Tag Archives: movies

The Toy Department – Episode 262

  By toyAdmin | June 8, 2021 - 11:31 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 262, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky plunge immediately into this week’s content, because Kolsky has a take he’s been anxious to share about:

  • The new Peacock series We Are Lady Parts (1:20) which is Kolsky’s clubhouse leader for SHOW OF THE YEAR in 2021…
  • Some thoughts on The Challenge: All Stars reunion (10:10) and what the future of the franchise may hold…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (20:50) and the heavy hitters heading down the stretch of the competition…
  • Netflix’s new Zack Snyder film Army of the Dead (31:55) and just how terrible it actually is…
  • Bo Burnham’s new Netflix comedy special (41:35) and the incredibly creative and innovative style that captures the essence of our year of pandemic life…
  • A few sports thoughts (55:05), covering the NBA Playoffs, health vis a vis rest and some USMNT soccer talk…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:01:01), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix show Startup, the new Michael B Jordan movie Without Remorse on Amazon Prime, the new HBO Max show Starstruck and the return of HBO’s Betty (a pod favorite… plus, Madden and Kolsky will break down EW’s list of the best Challenge contestants of all time…

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The Toy Department – Episode 261

  By toyAdmin | June 1, 2021 - 11:25 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 261, Madden and Kolsky have a log list of subjects, so time-wasting is eschewed in favor of:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (1:10) and FINALLY the elimination of bad-pasta-Chris, plus thoughts on the recipe challenge and the hosts’ favorites heading down the stretch…
  • The Friends reunion on HBO Max (20:45) and how it aimed for 100 minutes of nostalgia and hit pretty close to the bullseye…
  • The new film Plan B (38:25) and how it’s an absolute home run of an indie high school adventure movie…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Mare of Easttown (43:55) and how HBO has another high-quality limited series in the drama category, filled with tremendous acting performances and a compelling crime mystery…
  • Some NBA playoff thoughts (54:35) at the halfway point (or so) of the first round, re-assessing the favorites after a rash of injuries and some see-sawing series results…
  • A brief discussion about Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open (1:02:50) and the difficult task of respecting metal health while also realizing that media availability is part of the job of a modern professional athlete…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:09:30), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead, Bo Burham’s new stand-up special on Netflix and the new British comedy We Are Lady Parts, about an all-female Muslim punk band…

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The Toy Department – Episode 258

  By toyAdmin | April 27, 2021 - 10:44 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 258, Madden and Kolsky dive right into the deep end of pop culture topics with a shocking admission from Derek as they discuss:

  • The latest in Top Chef () including Madden quitting on Last Chance Kitchen and the difficulty of finding oneself as a chef on a reality competition show…
  • A few thoughts on a lackluster Oscars broadcast (31:15) and what it means for the future of the show…
  • The new Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls (47:35) and how it’s pretty good, and pretty reminiscent of Parks & Rec, but not perhaps good enough to support a Peacock subscription…
  • The new Bob Odenkirk movie Nobody (55:10) and how it’s basically John Wick for an audience that demands more from the scenes between the fights…
  • Homework for some Tuesday to come (58:45), including: more episodes of Top Chef in Portland and streaming some Banshee on HBO Max… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents reunion AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 255

  By toyAdmin | April 7, 2021 - 10:54 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 255, Madden and Kolsky discuss potential audio issues resulting from Kolsky’s excitable 2-year-old and the zoom-related behavior of certain dogs before getting into:

  • A basketball check-in (2:35) mostly focused on the NCAA tournament, with a little NBA detour to start…
  • Netflix’s new Sherlock Holmes-adjacent series The Irregulars (17:15) and how it’s somewhat confounding — and not Madden’s shit — but also kind of interesting, engaging and ultimately watchable… with some discussion about the colorblind casting…
  • Netflix’s road trip/prank show movie Bad Trip (32:25) and how Eric Andre, Lil Rel and Tiffany Haddish pull some hilarious pranks (if you’re into that sort of thing)…
  • The season premiere of Top Chef (40:10) and all the machinations therein, including the elimination of a potential show favorite and some early favorites and villains…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:11:15), including: another episode of Top Chef in Portland, the Netflix movie Thunder Force with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer and the new HBO Max show Made for Love starring Cristin Milioti… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 254

  By toyAdmin | March 30, 2021 - 12:00 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 254, Madden and Kolsky do a little pandemic life check-in before getting into:

  • HBO Max’s Swedish series Beartown (1:25) and how it is both gripping and also somewhat difficult to watch…
  • HBO’s Tina Turner documentary Tina (10:10) and the extraordinary woman whose life story it tells…
  • Nate Bargatze’s Netflix stand-up special The Greatest Average American (30:50) and how it’s a nice, fun time with comedy…
  • Netflix’s documentary The Last Blockbuster (38:20) and how it does a great job of capturing a specific feeling from a specific time, as well as telling an interesting story…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:00:50), including: the new season of Top Chef in Portland, the Netflix movie Bad Trip with Eric Andre and Lil Rel and the new Netflix show The Irregulars… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 253

