Tag Archives: HBO Max

The Toy Department – Episode 246

  By toyAdmin | February 2, 2021 - 10:59 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 246, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Kolsky’s persistent physical malady before focusing on the pop culture of the week:

  • The new Amazon Prime show Flack (4:10), its star Anna Paquin and a level of watchability that led both hosts to watch all six episodes this week…
  • The second special episode of Euphoria (9:30) and how wonderful and original that show feels heading into its second season…
  • The French show Lupin (19:40), which is enjoyable and charming in some ways but doesn’t totally come together…
  • The film The Little Things (27:45) and, among other things, whether it’s possible for Rami Malek to be convincing as a relatively normal human being…
  • A little Super Bowl LV chat (38:35) focused primarily on some good-value prop bets to make your party-less Super Sunday a little more entertaining…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (57:50), including: the new Sam Levinson/Zendaya/John David Washington film Malcom & Marie on Netflix, ESPN’s new 30 for 30 film Al Davis vs. The NFL, the Ted Danson network sitcom Mr. Mayor and the new Marvel series WandaVision on Disney+; plus a Super Bowl wrap-up and more NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 245

  By toyAdmin | January 26, 2021 - 10:52 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 245, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss a mediocre basketball game they both watched last night before focusing in on:

  • Alex Wheatle (3:15), the fourth film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series on Amazon Prime, and how the series has lost some momentum as it has gone on…
  • The new Netflix film White Tiger (10:00) and how it turns some very dark material into a pretty thrilling ride…
  • The new HBO Max film Locked Down (16:55) and why its weirdness appealed more to one of our hosts than the other…
  • Some NFL Playoff thoughts (25:40) on both Packers-Bucs and Bills-Chiefs, plus what the Brady v. Mahomes Super Bowl might look like…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (42:55), including: the new Denzel Washington film The Little Things, the new Amazon Prime show Flack, the second special episode of Euphoria (focusing on Jules) and the new French Netflix show Lupin; plus a little more Super Bowl preview and more NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 244

  By toyAdmin | January 19, 2021 - 10:54 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 244, Madden and Kolsky once again flirt with the concept of a short show before lengthy discussions about:

  • Sports!! Including some NFL postseason thoughts (1:15) and a brief chat about early-season NBA drama (4:20) after a big MLK Day of games…
  • The conclusion of HBO Max’s Tiger Woods documentary (9:00) and how fascinating the story of his rise and fall (and rise again) is…
  • The third film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, called Red, White and Blue (20:15), and why it may have been the least satisfying of the movies so far…
  • The Amazon Prime film One Night in Miami (26:25) and the impressive debut directorial outing of Regina King…
  • The exciting new film Promising Young Woman (34:10) and all the things that make it so fantastic and unique…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (53:50), including: the new HBO Max film Locked Down, the next Small Axe film (called Alex Wheatle) and the new Netflix movie White Tiger; plus the NFL Conference Championship games and more NBA basketball… 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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The Toy Department – Episode 242

  By toyAdmin | January 5, 2021 - 11:09 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 242, Madden and Kolsky welcome in the new year with clear eyes and full hearts (and talk a teensy bit of The Challenge) before bidding 2020 adieu with discussions about:

  • The Charlie Brooker dark comedy pseudo-documentary special Death to 2020 (3:45) and the experience of laughing at the horrible events of last year, while trying not to wallow in them…
  • The third season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai (11:35) and the problems that this still-enjoyable show is going to have to work through moving forward…
  • The Steve McQueen film Lovers Rock (21:50), the second in his Small Axe series on Amazon, the director’s impressive execution and the wonderful mood created by a simple and relatively short movie…
  • The new Pixar joint Soul (29:25) and the greatness of Pixar animation in general…
  • The new love story drama Sylvie’s Love (39:35) and the impressive work of lead actors Nnamdi Asomugha and Tessa Thompson in a relatively straightforward dramatic film…
  • A few thoughts on the NFL Playoffs (51:50) with an extra special 6-game Wild Card Weekend on deck…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (1:06:10), including: the HBO Max show How To with John Wilson, the Apple TV+ show Mythic Quest, the new TIger Woods documentary on HBO and the new Netflix film History of Swear Words (narrated by Nic Cage!!!) not to mention NFL playoffs and NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 241

  By toyAdmin | December 29, 2020 - 2:08 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 241, Madden and Kolsky wish 2020 a very good riddance and discuss the odd new 2020 movie experience before jumping into:

