Failed Critics

Like buses, you wait for three years and then two come along at once, overcharge you, and make you late for work. Or something. Released at almost the exact same time as the previous episode, because why wait? This time, it's just Steve and Owen talking about stuff they've seen - including Disney+ series Andor, Disney+ movie See How They Run, and non-Disney+ Christmas movies - and think up some ideas for TV shows that deserve a spin-off movie. Like Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie. Only different. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surprise! We're back, sort of, for a couple of episodes at the very least. We do sure hope nothing's changed since we last stepped onto this feed in 2019. Steve is putting the memory foam back in his hosting chair seat, Owen is being as pretentious as always, as Brooker is, of course, reviewing horror movies. The more things change, the more they stay the same. There's quizzing, a round up of 'what we've been watching' that spans the last couple of weeks rather than years featuring Ghostbusters, Netflix's The Watcher, and the best/worst of FrightFest 2022 - plus a couple of new releases sneak their way in under the radar with reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front, the new Hellraiser movie, and a couple of words at most for Black Adam. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quick announcement from Failed Critics' new publisher and editor Tony Black discussing the return of Failed Critics and where to now find the podcast, plus a sneak peek at our first episode back with Tony, regular host Steve Norman, and guest Matt Lambourne.This feed will remain active as a storehouse for all 290+ episodes of Failed Critics between 2012-2019, but you can find the rebooted era of the show by subscribing at the following link here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/failed-critics-podcast/id1611135627You can also find the podcast on Spotify and all good pod catchers if you type in 'Failed Critics Podcast'.We'll see you there! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes had a day off work and decided to kill time by doing an impromptu podcast on stuff they've seen in 2019. It also means we edge one step closer to the magic episode 300 mark - just nine more to go. But, seeing as the last podcast they released was in June 2018, it's unlikely to be reached any time soon.The pair talk about what they've watched recently, including a chat about bizarre Japanese arthouse film Tetsuo, The Iron Man, and the wave of true crime documentaries lately. In triple bill, they each pick out their favourite new film of 2019, their favourite first-time watch of the year, and the worst film they've seen over the past three months or so.We'll be back.. probably.. at some point.. hopefully. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're back! Sort of. Host Steve Norman is back, at least, for another Star Wars special episode with regulars Paul Field and Dave Valentine booting misery guts Owen Hughes from the podcast. There's quizzing, japes, and of course more Solo: A Star Wars Story chat than you could shake a lightsaber at. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Happy birthday to you guys! Yes, it's your birthday everyone. Or, rather, the Failed Critics Podcast turned six this week, which means happy birthday to us and all of our listeners who witnessed this Frankenstein's monster of a podcast come to life.To celebrate, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes have put together a hastily arranged episode with a sneaky post-credits Avengers: Infinity War review.Also on the episode, we return to a classic format for the quiz section, before covering The Discovery, Money Monster, Alien 3 and Rampage in WWBW.Thanks to everyone who has ever downloaded, listened, shared, liked, commented on, complained about, subscribed, unsubscribed, or otherwise interacted with the podcast in some form or another throughout our existence. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're back for a bit. No biggie. Just Steve Norman, Owen Hughes and Paul Field, hanging around recording a random triple bill podcast trying to ride the crest of interest that usually comes during the Oscars season.Resurrected from the near dead, the Failed Critics revive an old quiz - not an old quiz format, literally they replay an old quiz - and chat about what they've been watching lately. Paul revels in riotous horror Freehold, Owen revisits 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Steve rubbishes a bunch of Netflix Originals.In the triple bill section, there's chaos, confusion and regular shambolic behaviour as each critic picks a movie that missed that all important award nod from the Academy throughout history.Don't get too excited; this doesn't actually signal a return to a weekly format for FC. But we're on 288 episodes now. You'll probably see us appear in your feed at 12 other points throughout the year as we push for the magic 300, so don't unsubscribe just yet!If you want more regular podcasting goodness from Owen and Steve (and Tony Black!) then please subscribe, listen and rate to STT: Rewind over at SetTheTape.com/podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Happy New Year and all that jazz. We're back from our end of year celebrations (sort of) as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes head to a pub in Oxford to chat movies and TV with Character Unlock's Andrew Brooker.Recorded over a month ago in the same pub as our last live podcast, the trio run through what they've been watching lately, as well as a triple bill giving insight into what has caught their eye over the past year at the cinema, on Netflix and the goggle box. