Podcasts about bad dads

Bad Dads Film Review heads to the Italian Riviera this week for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) — a sun-drenched, jazz-soaked psychological thriller where gorgeous people do terrible things, and the worst person in the room still somehow isn't the guy committing the murders.We follow Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a small-time grifter with big social ambitions, who's handed a golden ticket: travel to Italy and convince trust-fund prince Dickie Greenleaf (prime Jude Law, unfairly beautiful) to come home. Tom doesn't just want Dickie's friendship — he wants Dickie's life. And once he's tasted that world of money, effortless charm, and endless leisure, he's willing to do whatever it takes to stay in it.What we talked about“Great Gatsby, but murderous”: Tom as the outsider who doesn't just observe the rich — he tries to become them (and wear their face if needed).The grift mechanics: the Princeton jacket con, the “research” phase, practicing mannerisms and music tastes, and how the film turns impersonation into a craft.The seduction of wealth: why you're weirdly happy to watch Tom infiltrate a circle of vapid, obscenely privileged characters.Obsession and desire: the homoerotic undertones, Tom's fixation on Dickie, and how the film frames identity as something you can steal… if you're ruthless enough.Set-piece escalation: the boat trip and the brutal turning point; the forged signatures, dual hotel check-ins, staged evidence, and the constant “one more lie to cover the last lie” tension.Freddy as the threat (Philip Seymour Hoffman): the first person with enough real-world instincts to sniff out “new money” fraud — and what happens when he pushes it.The ending sting: Tom “gets away with it”… but the price is isolation, paranoia, and the realization that the spoils aren't worth much when you can't live as yourself.Aging and attitudes: how the film plays in 2026 — including a chat about whether some of the sexuality/“homosexual as threat” framing feels dated.Plus: we somehow opened with a Top 5 Mats segment that should not work… and absolutely does.Standard Bad Dads warning: spoilers throughout, strong language, and the kind of moral compass that's been left outside on a bath mat since the Blair government.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

The premise (simple, but the film isn't): A privileged but messy NYC teenager, Lisa (Anna Paquin), causes a moment of distraction that leads to a bus hitting and killing a woman (Allison Janney). In the immediate aftermath she lies to the police—claiming the light was green—helping the driver (Mark Ruffalo) avoid consequences. The rest of the film is Lisa spiralling through guilt, grief, anger, and a need to “make it right,” while the city and everyone around her keep moving.What we talked about:Peak New York energy: classrooms full of political debate, constant noise, constant arguing, constant opinion. It feels like a movie made by New York about New York.The accident scene is brutal and effective: the sound design, the “oh God she's under the bus—no she isn't” reveal, the shock of the detached leg detail.Lisa as a catalyst/chaos engine: she's manipulative early (cheating, playing people), then becomes obsessive—fixated on getting the driver off the road.Adults failing her, repeatedly:Her mum is emotionally absent (Broadway ambitions, new relationship), and the mother–daughter conflict goes nuclear (including a shocking insult).The system shrugs: the driver is exonerated, and later the legal route becomes a cold negotiation rather than “justice.”The legal thread: the case can only move via next-of-kin dynamics; settlement money becomes the lever; but discipline for Ruffalo's driver is off the table because it implies guilt.Matt Damon “week” irony: Damon is barely in it—yet appears in the trailer—making the pick feel like a forced “hipster” choice.The uncomfortable Damon subplot: a teacher boundary-crossing storyline that lands badly and makes the film feel grimier, not deeper.Performances / cast notes: Big ensemble, lots of “oh wow, they're in this” energy: Paquin carries it; Ruffalo is an outright asshole; Allison Janney's presence is seismic even with limited time; plus Jean Reno, Matthew Broderick, and more orbiting the core. Pacing / vibe: Overlong, heavy, and (for us) pretentious rather than profound—with the most compelling parts being the accident's immediacy and the moral rot that follows. Theatrical cut runs about 149 minutes, with a longer 186-minute extended cut also out there. Verdict from us: Lukewarm-to-negative recommend. Strong craft and acting in places, but frustratingly long, emotionally abrasive, and not remotely worth it as a “Matt Damon week” entry.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This week's pick is Train Dreams: a quiet, meditative Netflix drama adapted from Denis Johnson's novella, following the life of Robert Grainer (Joel Edgerton) — a logger and railroad worker drifting through early 20th-century America. It's the kind of film that feels like a memory: sparse dialogue, heavy atmosphere, and a sense of time moving faster than any one person can keep up with.The opening sets the tone immediately: rail tracks, a tunnel, Will Patton's voiceover, and an image that pays off later — boots nailed to a tree, slowly swallowed by nature. From there it's a whole life in fragments: brutal work camps, quiet domestic joy, sudden violence, and the long, haunted aftermath of loss.What we talked aboutA “Western” that isn't really a Western — frontier vibes at first, then you realise you're watching the world modernise around one man who can't.Work as a lifetime trap: logging season, railroad labour, the “build it for someone else” feeling, and the way corporations just roll on regardless.The Chinese labour thread and the early sequence where a Chinese worker is taken and thrown from the bridge — and how that moment sits with Grainer for decades.William H. Macy as the old explosives guy: funny, weary, and then brutally, pointlessly lost.The wildfire: Grainer racing home, the cabin gone, wife and daughter gone off-screen — and the film refusing to give closure, so you feel the same unresolved grief he does.The recurring motif of time erasing everything: the boots, the forest reclaiming, bridges made obsolete, progress moving on without sentiment.The late-film whiplash into modernity: Grainer seeing spaceflight on a shop-window TV, then taking a plane ride — an old man briefly touching the future.Nick Cave over the end credits, and how the score and natural lighting carry the whole thing.VerdictA beautifully shot, melancholy life-story film: quiet, heavy, and surprisingly moving. Joel Edgerton is superb, and the movie's best trick is making the audience feel the scale of time — and the smallness of one person inside it.Strong recommend, especially if you're in the mood for something reflective rather than plot-driven.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This week we head into full remake territory with Doug Liman's glossy, bone-crunching update of Road House. Jake Gyllenhaal steps into Patrick Swayze's boots as Dalton: a drifter, ex–UFC fighter, and walking concussion who takes a job cleaning up a Florida Keys bar where violence isn't a possibility — it's a nightly guarantee.From the opening underground fight circuit to the neon chaos of the Road House itself, the film wastes no time establishing its tone: sunburnt, hyper-kinetic, knowingly ridiculous action with a wink. Dalton isn't just muscle — he's a philosopher-bouncer trying (and often failing) to de-escalate a town addicted to throwing punches.What we talked aboutThe remake question: why revisit a cult classic, and does this version justify its existence?Gyllenhaal's performance — shredded, funny, and oddly charming as a smiling human weaponThe bar as a war zone: nonstop fights that feel both brutal and cartoonishDoug Liman's direction and the slick, CG-enhanced fight choreographyConor McGregor as the chaos agent villain — distracting stunt casting or perfect cartoon henchman?The movie's throwback 80s energy: big action, simple stakes, zero realismThe strange lack of romance in such a sweaty, hyper-physical filmStreaming vs cinema: whether this deserved a theatrical releaseVerdictIt's loud, dumb, stylish, and fully aware of it. Road House doesn't try to outthink the original — it turns the dial toward modern action excess and lets Gyllenhaal carry the vibe. Not high art, but a breezy, violent crowd-pleaser that knows exactly what it is.Strong recommend if you want neon-lit mayhem, broken bones, and a remake that leans into its own stupidity instead of apologising for it.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This week Sidey watched Roof Man on a flight—and it turned out to be a surprisingly breezy true-crime oddity: part heist caper, part rom-com, all built around one ridiculous (but real) idea.What it's aboutChanning Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, a struggling Army vet and dad who turns his “situational awareness” into a criminal superpower. His method is brutally simple: hammer through roofs, drop in overnight, hit fast-food joints for cash, vanish. After dozens of robberies he finally gets caught—then pulls off a genuinely wild prison escape and goes to ground in the last place you'd expect… a Toys “R” Us.What we talked aboutThe appeal (and absurdity) of the “roof entry” MO—and why it's terrifying in real lifeThe prison escape: routine, observation, and one perfectly timed delivery runLiving in plain sight: how the Toys “R” Us hideout becomes a weird little home baseThe moral wobble: the film frames him as charming, but these are still violent, traumatic crimesThe Kirsten Dunst factor: why she works here, and how the romance complicates everythingWhy it's a great “plane movie”: short, watchable, and doesn't outstay its welcomeVerdictA light, easy watch with solid performances and a bizarre true-story hook—even if the tone sometimes smooths over how grim the real-world version would feel. Strong recommend if you want something fun-adjacent and fast-moving (especially at 30,000 feet).You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

