Diminishing Returns
312 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsThe podcast where film-fans, Sol Harris and Allen Turing, take a guest on a journey to Development Hell to discuss a film, then pitch their ideas for the sequel.
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Episodes
153 - Aladdin (with Howard Jenkins)
May 05, 2019 22:55 - 1 hour - 63 MBDisney have done that thing that they keep doing where they remake their old films. This time, they're messing around with Aladdin. Hear talk of the animation process, shifting political standards, Robin Williams and the introduction of an instant classic new Diminishing Returns comedy character...
152 - Pokemon (with Calvin Dyson)
April 29, 2019 00:19 - 1 hour - 72.9 MBDiminishing Returns go back to the video game well for a discussion of the Pokemon franchise in the run-up to Detective Pikachu. For those not in the know, Calvin is almost as into Pokemon as he's into James Bond.
151 - Avengers: Infinity War (with Howard Jenkins)
April 21, 2019 22:55 - 50 minutes - 39.2 MBIt had to be done. With the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame, the biggest cinematic event since Infinity War, Diminishing Returns take a look at the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And this time, Sol's enlisted a ringer.
150 - Easter Special: Left Behind (with Calvin Dyson)
April 14, 2019 22:55 - 47 minutes - 35.9 MBDiminishing Returns go back to the meaty well of Christianity to celebrate Easter 2019. Last time, it was God's Not Dead. This time, it's Left Behind.
149 - Hellboy (with Scott Chambers)
April 07, 2019 22:55 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBWe've done a surprising amount of Guillermo Del Toro's work on the podcast at this point - or, at least we have, now, as we add another two of his films to our list: Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Why? Because they're doing another Hellboy movie, aren't they? Yes - and guest host Scott was there, on set!
148 - Pet Sematary
March 31, 2019 23:27 - 1 hour - 50.4 MBWe don't want to be buried in a pet cemetery, but we'll cover the Pet Sematary movies in the run-up to the new adaptation of Stephen King's book. Sure!
147 - Dumbo (with Calvin Dyson)
March 25, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 46.4 MBThis week has everything from deep explorations of race politics, dubious accusations of animal cruelty against Thomas Eddison, a quiz game and, of course, discussion of Dumbo... Disney's beloved classic film and the upcoming Tim Burton remake.
146 - The Truman Show (with Judey Bignell)
March 18, 2019 00:49 - 53 minutes - 39.2 MBThis week, we turn to beloved classic Jim Carrey vehicle The Truman Show.
145 - For Your Eyes Only (with Calvin Dyson)
March 10, 2019 21:42 - 54 minutes - 39.9 MBFor your ears only (not really, it's for anyone who wants to listen, sorry)... but that shouldn't matter because it's Diminishing Returns returning to James Bond once more.
144 - The Incredible Hulk
March 04, 2019 00:51 - 1 hour - 51 MBWith yet another entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe upon us in the form of Captain Marvel, here's a look back to the second film in the franchise: The Incredible Hulk. We also take a look at the 1978 TV series, its spin-off movies and Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk.
143 - All Diminishing, All Returns (with Calvin Dyson)
February 24, 2019 23:55 - 56 minutes - 42.9 MBHere, for you, are a selection of never-heard-before (and very old) clips from Allen's cutting-room floor. Hear cut discussion from episodes like Psycho, Alien and others, as well as the story about when Sol and Allen were going to get a pet chimp when they lived together and yet more cut material from that huge quiz episode we did to celebrate our episode-count turning 100.
142 - Oscars 2019 (with Calvin Dyson)
February 17, 2019 23:55 - 2 hours - 131 MBIt's the third annual Oscars blowout at Diminishing Returns, taking aim at all of this year's Best Picture nominees: Black Panther BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Roma A Star is Born Vice ...and a few other films that sneak into the discussion along the way.
141 - Fifty Shades Freed (with Calvin Dyson)
February 10, 2019 21:58 - 1 hour - 53.6 MBThe Diminishing Returns' annual Valentine's Day special sees out the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy with a look at Fifty Shades Freed. As ever, it's more of an excuse to talk about sex than a real celebration of (very bad) cinema.
140 - Kevin Smith Season III (with Scott Chambers)
February 04, 2019 01:05 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBMuch like the latter end of Kevin Smith's career, Kevin Smith Season trundles along to a whimpering finale with a look at Red State, Tusk, Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, Yoga Hosers and the many, many Kevin Smith projects that have been announced and will probably never happen.
139 - Kevin Smith Season II
January 27, 2019 22:05 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBKevin Smith continues with a look at the awkward Hollywood years... Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Cop Out.
