Nerdfest

We’re back after our summer break, and we start our show by revelling in all the glorious nerdness that was announced at the San Diego Comic Con. Then it’s recommendations time. Dan has always wanted to be a cat (because a cat’s the only cat that knows where it’s at) and he finally gets his chance with new game 'Stray'. Peter howls about new Prime TV show 'Wolf Like Me', starring Isla Fisher and Josh Gad. Meanwhile Jon commits some 'Crimes of the Future' as he had the opportunity to watch David Cronenberg’s latest (hear why Dan, “Couldn’t be more out.”) And finally Hazel gets all shook up by Baz Luhrmann’s 'Elvis', a film she couldn’t help falling in love with.

We're all shook up this week, as Andy, Hazel, Dan, Peter and Ian test each other in a round of Buff or Bluff fit for the King! Andy puts on his blue suede shoes for some Elvis Presley trivia (TREASURE APE!), while facts about George Clooney are always on Ian's mind. We also feature the return of Shameful Gap: when one of our nerds had never seen the 90s classic Cool Runnings, they realised it was now or never, and jumped in their Disney+ bobsleigh to right that wrong. A little more conversation AND a little more action, please? That's us! Thankyouverymuch, Nerdfest has left the building. TREASURE APE!

Never mind the bollocks, here’s another Nerdfest episode! It’s recommendations time, as our own rotten Jon discusses Danny Boyle’s new limited TV series 'Pistol'. Ian Mayor is back with us on day release from The Void. He and his wife have been watching 'The Flight Attendant Season 2'; a Hitchcockian style dark comedy, and he’s here to talk about why you should be watching it too. Peter reviews new sci fi series 'Night Sky', starring Sissy Spacek and J.K Simmons, who discover a portal in their backyard leading to another planet. And since Hazel has been AWOL with Covid n that, she has a trio of recommendations of things she’s been watching whilst under the weather - 'Top Gun: Maverick', 'The Time Traveller’s Wife' (“I’m going to bat for it because no one else will”) and new Netflix series 'The Lincoln Lawyer.' May the anarchy commence.

This time Jon, Andy Peter and Ian Mac try to Bluff each other with "facts" about anthropomorphic appliances, random stories including Ryan Reynolds' day job, the unlikely dark endings of some nineties sitcoms, and the many bizarre things which movies got retitled in other countries. And our nerds have also been feeling the force of the new "Obi Wan Kenobi" series on Disney+.

The latest episode of the Nerdfest Podcast comes to you from four far-off parts of the multiverse, each full of exciting recommendations! From the assassins' universe, Kerris has been catching up with the phenomenon of 'Killing Eve'. Peter’s been away exploring strange new worlds with … um, 'Strange New Worlds'. Dan, meanwhile has seen 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' and can't wait to tell you all how fantastic the Daniels’ new verse-jumping movie is. And finally, from the darkest timeline, Jon’s only gone and watched 'Morbius'. Did he like it? (What do you think!) Whatever part of the multiverse you listen from, we hope you enjoy our latest piece of nerdiness!

A 2-part quiz special awaits your pod feeds today, as our Film Buff or Film Bluff explores topics as eclectic as movie stars’ body parts that they’ve sold for cash, the wonder that is Oscar Isaac, behind the scenes trivia of “Mad Max Fury Road” and films that have received foreign remakes without a hint of permission. Hazel also has a “two clues in one” quiz where the nerds have to guess the film title from the cryptic clues. Plus…remember at the start of the year when we told you all to watch MoonFall and then…the reviews came out and we didn’t? Well, Andy and Hazel have finally taken one for the team and are here to issue a Public Service Announcement. And with Jon proving himself to be a mere fair-weather fan of Nicolas Cage, by not seeing “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” yet- Hazel tells him what he’s missing.

Bonjour et bienvenue dans un podcast très sophistiqué! It's not just Andy who loves films in "foreign"- though he does have a great new Italian recommendation for you. Peter returns to the unique world of Jean-Pierre Jeunet in Netflix's "BigBug". Dan goes all the way to the moon with Richard Linklater's "Apollo 10 1/2". Kerris makes un grand retour to Nerdfest, with "Big Mouth" spin-off "Human Resources". And Jon has to choose "Choose Or Die" ... or die! Merci beaucoup pour votre attention!

We enter the Speed Force this week as Dan, Andy, Peter, and a virtual Jon discuss this year’s Oscars, including Zack Snyder’s “most cheerworthy moment” and the winner of our annual sweepstake! We also discuss the latest slice of MCU TV - it’s fair to say we’re loving "Moon Knight" so far, even if our impersonations of new hero Steven Grant are of variable quality… The lunar theme continues in our regular Buff or Bluff segment as Andy concocts some movies about the moon. We also have rounds on Star Trek cameos, Meat Loaf’s hot sauce, and famous film farts (yes, farts). And if that wasn’t enough podcast for you, Andy also prepared a quiz of iconic movie quotes as you’ve never heard them before!