  • The new superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 (4:30) and all the many and varied disappointments within…
  • The first film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe collection (17:50) — called Mangrove — and what a high-quality, artful production it is despite being a very tough hang…
  • The new Netflix movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (28:40) and how it feels very specifically like a play but also features tremendous performances from Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, among others…
  • Hulu’s holiday lesbian rom-com Happiest Season (38:45) and how it’s a perfectly good, if relatively standard-issue, romantic comedy…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (43:35), including: the second of the five films in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe collection (called Lovers Rock), the new season of Cobra Kai on Netflix, the Charlie Brooker (of Black Mirror fame) mockumentary special Death to 2020 and the new film Sylvie’s Love, starring Tessa Thompson and former All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 240

  By toyAdmin | December 23, 2020 - 9:39 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 240, Madden and Kolsky do a bit of show production on air before diving into:

  • The listener-recommended show Wayne (2:05) and just how remarkably well our listener Brandon has pegged our taste…
  • The BEST OF 2020 Extravaganza (7:40) wherein our two hosts intimately detail all the movies, music and television that they loved… settle in for a nice, long ride…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (1:21:45), including: the first of the five films in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe collection (called Mangrove), the new movie Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max and the new Netflix film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 239

  By toyAdmin | December 15, 2020 - 2:25 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 239, Madden berates Kolsky for prioritizing a mediocre baba ghanoush over the podcast recording time before jumping into:

  • HBO’s first special episode of Euphoria (5:55) and the tremendous performances by Colman Domingo and Zendaya…
  • The Steven Soderbergh/HBO Max film Let Them All Talk (12:15) and what it has to say about life and relationships…
  • The highly acclaimed new film The Sound of Metal (25:50) and how the strength of Riz Ahmed’s performance carries it…
  • The Rachel Brosnahan film I’m Your Woman (34:30) and how it subverted both hosts’ expectations to great effect…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (52:10), including: our 2020 BEST OF lists — a breathtaking thrill ride, even this year — and the show Wayne on Amazon Prime (recommended by an intrepid listener)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 238

  By toyAdmin | December 8, 2020 - 11:26 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 238, Madden and Kolsky are debuting the new pod format/schedule and waste little time getting into:

  • HBO Max’s new Kaley Cuoco vehicle The Flight Attendant (1:50) and how the show and its star are both revelations…
  • The new Netflix film Mank (9:50) and whether David Fincher’s throwback to black-and-white movies has enough to draw in those who are not particularly interested in that time period…
  • The return of Big Mouth (24:05) and how Nick Kroll & Co. continue to execute at the highest possible level…
  • A few quick sports thoughts (34:30) touching on MLS and MLB…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (39:35), including: HBO’s new special episodes of Euphoria, the new Soderbergh/Meryl Streep movie Let Them All Talk on HBO Max, the Riz Ahmed film The Sound of Metal and the Rachel Brosnahan action flick I’m Your Woman, both on Amazon Prime… PLUS, our first VERY SPECIAL CHALLENGE EPISODE coming on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 237

  By toyAdmin | December 4, 2020 - 11:23 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 237, Madden and Kolsky are back after a LOOOOONG Thanksgiving break with LOTS to talk about (after a brief recounting of Kolsky’s COVID test):

  • A preview of THE CHALLENGE: DOUBLE AGENTS (3:30) which premiere’s next week on MTV, and which this podcast will cover IN DEPTH…
  • The end of The Undoing on HBO (19:20) and how miserably, ridiculously bad it was…
  • Kevin Hart’s new Netflix stand-up special (24:40) and the difficulty of being funny while incredibly rich…
  • Showtime’s John Belushi documentary (26:50) and its exciting new insight into the personality and humanity of a complicated public figure…
  • Another new HBO Max series, I Hate Suzie (33:45) and its interesting genre-blending style…
  • The HBO Max series Two Weeks to Live (38:10) starring the irresistibly charming Maisie Williams…
  • The 2020 reboot of Saved By The Bell (41:20) and how impressive the execution is…
  • The bizarre intrigue of Netflix’s sword-making reality show Forged in Fire (46:05) and the fascinating question of WHERE DO THEY FIND THESE PEOPLE???…
  • Homework for TUESDAY of next week (53:05), including: the return of Big Mouth on Netflix, the new movie Mank on Netflix and HBO Max’s new Kaley Cuoco vehicle The Flight Attendant…
  • A few sports thoughts on the way out the door (55:20) with the NFL and college sports in full COVID swing and the NBA ready to start shortly…

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