Movies Episodes

It's pure serendipity that this week sees the Bad Dads celebrating the top 5 British movies just as our Island prepares for war with France over post-brexit fishing rights that we had no vote in and were little more than a footnote in the overall deal until the reality of actually implementing changes affected professional fisherman in both the Channel Islands and France. What a ridiculous mess all this is, from the naive reassurances from local government that we would be unaffected by the deal...

To be a great dancer you need grace, athleticism and style as well as the emotional intelligence to convey symbolism through rhythmic human movement. Naturally this is fertile ground for us dads, well renowned aesthetes and admirers of the physical form. By which I mean that at least one or two of us have been to strip clubs. This weeks top 5 features some of the best dance scenes ever committed to celluloid as well as some of the strangest. Our main feature is David Hare's 2011 PAGE EIGHT, the ...

You can't handle the truth! And the truth is that was probably the laziest possible way to introduce this weeks Top 5, which is all about Courtroom scenes. From high stakes and huge drama to reindeer hit-and-runs and everything in between, be sure not to miss out. Andy Samberg's usual effervescence is exchanged for something approaching an almost zen like nihilism in PALM SPRINGS, showing on Amazon Prime this week. Taking the time loop conceit and adding anarchic new twists and a strong emotiona...

Tom Twyker and the Wachowskis serve up what is surely one of the most ambitious films ever made with 2012's Cloud Atlas. Adapted from David Mitchell's supposedly unfilmable novel, Cloud Atlas follows characters inspired across time by acts of artistic expression in six short stories sharing an incredible cast including one of Sidey's least favourite actors, Tom Hanks, and one of his very favourite, Hugh Grant. With plenty of plot and thematic content to address in this epic 170 minute movie, the...

Just about my favourite thing in all of cinema is the long take or 'oner', whether it's to establish character or geography, to infuse a scene with intensity or drama or to present incredible skill and scale from impossible seeming new perspectives. They are often dazzling feats of vision and technical-endeavour, requiring countless hours of rehearsal and set dressing, incorporating complex camera moves, precision blocking and clever editing to achieve. So we're going to talk about them. There a...

Well bugger me it's episode 100! We asked you dear listener to tell us what to review. After a long, tense and probably fraudulent twitter vote, They Live emerged triumphantly as our winning movie. So we discussed at length the movie, it's themes and the styling and upkeep of Roddy Peppers mullet. It really was breathtaking. So tune in, enjoy and stick around for the next 100 episodes! Thanks for listening!

When scholars look back at the history of human development it's almost certain that our greatest invention will be deemed to be language, eclipsing even lead paint, pornography and that device that delivers babies through centrifugal force by spinning the mother in a circle. There are many languages: more than 7000 in fact, although 23 of those account for in excess of half of the worlds population. Between the 5 of us Bad Dads we've just about mastered speaking English, so the idea that we co...

Two Harry Potter movie fans sit down to discuss the third instalment in the franchise with a self-confessed Potter hater and someone who didn’t even bother to watch the film. J.K. Rowling's fantasy novel series for younger readers garnered huge success in its own right before it was adapted for the big screen in 2001 with the release of the first cinematic instalment, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The third highest-grossing film series of all time with an estimated worldwide box offi...

The British drink tea, eat crumpets and are emotionally distant, class-obsessed xenophobes. The French wear berets, wouldn't be seen dead without a baguette under one arm and have questionable hygiene standards. The Italians are a nation of dark-haired, olive skinned plumbers who spend most of their time ingesting huge quantities of mushrooms, then jumping on the backs of turtles whilst on a quest to save a Princess. Yet despite our differences we collectively managed to establish the culture wh...

I've avoided this movie like the goddam plague. But, Dan has asked us to talk about it for your listening pleasure so I stuck it on one evening. Turns out you can be wrong about a movie from time to time, because we found a movie that we all seemed to get on with!

The Casino can be an intoxicating place in more way than one, especially if you like gambling which I don't. The unquestionable pathway to happiness that gambling guarantees, the glamour, the risk, the reward, the shared social experience: it all sounds awful, just as fake as the Eiffel Tower that famously adorns the Vegas strip. This weeks top 5 promises all of the subtlety and style of that famous American city, a mecca for the perpetually misguided and the intellectually stunted, so of course...

