135 - Review of the Year 2018: Part 2 (with Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell and Chris Hunter)

Guests: Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell and Chris Hunter

Films covered in this episode:

Deadpool 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

Incredibles 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

Ant-Man and the Wasp
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Allen: ✰ ✰
Judey: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%

Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

The Nun
Allen: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%

The Predator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%

Johnny English Strikes Again
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 57%

Halloween (2018)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Suspiria (2018)
Allen: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

The Grinch
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Chris: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 54%

Creed II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

Aquaman
Allen: ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 44%

It'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...

Sol and Allen are joined by Calvin Dyson, Judey Bignell and Chris Hunter to ring in the new year (or, to put it more accurately, ring out the old one). Also, there's a music quiz. All in all, it's bloody good listening.

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134 - Christmas Special: Die Hard (with Calvin Dyson)

We've teased you about it for three years, but we've finally done Die Hard. Merry Christmas!

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Films covered in this episode:

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Die Hard
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%

133 - Mary Poppins (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Mary Poppins
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

G'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.

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132 - Justice League (with Chris Hammond)

Guest: Chris Hammond

Films covered in this episode:

Justice League
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Chris: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

This 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.

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Episodes in the DC Cinematic Universe series:
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"
"Suicide Squad"
"Wonder Woman"
”Justice League”

We also spoke about Justice League in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 2"

131 - Moonraker (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

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

What? More Bond? Already? Yes! Lucky you! More Bond. James Bond. In spaaaace!

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130 - Rocky: Part II (with Judey Bignell)

Guest: Judey Bignell

Films covered in this episode:

Rocky Balboa
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%

Grudge Match
Allen: n/s
Judey: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

Creed
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

If 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.

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129 - Rocky (with Judey Bignell)

Guest: Judey Bignell

Films covered in this episode:

Rocky
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

Rocky II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

Rocky III
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%

Rocky IV
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 54%

Rocky V
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Judey: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

This 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 Balboa and Creed, but in the meantime, enjoy some chat about classic '70s drama, Mr. T and inexplicable robots.

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128 - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (with Chris Hunter)

Guest: Chris Hunter

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Chris: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

This 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?

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Episodes in the Harry Potter series:
”Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
”Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

127 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (with Howard Jenkins)

Guest: Howard Jenkins

Films covered in this episode:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Howard: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Howard: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

There'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.

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126 - Podcast of Horror III: Re-Animator (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%

Bride of Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 57%

Beyond Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%

In 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. Oh, and there's Calvin and a music quiz.

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125 - Suspiria (with Sophie Harris and David Denyer)

Guests: Sophie Harris and David Denyer

Films covered in this episode:

Suspiria
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
David: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Sophie: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%

Inferno (1980)
Allen: ✰
David: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Sophie: n/a
Overall score: 35%

Mother of Tears
Allen: ½
David: n/a
Sol: ✰
Sophie: n/a
Overall score: 15%

This 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!

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124 - Halloween II (with Scott Chambers)

Guest: Scott Chambers

Films covered in this episode:

Halloween II (1981)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Scott: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Scott: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 43%

Halloween 5
Allen: ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Scott: ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 28%

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Allen: ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Scott: ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 18%

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Allen: ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Scott: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 50%

Halloween: Resurrection
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Scott: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 38%

What'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.

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Episodes in the Halloween series:
”Halloween”
”Halloween II”

123 - The Spy Who Loved Me (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

The Spy Who Loved Me
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%

That 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...

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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”

122 - Johnny English (with Calvin Dyson)

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Johnny English
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Johnny English Reborn
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

To 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!

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Special Extended Cut

As Allen says at the end of this episode, as a special treat for you guys, we’re making the full-length, unedited version of the episode available for your listening pleasure here. Enjoy:

121 - American Beauty (with Judey Bignell)

Guest: Judey Bignell

Films covered in this episode:

American Beauty
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Judey: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 90%

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

A 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.

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120 - Little Shop of Horrors (with Daryn Ashcroft)

Guest: Daryn Ashcroft

Films covered in this episode:

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Daryn: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Daryn: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%

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

Remember 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 You Can?

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119 - Predator

Predator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

Predator 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

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

You 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.

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Episodes in the Predator series:
”Alien season: The Alien vs. Predator Duology”
"Predator"

118 - The Conjuring

Films covered in this episode:

The Conjuring
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

The Conjuring 2
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

Diminishing 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.

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117 - Beverly Hills Cop (with Gareth Allen)

Guest: Gareth Allen

Films covered in this episode:

Beverly Hills Cop
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

Beverly Hills Cop II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%

Beverly Hills Cop III
Allen: ✰
Gareth: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 30%

Doo 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.

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116 - Quentin Tarantino Season: Vol. 3 (with Calvin Dyson)

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

Guest: Calvin Dyson

Films covered in this episode:

Inglourious Basterds
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%

Django Unchained
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

The Hateful Eight
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%

Quentin 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.

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