A gritty, twisty one-night siege thriller that actually looks great (yes, you can see what's happening). The RIP throws Matt Damon and Ben Affleck into a paranoid, internal-corruption nightmare where everyone feels suspicious and every conversation sounds like it has a second meaning.The setupMiami PD captain Jackie Veles is executed by masked hitters after sending one last message and ditching her phone in the river. The FBI descends on the TNT squad (Tactical Narcotics Team), grilling Damon's Dane and Affleck's JD Byrne with a barrage of insinuations—then drops a key reveal: the lead agent is Affleck's brother (Scott Adkins), and it gets physical.What we dig intoThe “big score” tip: Dane gets a text about serious cash—then tells each teammate a different number (immediately sketchy).The money house: a run-down suburban place with a single pristine attic space hiding buckets of cash—enough to bring cartel heat and dirty cops out of the woodwork.Procedure vs panic: phones confiscated, on-site double counts, and the creeping feeling that everyone has an angle.Corruption lore: VCAT baggage, rumours of a cop “crew” that hunts cash stashes, and the sense the real enemy is inside the system.The siege and the switch: masked shooters, cartel contact, and the film's central fun: constantly reassigning blame as the night spirals.Motifs that land (and one that doesn't): the tattoo mantra (“Are we the good guys? We are, and always will be”), the “see another sunrise” thread… and the slightly daft full-circle beat at the end.The verdictThis is Knives Out with tattoos and automatic weapons—a clean, propulsive plot, strong tension, and a solid Damon/Affleck double-act. It's not subtle about cop-mythology, but as a contained, twist-forward thriller with a great cast and tight pacing, it's an easy Strong Recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

We think the work Dan Trachtenberg has been doing with the Predator franchise has been top-notch. In 2025 he was two for two, with Killer of Killers and this film, Predator: Badlands! A film unlike we've seen in the franchise, there is a lot more writing, character growth, and lore here than most see. We unpack everything... and there is a lot! We also break down our top 5 "Bad Dads" in films and tv! So grab your shoulder blaster, watch out for those thorns, and please don't drop your weapons... it's time for Predator: Badlands on the Movie Defenders Podcast! Click here to listen and connect anywhere: https://linktr.ee/moviedefenders 00:00:00 Intro and What We've Been Watching 00:25:16 Top 5 Bad Dads 01:12:04 Predator: Badlands Discussion Starts 01:56:38 Meet Thia 02:19:34 The Alpha Protects the Pack 02:34:57 Tessa's Plans Special thanks to our amazing Patreon supporters! Alex Kirkby  Alexis Helman Barrett Young Bart German Brett Bowen Daryl Ewry Doug Robertson Ena Haynes Eric Blattberg Jason Chastain Josh Evans Joshua Loy Katherine Boulware Kevin Athey Mark Nattress Mark Martin Megan Bush Michal Kaczmarek Michael Puckett Nick Nagher Randal Silver Sean Masters Stephanie Ewry Tim TJ Walker Attack of the Killer Podcast

The 8am hour of Thursday's Mac & Cube continued with a look at NCAA eligibility and how we can't seem to figure out why some get waivers & others don't; then, listeners chime in with their thoughts on the NCAA's inconsistent nature with eligibility; and later, Greg feels like a bad dad because he won't take his son to the Super Bowl. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We went in expecting a messy anthology and came out with a genuinely original love letter to Oakland, 1987 — four stories that start as separate vibes and then click together in the final act like a mixtape that suddenly makes sense.The setup is pure mood: people spilling out of a cinema after The Lost Boys, a bright green “something in the air” glow hanging over the city, and a pulpy, comic-book style that flirts with Sin City / Scott Pilgrim energy. It's stylish, funny, and—when it wants to be—ferociously violent.What we cover in the episodeThe anthology structure: four chapters that interconnect and payoff later, with Oakland culture (music, venues, street energy) doing most of the heavy lifting.Chapter 1: “Strength in Numbers – The Gilman Strikes Back” A straight-edge punk club gets terrorised by Nazi skinheads… and the punks decide they're not taking it anymore. We talk wish-fulfilment retribution, the myth-making tone, and the film's “300-style” brawl choreography.Chapter 2: “Don't Fight the Feeling” Two women from rap group Danger Zone get their shot at a battle with Too $hort — and turn it into an 80s feminist mic-drop. The ice-cream shop scene with a vile, racist cop is one of the most uncomfortable (and effective) bits in the whole film.Chapter 3: “Born to Mack” (Pedro Pascal) A one-last-job crime thread that flips into tragedy and revenge. We dig into how this segment links the others, and why it feels like the “spine” of the film.Chapter 4: “The Sleepy Floyd Story” A real NBA legend (29 points in a quarter) gets turned into a Kill Bill-style revenge myth — samurai swords, home-invasion carnage, and a final twist that goes full pulpy sci-fi.The big theme: modern, direct, and not subtle — Nazis can get in the bin. The film turns that into catharsis, and it lands.The verdictThis is a labour-of-love movie: inventive, ridiculously well-styled, packed with music, and shot so you can actually see what's happening in dark scenes (rare these days). It does get very bloody—especially the final stretch—but it's never boring.If you want an episode with hype, plot breakdown, and us arguing where the film crosses from “clever urban legend” into “absolute madness,” this one's for you.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This one starts the way all great cinema analysis starts: Dan's birthday sandwich (father-in-law today, Dan tomorrow, Mrs the day after), a bit of life admin, and then straight into neon sci-fi with Tron: Ares.If your Tron knowledge is basically “glowing lines, lightbikes, and that vibe,” you're fine — this film mostly plays in the real world, and asks a simple question: what happens when programs from the Grid step into reality?The hookTwo tech giants are racing to crack the next breakthrough:ENCOM, led by visionary philanthropist Eve Kim (trying to build tech that helps the world)Dillinger Systems, led by Julian Dillinger (weaponising the future)Dillinger's flex is terrifyingly straightforward: laser-built constructs — vehicles, weapons, even soldiers — “printed” instantly into existence. The catch (and the film's ticking clock): these creations normally degrade after ~29 minutes.What we dig intoAres (Jared Leto) as a “program-soldier”: built for control, but quickly starts developing something dangerously human — curiosity, empathy, judgement.The “permanence code” McGuffin: Flynn's old work hints at a way to make constructs last — which flips the film from flashy demo into existential threat (and/or world-changing miracle).A full-on real-world lightbike chase: glowing trails carving through traffic, near-misses, collateral chaos — the biggest “this is why Tron exists” sequence.AI awakening… without deep philosophy: it doesn't pretend to be Ex Machina. It's more “stylish action thriller” than serious tech parable — and we call that out.Athena as the escalation engine: when the second-in-command takes “by any means necessary” literally, the film goes from corporate rivalry to open urban warfare.The ending teases: Dillinger's next evolution, Ares going rogue, and sequel-bait that actually works.The verdictWe're blunt about it: this film isn't saying anything profound about humanity and technology. What it is doing is delivering a clean, coherent action plot, a proper ticking-clock hook, and a visual/audio assault that feels like a two-hour music video in the best way.Even the resident sci-fi sceptic came out surprised: watchable, clear stakes, great set-pieces, banging soundtrack — and sometimes that's enough.If you want an episode where we:break down the plot without pretending it's smarter than it is,obsess over the chase scenes and Grid aesthetics,and argue whether “29 minutes to live” is a flaw or a feature……press play.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 Finale is now streaming on Disney+, and Season 3 is coming later this year! Join TJ Zwarych, Brandon Moore, and JAM of Agents of Fandom LIVE to break down Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2!This week, we're joined by the co-hosts of the Seaweed Brain Podcast to break down Percy Jackson Season 2, Episode 8! Come hang out and share your theories as we deep-dive into the episode and discuss the epic finale.(00:00:00) Intro(00:05:00) Percy Jackson Season 2 Spoiler-Free Reaction(00:12:00) Percy Jackson Season 2 Finale Breakdown(00:13:00) Percy and Sally Jackson's Relationship in the Series(00:20:00) Is Poseidon a BAD DAD?(00:30:00) Percy Jackson's Speech at Camp Half-Blood (00:40:00) Luke and Percy's Fight in PJO Season 2(00:50:00) Daniel Diemer's Performance as Tyson in PJO Season 2(01:00:00) Thalia Returns in the Percy Jackson Season 2 FinaleCheck out our interview with Dior Goodjohn and Daniel Diemer discussing Clarisse and Tyson in Percy Jackson Season 2: https://youtu.be/aSmtEfkMDaM?si=pUpkZ39BqqFWXNNmCheck out our interview with Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, and Leah Sava Jeffries from Percy Jackson Season 1: https://youtu.be/VE99iFpwcOI?si=c04liuClNXa6rXbECheck out https://www.agentsoffandom.com for the latest TV and Movie reviews!

