115 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 2 (with Conor Murray)

Quentin Tarantino Season:
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Vol. 3

Guest: Conor Murray

Films covered in this episode:

Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Conor: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 74%

Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Conor: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Grindhouse
Allen: n/s
Conor: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Planet Terror
Allen: n/s
Conor: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Death Proof
Allen: ✰
Conor: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%

Quentin Tarantino Season continues with Volume 2 - although, this is a legitimately new volume. We didn't just record one really long podcast, chop it in half and then release it as two separate episodes. This week, we look at Kill Bill and Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof) as well as exploring Tarantino's relationship with music and feet.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR114 copy.png

114 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 1 (with Dan Straw)

Quentin Tarantino Season:
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Vol. 3

Guest: Dan Straw

Films covered in this episode:

Reservoir Dogs
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Dan: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

True Romance
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Dan: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

Pulp Fiction
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Dan: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%

Natural Born Killers
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Dan: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 60%

Four Rooms
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Dan: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 45%

From Dusk Till Dawn
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Dan: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%

Jackie Brown
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Dan: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%

Diminishing Returns kicks off Quentin Tarantino Season with this episode looking at Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and everything in between! 

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR114 copy.png

113 - Fight Club (with Paul Brear)

Guest: Paul Brear

Films covered in this episode:

Fight Club
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%

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

The nth rule of Fight Club is everyone must make hacky parodies of the "rules of Fight Club" scene from Fight Club. And this week, Diminishing Returns is no exception, as they take on the retro-evaluated classic.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR112 copy.png

112 - Mission: Impossible

Films covered in this episode:

Mission: Impossible
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

Mission: Impossible II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 45%

Mission: Impossible III
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%

Stunts! Action! Crazy action stunts! This week, Diminishing Returns take on one of the most surprisingly resilient action movie franchises out there. It's rival to the James Bond series, Mission: Impossible.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR112 copy.png

111 - Mamma Mia! (with Judey Bignell)

Guest: Judey Bignell

Films covered in this episode:

Mamma Mia!
Allen: ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%

Diminishing Returns ventures into uncharted waters in its first episode since the loss of Calvin. In his place, this week, is Judey Bignell and the one-third-new trio explore 2008's inexplicable smash hit Mammia Mia! With Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! soon upon us, Calvin felt we had to cover the jukebox musical behemoth, then he buggered off so that he wouldn't have to sit through it.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR111 copy.png

110 - The Man with the Golden Gun

Films covered in this episode:

The Man with the Golden Gun
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 57%

The Diminishing Returns team continue their Bond journey by going nipple to nipple with Christopher Lee as Scaramanga and asking why Roger Moore is making James Bond such a nasty piece of work.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR14 James Bond.png

109 - Ant-Man

It's Marvel time again! This week, the boys take on one of the lesser-seen MCU outings, Ant-Man, in anticipation of Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR21 Marvel.png

Films covered in this episode:

Ant-Man
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

 

 

 

 

Episodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series:
"
Iron Man"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Spider-Man"
"
Thor"
"
Captain America: The First Avenger
"The Avengers"
"Ant-Man"

108 - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Films covered in this episode:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

In which Calvin trades in #calvinssharks for hagsploitation and the Diminishing Returns trio take a look at the classic Psycho knock-off What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR107 copy.png

106 - The Incredibles

The Diminishing Returns team go back to Pixar to look at The Incredibles in preparation for the long awaited sequel, out this week.

Films covered in this episode:

The Incredibles
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

 

The Diminishing Returns team take a second trip into Pixar territory as we look at The Incredibles and speculate what might turn up in its long awaited sequel.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR25 Disney.png

105 - Jurassic Park

Films covered in this episode:

Jurassic Park
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 94%

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%

Jurassic Park III
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 64%

Jurassic World
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

It's a T. Rex-sized episode, this week, as we cover Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World. Is Jurassic Park a masterpiece? Is The Lost World, much like the Frankenstinnian dinosaurs it's about, an afront to nature? Is Jurassic World actually a comedy? All this and more on Diminishing Returns!

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR105 copy.png

104 - Review of the Year 2018: Part 1

Films covered in this episode:

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: n/a
Sol: n/a
Overall score: 30%

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

Black Panther
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Tomb Raider
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: n/a
Sol: n/a
Overall score: 30%

Pacific Rim: Uprising
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%

Deep Blue Sea 2
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰
Sol: n/a
Overall score: 30%

Avengers: Infinity War
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

It's time to have our big Avengers: Infinity War discussion! (Oh, and all those other films... uh The Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Fifty Shades Freed, Black Panther, Tomb Raider, Pacific Rim: Uprising... but we all know you're here for The Avengers, right?)

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

concept2.png

This episode is a continuation of the following episodes:
"
The Maze Runner"
"
Sunshine"
"
Captain America: The First Avenger"
"
Oscars 2018"
"
Tomb Raider"
"
Pacific Rim"
"
Deep Blue Sea"
"
The Avengers"

Review of the Year episodes:
"Review of the Year 2016"
"
Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 2"
"Review of the Year 2018: Part 1"

103 - Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Films covered in this episode:

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 27%

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 44%

That's right, it's Star Wars time yet again. Now that Disney have committed to pumping out one of these things every single year, we're having to mine the bottom of the Star Wars barrel for films to cover. Case in point: this week, to tie in with Solo: A Star Wars Story, we bring you The Ewoks Adventure. We cover both Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. That leaves three Star Wars movies and then we've covered all of them. And that'll be the end of it forever, right?

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR28 Star Wars.png

Episodes in the Star Wars series:
"The Star Wars Trilogy"
"The Prequel Trilogy"
"Rogue One"
"The Force Awakens"
"Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure"

99 - The Avengers

Films covered in this episode:

The Avengers
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%

Avengers: Age of Ultron
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 64%

We've covered Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, the Captain America trilogy, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy volumes 1 and 2. Time to bring it all together in this delightful team-up episode.

(Yeah, we know. We've still got The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and 3, Ant-Man and Black Panther to deal with. That's phase 2).

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR21 Marvel.png

Episodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series:
"
Iron Man"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Spider-Man"
"
Thor"
"
Captain America: The First Avenger"
"The Avengers"
"Ant-Man"

We review Avengers: Infinity War in:
"
Review of the Year 2018: Part 1"

98 - Live and Let Die

Films covered in this episode:

Live and Let Die
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

It's Bond. You know the drill.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR14 James Bond.png

96 - Kung Fu Hustle

Films covered in this episode:

Kung Fu Hustle
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 84%

This week, Diminishing Returns take on the cult / mainstream (depending on what country you're in) martial arts comedy Kung Fu Hustle. Also, there's a good amount of Nicolas Cage in this one for some reason.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

DR096 copy.png