The Toy Department – Episode 446

In Episode 446, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Derek’s homework apology before (angrily) diving right into:

  • The widely acclaimed Best Picture nominee The Secret Agent (1:10) and how neither of our hosts can figure out why that acclaim exists…
  • Richard Linklater’s new film Blue Moon (12:45), which was abjectly hated by one of our hosts and marginally appreciated for its good qualities by the other…
  • Ethan Coen’s 2025 film Honey Don’t (21:10) and how it simply doesn’t rise to the standard of the work he’s done with his brother…
  • The new Netflix series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (31:05) and how Northern Irish murder mystery capers apparently appeal more to one host than the other…
  • Homework for next week (37:30), including: the Oscar-nominated films Marty Supreme and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the Tracy Morgan show The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC/Peacock, and the Scrubs reboot on ABC/Hulu…

The Toy Department – Episode 308

In Episode 308, begin with a long detour into Dave Chappelle before focusing in on last week’s homework, specifically:

  • The latest from The Challenge USA on CBS (18:50) after an early trivia episode, and how the Big Brother players are stuck on Big Brother strategy while The Challenge plays out around them…
  • The Peacock comedy Bust Down (32:00) and how it’s perfectly good but not necessarily compelling to either of our hosts…
  • Issa Rae’s new project Rap Sh!t on HBO Max (35:30) and how both guys are into it, but took a second episode to get there (perhaps because they’re getting old!)…
  • Nathan Fielder’s new HBO Max show The Rehearsal (40:20) and whether the pure absurdity and over-the-top nature of it is compelling and interesting or not…
  • The Netflix action flick The Gray Man (47:20) and whether it’s good enough to be the foundation of a big-time action franchise for them…
  • Homework for next Friday (58:50), including: The Resort on Peacock, Paper Girls on Amazon Prime and the second season of Reservation Dogs on FX/Hulu, plus the next episode of The Challenge USA on CBS…

The Toy Department – Episode 192

In Episode 192, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky suffer through various ailments to deliver an abbreviated episode focusing on:

  • Martin Scorsese’s new Netflix film The Irishman (5:00) and the infuriatingly pretentious reaction from film critics and twitter cinephiles…
  • Homework for next week (25:40), including: making up for this week by getting to the film Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime and Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix stand-up special, plus check-ins on Watchmen and Mrs. Fletcher, and adding in the new film Queen & Slim as well as the reboot of the L Word on Showtime and the new season of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon…
  • A quick (and glowing) reaction to the new film Knives Out (27:15) and how much fun can be had in a movie theater…