Episodes

In this short episode of Bad Dads Film Review, Sidey, Reegs and Cris (with Dan away) review The Birthday Cake, the 2021 New York mob thriller and debut feature of Jimmy Giannopoulos, starring Ewan McGregor, Val Kilmer, Jeremy Allen White, William Fichtner, Lorraine Bracco and Luis Guzman. They discuss the plot, the poisoned cake, the handheld and out-of-focus visual style, the rushed dialogue and why a great cast is not enough, and land on a not-recommend.

In this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, Dan nominates The Firm, Sydney Pollack's 1993 legal thriller based on John Grisham's first big novel, starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter and Gary Busey. Dan is the only one who has seen the film, so he talks through the plot, from the Memphis law firm that is too good to be true to the honey trap, the FBI, the mafia and the billing-fraud ending. The group also discuss the budget and box office, the cast, Grisham adaptations and timesheet horror stories.

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 cover The Federal Network effect: recruitment ads, newsreels, and how the film weaponises UI/UX to sell fascism with a smile. Rico’s journey: classroom ideolog...

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 cover The Big Swing: Why the CGI chimp isn’t a gimmick for giggles but a visual metaphor for the “performing monkey” pe...

This 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 gu...

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 la...

This week, the dads head into the mosh pit with Jeremy Saulnier’s brutal, claustrophobic thriller Green Room — where a struggling punk band finds themselves trapped in a neo-Nazi club after witnessing a murder. It’s one part siege movie, one part social horror, and all parts grim. When the Ain’t Rights take a last-minute gig deep in Oregon’s backwoods, they expect low pay and bad beer — not blood, dogs, machetes and Patrick Stewart as a terrifying skinhead ringleader. What follows is a night ...

This week we celebrate the late, great Robert Redford the Bad Dads way: with a chaotic Top 5 Roberts and a deep dive into All the President’s Men — the newsroom thriller where Redford and Dustin Hoffman painstakingly peel back Watergate until the whole presidency caves in. It’s cigarettes, typewriters, and journalism that actually mattered. What we get into Redford & Hoffman, peak charisma: why their odd-couple energy (and immaculate 70s fits) makes procedural journalism feel electric. ...

This week the dads take a look at Copycat (1995), a mid-90s thriller that wants to be Silence of the Lambs but often ends up more made-for-TV movie. Sigourney Weaver stars as an agoraphobic psychologist dragged into a game of cat-and-mouse with a serial killer imitating history’s most infamous murderers. Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulroney round out the cast, while Harry Connick Jr. chews the scenery as a crooning creep. In true Bad Dads style, we pull the film apart and ask: Does Copycat ea...

South Korea. 1979. Forty days to an assassination. We dive into Woo Min-ho’s icy political thriller The Man Standing Next — a gripping, true-events drama about KCIA director Kim Gyu-pyeong (played by Squid Game’s Front Man, Lee Byung-hun) as he weighs loyalty, country, and a bullet. What the film’s about After years in President Park Chung-hee’s inner circle, Kim watches the regime harden: political purges, wiretaps, street crackdowns, and a rival enforcer (Chief Kwak) pushing for blood. W...

This week’s episode is positively huge (and Hugh-filled). 👼 Heretic We dive into Heretic (2024), the claustrophobic new thriller from A24 in which two young missionaries find themselves trapped in the home of Hugh Grant — who’s swapped his floppy-haired rom-com persona for a sinister host obsessed with theology, control, and blueberry pie. It’s equal parts scripture, serial killer, and Monopoly rules lawyer. We get into: Hugh Grant’s unnervingly charming turn as a religious sadist. ...

This week on Bad Dads Film Review, we double up on trouble (and laughs) with our Top 5 Twins before diving headfirst into Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar juggernaut Barbie. 👯 Double Vision From Arnold and Danny in Twins to the terrifying Grady girls from The Shining, via Tintin’s bumbling detectives and even a detour into real-life Hollywood doppelgängers, we explore the weird, wonderful, and occasionally creepy world of twins on screen. Expect heated debate, dodgy impressions, and at least 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! Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review! This week we’re crunching numbers, making shady deals, and talking shop with our Top 5 Businesses in film and TV before heading to the Costa del Crime for our main feature — The Business (2005), a slick, sun-drenched British crime drama from Nick Love. 📈 Top 5 Businesses in Film & ...