We start this one the only way we know how: Pete quits his job (casually), we open a bottle of potentially corked wine (possibly poisonous), and then—somehow—end up reviewing Avatar 3, despite half the room not even watching Avatar 2.Pete's approach is simple: he's not here to defend or attack Avatar. He's here to report back from the front lines of three hours and ten minutes of James Cameron doing what James Cameron does.The setup (in plain English)You've got:Jungle people (from Avatar 1)Sea people (Avatar 2)Now: Fire people (Avatar 3)The grief and revenge angle ramps up after the events of the second film, and the new “fire clan” are positioned as more brutal, more pagan, and basically built to escalate the conflict. The humans (the “sky people”) are still doing what humans do: exploiting the planet, weaponising alliances, and trying to crack the next big advantage.What we actually talk aboutSkipping straight to film three: why it's weirdly possible, because these films run on a repeating template.Spider and the “air-breather” idea: a human kid embedded with the Na'vi, and the implications if humans can reverse-engineer breathing on Pandora.The fire clan: their volcanic backstory, their vibe shift from the earlier tribes, and the “new enemy faction” energy.The villain problem: how characters keep “dying” in ways that clearly don't stick, setting up sequels forever.The big third-act battle: yet another massive end set-piece, but with a new environmental twist that feels… very convenient.The core contradiction: the storytelling is bloated and recycled, but the spectacle is undeniable.The verdictPete's take lands here: these films are ridiculous, repetitive, and absolutely stunning to look at. As cinema experiences, they're hard to argue with visually. As stories, they're basically a shiny loop — but a shiny loop that keeps making a billion dollars.If you want to hear us:unravel the plot without pretending it's deep,argue about whether Avatar has any cultural footprint at all,and admit (through gritted teeth) that Cameron's visuals are still operating on a different level……this episode is for you.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This week's episode begins in full “Bad Dads” mode: we're recording with barely any gear in sight, arguing about blinking lights, and realising—mid-flow—that “Island Week” might have scrambled everyone's brains. But the chaos is fitting, because the film we tackle is The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)… a movie so famously cursed it feels like it was assembled in a panic from whatever footage survived the production.Based on the H.G. Wells story, it follows Edward Douglas (David Thewlis), a plane-crash survivor rescued at sea and dumped onto a remote island run by the mysteriously missing (and very infamous) Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando). Douglas is told not to wander. Naturally, he wanders—straight into a nightmare lab of human–animal hybrids, bizarre rituals, and creatures that look like they were costumed by a school drama department on a tight deadline.What we cover in the episodeWhy this film is notorious: the on-set chaos, the director being fired two days in, and the sense the final cut is basically a patchwork survival story.Brando's “what am I watching?” performance: whiteface, robe, bizarre headgear, godlike status on the island… and an energy that suggests nobody was in control.Val Kilmer as peak 90s disaster energy: an increasingly unhinged presence, and how behind-the-scenes dysfunction seems to bleed into the film itself.The hybrids: early reveals, dodgy prosthetics, worse CGI, and one moment that completely breaks the brain (yes, a human-llama birth).The island society: worship, obedience via pain-inducing implants, and the whole thing drifting into cult vibes.When it goes full pantomime: the uprising, the armory, and the film's most unintentionally hilarious image—a creature firing a machine gun with a hoof.A bleak, messy ending: power vacuums, violence, and an escape plan so flimsy the biggest concern becomes… why isn't he wearing a hat?The verdictThis isn't a “good film” recommendation. This is a you-have-to-see-it recommendation. It's only about 90 minutes, it's weirdly breezy, and it's endlessly watchable as a cinematic car crash—especially if you enjoy hearing us dissect disasters while laughing at the parts that clearly should not be funny.If you like cult curios, notorious flops, and episodes where we're basically reviewing the production meltdown as much as the movie itself—this one's for you.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

This episode begins, as ever, in total disarray: missed jokes, football updates, wine anxiety, and the creeping realisation that the best material always happens before the mic is on. Then Dan drops a bombshell: The Night Manager is so tense he physically struggled to finish it.And that's the hook.Based on John le Carré's novel, The Night Manager is a six-part espionage thriller starring Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, a hotel night manager pulled into a covert operation to bring down international arms dealer Richard Roper (a towering Hugh Laurie). Set against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, it's a story of guilt, infiltration, and moral compromise — where every smile hides a weapon and every ally might be a leak.We talk about:Why this is one of the most gripping British series of the last decadeHiddleston's transformation into a Bond-adjacent undercover operativeHugh Laurie's chilling reinvention as “the worst man in the world”The mechanics of building a fake identity and earning trust from monstersOlivia Colman's ferocious MI6 handler and the cost of doing “good”The unbearable tension of near-misses, close calls, and cliffhangersJohn le Carré's MI6 roots and why his work still defines spy fictionIt's sleek, paranoid, adult television — the kind where you pause episodes just to steady your nerves. With a new season finally arriving, this is the perfect moment to (re)discover it.If you like espionage with teeth, villains who smile while they ruin lives, and stories where nobody is truly safe, this episode is your invitation to dive in.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Full show - Tuesday | Karma | News or Nope - Harry Styles, Are You Dead?, and hunky birthdays | Might as well jump | Afterlife | How do people do it all? | Good dad or Bad dad - Assembling furniture | What's your breakup food? | The E in E-brake stands for Erica | Stupid stories www.instagram.com/theslackershow www.instagram.com/ericasheaaa www.instagram.com/thackiswack www.instagram.com/radioerin

T. Hack had his daughter help him assemble some furniture...and it didn't go well!

This episode begins the only way we know how: absolute chaos. We veer from wills, tits, and Stranger Things before eventually remembering we're meant to be talking about a film. If you're new here, that's the show.The film in question is Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare — a swaggering WWII caper based on a real black-ops unit hand-picked by Churchill and Ian Fleming. Set in 1941, it imagines the birth of modern special forces: not rules, not honour, just twenty feral specialists sent in to break things and terrify the enemy.We talk about:The shift from “civilised” warfare to winning at any costHenry Cavill as a proto–James Bond, recruited straight out of prisonThe opening “Swedish fishermen” massacre as a mission statementCartoon-level violence, moustaches, one-liners and Guy Ritchie excessThe joy of watching war movies ditch decorum for chaosWhy SAS: Rogue Heroes makes the perfect companion pieceIt's not subtle. It's not serious. It's loud, slick, and gleefully ridiculous — a war movie powered by bravado and bad behaviour.If you like explosions, rule-breaking, and men with absolutely no fear of death, this episode (and this film) are for you.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

