The podcast where film-fans Allen Turing and Sol Harris take a weekly journey to Development Hell to discuss a film, then pitch their ideas for the sequel.
Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
The World Is Not Enough
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%
We're whizzing through the James Bond franchise because what else is there to do in 2020 but watch old movies? This time, it's The World Is Not Enough. Is this finally the film to win over Sol and Allen? Obviously not, but it's a funny journey, we promise.
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Guest: Gareth Allen
Films covered in this episode:
The Dark Knight Rises
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 53%
Interstellar
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%
Dunkirk
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 73%
Christopher Nolan Season comes to a thrilling and much-better-thought-through conclusion than The Dark Knight Rises with this: "The Christopher Nolan Season Rises", a look at the third Nolan Batman movie, Interstellar and an in-depth look at Dunkirk (following us touching on it in our 2018 Oscars episode, where we covered all of the Best Picture nominees).
Gareth Allen joins us to lend a third voice among the split opinions that dominate this episode.
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Guest: Emily Slade
Films covered in this episode:
The Prestige
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%
The Dark Knight
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 88%
Inception
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 90%
Diminishing Returns continue their exploration of Christopher Nolan's filmography with the help of Emily Slade, on hand to guide them through The Prestige, The Dark Knight and Inception.
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Guest: Paul Brear
Films covered in this episode:
Following
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%
Memento.
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 90%
Insomnia (1997)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Brear: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
Insomnia (2000)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%
Batman Begins
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 78%
Our hotly anticipated Christopher Nolan Season launches with a look at the first third of his career, comprising of Following, Memento., Insomnia and Batman Begins.
Paul Brear joins us for a discussion that also spans the chronological cut of Memento. and the original, 1997 version of Insomnia, of which Nolan's film was a remake.
Listen, then come back next week for The Prestige, The Dark Knight and Inception!
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Guests: Calvin Dyson and Emily Slade
Films covered in this episode:
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 63%
It's Diminishing Returns' second live show! Presented here for those of you who couldn't join us on the night (and those of you who'd like to listen again).
We needed to fill a week in the schedule at the last minute, so we thought we'd cover the new Netflix release Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Calvin and Emily join us to defend, while Allen regales with tales of his time spent on the movie's set.
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Films (and TV) covered in this episode:
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%
Bruno
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%
Continuing our two-week discussion of Sacha Baron Cohen, we pick up from the failure of Ali G Indahouse to discuss the relative success of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan followed by Bruno and a little epilogue touching on Who Is America?.
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Films (and TV) covered in this episode:
Da Ali G Show
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%
Ali G Indahouse
Allen: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 45%
Ali G in da USAiii
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 100%
The Dictator
Allen: ½
Sol: ½
Overall score: 20%
Grimsby
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%
What started as a throwaway joke: Sacha Baron Cohen Season - posed in one of our Patreon-exclusive Diminisodes - springs into bizarre reality (but not particularly bizarre by 2020 standards). This week, we're covering Ali G from his origins on The 11 O'Clock Show, through Da Ali G Show, Ali G Indahouse and culminating in Ali G in da USAiii. We're also covering The Dictator and Grimsby so that we don't have to worry about them next week, when we do Borat, Bruno and Who Is America?.
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The Microsoft Paint picture Sol created as a response to The Dictator, as promised in this week’s episode.
Guest: Grace Miller
Films covered in this episode:
Train to Busan
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Grace: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Seoul Station
Allen: n/s
Grace: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Diminishing Returns takes a much-needed trip back into zombie territory to coincide with the upcoming (South Korean) release of Peninsula, the sequel to Train to Busan. Sol and Allen are re-joined by Grace Miller and they take a little look at animated prequel Seoul Station, too.
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Guest: Nicky Diss
Films covered in this episode:
Hamlet (1996)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Nicky: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%
It's another Patreon vote episode... sort of. This week, we asked our Patrons to give us suggestions for an episode and then we held an internal Diminishing Returns vote to select a victor. Our choice was Tom Patten's suggestion to cover the 1996 Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet, so that we could get into a hot-take debate regarding literature. William Shakespeare: good or rubbish? Joining us, this week, is theatre (and, you know, Shakespeare) director, Nicky Diss!
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Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
Tomorrow Never Dies
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%
Back on Bond! Calvin is determined to get us through the Brosnan era ahead of No Time to Die's release in November. This is our second step towards that goal, looking at Pierce's second time playing James: Tomorrow Never Dies! Listen for discussion of a wealth of name-actors and even No Time to Die's potential for a Best Picture nomination at the coming Academy Awards.
