The FInal Chapter (not to mention the game Resident Evil VII: Biohazard), this episode covers the Resident Evil franchise starting with the eponymous 1996 video game, covering the doomed George A. Romero adaptation that never was and, then, making the usual discussion "pit-stops" at Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil: Afterlife before landing on Resident Evil: Retribution, which gets the usual Diminishing Returns sequel-pitch treatment.

Films covered in this episode:

Resident Evil
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ½
Overall score: 37%

Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ½
Overall score: 37%

Resident Evil: Extinction
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 50%

Resident Evil: Afterlife
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ½
Overall score: 40%

Resident Evil: Retribution
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 30%

We review Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

33 - M. Night Shyamalan season: The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan season:
Part 1: "Unbreakable"
Part 2: "The Village"
Part 3: "The Happening"

Released 16/01/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

The third part of any trilogy is almost always the weakest, but in this, the conclusion of the Diminishing Returns M. Night Shyamalan season, we continue to buck trends with, quite possibly, the strongest episode in the series - well, it's because it's more fun to complain about bad films than praise the good ones, isn't it?

Though the focus of this episode and its sequel pitches are on The Happening, it also covers The Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender, Devil, After Earth, The Visit and the upcoming Split.

Films covered in this episode:

The Lady in the Water
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

The Happening
Allen: ½
Calvin: ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 17%

The Last Airbender
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 27%

Devil
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%

After Earth
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%

The Visit
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Episodes covering the work of M. Night Shyamalan:
"M. Night Shyamalan season: Unbreakable"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Village"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Happening"

We review Split in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

Allen's review of Split

Cut material from this episode's recording session can be heard in:
"So It's Come to This: A Diminishing Returns Outtakes Show"

32 - M. Night Shyamalan season: The Village

M. Night Shyamalan season:
Part 1: "Unbreakable"
Part 2: "The Village"
Part 3: "The Happening"

Released 09/01/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

In anticipation of the master(?) of suspense's upcoming film, Split, M. Night Shyamalan season continues with a look at Signs and The Village, the latter of which also gets the Diminishing Returns sequel-pitch treatment.

Films covered in this episode:

Signs
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

The Village
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Episodes covering the work of M. Night Shyamalan:
"M. Night Shyamalan season: Unbreakable"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Village"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Happening"

We review Split in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

Allen's review of Split

31 - M. Night Shyamalan season: Unbreakable

M. Night Shyamalan season:
Part 1: "Unbreakable"
Part 2: "The Village"
Part 3: "The Happening"

Released 02/01/2017

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

Diminishing Returns bring you an episode on M. Night Shyamalan! Yes, in anticipation of the director/writer/sort-of-actor-but-not-really's upcoming film: Split, Diminishing Returns brings you M. Night Shyamalan season. Over the next three weeks, Diminishing Returns shall chronicle the meteoric rise and fall of the career of the infamous film-maker. In this, part 1, we look at M. Night's early work, making pit-stops at Praying with Anger, Wide Awake and The Sixth Sense before diving into Sol's favourite entry in the man's filmography: Unbreakable, a film in which Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson deconstructed the superhero genre before it had been constructed.
And, as usual, the gang top things off by pitching their own ideas for sequels.

Films covered in this episode:

Praying with Anger
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 60%

Wide Awake
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 55%

The Sixth Sense
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

Stuart Little
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 50%

Unbreakable
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 84%

Episodes covering the work of M. Night Shyamalan:
"M. Night Shyamalan season: Unbreakable"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Village"
"M. Night Shyamalan season: The Happening"

We review Split in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

Allen's review of Split

Cut material from this episode's recording session can be heard in:
"So It's Come to This: A Diminishing Returns Outtakes Show"