285 - Review of the Year 2022
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Back so soon? It's review of the year time -- but with a twist!
274 - Review of the Year 2021: Part II (with Calvin Dyson)
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Seeing out the year in style – and only a month later than everyone else did. By the way, we've heard some of you like James Bond. Listen for our (and guest Calvin Dyson's) thoughts on No Time to Die, along with a whole load of other 2021 films.
Films covered in this episode:
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%
Candyman (2021)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%
The Matrix: Resurrections
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
The Kingsman
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
No Time to Die
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 80%
239 - Review of the Year 2020: Part II (with Calvin Dyson)
Guest: Calvin Dyson
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We're so nearly there... 2020 is nearly over. But first, we need to have a frank discussion about Peninsula, Tremors: Shrieker Island, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Tenet, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Mank... in that order. Also: a fun music quiz. Who will win? Allen or Calvin?
Films covered in this episode:
Peninsula
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 55%
Tremors: Shrieker Island
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%
Tenet
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Bill & Ted Face the Music
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%
Mank
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
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!
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187 - Review of the Year 2019: Part II (with Calvin Dyson and Gareth Allen)
Guests: Calvin Dyson and Gareth Allen
Films covered in this episode:
The Lion King (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%
It: Chapter Two
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 45%
Downton Abbey (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%
Rambo: Last Blood
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%
The Addams Family (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 50%
Zombieland: Double Tap
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%
Terminator: Dark Fate
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Gareth: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%
Doctor Sleep
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%
Charlie’s Angels (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 55%
Star Wars: Episode IX -The Rise of Skywalker
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 55%
Continuing what we started last week: our mammoth undertaking of reflecting upon 2019 in cinema, good and bad... arguably, mostly bad. There's part two of the music quiz, Calvin's back and, this time, Gareth pops up to throw his opinion around a bit, as well. Head to patreon.com/dimreturns to hear the full, uncut version of each Diminisode featured, plus loads more!
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186 - Review of the Year 2019 (with Calvin Dyson)
Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
Mary Poppins Returns
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 54%
Stan & Ollie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%
Glass
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
Captain Marvel
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%
Dumbo (2019)
Allen: ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%
Pet Sematary (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Hellboy (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 50%
Avengers: Endgame
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 75%
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 54%
Aladdin (2019)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 60%
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
Men in Black: International
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Toy Story 4
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/r
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%
Ho ho ho! Merry 2019! Christmas was last week's focus. This week is us getting a wriggle on and beginning the arduous task of evaluating 2019 ahead of actual Christmas. Here, Calvin, Sol and Allen take you through a tour of heavily truncated Diminisodes covering each tie-in release for the year! To hear the original, extended Diminisodes, plus loads of other ones not featured, head over to patreon.com/dimreturns
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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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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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111 - Mamma Mia! (with Judey Bignell)
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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101 - Labyrinth
Films covered in this episode:
Labyrinth
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%
100 episodes down, Diminishing Returns go back to their usual schtick with nostalgia-laden classic Labyrinth. Lots of Bowie, unsurprisingly.
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100 - The Big Diminishing Returns Quiz
Guest: Teller
We somehow made it to the number when people start getting syndication deals. Someone give us some money.
In this episode, film reviews are thrown out of the window in favour of just having a big movie quiz game because, screw it: 100 episodes!
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93 - Tomb Raider
Films covered in this episode:
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider:: The Cradle of Life
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 47%
Diminishing Returns: Podcast:: Episode 93::: Tomb Raider:::: The Video Game, But Also the Film::::: Lara Croft:::::: Tomb Raider.
Yeah, we're doing Tomb Raider because there's a new Tomb Raider movie out soon. Also, there's a video game themed music quiz!
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We review Tomb Raider in:
"Review of the Year 2018: Part 1"
85 - Back to the Future
Films covered in this episode:
Back to the Future
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%
Back to the Future Part II
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%
Back to the Future Part III
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%
The long-awaited listener vote episode is finally here! Listen as we explore 1985 followed by 1955 followed by 1985, 2015, alternate 1985, 1955, 1885, then 1985 again (in that order) with this episode covering Back to the Future Parts I - III. As always, we pitch our own ideas for sequels to the trilogy and there's a Christopher Lloyd audio quiz, too. Great jigawatts[sic]!
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82 - Christmas Special: Love Actually
Films covered in this episode:
Love Actually
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 47%
Here's an early Christmas gift: a Diminishing Returns holiday episode. Yes, we're doing Love Actually instead of Die Hard (you'll hear why in the episode, itself). There's also a Christmas movie music quiz in there which is jolly good fun.