  By toyAdmin | March 23, 2021 - 10:51 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 253, Madden and Kolsky hit the ground running with a short show in mind, covering:

  • The new Marvel show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (1:45) and how it is essentially exactly what you would expect it to be, however far that gets you…
  • Netflix’s Operation Varsity Blues documentary (6:10) and some of the interesting choices they made to tell the story of the country’s biggest college admissions scandal…
  • The Steven Yeun-starring Minari (21:50) and how it’s a quiet family drama but a very good one, despite both hosts finding Yeun’s Oscar nomination a little curious…
  • The also Oscar-nominated Another Round (28:35) and the fascinating ride it takes the viewer on…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (36:25), including: the HBO Max show Beartown out of Sweden, Nate Bargatze special The Greatest Average American, the new Tina Turner documentary on HBO and the Netflix documentary The Last Blockbuster… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 252

  By toyAdmin | March 16, 2021 - 10:58 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 252, Madden tries to waylay Kolsky with a “fuck Woody Allen” message to open the show, but they quickly move on to:

  • The new season of Last Chance U (3:00) covering the East LA College basketball team, what moving to basketball does for the series and some of the best characters from the first couple episodes…
  • The new Netflix film Moxie! (22:05), how original and uniquely delightful it turned out to be, and the impending superstardom of Alycia Pascua-Peña…
  • Apple TV+’s signature series The Morning Show (33:40) and how — while certainly imperfect — it’s a very watchable show with a lot of good acting…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (45:20), including: Marvel’s new TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, Netflix’s new documentary Operation Varsity Blues about Hollywood’s college admissions scandal, the Oscar-nominated Mads Mikkelsen movie Another Round and the Oscar-nominated Steven Yeun film Minari… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 251

  By toyAdmin | March 9, 2021 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 251, Madden and Kolsky’s show-opening distraction turned into such a big conversation that it gets its own bullet point below, along with:

  • A contentious conversation about WandaVision (1:20) and the broader contents and implications of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
  • Disney’s new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (22:10) and how it’s great, but will probably be equally great in a few months when it’s not an extra $30…
  • The Eddie Murphy sequel Coming 2 America (31:15) and just how far enjoyable nostalgia will get you…
  • Netflix’s Notorious B.I.G. documentary Biggie: I Got A Story to Tell (44:25) and some of its more interesting and enlightening moments…
  • Paramount+’s big new Real World Reunion show (54:55) and how it hit differently for our two hosts based on their age and memories…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:08:20), including: the new high school flick Moxie! on Netflix, finishing up The Morning Show on Apple TV+ and the new season of Last Chance U on Netflix (covering a basketball team for the first time)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 250

  By toyAdmin | March 2, 2021 - 10:45 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 250, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Chris Harrison’s departure from The Bachelor franchise and the younger Kolsky’s new belly-centric hobby before moving on to:

  • Kolsky’s experience with the Patrice O’Neal documentary Killin’ Is Easy (6:30), despite Derek’s failure to find it…
  • The new Hulu movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday (9:55), Andra Day’s Golden Globes win and how a strong lead performance is not enough to save a messy film…
  • The instant cult classic comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (23:55) and some of the things that make it so wonderfully enjoyable…
  • Netflix’s Pelé documentary (31:40) and the interesting picture it paints of the man who was in many ways the world’s first sports celebrity…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (43:55), including: starting watching Apple TV+’s The Morning Show for discussion in two weeks, the Eddie Murphy sequel Coming 2 America, Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney+, the Real World Reunion on Paramount+ and Netflix’s new Notorious B.I.G. documentary Biggie: I Got A Story to Tell… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 243

  By toyAdmin | January 12, 2021 - 11:03 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 243, Madden and Kolsky are (unsuccessfully, again) aiming for a short episode, so they dive right into:

  • The new Tiger Woods documentary on HBO (2:40) and how it spins a fascinating story around a rather uninteresting personality…
  • The too-widely-acclaimed How To with John Wilson (20:05) and how the odd but unexceptional HBO Max show fails to live up to its billing…
  • The Apple TV+ original Mythic Quest (27:00), where Kolsky stopped watching and why Madden thinks it’s worth sticking with it…
  • The Netflix docu-series History of Swear Words (33:25) and the enjoyable comedy of filthy language…
  • Some quick sports thoughts — on the NBA’s COVID issues (39:50) and the NFL’s first Super Wild Card Weekend (49:25)…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (1:02:45), including: the second part of HBO’s Tiger documentary, the new film Promising Young Woman (available on VOD), the Amazon Prime film One Night in Miami (directed by Regina King) and the third film in the Small Axe Series — Red, White and Blue; plus MORE NFL playoffs and NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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