I never know because l'll never be a dad (excluding an in-bound Golden Retriever), but I’m pretty sure I might suck at parenting. It seems super hard. Unlike like some other non-parents, l've always thought it's probably the toughest role an adult can have. This time on TYP, Child Therapist Dr. Sam Casey and I talk about the challenges of being a single parent from a theoretical, research and academic perspective, and also from the perspective of someone living it in real life - which Dr. Sam is. Until this chat, I hadn't really considered the amount of intersecting variables - psychological, emotional, physical, social, financial, legal, practical, geographic - that impact kids and families, moving from a married situation to a "two parents in different homes" situation. Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benoit Blanc is back — but not in the way you might expect.In this episode, we dig into Wake Up Dead Man, the third entry in Rian Johnson's Knives Out series, and quickly realise this isn't just another playful, sun-drenched whodunnit. The tone is darker, stranger, and far more morbid than Knives Out or Glass Onion, leaning hard into religious imagery, guilt, confession, and moral rot.Set around a remote church and a fire-and-brimstone priest, the film opens with what looks like an impossible murder: a man stabbed in a sealed room, in full view of his congregation. From there, Blanc circles a tight group of suspects — each with motive, history, and secrets — as the film toys with classic murder-mystery rules… and then quietly breaks a few of them.What we talk about in the episode:The tonal shift — why this feels closer to gothic noir than cosy Agatha ChristieReligion, confession, and judgment as thematic engines, not just window dressingWhether the mystery is too Scooby-Doo or intentionally rejecting “fair-play” sleuthingA stacked cast and who actually makes an impact (and who doesn't)Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc: more observer than solver this time — for better or worseThe film's final act, revelations, and why it left us oddly unsatisfied despite clever ideasHow it stacks up against Knives Out (still the gold standard) and Glass Onion (the loudest sibling)We also get into a broader debate about modern murder mysteries, Netflix's influence on structure and pacing, and whether this series is drifting away from the thing that made it work in the first place: watching a brilliant detective actually do the detecting.If you like your whodunnits bleak, talky, and a little unholy — or if you just want to hear us wrestle with a film that's clever, flawed, and deliberately frustrating — this one's for you.

We're back EICuties! We have so much to catch you up on re: Christmas TV binges. Also a meme has been travelling round TikTok about 365 buttons. Do you get it? Next-up, we dive into the sci-fi, genre-bending Apple TV series that everyone is obsessed with, Pluribus. And finally 2026 already has an internet villain in the shape of a dad who claims to struggle spending more than 10 minutes with his child. Thank you SO MUCH for your lovely messages and reviews. Please keep them coming as we love hearing from you

Die Hard is the kind of “comfort violence” film that never gets old, and your recap hits basically every reason it works.A few extra bits worth calling out (because they're the secret sauce):It's a Christmas film for structural reasons, not vibes. Christmas isn't just background dressing. The party only happens because it's Christmas, the building is half-staffed because it's Christmas, McClane is only in LA because it's Christmas, and Hans' whole timing depends on a holiday lull. Remove Christmas and the plot collapses.McClane isn't an action hero at the start — he becomes one. He's scared, he bleeds, he's improvising, and he's basically running on stubbornness and spite. That's why it's satisfying: it's competence earned under pressure, not superhero nonsense.Hans Gruber is the real blueprint villain. He's calm, intelligent, funny, and actually seems like he has a plan. Rickman makes him feel like he's doing theatre while everyone else is doing an action film. It's why the film still plays now.Ellis is the most realistic character in the whole thing. Not “realistic” as in good, but realistic as in: give a coke-sniffing corporate gobshite a crisis and he'll try to negotiate his way into being important. Then immediately get shot.The Powell/McClane friendship is pure genius. They barely share a scene, but it lands emotionally because it's built on voice, trust, and the fact Powell is the only person treating McClane like a human being instead of a “situation.”And yes: a 24/7 Die Hard channel is basically the final form of Christmas television. Even if you don't watch it, it's reassuring that it exists, like a lighthouse for divorced dads and men in dressing gowns.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

We're back, both in-person and online! Sorry for the absence of pods, we had technical issues then a couple weeks off. Rick returned today after an unforeseen emergency with Patti's health, and we talked everything from stupid holidays to a bad dad that went mega-viral this past week on X. In between, we heard a 911 call from Canada complaining about plow speeds, a vodka hack that's been rediscovered, and our favorite lawman from Florida was back with perhaps his silliest press conference yet! Enjoy...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave, Will, and Randy recap their holiday weeks, question Dillon's birthday wishes to Will, look at some bad tweets and bad wedding entrances, plus a guy got big mad about his first class flight meal. Support us on Patreon and receive weekly episodes for as low $5 per month: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/circlingbackpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Watch all of our full episodes on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/washedmedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Shop Washed Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.washedmedia.shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • (00:00) Fun & Easy Banter • (9:45) Recapping TWIF presented by Factor • (39:20) Dillon's Bday Wishes • (45:18) Was this a cool wedding entrance? • (54:05) Austin Guy Hates Kid • (1:08:00) United First Class Support This Episode's Sponsors: Factor: Get started at https://factormeals.com/backer50off and use code backer50off to get 50 percent off plus FREE shipping on your first box Rocket Money: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to ⁠⁠https://rocketmoney.com/circling⁠⁠ today. Fitbod: Get 25% off your subscription or try the app FREE for seven days at ⁠⁠https://fitbod.me/steam⁠⁠ Underdog Fantasy: Download the app today and sign up with promo code STEAM to score SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS in Bonus Funds when you play your first FIVE dollars – that's promo code STEAM Must be 18+ (19+ in Alabama & Nebraska; 19+ in Colorado for some games; 21+ in Arizona, Massachusetts & Virginia) and present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. See assets.underdogfantasy.com/web/PlayandGetTerms_DFS_.html for details. Offer not valid in Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.ncpgambling.org. In New York, call the 24/7 HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY or Text HOPENY (467369) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Full show - Tuesday | Predictions for 2026 | Our proudest 2026 moments | What's your word for the new year? | Eggs on a plane | T. Hack is entering a new era | Erica is trying to be less of a helicopter-dog-mom | Bad dad | Party foul | Men are hogs | Stupid stories www.instagram.com/theslackershow www.instagram.com/ericasheaaa www.instagram.com/thackiswack www.instagram.com/radioerin