138 - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Smith): Kevin Smith Season (with Paul Brear)
January 20, 2019 19:16 - 2 hours - 94.6 MBHow do you follow up a season of episodes looking at a filmmaker as innovative and revered as Quentin Tarantino? By not even trying and just looking at the works of Kevin Smith, instead. In this, part 1 of Kevin Smith season, Diminishing Returns is joined by friend-of-the-show Paul Brear to discuss Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
137 - Split (with Calvin Dyson)
January 14, 2019 01:41 - 46 minutes - 34.2 MBThe twist is that M. Night Shyamalan Season wasn't over - that's right, we return to the infamous writer/director's work with a look at Split in anticipation of the upcoming film Glass. For obvious reasons, we take another big look at Unbreakable, too. Also, spoiler alert for Split and some other past M. Night movies.
136 - Laurel & Hardy and Way Out West (with Calvin Dyson)
January 06, 2019 23:55 - 59 minutes - 43.9 MBIn anticipation of upcoming John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan awards grab, Stan and Ollie, Diminishing Returns indulge Calvin's love of Laurel & Hardy by looking at their careers, a couple of their shorts and their best known feature: Way Out West. Did I say in anticipation of Stan and Ollie? That's not quite accurate because Sol's already seen it. So that film gets reviewed as well.
135 - Review of the Year 2018: Part 2 (with Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell and Chris Hunter)
December 30, 2018 23:55 - 3 hours - 136 MBIt's that time, again! Diminishing Returns present their biggest episode ever: a solid three-hours looking back at the releases of 2018 covered on the show and more... In the interest of Google metrics, that's: - Deadpool 2 - Solo: A Star Wars Story - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Incredibles 2 - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - Mission: Impossible - Fallout - The Nun - The Predator - Johnny English Strikes Again - Halloween (2018) - Suspiria (2018) - The Grinch - Fanta...
134 - Christmas Special: Die Hard (with Calvin Dyson)
December 24, 2018 03:23 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBWe've teased you about it for three years, but we've finally done Die Hard. Merry Christmas!
133 - Mary Poppins (with Calvin Dyson)
December 16, 2018 23:22 - 1 hour - 61 MBG'day Marybawbin!. When yor w' Bert, you'wll 'ave a jawlyawliday ev'ryday 'ere at Diminishing Ret'rns - made in real, propa authentic London itis! Thos wek, the gang's ol' doin' a jawly chimchimmernycheroo of a time lookin' at ole Mary wi' moi! Lorra lorra.
132 - Justice League (with Chris Hammond)
December 09, 2018 23:55 - 1 hour - 65.3 MBThis week, Diminishing Returns collides with the Spoilt Milk Movie Podcast as guest Chris Hammond joins Allen and Sol to discuss DC's best attempt at an answer to The Avengers: Justice League. There's talk of the DC universe in general seeing as Aquaman is out soon.
131 - Moonraker (with Calvin Dyson)
December 02, 2018 23:45 - 1 hour - 53.4 MBWhat? More Bond? Already? Yes! Lucky you! More Bond. James Bond. In spaaaace!
130 - Rocky: Part II (with Judey Bignell)
November 25, 2018 23:55 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBIf last week was Rock-A, then this week is Rock-B, covering the remaining films in the Rocky franchise (Balboa and Creed) ahead of the release of Creed II.
129 - Rocky (with Judey Bignell)
November 19, 2018 12:52 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBThis week, it's the original Rocky series; that is Rocky through to Rocky V (which was originally intended as the conclusion to the series). Come back next week for Creed Balboa and Creed, but in the meantime, enjoy some chat about classic '70s drama, Mr. T and inexplicable robots.
128 - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (with Chris Hunter)
November 12, 2018 00:01 - 58 minutes - 43.2 MBThis week, we return to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to give the film a proper, in-depth look. Do the same opinions hold or will Chris Hunter's love of Potter be enough to sway Allen and stop him from hating everything like he usually does?
127 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (with Howard Jenkins)
November 04, 2018 23:55 - 1 hour - 43.9 MBThere's a show about films, many people have learned, Where they shit on the films; it's called Diminishing Returns. They shit with their mouths, they shit with their splanuses, They shit with their writing, everything but their anuses. This week, the gang gather to shit with their ghrishmas, All over the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
126 - Podcast of Horror III: Re-Animator (with Calvin Dyson)
October 28, 2018 23:55 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBIn the culmination of this run of horror-film-focused episodes, Diminishing Returns brings you one covering classic Lovecraftian zombedy Re-Animator and its two sequels: Bride of Re-Animator and Beyond Re-Animator. Oh, and there's Calvin and a music quiz.
125 - Suspiria (with Sophie Harris and David Denyer)
October 21, 2018 22:55 - 53 minutes - 39.7 MBThis week, we're joined by Sophie Harris and David Denyer to discuss seminal giallo classic Suspiria, the little-known sequels that form The Three Mothers Trilogy (Inferno and Mother of Tears), the upcoming 2018 Suspiria remake and their respective soundtracks. Is Dario Argento a genius? Is he a hack? Or is he a hack on purpose to the point that it equates to being a genius? Listen and decide!
