Tag Archives: movies

The Toy Department – Episode 362

  By toyAdmin | October 20, 2023 - 8:29 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 362, Madden and Kolsky lament the sickness passing through the Kolsky household (and the overall joys of parenthood) before diving in on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:40) and a wrap-up discussion on a truly excellent Challenge season that featured arguably the greatest rookie season in the franchise’s history…
  • Netflix’s new thriller Fair Play (48:40), about which our hosts have rather disparate opinions…
  • The unremarkable and in fact largely unpleasant return of Frasier (1:01:40) and how it’s essentially and empty suit of a throwback sitcom…
  • The Brie Larson vehicle Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+ (1:07:25) and how it’s relatively hollow and predictable despite reasonably good acting and directing…
  • Homework for next week’s THURSDAY episode (1:18:25), including: the start of the new season of the flagship Challenge — Battle for a New Champion, and actually getting to The Fall of the House of Usher…

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The Toy Department – Episode 360

  By toyAdmin | October 6, 2023 - 11:13 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 360, Madden and Kolsky talk a little bit of Chicago Bears football and Wrexham soccer before getting down to business with last week’s homework:

  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (8:25), including the antics of Michaela and the Michele-tdown that ended with elimination…
  • The incredibly disappointing film Heist 88 (28:05) and how seemingly every choice made by the producers and director fell flat…
  • Wes Anderson’s new Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (34:10) and how Anderson’s signature nonsense has officially pushed one of our hosts over the edge…
  • The wildly enjoyable Gen V (39:40) and all the things that make it a welcome addition to The Boys’ universe…
  • Homework for next week’s short show (46:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, and … … THAT’S IT, THAT’S THE HOMEWORK…

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The Toy Department – Episode 359

  By toyAdmin | September 29, 2023 - 10:58 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky celebrate a (relatively) problem-free recording environment before getting right into:

  • Kolsky’s misadventures with the National (1:25) and the development of an understanding of why he struggles so much to listen to them…
  • The high school comedy Bottoms (7:05) and why one of our hosts HATED it and the other really quite enjoyed it…
  • The underwhelming film Cassandro (21:45) and how both hosts were left feeling unsatisfied and wishing they knew more about the movie’s subject…
  • The crown jewel of this week’s culture, Apple TV+’s British rom-com Still Up (27:25) and the undeniable charm of the relationship at its center…
  • Another week of action from The Challenge USA: Season 2 (32:00) which continues to deliver excellent daily and elimination challenges and has no shortage of drama as we careen towards the TJ’s Final…
  • Homework for next week (58:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the new show Gen V (a spinoff of The Boys) on Amazon Prime Video, the Paramount+/Showtime movie Heist 88 and the Wes Anderson-directed Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 358

  By toyAdmin | September 22, 2023 - 10:45 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky lament Derek’s illness before he pushes through to discuss:

  • The new Mitski album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2:20), how it differs from Mitski’s past output and the deep darkness and moments of bright light within it…
  • The return of pod favorite Sex Education (14:30) and its undeniable charm, plus how its end coincides with a desperate lack of similar quality on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on Winning Time (24:10) and its cancellation…
  • The based-on-a-true-story film A Million Miles Away (37:40) and the remarkable life of astronaut Jose Hernandez…
  • British true-story-heist series The Gold on Paramount+ (41:30) and whether the first two episodes are enough to draw our hosts into what is undeniably an interesting real life tale…
  • A mile marker episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (46:20) and the end (at least for now) of one of the Challenge Universe’s truly legendary careers…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the British rom-com Still Up on Apple TV+, the movie Bottoms (available on VOD of your choice) and the Amazon Prime Video film Cassandro, plus Kolsky said will try to listen to The National…

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The Toy Department – Episode 356

  By toyAdmin | September 8, 2023 - 9:24 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 356, Madden and Kolsky are both exhausted and threatening each other with falling asleep mid-sentence as they prepare to discuss:

  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:15) and how the change to an individual game changed the dynamic in the house…
  • A trip to the movie theater to see Barbie (22:55) and how Greta Gerwig snuck a feminist text into the brains of the masses…
  • Adam Sandler and family in the Netflix movie You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (35:15) and how it’s the most Jewish teen comedy our hosts have ever seen (and also very enjoyable)…
  • The surprising and intense Special Ops: Lioness (45:55) and how the Taylor Sheridan/Paramount+ galaxy continues to be more than expected…
  • Some disparate thoughts on the various Hollywood strikes (50:45) and some of the issues at hand…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:15), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, The Changeling on Apple TV+, the second season of Welcome to Wrexham on Hulu and another season of The Morning Show on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 355

  By toyAdmin | September 3, 2023 - 6:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 355, Madden and Kolsky lament some technical issues before jumping right into:

  • The last two weeks of action from The Challenge: USA Season 2 (1:45); and there is A LOT of action to cover!
  • Tracy Morgan’s new stand-up special Takin’ It Too Far (38:40) which is pretty quintessential Tracy Morgan content…
  • The Ringer-produced documentary Destination NBA: A G-League Odyssey (40:20) and how it was interesting and informative but didn’t quite come together as brilliantly as our hosts hoped…
  • The latest Star Wars series, Ahsoka (47:10) and how Rosario Dawson and a generally good cast is not necessarily enough to save the franchise for our less sci-fi-inclined host…
  • Homework for next week (51:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+, the Netflix film You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and the boys are gonna head to the theaters to see Barbie(!!)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 354

  By toyAdmin | August 18, 2023 - 9:28 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 354, Madden and Kolsky reflect once again on Kolsky’s family couch-surfing, plus the ultimate basement destination, before locking into:

  • This week’s two episodes of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:55) and how the young guns are running the game so far, plus predictions of defection in next week’s episodes…
  • The Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone (36:20) and the delightfully over-the-top performances of Jamie Foxx and Teyonnah Paris…
  • Wes Anderson’s film Asteroid City (39:20) and the diminishing returns of an adult man playing with model houses…
  • Netflix’s Untold: Johnny Football (44:30) and the insane journey of its subject, Johnny Manziel…
  • The weekly dose of Chelsea football (54:55) as Kolsky tries to rev himself up for the rebuilding project…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:01:35), including: FOUR more episodes of The Challenge: USA Season 2, Tracy Morgan’s Max special Takin’ It Too Far, the new Star Wars series Ahsoka and the Ringer-produced Destination NBA: A G-League Odyssey…

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The Toy Department – Episode 352

  By toyAdmin | July 28, 2023 - 1:15 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 352, Madden and Kolsky talk about life getting in the way and the challenges of moving a family across the country before getting to the business of the day:

  • The return of Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval (3:30) and how great it is to see Timothy Olyphant doing his US Marshall thing again…
  • The BJ Novak movie Vengeance (7:50) and how it’s a great little indie flick hiding under the radar (but free on Amazon Prime Video right now!)…
  • The Netflix documentary Wham! (14:40) and the pretty remarkable story of how quickly everything happened for George Michael (and Andrew Ridgeley)…
  • Showtime/Paramount Plus’s documentary Goliath (31:50), the remarkable story of Wilt Chamberlain and how it has too often been reduced to a couple of ultimately meaningless media narratives…
  • The new Negro Leagues documentary The League (52:20) and how important it is for historical documents like this to exist and be seen…
  • A wrap-up discussion about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (59:00) after its truly marvelous final season…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:06:25), including: the return of THE CHALLENGE!! with The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Quarterback documentary series on Netflix, the Steven Soderbergh-directed series Full Circle on Max, the return of HBO’s Winning Time for Season 2 and Season 3 of Hulu’s Reservation Dogs…

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The Toy Department – Episode 349

  By toyAdmin | June 16, 2023 - 2:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 348, Madden and Kolsky get into the difficulties of the moving process — especially for weird old semi-hoarders — before locking into the pop culture of the week:

  • The second episode of HBO’s Idol (6:50) and how at least one of our hosts is done with it, and neither think it’s working very well at all, largely due to the presence and mediocrity of Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd)…
  • The British drama Somewhere Boy (16:40) and how it creates some extra curiosity with its storytelling style, but still may not have enough to keep the guys interested…
  • Apple TV+’s new Tom Holland show The Crowded Room (19:20) and how it uses similar style of storytelling but to better effect…
  • The new Eva Longoria-directed film Flamin’ Hot (27:15) and how it tells an inspiring story in a fun way…
  • Peacock’s new show Based on a True Story (34:05) and the appeal of its lead actors — Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Champion Denver Nuggets (44:45) and their incredibly charming superstar Nikola Jokic…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (52:50), including: the return of Black Mirror on Netflix, the return of The Bear on Hulu, Boots Riley’s new show I’m A Virgo and Idris Elba’s Hijack on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 348

  By toyAdmin | June 10, 2023 - 3:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 348, Madden and Kolsky are working on a Saturday, one at home and one in a hotel suite with an old man and a toddler (sorry for any weird audio stuff) but it doesn’t deter them from discussing:

  • The season finalé of Top Chef: World All-Stars (2:30) and how it ended essentially where our hosts expected, with an awful lot of good cooking on the way there…
  • HBO’s new Sam Levinson series The Idol (20:10) and how it wasn’t necessarily as provocative as expected in the first episode, but does have some intense moments of sexuality and some interesting things to say about the life of a young, female pop star…
  • The big wave surfing docu-series 100-Foot Wave (28:05) and the pure insanity of the pursuits of its main character Garrett McNamara, along with the wonder of watching people ride a mountain of water…
  • ESPN’s The American Gladiator Documentary (32:35) and how director Ben Berman basically gives the viewer two fascinating and well-told documentaries for the price of one…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (39:20), which appear to be headed to an early conclusion, but that does not mean the Miami Heat don’t deserve credit for their accomplishments…
  • Homework for next week (49:35), including: revisiting The Idol after Episode 2, the movie Flamin’ Hot on Hulu, the British drama Somewhere Boy (also on Hulu), the Peacock show Based on a True Story and the Tom Holland show The Crowded Room on Apple TV+… and perhaps some NBA Finals talk as well!

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