120 - Little Shop of Horrors (with Daryn Ashcroft)

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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

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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

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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)

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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)

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

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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.

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

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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! 

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113 - Fight Club (with Paul Brear)

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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.

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112 - Mission: Impossible

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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.

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111 - Mamma Mia! (with Judey Bignell)

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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.

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110 - The Man with the Golden Gun

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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.

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109 - Ant-Man

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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.

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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?

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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?.

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107 - The Diminishing Returns 107th Episode Spectacular

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Japanese 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.

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106 - The Incredibles

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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.

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105 - Jurassic Park

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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!

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104 - Review of the Year 2018: Part 1

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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?)

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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

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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?

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