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another year down, and another awards ceremony concluded. Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by a returning Paul Field to produce another quality end-of-year quiz, and to help us round-up the results from the Failed Critics Awards 2017.Our huge thanks go out to everybody who took the time to submit nominations in the various categories. We'll be posting the results as a list later in the week, but for now we hope you have a great New Year!We'll return soon for another special live episode recorded in Oxford earlier this year. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...Steve, Paul and Crisp Packet Dave returned for their annual Star Wars podcast and took an in-depth look at Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. (Note: This review contains spoilers, a lot of them.)Elsewhere, there is the traditional quiz where football-loving Steve tries to hide his geek tendencies. And with 5 years of Failed Critics the lads look back at their 5 favourite films of the last 5 years, as well as their least favourite.We hope you all have a great Christmas and happy new year and all that jazz. We'll have the results of our end of year awards in the next episode. Don't forget to vote if you haven't already! Deadline for submissions is midnight on Boxing Day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hopefully by now you will have caught up with DCEU's latest attempt at salvaging a flailing franchise with Justice League. Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes run their beady eye over Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon's ensemble superhero flick, as well as chatting about some post-apocalyptic fiction and reviewing their favourite cough sweets. Yum. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The stars align for hosts Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland who make their final trip to the Bucks 101 Radio studio to chat about topics that probably sum their tastes up more than any other episode produced across the two years, five series and 8,600 downloads of Front Row. Owen reviews the indie found-footage horror film sequel Creep 2, whilst Paul returns from his trip to Twickenham to watch live NFL football.If you've ever downloaded one of our podcasts, tuned in to our live radio broadcasts (at facebook.com/bucks101radio or by searching 'Bucks 101 Radio' on TuneIn), suggested songs for us to play, interacted with us on Twitter or done anything else at all to support us over these past couple of years, then we both want to say a huge THANK YOU to you all. It's been our pleasure to make these shows and hopefully you've enjoyed them too on some level.If you want to keep in touch with us, you can find Paul on Twitter @p_rutland96 or Owen at @ohughes86. You can keep supporting future University of Buckingham media and journalism students by listening to Bucks 101 Radio during term time, leaving comments on TuneIn and Facebook, and generally being as lovely for them as you were with us. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So very, very late this week that it's actually now "next week" but hey, at least it's here, right? Let's cut out the chit chat and get straight to it: Steve Norman hosts (and edits) this week as Owen Hughes and Brian Plank join for a review of the MCU's latest fantasy adventure with Thor: Ragnarok. In the absence of the news section, the trio run through some Netflix stuff, chat about what else they've been watching, and recommend you some stuff to watch during the week that's just been so is now entirely useless. Sorry about that. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With no Failed Critics Podcast this week (you'll have to wait for our Thor: Ragnarok review next week), it means your sole audio-pleasure must instead be derived from Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland's Bucks 101 Radio show Front Row. The latest bitesize podcast from their hour-long radio show this week features a chat about The Big Moon (again) after Owen ventured into Oxford for their gig straight from the Q Awards, before reviewing Netflix Original horror-comedy The Babysitter. Paul's usual sports round-up is somewhat sacrificed so that he can reveal the greatest living sportsman - and it's probably not who you're expecting it to be - and much like the BBC News headlines, Trump dominates Roll the Dice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by Callum Petch, fresh from this year's London Film Festival.We kick off the podcast with a chat about the ins and outs of the Festival itself as Callum explains what it's like being one of them proper critics that they have in London. He also rounds up five of the best (including Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, Irish Afghanistan animation The Breadwinner and NOT hip-comedy The Party) and a few of the rest.Of course, you can read back on all of Callum's diary entries from the BFI London Film Festival 2017 right here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Front Row is back on Bucks 101 Radio for its fifth and final series as hosts Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland chat about hand-painted animated movie Loving Vincent, the England football team, and a trip to Oxford that left Owen with egg mayonnaise on his face, and trousers, and hands. We'll be back on the radio on Friday at 3pm where we'll have more chat, more film reviews, more sports round-up and a bunch of tunes for you to