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Diminishing Returns Christmas Specials:
"It's a Wonderful Life"
"Love Actually"
80 - Star Wars season: The Force Awakens
Star Wars season:
Part 1: "The Prequel Trilogy"
Part 2: "Rogue One"
Part 3: "The Force Awakens"
Films covered in this episode:
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%
The final part in the trilogy of the Diminishing Returns Star Wars season.
We've covered The Prequel Trilogy, we've covered Rogue One and, now, we're covering Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. Is it the shot in the arm Star Wars needed or is it a shot-for-shot remake of A New Hope without the charm? We get into it, plus what we're expecting from The Last Jedi, here!
Oh, and, like in our recent On Her Majesty's Secret Service episode, there's a Star Wars music quiz, too. Think you can distinguish between music that's really part of the Star Wars franchise and music that isn't? Then listen and play along at home.
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The Star Wars Music Quiz
If you haven't listened to the episode yet, then don't read ahead as the following is a list of answers for the Star Wars music quiz. If, however, you listened to it, liked the sound of one of those songs and want to go and listen to the full version, here's a reference list to help you out:
1. "Medley: Star Wars - 12" Version" by Meco (from the album Music Inspired by Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk)
2. "Tiki Tiki Babeloo" by The Minions (from the movie Despicable Me 3)
3. "Ewok Celebration and Finale (Nyub Nyub)" by John Williams (from the movie Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi)
4. "Ewoks Theme Tune" from the cartoon series Ewoks
5. "Chewbacca" by Supernova (single)
6. "The Imperial Suite" by Michael Giacchino (from the movie Rogue One)
7. "Lapti Nek" by Joseph Williams (from the movie Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi)
8. "Highly Illogical" by Leonard Nimoy (single)
9. "What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas?" by Meco (from the album Christmas in the Stars)
10. "Gay Bar (Dagobah Remix)" by Electric Six (from the album Fire)
11. "The Threepenny Opera" by Bea Arthur (from the stage musical The Threepenny Opera)
12. "Goodnight, But Not Goodbye" by Bea Arthur (from The Star Wars Holiday Special)
Episodes in the Star Wars series:
"The Star Wars Trilogy"
"The Prequel Trilogy"
"Rogue One"
"The Force Awakens"
We review Star Wars: The Last Jedi in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 2"
75 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Films covered in this episode:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 54%
We've covered the original Connery run of Bond movies. Now it's time to look at George Lazenby's short-lived turn in those spy shoes. Is Lazenby any good? Is "Bond" a codename? Is the world ready for a fat James Bond? All these questions and more are answered in this week's edition of Diminishing Returns!
This episode also features The Big Bond Theme Quiz. Will Allen successfully identify the official James Bond music from the spoofs and imitations? Listen to find out!
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The James Bond Music Quiz
If you haven't listened to the episode yet, then don't read ahead as the following is a list of answers for the James Bond music quiz. If, however, you listened to it, liked the sound of one of those songs and want to go and listen to the full version, here's a reference list to help you out:
Practice question 1. "Theme from Spy Hard" by 'Weird Al' Yankovich (from the movie Spy Hard)
Practice question 2. "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong (from the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
Practice question 3. "Suantum of Quolace" by Joe Cornish (from the radio show Adam & Joe)
1. "Operation Kid Brother" by Christy (from the movie Operation Kid Brother)
2. "Cat People" by Electric Six (from the album Mimicry and Memories)
3. "Good Sign, Bad Sign" by Monty Norman (from the unproduced stage musical A House for Mr. Biswas)
4. "Li Xiang" by Stephen Chow (from the movie From Beijing with Love)
5. "For Your Eyes Only" by Blondie (rejected Bond theme for For Your Eyes Only)
6. "Thunderball" by Johnny Cash (rejected Bond theme for Thunderball)
7. "Goldfinger" by Peter Serafinowicz as Ringo Starr (spoof rejected Bond theme from the TV series The Peter Serafinowicz Show)
8. "Theme from Hot Fuzz" by David Arnold (from the movie Hot Fuzz)
9. "Nobody Does It Better" by Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge (from the TV series I'm Alan Partridge)
10. "Fuckin' in Another Man's Clothes" by Electric Six (from the album Mimicry and Memories)
11. "Millennium" by Robbie Williams (from the album I've Been Expecting You)
12. "An Omen of Things to Come" by Electric Six (from the album Roulette Stars of Metro Detroit)
13. "Supremacy" by Muse (from the album The 2nd Law)
14. "SPECTRE" by Radiohead (rejected Bond theme for SPECTRE)
15. "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna (from the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me)
16. "Title Theme" from the video game Spy Muppets: License to Croak
17. "Snake Eater" by Cynthia Harrell (from the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
18. "If You're Gonna" by Natasha Bedingfield (from the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent)
19. "Danger! High Voltage" by Electric Six (from the album Fire)
20. "Devil May Care" by SAL (from the audiobook Devil May Care)
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”