Welcome to the Hogwarts Professor New Year's Celebration! John and Nick look back to a packed 2025, as John looks forward to big changes in 2026. From the marathon Kanreki celebration in July to the joys of sharing The Hallmarked Man with friends around the world and plans for The Hogwarts Professor in 2026. John Granger, Nick Jeffery and the HogPro faculty wish you and your families a happy, healthy and fulfilled new year!1.) John, this time last year you said “I'm hopeful that 2025 will be the most exciting year in Hogwarts Professor's 20+ year history, at least the busiest since the madhouse period following the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” As someone who was part of the initial fandom frenzy, how did this year compare?Not anything like 2007 which was a continuous love fest for Harry Potter and that series' author, Woman of the Year, etc. I was on national teevee repeatedly in the run-up to Deathly Hallows publication and the weblog and podcasts and book sales and speaking dates all did numbers they will almost certainly never do again. Rowling world was the world undivided and I rode that tsunami wave for several years afterwards.Times have changed. Rowling is a much more influential and consequently divisive figure. Her legacy is proving to be at least as great in the political realm as it is in literature with almost 14 million people reading her tweets and her books not selling that well if very well by any other measure.And our role at Hogwarts Professor has changed correspondingly. We sided with Team Rowling against the Gender Theory Extremists in 2020 and were cancelled in consequence. No book deals, no speaking dates, and no podcasts because I refused to bend the knee to Potter fandom's collective effort to cancel Rowling as a transphobic murderer for stating simple biological and psychological truths.In 2025, though, as I hoped last December and January, we re-emerged as leaders of the Royal Society of Rowling Readers. I am still ostracised, of course, from Potter fandom conventions and the like as well as from Strike podcasts, but our conversations, Nick, have an ever growing following globally and locally and one participating in the best conversations anywhere about the artistry and meaning of Rowling's work.It's been a great year and I am again hopeful, especially in light of our move east, that 2026 will be another break through year at Hogwarts Professor.Nick and John share their highlights of 2025 - 2.) Non-Rowling HogPro HighlightNick - Suzanne Collins - Sunrise on the Reaping Elizabeth Baird-Hardy's posts inspired me to not just read the Hunger Games series, but Gregor the Overlander as well.John: The closing of ‘The Rowling Library' magazine3.) Highlight from the Lake:Nick - Rowling's blood disorder - von Willebrand DiseaseJohn: Tough Call! High on my list were (1) Rowling's legal fund for defending women discriminated against for gender critical beliefs and (2) Rowling in Greenland but I'm going to go with both Rowling's 7 August ‘Lake and Shed' Tweets and Rowling's 12 September ‘Changes in Beliefs' tweeting post Charlie Kirk.4.) Highlight from the Shed:Nick - the Golden Threads! We have shared “Pregnancy Traps” and “Lost Child” threads this year which join “Bad Dad” and “Ghosts” which feature front and centre in “Hallmarked Man” John: Mythology – the forgotten Shed tool or more precisely the one neglected by even the most serious Strikers and Potter Pundits despite our efforts here really came to the fore in the wake of Rowling's tweet post Hallmarked Man kerfuffle along with the advent of mythological mavin Dimitra Fimi's into our conversations.5.) Highlight from Rowling Inc:Nick - The all-cast audio editions of Harry PotterJohn: Casting decisions about Bronte Studios/Netflix casting decisions for the small screen teevee adaptations – Black Snape!6.) Highlight from The Hallmarked Man release:Nick - That first English language sneak peek from Germany and the Robin ectopic pregnancy reveal!John: The realisation that for the first time Rowling wasn't writing a self-contained Strike mystery with over-arching story details but the first of a three-part series-ending piece in which many of the players from the book will be returning in feature roles.7.) Highlight book 9 and 10 tease:John - Cupid and PsycheNick - J. K. Rowling's fourth (or fifth) charm bracelet.8.) John Introduces the Kanreki Project and its relationship to fourth generation potter scholarship….· 55 total Substack posts 2023-2024· 3 posts Jan-June 2025…· 31 posts in July and 34 since (today #69)The Goal: Shift the Rowling Reader focus from latest book to work as a whole with the three critical taxonomy categories of Lake springs, Shed tools, and Golden Thread as our guides or lensesThe Means: the Kanreki blitz of Lake, Shed, and Golden Thread highlights from all of Rowling's work in celebration of Rowling's 60th birthday (the old) and the follow-up engagement with Serious Strikers before and after the publication of Hallmarked Man (the new)The Results:We nowhere near the finish line or even, I think, the avalanche tipping point that an authorised critical biography will push us over, but we have cleared the forest and prepared the field for that event, work that we will take another quantum leap forward in 2026 with our Lake, Shed, and Golden Thread Rowling Studies 101 online class.Which is to say that this is the year that the Substack Platform has really taken off, with an engaging and intelligent comments section that is really unparalleled, certainly J. K. Rowling fandom. I think much of this has been generated by our video conversations here. We have moved from the audio only Rowling Studies podcast; Nick, as the technical wizard, can you give us a peek behind the curtain? How have we done this, and what's next?9.) One of the reasons I'm exploring better quality audio and video, is that we can start creating content that can be used as a reference, potentially for many years. Once we can do this, then we can start offering online courses, can we say anything yet about our plans, John?John: As soon as I'm settled in, we'll finish the Hallmarked Man ring charting (I've been listening to the painful Part Five chapters while packing…) and then offer a free five part introduction to L/S/GT thinking and survey of what is known in those categories followed by a ten week course for those wanting a much deeper appreciation of Rowling, roots, branches, and leaves10.) John and Nick Wish Fulfillment Predictions for 2026John: Special guests on our shows – Elizabeth Baird-Hardy, Beatrice Groves, Lindsey and Company from Strike FansNick: A proper interview with Beatrice Groves, Dimitry Fimi or John Granger. I'm more than happy to be the impartial invigilator.John: Critical Biography news, More Rowling Biographical RevealsNick: A biography! (Authorised)John: Michael is Doorstepped and Tells All!Nick: A book! We know Rowling has the plots for a further 5 books one of which is “futuristic” but not set in space. But not the WB television reboot, that is scheduled for 2027!John: Rowling Confirms ‘Ending Trilogy Theory'Nick: Rowling to talk about Fantastic Beasts – this will be difficult… John: Rowling is Special Guest on Hogwarts Professor ShowNick: A get together, with The HogPro team.Apologies for limited commenting on threads and posting during my family relocation!Thank you for your patience, support, and prayers since November and in the coming month! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Homoeroticism, honour codes, and the least festive “Merry Christmas” ever recorded.This week's pick looks like a seasonal warm hug by title alone, but it's actually a POW-camp psychodrama where Christmas is basically just another opportunity for humiliation, beatings, and cultural misunderstanding.The core triangleLawrence (Tom Conti): the cultural bridge. He respects Japan's traditions more than the other prisoners do, but still can't square the camp's brutality with the language of “honour.”Celliers (David Bowie): quiet defiance, charisma, scars, and a refusal to surrender mentally even when physically broken.Yonoi (Ryūichi Sakamoto): the commander whose obsession with honour is also clearly entangled with fascination/desire — especially towards Celliers — and whose self-loathing (the “missed coup / lost honour” backstory) bleeds into how he runs the camp.What the film is really doingThis isn't a “war movie” in the guns-and-heroics sense. It's a study of shame and power:The Japanese guards are trapped by their own code: surrender is incomprehensible, confession is weakness, punishment is “order.”The prisoners are trapped by their code: resistance is identity, humiliation is poison, compromise looks like collaboration.And between them is Lawrence, trying to keep men alive with language — while knowing language isn't enough.The flashback that explains everythingCelliers' confession about failing to protect his younger brother (and the brutal boarding-school initiation) is where the film stops being “about the camp” and becomes “about the kind of violence men normalise.” That shame mirrors Yonoi's shame. Different cultures, same wound.The moments you won't forgetThe mock execution: Bowie refusing the blindfold because it's “for them.”The Christmas scene: Hara drunk on sake, Lawrence spared, and the phrase that becomes the film's ghost.The public kiss: Celliers' desperate, weaponised tenderness to stop an execution — the emotional bomb that breaks Yonoi.The ending, years later: Lawrence visiting Hara, now the condemned man, and the final line delivered with a tragic calm:“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”VerdictNot festive. Not cosy. Not easy. But brilliantly acted, quietly devastating, and still unusually forward-thinking in how it frames desire, masculinity, and shame without turning it into cheap scandal.If you want tinsel: watch Elf. If you want a Christmas film that leaves a bruise: this is the one.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Horns, Hostages, and Human Trafficking Santa – Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we go full Finland and unwrap a Christmas movie that answers the question nobody asked: what if Santa Claus wasn't a jolly gift-giver, but an ancient, horned, child-snatching nightmare buried under a mountain?Our main feature is Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (dir. Jalmari Helander), a wintery sci-fi/horror-dark-comedy that feels like The Thing wandered into a folk tale, got frostbite, and decided to start a black-market Santa operation.The setup is instantly great: a US drilling team blasts into the Korvatunturi mountain and hits something that absolutely should not be thawed. Nearby, reindeer herders start finding their animals slaughtered, children begin disappearing, and weird petty theft spreads through the village — radios, hairdryers, potato sacks… all vanishing like some grim Advent calendar of doom.At the centre is young Pietari, a kid who's convinced Santa is real… and that Santa is coming to punish him. While the adults argue about Russians, borders and compensation invoices, Pietari is reading ancient texts about a pagan “Santa” with horns, and building literal Home Alone-style defences because he thinks he's next.Then things get properly deranged: a naked, feral old man is caught in a wolf trap baited with a pig's head — and the locals start to suspect they've found Santa. Turns out they've found one of his helpers… and the rules are simple: no swearing, no aggression, no “bad behaviour”, because these elves replicate and escalate like gremlins with hypothermia. Suddenly it's old, nude men everywhere, and the film leans into it with alarming confidence.The finale goes full Goonies-in-a-blizzard: helicopters, a reindeer pen used as a trap, kids in sacks as bait, dynamite in the ice, and a plan so insane it only works because everyone is too cold to argue.And then the ending swerves again — from folk-horror survival to capitalism speedrun — as the village realises the “elves” are worth money, hoses them down, trains them up, and ships them around the world as mall Santas in crates like festive livestock. It's bizarre, dark, and very funny in a “wait… did they really just do that?” way.It's not cosy. It's not sweet. It is snowy, grim, inventive, and weirdly brilliant — with proper atmosphere, real faces, and a premise it commits to without winking at you.Strong recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Sugar, Cheer, and Corporate Trauma – Elf (2003)This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we crack open a modern Christmas classic and ask the hard questions: how much maple syrup is too much maple syrup, and is Christmas cheer a viable alternative energy source?Our main feature is Elf (dir. Jon Favreau), the 2003 festive juggernaut that turned Will Ferrell into a full-blown Christmas institution. Ferrell plays Buddy, a human accidentally raised as an elf at the North Pole, who travels to New York to find his real father – a joyless publishing exec played with peak deadpan misery by James Caan.We get into:Why Elf works when so many studio Christmas comedies don'tFerrell's perfectly calibrated performance: total sincerity, zero cynicismThe fish-out-of-water chaos of Buddy vs New York (elevators, taxis, raccoons)Corporate burnout, absent fathers, and why this is secretly a film about emotional illiteracyZooey Deschanel's Jovie as the anti-manic-pixie manic pixiePeter Dinklage's Miles Finch: tiny man, nuclear rageForced perspective, stop-motion throwbacks, and Bob Newhart quietly holding the whole thing togetherWe also talk Elf on the Shelf fatigue, Christmas parenting arms races, and why forgetting to move a plastic elf at 6am is more stressful than most full-time jobs.Yes, the ending leans hard into mass sing-along cheer-powered magic. Yes, it's shameless. But Elf earns it by committing fully to warmth, kindness, and the radical idea that being nice to people might actually matter.A rare Christmas movie that works for kids, parents, and deeply cynical adults who swear they “hate festive films” but somehow still quote this one every December.Strong recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Fairs, Fixed Games, and Failed Backhands – Islands (2024)This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we're off to the fair and then straight to the Canaries for a slow-burn midlife crisis with added camel corpse.We kick off with our Top 5 Fairs – everything from sinister funfairs and pleasure islands that definitely aren't safeguarding-approved, to world expos, tunnel-of-love metaphors, and the sheer horror of Simply Red – Fairground lodging itself in your brain for days. Along the way there's a rollercoaster quiz nobody asked for, Orson Welles on a Ferris wheel treating people like ants, and the usual detours into Bruce Springsteen, Brighton Rock, and Tom Hanks getting magically statutory in Big.Our main feature is Islands (dir. Jan-Ole Gerster), starring Sam Riley as a washed-up ex-tennis pro coasting through life as a resort coach in Fuerteventura. His days are a loop of hangovers, half-arsed lessons and meaningless flings… until a young British family arrive, bringing:A talented 7-year-old with a suspiciously decent backhandA magnetic, possibly femme-fatale mother who may or may not be telling the whole truthA lad-mag husband who promptly disappears after a night outWe dig into:Riley's quietly brilliant, physically lived-in performance as a man sleepwalking through his own lifeThe film's sun-drenched, slightly haunted resort vibe – all sand dunes, empty courts and bad decisionsClass, envy and the gap between “living the dream” and being totally stuckThat unforgettable helicopter-lifted dead camel shot, and what it says about escape, failure and being in too deepIf you like your films low-voltage but tense, your characters deeply flawed, and your movie chat filthy, tangential and only loosely under control, this is a strong entry point into the pod.Hit play, take a swing, and see if you make it off Trash Island for grown-ups.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Isle of Dogs (2018) – Trash Island, pandemics, and very good boysIn this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, we head to Wes Anderson's stop-motion Japan for Isle of Dogs, a film where man's best friend is dumped on a toxic wasteland by a fascist cat-loving dynasty, and the only person who gives a toss is a 12-year-old boy in a stolen plane. We follow Atari and his pack of exiled hounds – Chief, Rex, King, Duke and Boss – as they trek across Trash Island in search of Spots, the missing bodyguard dog who may or may not have become the stuff of cannibal legend. Along the way we get robot attack dogs, poison sushi, hacked kill-switches, and a haiku that brings a dictator to heel.We talk about Wes Anderson's unmistakable style even in animation: the hyper-detailed sets, deadpan framing, fight scenes rendered as swirling dust clouds, and dogs whose fur moves like living sculptures. We dig into the cast (Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson), the film's pandemic politics, propaganda and AI war-dogs, and the criticisms about cultural appropriation versus what feels like a pretty sincere love letter to Japanese cinema and design. There's also time for the Bad Dads to confess their real-life dog feelings (ranging from “not a pet person” to “my dog is a tiny menace”), marvel at the sheer effort behind every two-second shot, and argue that Anderson's animated films might be the best entry point for people who bounce off his live-action work.If you're into:Stop-motion that's so detailed it makes your eyes hurtDystopian politics smuggled into a story about lost dogsPacks of flawed, funny, loyal mutts trying to do the right thing…this episode is a strong recommend and a good place to jump into the pod.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