enjoy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast. This one is actually being published within a reasonable amount of time since the recording. Aren't we spoiling you, eh! In it, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes chat about the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer as well as react to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse news. In What We've Been Watching, Steve reviews survival romance drama The Mountain Between Us, starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, and Owen takes a trip to the cinema for Loving Vincent, the hand-painted animated mystery noir about the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh. However, the main release review this week is Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve's long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's science fiction classic, starring Ryan Gosling as a replicant caught up in the search for a missing key. Would the film provide to be as divisive amongst our podders as the original was with the cinema audiences upon its release? You'll just have to listen to find out. Join us again next week for a London Film Festival special as we catch up with Callum Petch who has attended the prestigious movie event. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Only a week and a half late this time, it's our Kingsman: The Golden Circle podcast! Entering into the fool's golden circle that is the Failed Critics Podcast this week is Steve Norman, Owen Hughes, Tony Black and Brian Plank. The quiz was cut from the final audio due to being incredibly shit. Sorry. Maybe doing anagrams on the radio is not a great idea. But if you want to play along, you can find the questions that Steve et al struggled through at the bottom of this bumf. Elsewhere on the show: Steve reviewed BBC's dark comedy series Stag which has just been added to Netflix; Tony gets to grips with the new Star Trek Discovery episodes as well as sports drama Borg McEnroe; Brian watches the "very strange" Mr Biffo's Found Footage; and Owen is back on Shudder once again to watch the remastered 70's cult classic Phantasm. We'll be back next week (hopefully) with another podcast of some description. Probably about Blade Runner. QUIZ: Spot the odd one out. If you spot it, you get a point. If you know why it's the odd one out, you get 2 points. They are all name anagrams. QUESTION 1: a) Naked Borrower; b) Lank Rap Bin; c) Nobly Tack. QUESTION 2: a) Wet Math Van Hug; b) Guy Itchier; c) In Vec Hav Gun. QUESTION 3: a) Preteen Sir; b) Dry Voices; c) Panache moment. QUESTION 4: a) Asia Flub Hoe; b) Invader Gross Run; c) Men Am Thin. QUESTION 5: a) Tarhut C Rackle; b) Liphip K Kid-c; c) Ego Reg W Hubs. Q1 Answer = A - Andrew Brooker, he's the odd one out because b) Brian Plank and c) Tony Black were both meant to be on this episode, and Brooker wasn't, despite Steve emailing him the agenda before we recorded. Q2 Answer = B - Guy Ritchie, both Matthew Vaughn and Vince Vaughn have the same surname. Q3 Answer = C - Phantom Menace is a Star Wars film, whereas a) (Enterprise) and b) (Discovery) are Star Trek series. Q4 Answer = C - Tim Henman is a real tennis player, where as b) is Sverrir Gudnason, and a) is Shia LaBeouf, both of whom star in Borg McEnroe. Q5 Answer = C - George W Bush, he's a former president, whereas a) Arthur C Clarke and b) Philip K Dick are sci-fi writers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to the absolute best podcast we've ever recorded.... ooooh chinny reckon. Chinny. Reck. Kon. Oooh Jimmy Hill chinny reckon. Chinnnnny. Ok, ok. No, it's probably not the best podcast we've ever recorded, but it was still a lot of fun as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes chat Korean revenge thrills in The Villainess with Paul Field, as well as trying to work out whether Darren Aronofsky's mother! was pretentious tosh, or if that is even a bad thing at all. The pod kicks off with one of Paul's famed Amazon Review quizzes before the trio run through a few notable winners from last weekend's Emmy awards. Steve finally watches Dangerous Game, the so-called "worst football film ever made" according to The Independent, whilst Owen struggles through a review of indie drama The Song of Sway Lake due to losing all his notes minutes before recording; and Paul discovers Australian horror Killing Ground. We'll be back again next week to review Kingsman: The Golden Circle. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just a short podcast for you all this week as Owen Hughes and Andrew Brooker float the idea of a very short It Spoiler Alert review special rather than take a week off. This is your second and final warning: do NOT listen to this episode unless you have seen the weekend's release of Stephen King's killer clown movie. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosts Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland wrap up series four of Front Row with their 30th ever episode - and possibly their last ever? As ever, this is a bitesize edition of their show on Bucks 101 Radio. This week, it was an entirely pre-recorded episode broadcast on Monday 4 September, but recorded the week before. Paul rounds up that week in sport, including the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor bout and hazards a guess as to what the football transfer window slamming shut would yield. Meanwhile, Owen lauds it over the listeners with a review of the remastered Terminator 2: 3D which he caught on the big screen. Front Row may return in late September. Until then, thanks very much for listening to the show as it goes out live each week, or downloading the podcast, or simply sharing, liking, and anything else that you've done to support the show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leaping out of a moving aircraft with a Union Jack adorning their parachutes, before safely landing in the driver's seat of their sub-aquatic Aston Martin, it's your podcast hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes. Spinning around on his high-backed leather chair with a pussy in his lap, it's our special guest Paul Field, joining Owen and Steve for a special spy triple bill episode! Oh, drat! I wasn't supposed to tell you that. The cat is out of the bag, so I might as well reveal what else occurred on this week's show. Paul was back on quiz hosting duty for a rather smutty game of Bond or Bonk, before reviewing Danish comedy film Dan-Dream, from the makers of the popular Klown series. After revisiting Return of the Living Dead 3 recently, Owen sought out Brian Yuzna's body-horror social commentary directorial debut from 1989, Society, whilst Steve took a trip to the cinema to see what Steven Soderbergh's non-retirement looked like with Logan Lucky. We'll be back next week with a review of Stephen King's It. In the meantime, why not check out Paul's Underground Nights co-host's latest stand-up special which has been made available to stream for free via Amazon Prime Instant: http://amzn.to/2eOYzpC This podcast will self destruct in 1hr 3mins and 8secs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Spooktacular! Fangtastic! Unbelieva...ghoul...? Yes, it's our Horror Channel FrightFest 2017 special episode of the Failed Critics Podcast. Hosts Steve Norman-Bates and VoodoOwen Hughes drag Andrew 'PVCface' Brooker and Mike ShawcrossedTheWrongGuy straight from FrightFest and onto Skype for a podcast devoted entirely to the UK's largest genre film festival. Amongst the general chit-chat about the five-day event over the bank holiday weekend, we chat about over 15 different films, including: Leatherface; Cult of Chucky; 68 Kill; Better Watch Out; Tragedy Girls; The Bar; Mayhem; Double Date; Psychopaths; Freehold; Fanged Up; Jackals;  Bloodshed; Mob; and not forgetting the Adam Wingard's Netflix Original Death Note. We'll be back next week with a spy thrillers triple bill. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes do not podcast with their microphones; he who podcasts with his microphone has forgotten the face of his father. They podcast with their friends, Maaya Brooker and Liam, as the each pick their three favourite Stephen King movies for this week's triple bill episode, in addition to a review of the sci-fi / horror / fantasy author's latest big screen adaptation, The Dark Tower. Also on the podcast, Steve is back in the host's chair for the quiz pitting Owen's King knowledge against Maaya and Liam's, before the group chat about the news that vampire horror Nosferatu is getting a remake from Robert Eggers (The Witch). In What We've Been Watching, Steve speaks highly of new Netflix Original What Happened to Monday?, Liam plucks out period drama Lady Macbeth from Curzon's vast array of quietly quality features, and Maaya ignores all advice to take a trip to the cinema to see The Hitman's Bodyguard. We'll be back again next week for a round-up of FrightFest from horror aficionados Andrew Brooker and Mike Shawcross. Why not check out Brooker's preview piece on the horror film festival whilst you wait... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our speaking talk is no good on the latest episode of Front Row with Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland. Straight from their Bucks 101 Radio show, the pair fumble a review of Atomic Blonde, mumble through the week in sport, and give a heads up about some news (as the dice dictates). We'll be back on the air on Monday at 10am (listen via TuneIn radio or over on Facebook) where the no doubt inelegant chatter will continue, alongside some great music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Failed Critics Podcast where your hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes were joined by Brian Plank to review David Leitch's newest action thriller, Atomic Blonde. The episode was recorded a day late and about half an hour short after Steve decided to copy the film's star, Charlize Theron, and drink his own bath water. And we all know what Steve fills his baths with.  Needless to say, he was violently ill. Also on the podcast this week, Owen heads to the cinema with fingers crossed for the fourth film in The Conjuring Universe as Lights Out director David Sandberg helms Annabelle: Creation. Elsewhere, Brian revisits 90's cult comedy Tank Girl, and Steve basks in peak Bay with a Bad Boys rewatch. We'll be back next week with a Stephen King triple bill in honour of The Dark Tower's release. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a fun rant-filled podcast this week as hosts Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland dissect Luc Besson's sci-fi fantasy story, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, as well as round-up the week in sport (including THAT football transfer) and roll the dice to discuss TV. Listen to the full radio show live on Bucks 101 Radio every Monday at 10am. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a week-long hiatus, Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are back with a new episode and a slightly less conventional format than usual. With the premiere of Sharknado 5: Global Swarming airing on the SyFy Channel at the same time as the pair sat down to record, we cover the usual movie chat whilst dipping in and out of the Asylum's unfathomably popular franchise. In between all of the moaning about terrible acting, dialogue and inane celebrity cameos, Steve and Owen chat about Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's Rick and Morty over on Netflix, and HBO's penultimate season of the critically acclaimed fantasy epic, Game of Thrones. We even turn our heads away from the car-crash of a TV film for long enough to discuss Luc Besson's $200m space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, more incomprehensible disaster action in Arctic Blast, and the surprisingly entertaining cannibal b-movie, Blood Diner. We'll be back to our usual schedule next week for with a review of Atomic Blonde. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You won’t believe this, but for the first time in months, your hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker found time to play games... together. Taking their own advice from last week’s episode, John and Brooker spent some time on the Destiny 2 online beta, before starting the original FPS MMO over and losing an entire night to killing aliens in Old Russia. Did it convince Destiny skeptic Brooker to stick with it? You’ll have to listen and find out. Stuck in another slow news week, the lads delved a little deeper into some of the other games that they have laid their hands on over the last couple of weeks. On the docket for this episode? Ubisoft brawler For Honor goes up against the second episode of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and online Overwatch-wannabe Lawbreakers competes for space in the enormously crowded online shooter market. Plenty of sidetracking and and talking nonsense keeps the guys going on for longer than maybe they should be allowed to, but that's why they are here. Come join us in a couple of weeks for more pointless shenanigans, and maybe some games. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A pre-"Neymar record breaking transfer" sports round-up, a Dunkirk review which descends into a conversation about Harry Styles, and another of Paul Rutland's pub quizzes, are all crammed into another new episode of Front Row with Owen and Paul. The theme for this week's music on their Bucks 101 Radio show was family, which produced some rather divisive choices for the two hosts. As ever, you won't get the music on the podcast. For that you need to tune in live every Monday at 10am. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is it their finest hour and 17 minutes? With a stonking quiz hosted by guest Callum Petch, pitting hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes against each other, plus reviews of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, 2016 mystery thriller Pet, and the extraordinarily awful documentary Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story, it might well possibly be! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fresh from a rain-soaked three days at the big-little Truck music festival, Owen Hughes joins Paul Rutland in the Bucks 101 Radio studio for another episode of Front Row. Inspired by the multitude of new bands that Owen discovered at Truck, the theme for the music on the live radio show (10am on Mondays) were all tracks that neither Owen nor Paul had heard a week ago. The Big Moon, Slaves, Trash, Shannon Noll, JP Cooper and more all got an airing - but you'll have to listen to the live show to hear the tunes. Elsewhere on the podcast, it was a hefty weekend of sport with lots for Paul to work through, including Chris Froome's incredible Tour de France performance, success for the England women's cricket team, football transfers and a bunch of stuff we couldn't even fit into the show in any depth due to time constraints! But we did also sneak in a review of upcoming sci-fi horror film Phoenix Forgotten and a preview (of sorts) for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We honestly don’t know what’s going on. There should be plenty of big news floating about about now, but it seems like everyone has started their summer holidays early and the guys struggled to find news this week! Still, they have to try don’t they? Welcome to this week’s episode of Character Unlock. That’s not to say there wasn’t stuff to talk about, with the fresh of the presses (at time of recording) announcement that Titanfall 2, a favourite game from last year for both of our hosts, is getting some significant DLC for free just in time for those that pick it up from EA’s vault. Along with some confused conversation about the newly announced Atari console that no one knows anything about. John managed to drag himself out of a gaming funk this week by hitting old dependables Destiny and Battlefield 1; he even managed to school Brooker a little bit as he starts his Destiny career (again) in time for the sequel. Brooker fell back to his pile of unfinished games, this time spending time with fantasy action epic Dishonored 2; a game he simultaneously loved (and hated) with a burning passion. Join us again in a couple of weeks and catch up with the guys and their escapades. Gaming and not. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

