200 - The Bigger Diminishing Returns Quiz (with Calvin Dyson, Gareth Allen, Chris Hunter, Judey Bignell and Emily Slade)

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!

Check out our Patreon here!

Listen on:
iTunes
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Stitcher
PlayerFM

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.

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

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?

Listen on:
iTunes
Android
SoundCloud

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

30 - Review of the Year 2016

Released 26/12/2016

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

It's Boxing Day, and in less than a week, it'll be 2017, so why not get comfy in your favourite chair, help yourself to a nice plate of Christmas leftovers and recover from yesterday's antics with a nice, relaxing Diminishing Returns? Well, we say "relaxing", but this one gets pretty full-on at times as film-Scrooge, Allen Turing, repeatedly butts heads with Calvin and Sol regarding the movie offerings of 2016.

This is a retrospective episode of the show, looking back at the last 29 editions of the podcast, and that essentially means that we cover a whole heap of films listed below (and more).

Films covered in this episode:

Finding Dory
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%

Independence Day: Resurgence
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%

Ghostbusters (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Star Trek Beyond
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

Jason Bourne
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%

Suicide Squad
Allen: ✰ ✰ (revised from original score of ✰ ✰ ✰ ½)
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%

David Brent: Life on the Road
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%

Ben-Hur (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%

Bridget Jones's Baby
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 80%

Ash vs Evil Dead (season 2)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Allen: ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ (rated in subsequent review of the year episode)
Overall score: 37%

Inferno
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%

Doctor Strange
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Moana
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 84%

This episode is a continuation of the following episodes:
"Finding Nemo"
"Independence Day"
"Absolutely Fabulous"
"Ghostbusters II"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
"The Bourne Legacy"
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"
"The Office"
"Ben-Hur"
"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"
"Evil Dead"
"Tim Burton"
"The Da Vinci Code"
"Iron Man"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Frozen"

Some discussion from this episode is continued in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"

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"

24 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Released 14/11/2016 as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2“

This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!

Since making its debut almost 20 years ago, Harry Potter has shoe-horned itself into books, movies, video games, websites, stage-plays and, now, episodes of the Diminishing Returns podcast. With the impending release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the gang take a look at the Potter movie franchise and pitch their own takes on a 9th movie set in the wizarding world.

Films covered in this episode:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 65%

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%

We review Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in:
"Review of the Year 2016"

Allen's review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

We directly continue the discussion of film-scores started in this episode in:
"Pirates of the Caribbean"
and
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"