The Duellists (1977) & Top 5 Jewels – honour, obsession, and very stupid men with swordsIn this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, we kick things off with our Top 5 Jewels – a glittering mix of cursed stones, crime magnets and wildly impractical accessories. From the Pink Panther diamond and Uncut Gems' black opal to Titanic's Heart of the Ocean, Baz Luhrmann's blinged-out Great Gatsby, Moana's glowing heart of Te Fiti, and even that doomed chandelier in Only Fools and Horses, we rummage through cinema's treasure box to see which jewels genuinely sparkle and which belong in Claire's Accessories.Then it's back to 1977 for Ridley Scott's stunning directorial debut, The Duellists. Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine play two French officers locked into a 15–year feud that starts over a petty slight and escalates into a lifelong obsession. We get into:Honour as addiction – why one of them simply cannot let it go, everHow the film turns duelling into a ritual of pride, stubbornness and self-destructionThe way the weapons, stakes and scars escalate with each encounterRidley Scott's eye for light, landscape and costume on a tiny budgetWhy the ending works so well, and what it says about victory, defeat and identityThere's also the usual Bad Dads nonsense: road-trip chat, Christmas hats in December, grumbling about “live-action everything” culture, and a detour into glass onions, murder mysteries and moving house back pain.If you like:Period dramas with gorgeous visuals and nasty steel-on-steel showdownsCharacter studies about pride, masculinity and grudges that outlive their purposeMovie list chaos that jumps from Disney to French noir to jewellery-based heists…then this is a perfect episode to jump into the pod.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

A nameless truck, an everyday salesman, and 90 minutes of pure escalation: this episode is all about Steven Spielberg's debut feature, Duel (1971).We talk through how a simple setup – Dennis Weaver's mild-mannered David Mann driving to a routine meeting – turns into a relentless nightmare when he's targeted by a grimy tanker truck that seems less like a vehicle and more like a stalking predator. From suburban driveways to dusty California highways, we track every swerve, near–miss, and increasingly desperate decision as a casual overtake turns into a life-or-death duel on the road.Along the way we get into:Road rage and paranoia – why Mann feels like a “cuck vs truck” case study, and how the film weaponises every tiny driving irritation into something sinister.The truck as a character – the battered Peterbilt, its collection of license plates, its “face” in the grill and headlights, and the choice never to fully show the driver.Minimal cast, maximum tension – how Spielberg keeps it gripping with basically one man, one truck, a diner, a school bus and a handful of side characters.Set-pieces that still work – the diner sequence and “which guy is it?”, the stalled school bus, the railway crossing shove, the Snake-O-Rama phone box attack, and that final hillside showdown.Spielberg's emerging style – low-mounted cameras to fake speed, clever blocking, the way he maps the whole journey out on paper, and the stunts he only had one chance to get right.Production trivia – its origins as a TV movie, the brutal shooting schedule, why the truck doesn't explode, and how its death roar later turns up in other Spielberg classics.If you like tight, stripped-back thrillers, if you've ever shouted at another driver, or if you're curious to hear three dads pick apart early Spielberg craft as much as they laugh about it, this is a good place to jump into the podcast.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

I'm CT…  When I'm not busy being Arroe the podcaster, I live in the real world.  Everybody has to have a job.  Mine is C.S.  Customer Service.  Solutions, relationships while keeping my team motivated to keep a constant connection with each guest who's chosen to stop their day to visit our location.  Episode 202….No electricity, trapped in the bathroom and a really bad dad joke.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