Well we haven't ever covered a kung fu movie. This seems like as good a time as ever. We watched Bloodsport. There's lots to love about this movie. It's a true story, JCVD does the splits a lot. The child actors are fantastic. And mainly the fighting is really cool! Have we found a movie that we all agree on?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made in excess of 23 billion dollars worldwide since Iron Man's debut in 2008 and superhero movies have become so ubiquitous that we take them for granted but this wasn't always the case. When I was younger, the notion that there might be a shared cinematic universe featuring even top tier Marvel characters seemed fanciful, never mind the fact that we now have entire movies dedicated to the exploits of talking raccoons and mono-sentenced walking trees. 22 movies...

Our Midweek Mention begins our week long delve into the world of Marvel movies. Egged on by Sidey's unrelenting claims that Howard the Duck is the best Marvel movie, Reegs picked this classic tale of girl meets duck. There are many strange moments in this PG rated film. They include but are not limited to: duck wanking, potential rape, Dark Overlord transmogrification and flying a microlite. To summarise, this movie is fucking rad.

Imagine a world without music. No jazz, soul, punk, funk or gospel, no rock, no roll, no hip, no hop. You can't do it can you, and not only because your brain has been reduced to little more than a paperweight by endlessly scrolling the internet on your phone but also because it's impossible. People have music literally embedded in them; the human heart is by design an organ which is supposed to tirelessly and constantly beat in rhythm just for you to survive. Given the seemingly culturally univ...

"We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run." You must remember this one, surely? The whole movie is essentially a car chase from start to finish. It's 1977 and The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) accepts a bet from Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos who say he can't go to Texarkana, Texas and back to Atlanta, Georgia in a big rig with 400 smuggled cases of some of America's worst beer, Coors, in under 28 hours. Reynold's is 70's coolness ...

Every now and then we are fortunate to have a guest on the show. It must be nice for you all to hear from people who actually know what they're talking about! We opened our virtual doors for a visit from the very excellent Jamie Chambers. Ten years ago Jamie had an epiphany and decided to try his luck at making it in the movie business. Join us for stories about Stormtrooper costumes, Red Dwarf after parties and a visit from what sounds like Gary Oldman from True Romance! If you have some movie ...

Sidey's relentless bullying campaign finally pays off as Howie dramatically quits the show! Is just one of the ways the mainstream media would have wilfully misreported the fact that our favourite shouty ginger paddle boarder has decided to take a well earned break in order to recharge his batteries. We have a surprise guest instead and whilst I won't give away who it is let's just say that he has: featured on the pod before; not directed an amazing movie; not starred in a fascinating low budget...

If you're not familiar with the rules of Mortal Kombat, allow me to explain it to you. It's a form of kombat (or martial arts kompetition) between fighters from different realms. For some reason our realm - including Earth which is a place I've become very attached to over the years - is on the brink of losing 10 konfrontations in a row which would be very bad so a team of kombatatants assemble themselves to kome to blows with their kompetitors, which include cyborgs, ninja's with freeze attacks...

A lot has been written about the Second Amendment to the United States constitution over the years, much of it in dispute over what the right to keep and bear arms means for individual Americans. What I'm sure we can all agree is that when this constitutional change was ratified in December of 1791, everyone attending shared a common dream that one day they would be able to see an immense Austrian man operating a belt fed machine gun like a childrens toy as he indiscriminately murders wave after...

Who is the bravest movie character of all time? It could be anyone from Rocky to Ripley to Rambo to John McClane, and that will probably make for an excellent discussion some week but right now none of these people will feature in our Top 5 Film and TV Cowards. Dallas Buyers Club is the highly fictionalised very loosely based on a semi-true how much of it was it really though story of the life of Ron Woodruff who in July 1985 was diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live. The movies version o...

Imagine you've been asked to think of the most appropriate film for a group of 40 something dads. Did you think of Mean Girls? Probably not, and yet here we are. Reegs was very keen that we all watched this one, so grab some snacks and the beverage of your choice and lets see what fascinating insights are in store in our Midweek Movie Mention.... Next week we have a listener suggestion submitted on Twitter. Feel free to suggest any movies you feel would benefit from our critical reappraisal. We ...

When I was 7 years old I had a recurring nightmare for a while in which a Tyrannosaurus-Rex would grow from a single pixel on my old CRT television, slowly at first and then emerging far beyond the edge of the screen until its tremendous body broke through the ceiling. Pausing for a dreadful roar it devours me in a single mercifully quick obliteration. The television itself was a PHILIPS 27CS6895 BACH but I don't remember the movie I watched which no doubt inspired those terrifying sleepless nig...

A dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. Since the 1950s, such "dragnets" have generally been held to be unconstitutional as unreasonable search and seizure actions. It's also the name of a 1987 buddy cop movie starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks and the late great Christopher Plummer. We're talking about the latter this week.