The Toy Department – Episode 188

In Episode 188, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive directly into:

  • The new Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name (1:35) starring Eddie Murphy, and how it’s nice to have Eddie back in our lives…
  • The other new Netflix film The Laundromat (10:55) from the mind of Steven Soderbergh, and how it finds focus and a pointed message in a last-minute twist…
  • The return of The Kominsky Method (22:10) and why the guys still enjoy Chuck Lorre’s Netflix comedy…
  • The return of HBO’s Silicon Valley for its final season (24:30) and how it feels as it heads for the finish…
  • HBO’s new show Mrs. Fletcher (33:00) and the enduring appeal of Kathryn Hahn despite the show’s overly pilot-y opening episode…
  • Some thoughts on why and how the Golden State Warriors should tank their season (37:05) following the unfortunate injury to Steph Curry and some other NBA considerations…
  • Homework for next week (54:25), including: His Dark Materials on HBO, Season 2 of End of the Fucking World on Netflix, the Ed Norton film Motherless Brooklyn, a re-up on MTV’s The Challenge and a discussion about the end of HBO’s The Deuce…

The Toy Department – Episode 143

In Episode 143, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky debate the finer points of the many flavors of M&M’s before focusing in on:

  • The new film Widows (6:25) and a mild disagreement over its overall quality but general agreement about a lot of excellent performances…
  • The new film Green Book (21:30) and how it is effectively a perfect holiday-time, Oscar-bait movie…
  • Netflix’s new Chuck Lorre dramedy The Kominsky Method (32:55) and how it represents an impressive turn to quality for the prolific producer…
  • Showtime’s Escape At Dannemora (38:00) and how it’s tough to say too much about a show after one oddly paced episode…
  • The 13th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (41:20), particularly the season finalé, and where the show goes from here…
  • Homework for next week (49:15), including: the Coen Brothers/Netflix film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the limited series Little Drummer Girl on AMC, Trevor Noah’s new standup special (available on Netflix) and a season wrap-up discussion of The Challenge: Final Reckoning…

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