NOOOOOOOOOOO-- I mean, yes, it's the latest episode of the Failed Critics podcast with Callum 'bright eyes' Petch and Dr Andrew Brookerzaius joining hosts Steve 'chimpan A' Norman and Owen 'chimpan Z' Hughes as they get their stinkin' paws on The Dawn of the War Beneath the Battle for the Planet of the Living Dead Apes, or whatever it's called. Elsewhere on a particularly shambolic episode, we mull over the casting of a woman (aka Jodie Whittaker) as The Doctor for the upcoming series of BBC sci-fi fantasy series Doctor Who, as well as the passing of legendary filmmaker, George A Romero. There's also a quiz to open the show, with Steve and Owen neck-and-neck at 2-2 in the table. Winner of the quiz takes it all this week and forces the other to watch a film of their choosing. In What We've Been Watching: Owen continues the zombie theme by watching gory Korean thriller Train to Busan; Callum catches up on some Ben Wheatley with folk/hitman horror Kill List; and Brooker finally gets hold of a copy of The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Join us again next week for a review of Christopher Nolan's war drama, Dunkirk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland are back together on the airwaves at Bucks 101 Radio with their weekly show, Front Row, every Monday at 10am, chatting films, sports and a random topic decided by a roll of the dice! Their last broadcast was back in the heady days of September 2016, where Sam Allardyce had recently kick-started his reign as England manager with a win against Slovakia, Sausage Party had made its way to the cinema, and where we peaked with 10 listeners on the live radio show. Ten! A whole TEN people tuned in. Imagine. But they're back for the fourth series of their show in its original format. With the breaking news that George A Romero recently passed away, Owen pays tribute to the iconic filmmaker. Meanwhile, Paul finds all manner of sporting success stories to report on, including Federer's Wimbledon triumph, the England's performance under cricket captain Joe Root, some football transfer chat, and.. that guy who did some good motor racing down the road in Silverstone... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast where hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are left on their lonesome to review the week's major new release. With no news to discuss nor quizzes to, er, quiz, it makes space for both a spoiler-free and a post-credits Spoiler Alert, all about Spider-Man: Homecoming. In What We've Been Watching, Owen suggests adding upcoming found-footage horror Phoenix Forgotten to your watchlist and delves into a discussion with Steve about the genre as a whole. Meanwhile, Steve tries to understand why The Girl With All The Gifts was quite as lauded as it was. We'll be back again next week with a review of War for the Planet of the Apes! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of Character Unlock, where hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker decide to mark the occasion of the recently announced Super Nintendo Classic by dragging back on their guest from February’s Resident Evil episode, fellow Failed Critic Matt Lambourne rejoins the duo. With a veritable buffet of nonsense to cover, the lads tackle the ridiculous situation that Activision caused for themselves with their insane rerelease of their Modern Warfare rerelease. Moving swiftly into more news of old classics getting awfully misguided releases, the latest Micro Machines game to be unleashed on the world takes a well-deserved beating from the group. Matt rolls the conversation right back around to Call of Duty in his episode’s What We’ve Been Playing section, as he explains why he wasn’t as taken with Modern Warfare as everyone else. While our hosts revisit favourites and faithfuls like a Grand Theft Auto, FIFA and Bulletstorm before delving into our first good, meaty topic in a while. Come join the trio as they dissect the games on the soon-to-be-on-eBay-at-four-times-the-cost Super NES Classic Mini console. From Kirby’s Dream Course to Castlevania and everything in between, the guys take a good hard look at the nostalgia driven console and the games that could make or break it. Join us again in a couple of weeks for more gaming foolishness. In the meantime, maybe come find us on a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all @CharacterUnlock. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Get a round in, pull up a pew and try the fish - we recommend the ultimate haddocks. Yes, that's right, Tony Black, Owen Hughes and Andrew Brooker are back together again for another Failed Critics Unplugged, recorded live at The Mitre in Oxford last weekend. Unfortunately Steve Norman couldn't make it but he was still with us in spirit as Tony, Owen and Brooker take on Steve's suggested triple bill of films where the band gets back together, in honour of the trio rejoining after February's podcast recorded in the Old Contemptibles pub in Birmingham. Due to this episode being recorded over a week ago, there's no actual news section on this show but What We've Been Watching remains. Brooker revisits 90's classic The Usual Suspects, Tony checks out historical mystery drama The Childhood of a Leader, and Owen reviews brand new sci-fi fantasy adventure Origin Wars (aka Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child). We'll be back to our usual format next week for Spider-Man: Homecoming. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dare! Dare to believe you can survive [another Michael Bay Transformers movie]. You hold the future in your hand. Dare. Dare to keep all of your dreams alive [of never having to sit through another one]. It's time to take a stand. And you can win, if you dare [to stay home when the Bumblebee solo film comes out]. Yes, listeners, it's fair to say that the reaction from Steve Norman, Owen Hughes and Callum Petch to Transformers 5 / Transformers: The Last Knight / Trans5mers was less than positive. Perhaps it was the lack of Vince DiCola and Stan Bush that sours those films so..?  