124 - Halloween II (with Scott Chambers)
October 14, 2018 21:53 - 1 hour - 67.4 MBWhat's that you say? We've already done Halloween? Yes, but back then, Calvin was the only one who'd seen all of the sequels. In this episode, Sol and Allen have endured the lot of them so that you can enjoy a real blow-by-blow account of each of Michael Myers' antics. That's right, covered in this episode are: Halloween II Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers Halloween 5 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection
123 - The Spy Who Loved Me (with Calvin Dyson)
October 07, 2018 22:55 - 51 minutes - 37.5 MBThat Johnny English episode last week was just to whet your appetites for our next Bond episode - and this time we're doing one of the most beloved films in the entire series. Will this be the one to finally win Sol and Allen over? Don't hold your breath...
122 - Johnny English (with Calvin Dyson)
September 30, 2018 21:24 - 1 hour - 47.4 MBTo coincide with the release of the third installment in a franchise that nobody asked for, we bring you the 122nd installment of a podcast that nobody asked for! That's right, this week, James Bond super-fan, Calvin Dyson, is back to discuss nobody's favourite spy-spoof series, Johnny English!
121 - American Beauty (with Judey Bignell)
September 23, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 47.7 MBA listener requested an American Beauty episode and we responded with an American Beauty episode. If you'd like to request a film for us to cover in the future, then head over to iTunes and leave us a review mentioning what film you want us to look at and we might just do it.
120 - Little Shop of Horrors (with Daryn Ashcroft)
September 16, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 71.5 MBRemember when we did Mamma Mia!? It was so awful that we had to do a good musical to make up for it. That's where Little Shop of Horrors comes in, with a brief look at the original 1960 film and the 1986 musical remake. This week, Sol and Allen are joined by Daryn Ashcroft from Films Remembered Badly and there's a music quiz where the gang have to identify what movies various musicals are based on thrown in for good measure. Did you guys know that there's a musical adaptation of Catch Me If ...
119 - Predator
September 09, 2018 22:55 - 46 minutes - 33.9 MBYou know what pre-dates those Alien vs. Predator films that we've already covered? Pre-dator. Also, the second one, but not the third one. We cover all three, this week in anticipation of Shane Black's upcoming The Predator.
118 - The Conjuring
September 02, 2018 23:46 - 47 minutes - 34.4 MBDiminishing Returns is haunting your ears with this look at both Conjuring movies in anticipation of the release of The Nun. Annabelle gets a quick mention, too. It's not even Halloween yet but shit's getting spooky.
117 - Beverly Hills Cop (with Gareth Allen)
August 26, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 45.5 MBDoo doo doo do do doo doo, doo doo doo doo do do doo, doo doo doo do doo doo do doo doo. This week is the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy and Allen's brother has popped in to join us along with Eddie Murphy Bond.
116 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 3 (with Calvin Dyson)
August 19, 2018 22:45 - 1 hour - 73.7 MBQuentin Tarantino Season closes out with a bang. The OG Diminishing Returns gang reunite to look at Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, as well as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek movie.
115 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 2 (with Conor Murray)
August 12, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 81.2 MBQuentin 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.
114 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 1 (with Dan Straw)
August 05, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBDiminishing Returns kicks off Quentin Tarantino Season with this episode looking at Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and everything in between!
113 - Fight Club (with Paul Brear)
July 29, 2018 22:55 - 1 hour - 49.3 MBThe 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.
112 - Mission: Impossible
July 23, 2018 00:10 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBStunts! 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.
111 - Mamma Mia! (with Judey Bignell)
July 15, 2018 23:05 - 1 hour - 72.4 MBDiminishing 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.
110 - The Man with the Golden Gun
July 09, 2018 06:44 - 1 hour - 45.2 MBThe 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.
109 - Ant-Man
July 01, 2018 23:00 - 1 hour - 45 MBIt'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.
108 - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
June 25, 2018 00:16 - 54 minutes - 41.3 MBIn 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?.
107 - The Diminishing Returns 107th Episode Spectacular
June 17, 2018 23:48 - 1 hour - 166 MBJapanese Bond makes a triumphant return with a selection of never-before heard material from the Diminishing Returns archive. Topics include Spider-Man, Planet of the Apes, The Shallows, Beavis and Butt-Head, It, Child's Play, The Blair Witch Project and, of course, James Bond.
106 - The Incredibles
June 10, 2018 23:17 - 58 minutes - 44.7 MBThe Diminishing Returns team go back to Pixar to look at The Incredibles in preparation for the long awaited sequel, out this week.
105 - Jurassic Park
June 03, 2018 22:00 - 1 hour - 247 MBIt'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 an embarassment? Is Jurassic World actually a comedy? All this and more on Diminishing Returns!
104 - Review of the Year 2018: Part 1
May 27, 2018 16:04 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBIt'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?)