Ben Affleck – The Toy Department

The Toy Department – Episode 346

In Episode 346, Madden and Kolsky convene early for a late-night-Thursday episode, giving you the goods on:

The final London week of Top Chef: World All-Stars (1:25), a microwaved sponge cake, tricks of the eye and what to look for in the upcoming trip to Paris…
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s new movie Air (17:55) and how it manages to create tension, suspense and drama out of a true story that everyone knows the ending of…
Hulu’s Jack Harlow-starring White Men Can’t Jump (24:55), watchable mediocrity and the remake-obsessed world we are all living in…
The Shea Serrano-penned series Primo (30:10) and the delight of a family comedy written with love…
A few NBA playoff thoughts as we sit on the doorstep of the Finals (34:55), whether the Heat can finish off the Celtics and whether either of them have a shot against the Nuggets…
Homework for next week (43:15), including: the series finale of Succession, the new Apple TV+ shows Platonic and High Desert and the HBO movie Reality… PLUS the first episode of the Paris Portion of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

In Episode 294, Madden and Kolsky briefly address Derek’s disappointment with US Soccer before moving through:

Reaction to last night’s Top Chef: Houston episode (2:30), the remarkable technical skills needed for the doppelgänger challenge and who’s in the driver’s seat moving forward…
The absurdity of the psycho-erotic thriller Deep Water (25:25) and just how little sense the whole messy mess made…
The wonderful and rightfully Oscar-nominated CODA (32:15) and how this little movie charmed it’s way to big success…
HBO Max’s new Jake Johnson showcase Minx (41:50) and what a fun ride it is…
The Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources (46:40) and how it’s funny enough to watch but missing a lot of the original’s best features…
The latest in real-life-entrepreneur-gone-bad television, Hulu’s The Dropout (49:35), and how Amanda Seyfried’s phenomenal work is not enough to suck in one of our hosts…
Homework for next Friday (1:02:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Donald Glover’s Atlanta on FX, the new Hulu show Life and Beth (starring Amy Schumer and Michael Cera), and HBO Max’s new limited series DMZ (starring Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt)…

In Episode 289, Madden and Kolsky have a somber philosophical rumination about dogs getting old before snapping out of it and getting into:

The film The Last Duel (4:25) and the difference between the hosts’ opinions on whether it’s worth watching…
Apple TV+’s new comedy The Afterparty (17:55) and how the deep roster of comedy talent makes for a great time…
The new Freeform sitcom Single Drunk Female (25:15) and how the first couple episodes really lean on the charm of the lead actress…
Netflix’s new Kristen Bell-led satire The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (29:15) and whether it is caught in-between parody and satire…
A check-in with The Book of Boba Fett (33:50) and how the Disney+ series seems to be leveling up in its last couple of episodes…
Some NFL talk (43:00) as the league goes through multiple scandals at once…
A few quick thoughts on USMNT soccer (1:12:05) and the decision to play in freezing cold Minnesota…
Homework for next Friday (1:17:25), including: the new Aziz Ansari stand-up special Nightclub Comedian, Hulu’s new show Pam & Tommy, the new Netflix series Murderville and the new Reacher series on Amazon Prime…

In Episode 159, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky literally talk about weather before moving into the world of pop culture to break down:

The upcoming NCAA Tournament (1:35) and Kolsky’s decision not to fill out a bracket…
The season finalé of Top Chef (9:30), with thoughts on food, contestants, judges and (of course) Padma…
Netflix’s new movie Triple Frontier (21:05) and whether it’s worthy of its cast…
The return of Showtime’s Billions (26:25) and how well it has developed a big cast of interesting characters…
The premiere of the final season of Catastrophe (32:00) on Amazon and whether it is still breaking new ground in season four…
The series finale of Pete Holmes’ HBO show Crashing (35:30) and how the guys would have liked to see more…
Homework for next week (43:50), including: the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt on Netflix, plus two Hulu shows — The Act and Shrill, and LOTS of college basketball…