Not even listening to the all-time greatest movie soundtrack ever no backsies can change our opinion. I say it's the greatest movie soundtrack ever, but Edgar Wright's Baby Driver, which is also reviewed on this episode, may have something to say on that matter! In What We've Been Watching, we also cover another new release, The Book of Henry, as well as The Skeleton Twins, 80's exploitation Contamination, and last year's War Dogs.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome back to our regularly scheduled programming. After a mammoth E3 last week, the Character Unlock guys are back to doing what they do: playing video games and talking an unlimited amount of nonsense. This week is no different. This episode, hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker forego a news section - nothing much happened anyway - and jump straight into what they've been playing since the end of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Having garnered some help in the form of a Twitter poll, the CU audience decided which of Brooker's half finished games he should get out the way first. As it turned out, he was destined to spend two solid days finishing off Guerrilla Games' open-world action/adventure Horizon: Zero Dawn. And boy does he speak at length about it. Similarly, after months of pestering, John finally got his teeth into Dontnod's time bending Life is Strange; and the pair try to talk about it without spoiling anything. No mean feat, I can promise you that. GTA V's latest online update and the... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite reports of different creative visions for this episode of the Failed Critics Podcast, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes haven't left the project, but have brought on board Underground Nights co-host Paul Field to delve into some film news and reviews. The pod kicks off with Owen still in the big comfy leather armchair, pitting Steve and Paul against each other in a quiz themed around our main review this week; Jason Flemyng's directorial debut, the British horror-comedy, Eat Local. We follow the quiz with a brief round-up of a couple of recent news headlines, including the retirement of Daniel Day-Lewis, and "different creative visions" for the Han Solo solo movie which has seen Phil Lord and Chris Miller given the ol' heave-ho. Our main feature this week sees each of the panel picking their three dream jobs from within the fictional world of any film, in honour of Baby Driver, which will be reviewed next week. Did any of our team choose getaway driver as their dream job in movies? You'll have to... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The end is here! Join our hosts as they take apart the last of this year’s E3 press conferences. This episode, we focus on Nintendo who, as has become tradition, have foregone the big stage for a pre-recorded show. That means that we were treated to a super-short advert fest and not much else. Reggie introduced us to a few new games and detailed some E-Sports tournaments they have upcoming over the coming months. And not an awful lot else. Lots of Japanese games, as expected, with Xenoblade and Fire Emblem getting everyone’s attention. With Arms, Mario Odyssey and Kirby brining up the rear. And that’s it. A bit of a damp squib show to end the conferences. We hope you’ve enjoyed the last few days with us. We’ll be back next week for our regularly scheduled programme. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel. As the guys sit an go through the second to last showcase of 2017’s E3; the light can barely be seen as the tired, squinting eyes of our hosts are barely open. It’s 4am, and we’ve got games to talk about. Loads of games. Everything from the new God of War to the Uncharted expansion is trailered and talked about by our flagging hosts. Desperately trying to stay awake as Sony did nothing to help them out, with only Horizon DLC trailers and an extended Spiderman demo to keep them going. Join them later on tonight as they finish up their marathon podcast sessions with Nintendo’s showcase. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This isn't a tomb, it's an audio prison. It takes a couple of monsters in hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes to create a podcast episode (and nobody else) reviewing Universal's first foray into their new Dark Universe, The Mummy. It's just the two of them and they can make it if they try. To make up for the lack of guests, they take it upon themselves to review two movies each in What We've Been Watching this week. Steve chats about Irish comedy The Young Offenders and dystopian drama The White King, whilst Owen pleads with people not to be put off by the title of Netflix Original I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore, and ponders why on Earth we're getting a Blade Runner sequel when the first was so damn good. The pair also turn their attention to the recently departed Adam West - but you should probably read this article by James Diamond to see why he is rightfully revered as a legend. Join us again next week as one-part of Field & Mullinger's Underground Nights (that'd be Paul Field) will return to... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As day three of E3 starts up and the guys have managed to get a few hours kip… it’s time for the Ubisoft conference. As tiredness and hay fever appear to be getting the better of the boys, join them in going through the developer’s advert-fest for 2017. Assassin’s Creed Origins makes it’s expected appearance. As does The Crew 2, Just Dance and the latest, much delayed South Park sequel. Surprises hit in the form of a Pirate filled naval combat game, a Rabbids and Mario collaboration and an expansion for the thought dead Steep. The lads seem to come out of this one happier than any of the other shows so far this year. Keep up-to-date with their thoughts as the conferences wind themselves up over the next 24 hours. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seriously. This can’t be healthy. With only two hours sleep, we are back covering this year’s E3 press conferences. This time, it’s fan favourite - but not John favourite - publisher Bethesda. Quickly getting the records for latest ever E3 presser and the shortest ever E3 conference, join the lads as they pick apart the Skyrim publisher’s outing. Quake, Wolfenstein, Fallout and Dishonored all get a showing, pretty much as we predicted in our preview show last week. No real surprises this year, but plenty to get excited about. With around 14 hours until the next show, the guys are going to get some kip before they crack into Ubisoft’s press conference. Join the conversation with us on Twitter (@characterunlock) and follow the live tweeting goodness. Until tonight… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The E3 Hype train continues today as Microsoft’s Xbox Showcase rolls into town. Join the lads as they pull apart what could be the most important conference of the week as Microsoft formally announce the name of what we’ve all come to know as Project Scorpio. The newly named Xbox One X provides all of this episode’s talking points as we got a list of new games coming for the new machine. Old favourites, new favourites and even a surprise or two. And the most important announcement? A new… Porsche?? No, we didn’t understand it either. Keep up to date with us on Twitter and follow us as we suffer through the rest of E3 week for you, the listener. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

E3 is finally here. That means late nights, early mornings and far more caffeine than is healthy. Let us begin this year's festivities with EA Play. The first show of the conference gets underway with a flurry of old favourites and ends with a very anticipated title. Hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker dive into all the FIFAs, Maddens and Star Wars: Battlefronts that the publishing giant has to offer. Listen in to see what they thought. Follow the guys on Twitter (@CharacterUnlock) to see their thoughts on this years show in real time. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's almost here! E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the start of the next 12 months of marketing is finally upon us for 2017. Hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker will be spending a couple of hours talking all things E3, just like every other video game podcast, website, foghorn, whatever, right now. They cover everything in this preview episode, including what they would like to see at each show, the rituals they might or might not do every year for E3 and even throwing a few far out ideas that could (but absolutely won't ever) happen. Join the lads as they flip through each of the big companies Press conferences and try to figure out if it really is worth staying up until silly o'clock in the morning to watch a whole load of adverts. Trying something a little bit different for the next few days: As the biggest event in gaming's calendar rolls through, the guys will be following the events in as close to real time as they can possible handle. Keep an eye on our social media (@CharacterUnlock on... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've got what you want, what you need AND what you deserve on this week's Failed Critics triple bill special episode with not one, not two, but a whole bunch of Wonder Women - and we're not just referring to Maaya Brooker! Maaya joins hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes for a Wonder Woman inspired triple bill as they each pick three films directed and/or written by women, leading to quite an eclectic mix of movies up for discussion in our main feature. But before that, the team also review the latest entry into the DC Extended Universe released this past weekend, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian warrior princess, Diana. We also have a newly formatted quiz to open proceedings before a brief mention of Peter Sallis and his part in Wallace and Gromit, following his death at the age of 96 earlier this week. We'll be back again next week for a review of The Mummy - but in the meantime, keep an eye out for our sister gaming podcast, Character Unlock (@CharacterUnlock on... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cue the sax, it's the Failed Critics Podcast: Latenight Softcore Edition, where host Steve Norman finally gets his wish to make Owen Hughes review Emmanuelle In Space, possibly the boobiest of all our quiz booby-prizes thus far. If you giggle when you hear naughty words, you're going to, well, giggle, when you hear our quiz. The new releases this week see the team joined by Maaya Brooker (making her podcast debut) to chat about the amount of bounce in a slow-motion run along the beach in Baywatch, and mull over Disney's latest blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge / Dead Men Tell No Tales / the Fifth one / delete as applicable. Elsewhere on show, we mourn the death of British acting legend Roger Moore; and review Netflix's latest Original Movie, the satirical combat movie War Machine, the Stephen King adaptation Misery, as well as creepy Verhoeven sci-fi thriller, Hollow Man. We'll be back next week for a Wonder Woman special. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.