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Films covered in this episode:
Taxi Driver
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%
A rare non-franchise turn for Diminishing Returns - and our first real Martin Scorsese episode: a look at Taxi Driver, complete with Robert De Niro's (madness in the) method and how we'd react if taken to a porno theatre on a date.
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Guests: Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell, Daryn Ashcroft, Scott Chambers and Chris Hammond
You know the drill with these outtakes episodes by now: we needed a week off so we're releasing a load of never-before-heard material (unless you're one of our Patreon subscribers, in which case, you've had access to this episode for almost a year, now).
This is all stuff cut from previous episodes for the sake of time or because it went too far off on a tangent. But it still makes for good listening, so hear we are.
Guests this week, include Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell, Daryn Ashcroft, Scott Chambers, Chris Hammond and Karl Pilkington.
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Guest: Gareth Allen
Films covered in this episode:
Starship Troopers
Allen: ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Allen: ✰ ½
Gareth: n/s
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 25%
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Allen: ✰ ✰
Gareth: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%
Starship Troopers: Invasion
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 37%
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%
After last week's live antics, we're going back to basics with a conventional Diminishing Returns episode looking at Starship Troopers and its many sequels.
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Guests: Calvin Dyson and Emily Slade
Film scores updated in this episode:
American Beauty
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 88%
Fight Club
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Brear: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Daryn: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 88%
Shaun of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%
This Is England
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%
A special live episode of the podcast, originally broadcast exclusively to Patreon subscribers on the 28th of April, 2020! (Please forgive the shaky audio quality - we're normally much better than this, but we're also not normally live).
That's right, this whole corona virus lockdown pushed us to hold a special video stream event: a live episode of the podcast. Hopefully the first of many.
Listen to this - the edited audio version - or head over to our official YouTube page to watch the (mostly) unedited video version (there’s also an embed on this very page).
This episode features Sol, Allen and Calvin as well as Emily Slade from Why This Film? podcast, who was kind enough to compere the event for us. There's a James Bond quiz, Calvin is invited to add his own ratings to the films he missed in the currently in the Diminishing Returns top 10 list, the gang take various audience questions and more.
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Guest: Emily Slade
Films covered in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Allen: ✰ ½
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%
Our epic trilogy comes to its conclusion with this: The Returns of the Diminishings (our third episode covering The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, this time, looking specifically at The Return of the King). Emily Slade is this week's Lord of the Ringer, ushered in to defend the franchise against haters, Allen and Sol.
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Guest: Grace Miller
Films covered in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Grace: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%
The trilogy of episodes covering The Lord of the Rings enters the exciting middle part as we turn our heads to The Two Towers, with the help of Grace Miller.
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Guest: Sean Morrison
Films covered in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sean: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%
Corona virus has demolished the slate of movie releases we had episodes planned to tie into, so we scrambled for something else to do and asked Patreon which trilogy they'd like us to cover out of the ones we haven't done yet. The Lord of the Rings was the overwhelming winner, so here we are: the first of three episodes covering the first of three movies (no one mention The Hobbit).
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Guests: Thomas Turgoose and Andrew Ellis
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It’s a very special week at Diminishing Returns as we welcome the hosts of Overrated Everything podcast for a crossover! Did we mention that the hosts of Overrated Everything are Thomas Turgoose and Andrew Ellis who played Shaun and Gadet in This Is England? We probably should have done, because that's the film we're covering this week... We're also looking at the three miniseries follow-ups This Is England '86, '88 and '90 and, as always, chatting about the possibility of another sequel…
Films (and TV) covered in this episode:
This Is England
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 100%
Note: score was subsequently revised when Calvin added his rating in our first live episode
This Is England ‘86
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 90%
This Is England ‘88
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%
This Is England ‘90
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%
Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
Life of Brian
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%
It's time, once more, for the annual Diminishing Returns Easter Special, in which things get a little bit religious... well, I mean, as much as you'd expect when covering Monty Python's Life of Brian.
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Guests: Calvin Dyson, Gareth Allen, Chris Hunter, Judey Bignell and Emily Slade
To mark the show's 200th episode, we're putting on another big Diminishing Returns quiz! This time, Gareth steps in as Quiz Master, to emcee the proceedings and the gang are quizzed by past guests from Judey Bignell to Chris Hunter to Emily Slade. Even music-meister Tomo Fallows gets in on the action.
Here's to the next 200!
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