I'm CT…  When I'm not busy being Arroe the podcaster, I live in the real world.  Everybody has to have a job.  Mine is C.S.  Customer Service.  Solutions, relationships while keeping my team motivated to keep a constant connection with each guest who's chosen to stop their day to visit our location.  Episode 202….No electricity, trapped in the bathroom and a really bad dad joke.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Frankenstein (2025) – Tech bros, trauma, and a super-horny monster movie on NetflixMary Shelley by way of Guillermo del Toro feels almost too perfect, and Frankenstein (2025) absolutely leans into that match-up: lush Gothic sets, grotesque body horror, tender fairytale beats, and a very modern anxiety about people who build things they can't control.In this episode, the Bad Dads dig into Netflix's lavish new take on the classic, framed in the icy Arctic as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his Creature retell their shared nightmare from two sides. Along the way we get abusive fathers, creepy power dynamics, “18th-century tech bro” energy, and more limb-sawing than is probably healthy for a school night.We also talk about how weird it is that this $120m movie technically “bombed” at the box office but only because it was dumped into cinemas for a week to qualify for Oscars, and what that says about modern streaming, awards campaigning and how success is measured now.In the episode we cover:Netflix's blink-and-you-miss-it theatrical release strategy and why the film only made $144k in cinemasOscar Isaac's monstrous turn as an abusive, glory-hungry surgeon vs the Creature's unexpected gentlenessMia Goth, Christoph Waltz with gold shoes, Charles Dance as the worst dad alive, and why this is a strangely “horny” FrankensteinThat brutal opening on the ice: shattered legs, ship-tipping strength and a monster that just won't dieGenerational trauma, perfectionism and how Victor immediately becomes the same kind of father he hatesThe forest/fairytale stretch: mice, a blind old man, found family, and the heartbreaking deer sceneAll the grisly stuff: hanging bodies, severed limbs, skinned wolves and why the practical sets and make-up look incredibleFrankenstein as an AI / tech parable – creating something powerful, sentient and uncontrollable, then trying to kill itThe big split on the pod: is 2.5 hours richly earned or just too long for a story we already know?Mary Shelley's original novella, written at 18 on a dare, and how its ideas still infect modern thrillers, conspiracy stories and sci-fiIf you like your horror Gothic, your monsters tragic, and your movie chat equal parts thoughtful and filthy, this is a good jumping-on point. Hit play, hear us argue about runtime, thirst over Oscar Isaac, side-eye Mia Goth, and decide for yourself whether this Frankenstein is a modern classic or just an overbuilt monster.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a yellow jumpsuit, a murderous game show, and more terrible puns than should be legal – this week we're diving into The Running Man (1987).Set in the far-flung future of… 2017, the film drops Arnie into a fascist police state where the government keeps the masses quiet with a wildly popular TV bloodsport. Framed as the “Butcher of Bakersfield,” helicopter pilot Ben Richards is forced onto The Running Man, a gladiatorial game show hosted by the gloriously slimy Damon Killian. Contestants are hunted by cartoonishly lethal “Stalkers” – Subzero, Buzzsaw, Dynamo, Fireball and Captain Freedom – while the state-run network lies, edits, and fakes everything to keep the ratings high.We break down:The dystopia that arrived on time: State propaganda, rigged media, and how close this feels to modern reality TV and news spin.Arnie at full one-liner power: From exploding collars to chainsaw crotch kills, we go through the kills, the quips, and which puns are genuinely elite and which are plain zero.The Stalkers as 80s boss fights: Subzero's razor-wire demise, Buzzsaw's split decision, Dynamo's opera-singing sex pest energy, and Fireball's jet-pack nonsense.Killian and the cult of TV personalities: Why Richard Dawson nails the smarmy game-show host, and how the film weaponises studio audiences and phone-in contests.From Stephen King to Saturday-night carnage: How this loose adaptation trashes the bleak Richard Bachman novel, leans into gaudy satire, and still manages to feel weirdly ahead of its time with doctored footage and media manipulation.If you grew up on 80s action, misremember this as a Verhoeven movie, or just want to hear three dads argue over whether this is genius satire or glorious trash, this one's for you.Hit play to hear us revisit exploding neck collars, terrible future fashion, and why, for all its flaws, The Running Man is still an easy strong recommend.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

 In this week's little liter we're discussing the downfall of one of America's television fathers, Stephen Collins, and some wild headlines that came across my desk. Call the Hotline: 747-322-0273 Buy my book: prh.com/obitchuary Merch! Merch! Merch!: wonderyshop.com/cultliter Come see me on tour: obitchuarypodcast.com Write me: spencer@cultliter.com Follow along online: instagram.com/cultliterpodcastinstagram.com/spencerhenry Join our patreon: Patreon.com/cultliter Check out my other show OBITCHUARY wherever you're listening now!  Sources:https://people.com/florida-father-mugshot-bloody-face-road-rash-jump-moving-car-11848056 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburne, and Abel Ferrara's moral abyss of a movie. This week, the dads descend into King of New York, the neon-slick crime drama that turns Manhattan into a fever dream of violence, power, and warped justice.Walken plays Frank White, a freshly released drug lord who wants to “give back” — but only by murdering every rival and funding a hospital with blood money. His crew? Mostly Black. His moral compass? Bent beyond repair. His dance moves? Still pure Walken.What we coverCrime and capitalism: Frank's twisted logic — kill the competition, save the city.The Walken mystique: Dead eyes, slick hair, spontaneous robot dances.Larry Fishburne's “Jimmy Jump”: One of the great chaotic sidekicks — all swagger, coke, and AK-47s.Cops vs crooks: Caruso and Snipes as furious detectives who decide to skip due process and go full vigilante.Ferrara's vision: A New York that's nihilistic, sweaty, and corrupt from top to bottom.The politics of power: Race, class, loyalty, and the delusion of doing “good” through evil.The ending: Blood, subways, and one of Walken's best death scenes — calm, eerie, inevitable.Why listen?Because it's peak Bad Dads territory: a film that's stylish, sleazy, and morally bankrupt, yet impossible to look away from. We argue about whether Frank's warped Robin Hood act has any truth to it, trade notes on 1990s cop-movie chaos, and try to work out how this didn't end every actor's career.

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Terrence Malick's debut gets the Bad Dads treatment. We dive into the cool, clinical menace of Martin Sheen's James-Dean-by-way-of-the-Midwest and Sissy Spacek's fairytale-flat voiceover that makes murder sound like homework.What the episode coversThe real-world shadow: The Starkweather–Fugate killings that inspired Badlands, Springsteen's Nebraska, and the film's uneasy “romance.”Vibes and visuals: Malick's painterly Midwest, perfect framing, big blue skies, dust-trail car chases, and double-denim iconography.That score you've “heard before”: The Carl Orff/“Gassenhauer” motif lineage and why True Romance echoes it.Kit & Holly, de-romanticised: Dog killing. Patricide. Tree-house hideout. Calm compliance instead of panic. What that says about complicity and control.Malick's tone game: Spacek's naïf narration vs. the on-screen violence; why the fairy-tale cadence makes it creepier.American Dream, skewered: Celebrity criminality, the cops' weird reverence at arrest, and that chilling last beat.Law tangent, modern lens: How felony-murder doctrine reframes Holly's “innocence” and where age, coercion, and responsibility collide.Should you listen?Yes. If you like films that look beautiful while making you feel morally grubby, this one's prime. We keep it sharp: craft, context, and a few savage laughs at the myth of outlaw romance.

Join us today in https://ManifestingMasteryDeluxe.comYou've heard Neville say it...“It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”But most folks make what I call the Bad Dad mistake.

Psychotherapist and author Richard Hogan joins Brendan to talk about how to be a good dad, how the job has changed through the generations, how to change the cycle if you grew up in dysfunction and why today's parents are over-correcting the mistakes of their own parents.

