Tag Archives: Amazon Prime Video

The Toy Department – Episode 412

  By toyAdmin | January 24, 2025 - 10:18 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 412, Madden and Kolsky have a quick chat about vacations and the city of New Orleans before focusing in on:

  • The conclusion of a lackluster reunion for The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (4:20) and a look ahead to the hopefully much more entertaining All-Stars 5…
  • The Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (16:30), some big-time acting performances and the impact of Dylan going electric…
  • The Amazon Prime film Unstoppable (27:50) and what a classic high-quality true-story drama looks like…
  • The return of Apple TV+ sensation Severance (35:05) and what Ben Stiller & Co. are driving at with this bizarre and stylized show…
  • Peacock’s goofy new comedy Laid (44:25), the irrepressible charm of Stephanie Hsu and the absolute wheelhouse of Zosia Mamet…
  • A touch of sports talk (49:30) as we careen towards the end of both the NFL season and the soccer transfer window…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:04:05), including: the first two episodes of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals, the new Hulu show Paradise, the return of Netflix’s The Night Agent and Oscar contenders Anora and A Real Pain…

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The Toy Department – Episode 411

  By toyAdmin | January 17, 2025 - 11:02 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 411, Madden and Kolsky spend some time whining about the cold weather and their various maladies before sucking it up and getting to:

  • An underwhelming start to the reunion of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (4:30) and how the customary post-championship party probably needs a new format…
  • The even more underwhelming Cruel Intentions remake (16:45) and how remakes need a new take on the material…
  • The Oscar buzz-y papacy drama Conclave (23:05) and how difficult it is to care about the mystery if you don’t care about Catholicism…
  • Hulu’s comedy How to Die Alone (30:30) and how it entertains pretty well, even if it leaves our host wanting more at times….
  • The world of Philomena Cunk (34:35) — starting with Cunk on Earth — and the brilliance of actress Diane Morgan, with a slight interruption from Kolsky’s three-year-old…
  • The thrilling conclusion of Landman (40:30) and the continuing prolific spectacle of the Taylor Sheridan universe, plus more three-year-old content…
  • Homework for next week (49:40), including: one more week of Challenge reunion, the return of Severance on Apple TV+, the new movie Unstoppable on Amazon Prime, the Peacock comedy Laid (starring Stephanie Hsu) and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown…
  • A few thoughts on the NFL (53:20) as we head into divisional playoff weekend…

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The Toy Department – Episode 408

  By toyAdmin | December 19, 2024 - 4:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 408, Madden and Kolsky catch up after a week off, including a brief description of Kolsky’s London Getaway, before locking in on:

  • The last pre-final episodes of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (5:45) and who’s in the best position to excel in the endgame on New Year’s Day…
  • Picking up the pieces on A Man on the Inside (37:45) because Kolsky has thoughts after finishing the series…
  • The brilliant stand-up of Anthony Jeselnik (39:50) and the remarkable density of his short-form comedy in his newest special Bones and All…
  • The WWII film Blitz (43:45) and how Steve McQueen is doing what every film director should be doing — telling engaging stories with compelling characters, no matter the setting…
  • The Amazon Prime detective show Cross (48:05) and whether the series’ attempt to pack in a lot of meaning makes it too tough to digest at once…
  • Homework for next time, two weeks from now (51:15), including: TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the new Netflix spy series Black Doves, Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano in No Good Deed (also on Netflix), Hulu’s Jimmy O. Yang vehicle Interior Chinatown, and Landman (Taylor Sheridan’s latest for Paramount+)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 394

  By toyAdmin | July 18, 2024 - 9:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 394, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s new fitness challenge and a radio contest involving Fred Durst before jumping into:

  • Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (7:40) and how both our hosts would prefer that he did something more interesting…
  • The equally unnecessary but significantly funnier Sausage Party: Foodtopia (17:20) and how a little bit of cleverness and thoughtfulness can go a long way…
  • The WTF sensation of Apple TV+’s Rashida Jones vehicle Sunny (24:15) and how both hosts are all in despite not really knowing what’s going on…
  • The Julio Torres movie Problemista (30:20) and how it’s a quirky good time…
  • Homework for a few weeks from now (4:05), including: the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black (available to rent), the two new Apple TV+ series(es) Lady in the Lake and Time Bandits, plus whatever else Madden and Kolsky come up with in the meantime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 392

  By toyAdmin | June 27, 2024 - 9:39 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 392, Madden and Kolsky nail down what day it is and what city Derek is in, talk a little about Soul Coughing and concerts, and then get into:

  • The return of The Boys on Amazon Prime (4:40) and some how an even darker tone that finally gave some morons a wake-up call about the themes…
  • Hacks star Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (14:45) and comparing her stage persona to her television character…
  • The Andrew McCarthy-led documentary Brats (18:10), all the feels of the Brat Pack Era and some interesting filmmaking choices…
  • The new AMC series Orphan Black: Echoes (42:05) and how it appears to stand up to the original Orphan Black series after just one episode…
  • Apple TV+’s sexed up thriller Presumed Innocent (45:25) and Jake Gyllenhaal’s fascinating career…
  • The Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (57:45) and the industry’s commitment to the revenge tour action flick…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:25), including: THE BEAR is back on Hulu, the Dakota Johnson film Am I Ok? on Max, the British superpowers show Supacell on Netflix and Ali Siddiq’s stand-up specials on YouTube…

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The Toy Department – Episode 382

  By toyAdmin | April 11, 2024 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 382, Madden and Kolsky have a LOT to catch up on, from Matt’s new debilitating addiction to Derek’s busy concert schedule (with plenty of stops in between) but eventually get around to:

  • A new season of Top Chef (10:20), a midwest location that infuriates Derek and all the insight our hosts have gleaned over the first four episodes…
  • A two-episode debut of The Challenge All-Stars Season 4 (31:40) and a cast of true stars that reaches all the way back to the very first season of the Challenge universe…
  • The surprisingly entertaining BlackBerry (55:45) and the simple pleasure of a good story told with good acting, writing and directing…
  • Netflix’s new sci-fi big swing 3 Body Problem (1:02:30) and whether (to torture the idiom) it makes contact with the ball…
  • Apple TV+’s new Kristen Wiig vehicle Palm Royale (1:13:15) and what exactly they’re trying to do here…
  • The Jake Gyllenhaal-helmed Roadhouse remake (1:17:10) and how it swings and misses (to further torture the same idiom from before)…
  • Homework for next week (1:26:55), including: more Top Chef Wisconsin and The Challenge All-Stars 4, a gaggle of Apple TV+ content — the shows Sugar (with Colin Farrell as a detective) and Franklin (with Michael Douglas as Ben Franklin); and the documentary Steve! (about Steve Martin) — and the Netflix movie Scoop…

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The Toy Department – Episode 381

  By toyAdmin | March 14, 2024 - 11:08 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 381, Madden and Kolsky mention their upcoming international break before diving right into:

  • The 2024 Oscars (2:15) and the sweeping dominance of Oppenheimer and Poor Things…
  • HBO’s new Sunday night centerpiece The Regime (14:50) and Kate Winslet’s performance as a dictatorial chancellor in a show that’s difficult to place within a genre…
  • The very Peter Farrelly flick Ricky Stanicky (21:55) and whether it has enough behind the dumb laughs to make it worthwhile…
  • Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen (26:30) and whether his particular style is well-suited for a streaming series…
  • Derek has a few sporty things for Kolsky (29:50) ranging from Women’s Super League soccer to the changing college basketball landscape…
  • Homework for April 4 (43:25), including: the first couple episodes of this season of Top Chef (in Wisconsin), the movie BlackBerry (available on Hulu), the new Apple TV+ show Palm Royale, the Netflix show 3 Body Problem and the Roadhouse remake with Jake Gyllenhaal…

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The Toy Department – Episode 376

  By toyAdmin | February 8, 2024 - 10:52 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 376, Madden and Kolsky pause to celebrate Chelsea FC’s successful FA Cup match before focusing on today’s topics:

  • An action-packed episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (6:05) and the Challenge-fan-villain origin story that transpired this week for one of our hosts…
  • The latest entry in the ever-expanding why?! canon, Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air (28:15) and how maybe it’s time to usher Hollywood’s old guard into a not-even-actually-early retirement…
  • Donald Glover’s new take on Mr. & Mrs. Smith (34:00) and how his art continues to surprise and delight…
  • Jake Johnson’s bizarre opus Self Reliance (39:25) and the value of full commitment to a wacky premise…
  • Netflix’s new (old) dour addiction recovery comedy Loudermilk (44:25) and the all-time That Guy rankings, featuring Ron Livingston…
  • Homework for next week (48:45), including: the long-awaited arrival of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, Apple TV+’s fashion/WWII show The New Look, Ryan Murphy’s new show Feud: Capote v. The Swans and Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show…
  • A few football thoughts (50:20) as we head into what should be ann extremely entertaining Super Bowl weekend…

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The Toy Department – Episode 374

  By toyAdmin | January 25, 2024 - 11:21 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 374, Madden and Kolsky sort through the topics and decide it’s important to get right into:

  • The exploit’s of The Challenge’s Ravyn Rochelle in Seal of Desire (2:40), a mediocre erotic thriller…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (7:35) and how the Conquest phase seems to be taking this season in a much better direction…
  • The Martin Scorcese epic Killers of the Flower Moon (31:25) which both of our hosts enjoyed tremendously, despite the extreme running time…
  • A few thoughts on the Oscar nominations (42:25) and the kerfuffle surrounding Barbie’s nominations (or lack thereof)…
  • The Hulu mystery series Death and Other Details (50:55) and how it’s yet another middling murder mystery, but at least it’s fun!
  • The Kaley Cuoco/David Oyelowo film Role Play (53:40) and how it’s not the film you expect, in part because it doesn’t seem to totally know what it is…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:05), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, finishing Fargo on Hulu/FX and Beef on Netflix, the television series version of Sexy Beast, and the movie American Fiction (currently in theaters)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 373

  By toyAdmin | January 18, 2024 - 12:39 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 373, Madden and Kolsky are finally excited about something that happened on their favorite show so it’s RIGHT into:

  • This week’s action on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:30) and whether the appearance of an undisputed Mount Rushmore champion helped pull this season out of its previous doldrums…
  • The new season of HBO’s True Detective (36:05) and an exciting cast in the dark of Alaska…
  • The new film Foe (40:35) and whether our hosts were able to enjoy a slow, dark exploration of humanity in the age of AI…
  • David Oyelowo’s passion project Lawmen: Bass Reeves (48:20) and how the actor/producer’s love for his subject plays out on screen…
  • Peacock’s new TV version of Ted (51:35) and whether the strange heart of this deliberately offensive show is enough to redeem it…
  • Homework for next week (56:25), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Hulu mystery series Death and Other Details, the Martin Scorcese epic Killers of the Flower Moon (now available on Apple TV+) and for a lighter time the Amazon rom-com Role Play, PLUS Derek will watch Ravyn Rochelle’s erotic thriller…

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