Tag Archives: HBO

The Toy Department – Episode 399

  By toyAdmin | September 19, 2024 - 9:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 399, Madden and Kolsky prepare to overcome a late recording time and Derek’s long week before diving into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (1:50), CT falling, Laurel spiraling and whether the 40th season is living up to expectations so far…
  • The Alex Garland film Civil War (25:50) — how it is ultimately just a movie about photo-journalism and whether it leaves things on the table by not wading deeper into more significant themes…
  • Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber’s rote Netflix rich-people-and-murder drama (35:35) and whether its insignificance hurts its watchability…
  • Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (41:50) and our hosts curiously split views on the end product…
  • The spectacular Alex Gibney documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (46:55), all the wonderful tidbits it delivers on one of the greatest television shows of all time and the price of genius…
  • Homework for next week (57:50), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, actually watching the film Challengers, Netflix’s new action flick Rebel Ridge, Max’s new DC Comics effort The Penguin and a check-in on the second season of FX’s The Old Man…

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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 393

  By toyAdmin | July 12, 2024 - 1:38 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 393, Madden and Kolsky discuss their canned-champagne problems (including Kolsky’s urgent need of a plumber) before conversations about:

  • The third season of Hulu’s flagship dramedy The Bear (4:35) and whether it stands up to the incredibly high standard set by its first two seasons…
  • The Dakota Johnson film Am I Ok? (19:15) and the text message Derek sent to Kolsky while he was watching it…
  • The sickle-cell-superhero show Supacell on Netflix (33:15) and the cultural value of message-driven shows in this particular genre…
  • The stand-up comedy of Ali Siddiq (39:50) and his recent four-special series about his life…
  • A few thoughts on the state of USA Men’s soccer (48:25) as they seek to replace Gregg Berhalter…
  • Homework for next week (1:13:05), including: the Rashida Jones show Sunny on Apple TV+, the new film Problemista on Max, Eddie Murphy’s return in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix and the new Sausage Party show on Amazon Prime Video…

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The Toy Department – Episode 391

  By toyAdmin | June 20, 2024 - 11:21 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 391, Madden and Kolsky are back from an unplanned hiatus (thanks to Derek’s unnamed coworkers) to dive deep into:

  • The last two episodes of Top Chef (2:05) including a cheese-and-fishy quickfire, great chefs cooking scared in the pre-final and a final cook that saw three great chefs do their thing…
  • The the end of The Challenge All-Stars 4 (22:40) including a purge, a rad paintball shooting challenge to kick off TJ’s Final, a friend-ly twist to end it and a big win for a bigger legend…
  • The HBO docu-series Ren Faire (36:05) and whether the Succession comparisons go deeper than the obvious surface narrative…
  • The intense and emotional Godzilla Minus One (44:00) and whether it transcends the standard monster-flick label…
  • Bob Marley: One Love (49:15) and the life and legacy of reggae music’s GOAT…
  • The Glen Powell/Richard Linklater team-up Hit Man (55:45) and what a winning rom-com it ends up being…
  • A few thoughts on the end of the NBA season (1:00:30) and the championship-winning Boston Celtics…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:55), including: Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (on Max), the documentary Brats on Hulu, Ophan Black: Echoes on AMC, Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, the Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (now on Peacock) and the return of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video…

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The Toy Department – Episode 387

  By toyAdmin | May 16, 2024 - 10:17 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 387, Madden and Kolsky are meeting up late night for some Toy Department After Dark to get into:

  • A new episode of The Challenge All-Stars 4 (3:35) that saw a very messy Brad season come to an end and a theatrical turn for Ace…
  • This week’s episode of Top Chef Wisconsin (23:05) where a competitive final eight had to deal with more changes to the game format in addition to a fascinating native foods challenge…
  • Apple TV+’s multi-versal Dark Matter (36:10) and whether it tells its story quickly enough to draw in its viewers…
  • Netflix’s Will Forte true-crime-pod-mock-umentary Bodkin (43:50) and whether it connects with its bizarre small-town mystery vibe…
  • The third season of HBO’s Hacks (47:30) and the brilliance of Jean Smart…
  • Some English Premiere League thoughts (51:15) as we head into the final weekend of the season…
  • Our weekly NBA check-in (1:02:10) mere hours after Minnesota’s utter dismantling of the Nuggets to force a Game 7 in Denver on Sunday…
  • Homework for next week (1:14:45), including: another episode of Top Chef Wisconsin, more of The Challenge All-Stars 4, the newly-on-Netflix movie The Book of Clarence, the Amazon Prime Video Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black and the Paramounnt+ documentary Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza…

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The Toy Department – Episode 384

  By toyAdmin | April 25, 2024 - 11:18 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 384, Madden and Kolsky open with a long conversation about Kolsky’s visit to The Sphere in Las Vegas to see Phish before snapping out of it to cover:

  • The latest from The Challenge All-Stars 4 (15:55) including an elimination where heavy hitters swung and missed repeatedly…
  • A twisty, dairy-filled week of Top Chef Wisconsin (35:10) wherein two chefs (re)entered the competition and one early star departed…
  • HBO’s new Sunday centerpiece The Sympathizer (49:10) and whether our hosts are impressed after two episodes…
  • A wrap-up discussion on HBO’s The Regime (1:00:25) and what the hell was going on there…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of the popular Fallout video game (1:04:25) and whether it actually makes sense as a “television” show…
  • A few NBA thoughts (1:08:15) after a few games from the first round of the playoffs…
  • Homework for next week (1:19:20), including: more Top Chef Wisconsin, more of The Challenge All-Stars 4, the Lily Gladstone-helmed show Under the Bridge and the Kristen Stewart-helmed film Love Lies Bleeding…

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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 378

  By toyAdmin | February 22, 2024 - 10:56 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 378, Madden and Kolsky have a lot to cover, so there’s no time for pleasantries before discussions on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (0:45), casting a bit of shine on at least two worthy competitors after a season filled with distasteful main characters…
  • The dramatic, intense and somewhat mystical conclusion of True Detective: Night Country (21:40) and the some of the interesting reactions to the series…
  • The Oscar-nominated Oppenheimer (33:15) and how Christopher Nolan’s opus stacks up to the other Best Picture nominees…
  • A fellow potential Best Picture — Past Lives (41:35) — and how it works as a much smaller and quieter film than most of its peers in the category…
  • The exceedingly light Next Goal Wins (49:25) and how Taika Waititi has fun with a story that feels worthwhile despite its frequent silliness…
  • Homework for next week (57:30), including: all the drama of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion reunion show, The Vince Staples show on Netflix, the Best Picture-nominated Anatomy of a Fall and Apple TV+’s new space show Constellation…

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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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The Toy Department – Episode 353

  By toyAdmin | August 11, 2023 - 10:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 353, Madden and Kolsky discuss the Kolsky family’s bizarre living (and recording) arrangements before moving on to:

  • The return of The Challenge!! It’s the second season of The Challenge: USA (2:35) and it offers a lot of promise, despite a climax-less first episode and a questionable release schedule… The guys discuss some old favorites and some new blood…
  • Max’s Steven Soderbergh-directed kidnapping drama Full Circle (28:35) and how it asks its viewers to remain engaged with obvious puzzle pieces missing…
  • The Netflix docu-series Quarterback (34:50) and just how impressive those who play the position are (even Kirk Cousins)…
  • The return of pod favorite Reservation Dogs (45:40) and how the Hulu series continues to be utterly unique on television and wildly enjoyable…
  • The premiere of season two of Winning Time on HBO (52:15) and the Magic/Kareem relationship that appears to be at its core…
  • A few thoughts on the English Premier League (58:15) and Kolsky’s potentially heartbreaking hope surrounding Chelsea’s season…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:15), including: more of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone, the Wes Anderson film Asteroid City (now on Peacock) and Netflix’s Untold: Johnny Football doc…

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