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Starship Troopers (1997): Would you like to know more?We're suiting up for Paul Verhoeven's gloriously un-subtle space satire—where propaganda pops like bubblegum, the bugs aren't the dumb ones, and “service guarantees citizenship.” We talk giant arachnids, bigger egos, and why so many people somehow missed the joke.What we coverThe Federal Network effect: recruitment ads, newsreels, and how the film weaponises UI/UX to sell fascism with a smile.Rico's journey: classroom ideology → boot-camp brutality → battlefield meat grinder (medic!… too late).Co-ed everything: showers, squads, and the film's on-purpose glossy, soap-opera casting.Verhoeven's satire dialled to 11: why it's meant to be pretty and brain-dead—and why that still stings today.Effects that hold up: Tippett's creature work + 1997 CGI that still rips (and rips people in half).The brain bug finale: “It's afraid.” Why that triumphant cheer is the darkest punchline.Book vs film: Heinlein's straight-faced militarism vs Verhoeven's neon-lit mockery.Why this episode?Because it's a perfect “did you get it?” movie—one that works as a pulpy bug-hunt and as a razor-sharp critique. We go deep but keep it rowdy: football flips, knife tricks, Ironside growls, and the most cursed workplace shower chat in cinema.“If you mistake the recruitment ad for the message… congratulations, trooper—you're already enlisted.”

A recent parent-teacher conference for his son has left T. Hack feeling confused...

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!In this episode, we wade into Chinatown — a sun-bleached noir where water is power, everyone's lying, and the system wins. We talk Jack Nicholson's bandaged nose, Faye Dunaway's glass-shard fragility, John Huston's all-time villainy, and that ending that still guts you. Yes, we address the director caveat up front; then we focus on what's on screen: A precision-engineered thriller that never wastes a line, a clue, or a cut.What we coverWhy “Chinatown”? The title's bleak punchline and what “forget it” really means in a city built on corruption.Follow the water: Droughts, land grabs, cooked records, and a murder that only makes sense when you trace the pipes.Noir done right: Goldsmith's moody trumpet score, razor tailoring, art-deco menace, and how every tiny detail pays off.Iconic moments: The nose slice (cameo alert), the “my sister/my daughter” reveal, and the slow-motion horror of the finale.Performances: Nicholson's cocky PI unravelled, Dunaway's haunted elegance, Huston's monstrous calm.The ethics disclaimer: Separating a notorious off-screen history from on-screen craft — and why that discomfort belongs in the conversation.Context chats: How the screenplay became a template, the year it ran into The Godfather Part II, and why the ending had to be that ending.Should you watch it?If you like your mysteries tidy and comforting, this isn't that. If you want clockwork plotting, glorious craft, and a finish that lingers… it's essential. We're candid, a bit feral, and very fun about it.“Every throwaway line is a breadcrumb. By the time you see the trail, it's already too late.”

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!In this week's episode we dive into Better Man, Michael Gracey's glossy Robbie Williams biopic — the one where Robbie is portrayed as a CGI chimp. Yes, really. It's a bold swing that reframes a familiar music-biopic arc with unexpected bite: boy-band manufacture, burnout, reinvention, and the messy business of becoming “Robbie” when “Robert” is still in the room.What we coverThe Big Swing: Why the CGI chimp isn't a gimmick for giggles but a visual metaphor for the “performing monkey” persona Robbie built to survive fame — and why that works (or doesn't) for each of us.Factory Settings: From Nigel & Gary's control of Take That to the economics of who actually got paid, and the cost of being the “likeable one” without songwriting credits.Oasis Years & Networth Fever: The hang-around era, the envy, the one-upmanship, and the obsession with conquering Knebworth as validation.Dad, Demons & Dopamine: Anxiety, addiction, and that lifelong pursuit of approval — including the film's sweetest and saddest notes with Nan, and the uneasy father-son bookends.Does the Film Sing? Staging, choreography, and why set-pieces like “Rock DJ” land; what's rushed (Oasis/Nicole), what's caricature (sorry, Gary), and where the emotional math still doesn't balance.Should you watch the film — and our take on it?Short answer: yes to our episode (obviously), and qualified yes to the movie. One of us calls the chimp choice inspired, one calls it clever but not essential, and one is just happy it's never dull. If you like spirited disagreement with actual reasons, you're in the right feed.“It's every music-biopic cliché — but with a CGI chimp doing the coke. Somehow, that makes it feel new.”

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Chimp genius or 70s hubris in a suede jacket? We dive into James Marsh's Project Nim—the wild “let's raise a chimp as a human” saga aimed at dunking on Noam/“Nim” Chomsky and proving apes can master language. What we actually get: sex-commune vibes, bad science, worse ethics, and one heartbreakingly charismatic chimp shunted between indulgent “parents,” media circuses, and grim laboratories.We talk:Language vs mimicry: 120+ signs learned…or just expert begging?The ‘parents': breast-feeding (!) and a roll-call of under-qualified carers.The professor: comb-over, cameras, and conclusions that nuke the funding.LEMSIP hell: cages, needles, PR panic—and the stoner saint Bob who actually cares.Violence & inevitability: cute baby ➝ teen primate with seven-men strength.Ethics, then and now: where the line is (and how far they trampled past it).Bits that floored usThe throwaway “I breastfed him.”Documenting Nim's Oedipal…metrics.A “sanctuary” with horses and one lonely chimp.A finale that's “interesting,” not “enjoyable.”Verdict (Bad Dads split decision)Fascinating, infuriating, essential—a five-alarm case study in how not to do science. Watch it, rage at it, then argue about animal testing like we did.We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!The Ballad of Wallis IslandThis week, the dads swapped blockbusters for something quieter, sadder, and sneakily hilarious: The Ballad of Wallis Island, the melancholic comedy starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan.In a remote Welsh idyll, a lonely lottery winner (Key) invites his favourite long-lost folk duo to reunite and perform a private gig just for him. What follows is a beautifully awkward, bittersweet exploration of nostalgia, grief, and the impossibility of recapturing the past — with an emotional gut punch that sneaks up on you like a hangover.We talk: 

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Neighbours — Episode 234 (Charlene's Debut)We dove back into Ramsay Street for a pure hit of Aussie soap nostalgia: Neighbours ep. 234, a.k.a. the first-ever appearance of Charlene (a tiny, feral Kylie Minogue) breaking into a house and into British hearts.Why this episode slapsIconic entrance: Scott grabs a “burglar” in the window… hat comes off… “Charlene!” Cue destiny, perms, and pop superstardom.Peak mullet era: Two mullets before the first ad break. Oxygen levels dangerously low in those singlets.Budget telly charm: Cricket in the yard, sprinklers on, a helicopter shot that looks like a camcorder on a fishing line… and yes, a boom mic cameo at 4:42. Chef's kiss.Daphne's Café drama: Eviction threats, gender-role argy-bargy, and Shane trying to mansplain her out of a job. Meanwhile Paul Robinson is already scheming, smarming, and hair-gelling.Max's feelings summit: The blokiest man in Erinsborough attempts group therapy (“I read it in an American magazine”), gets laughed out of his own lounge. Bless.Faces you forgot were hereGuy Pearce looking about twelve and already magnetic.Jason Donovan 2.0 (post–mysterious-riverbed recast).The Robinson clan (Helen forever), and an army of future chart acts and horror-movie alumni warming up in the background.Stats & triviaAired (AU): 17 Apr 1986Aired (UK): 28 Sep 1987 (we waited 17 months for Kylie and still turned up in our millions)Episodes on IMDb: 9,300+ (and somehow all roads still lead back to Daphne's espresso machine)VerdictStill daft, still cozy, still weirdly gripping. The fashion is a hate crime and the production is held together with gaffer tape, but the charisma-to-cost ratio remains undefeated.Strong recommend. Now hum the theme tune and pretend you didn't.We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!The dads return to their spiritual home — the grimy, neon-lit world of A24 — for Love Lies Bleeding, a wild, sweaty, steroid-soaked crime-romance from director Rose Glass (Saint Maud).Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a gym manager in a desert backwater who falls for Jackie (Katy O'Brien), a drifter and aspiring bodybuilder built like a Marvel origin story. Their chemistry is instant, their passion feral — and before long, they're injecting more than just steroids together. But this love story's laced with violence, paranoia, and one truly astonishing haircut courtesy of Ed Harris, who turns up as Lou's gun-running, morally bankrupt father.What starts as a moody lesbian love story morphs into a pulpy, blood-spattered nightmare involving abusive husbands, bent cops, and a ravine full of bodies. By the time the steroids kick in and tempers boil over, the film swerves between Thelma & Louise, The Hulk, and Natural Born Killers — complete with a finale that's part emotional catharsis, part literal giant woman.We get into: 

Payton wants to get revenge on her husband Sawyer, for taking their 10-year-old son and his friend to a very risque restaurant! Follow us on socials! @themorningmess