The wonderful Ian McLaughlin is back with us this week, so of course he has us all doing all sorts of impressions and accent attempts, and generally taking the show off the rails. We do though manage to get some new recommendations out for you. Ian enthuses about paus.tv - a new streaming service that aims to support new filmmakers. Ian’s recommendation is to watch “Paul is dead”, a short film inspired by the conspiracy theory of Paul McCartney being replaced by a lookalike. Hazel reviews “Severance”, Apple TV’s offbeat thriller series about a man who takes drastic steps to forget about his job. Peter has been watching “Peacemaker”, James Gunn’s spin off series with the character from The Suicide Squad. And, as it’s now available for digital download, Jon takes us on a rollercoaster of a review with “Spider-Man No Way Home.” This way spoilers be…

It's "Women's History Month", so our nerds discuss some of the wonderful women that have inspired us so much in film. We also have another round of Buff or Bluffs, in which Jon loses control over some implausible Game Controllers, Hazel admires some groundbreaking female comedians, Peter takes the Mr. Men on a European tour , and Andy gets wood about some trees.

We travel back to the 90s for this recommendations episode, as Peter reviews the new miniseries “Pam and Tommy”. We discuss the greater implications of the show, before veering back to low brow by chatting about *that* talking penis scene. Dan ups the cultural ante with his glorious review of “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, whilst Hazel takes a trip to Belfast for Kenneth Branagh’s semi autobiographical (and wonderful) drama. Finally Jon puts us through another Chronology lesson, as he sat through the latest attempt to revive the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Then it’s our favourite time of the year - Hazel’s needlessly complicated Oscars sweepstake! And this year’s draw has an added twist…

Love is on the podcast feed in the latest instalment of Nerdfest, as Dan has prepared a nerdy Valentine’s Day themed quiz to test Jon, Kerris and Peter. How many nerdy Valentine’s will you guess? ‘Buff or Bluff’ is also back: Kerris has some facts about Groundhog Day, Dan wants to talk about Bruno with Encanto-inspired Disney song trivia, Kerris has some facts about Groundhog Day, Jon and Peter take us from Siegfried and Roy to Die Hard, and Kerris has some facts about Groundhog Day!

Our nerds excitedly preview the movies we’re looking forward to in 2022. It’s safe to say the one we’re most anticipating is MOOOOONFAAALLLL. There’s no doubt in our minds that this will be the greatest action movie ever made. What greater jeopardy is there than the moon falling on your head? (We also preview some less-important films.) But that’s not all, as we also have our recommendations for the latest and greatest things you can watch right now. Ian Mac explores the life of stand up comedian Lenny Bruce in “Lenny.” (We know it’s not new, but it’s so worth a watch if you haven’t seen it). Then Louise semi-enthusiastically reviews Sex and the City reboot “And Just Like That.” Peter ventures into the wilderness with new drama “Yellowjackets”. And Jon experiences the supernatural in Netflix’s mini series “Midnight Mass”. Finally Hazel discusses one of the most interesting TV series she’s ever seen: "Landscapers" with Olivia Colman and David Thewlis. MOOOOONNNNNFAAAALLLL (Please don’t be crap)

A slightly belated, but huge milestone Nerdfest episode! Due to circumstances beyond our control, we couldn’t properly celebrate recording 100 episodes together until now - in episode 101. But boy do we make up for it. Hazel has concocted a feature that ensures we reflect fondly on some of our favourite recording moments, including how many times Jon has had to apologise for something he’s said. And Dan has come up with a top 100 quiz - which…well, let’s just say it’s not what you might be expecting. And since it is technically episode 101, we join with Andy and Peter to create the Nerdfest Room 101. Each nerd chooses an aspect of the filmmaking process that they find irksome, and encourage their fellow nerds to send it into the abyss. Have we made the movie world a better place? Let us know! What a joy it has been to reach this point. We love recording together, and hope you have a great time listening to us. Thank you for all your support.

We feel "Pretty, oh so pretty"… and not just because Ian Mac and Kerris are back with us for an episode full of recommendations! Peter and Dan have been filling up on the best new shows on Disney+, with 'Dopesick' and 'The Beatles: Get Back'. Kerris scares herself with the latest 'American Horror Story', and Jon scares us all with a trademark non-recommendation of 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'. Then Ian dance-fights his way through “America!” for Steven Spielberg’s musical masterpiece 'West Side Story' (don’t start a rumble with us, but we really enjoyed it.) Finally, all our nerds reveal their favourite movie of 2021- we’d love to hear yours on Twitter @nerdfestuk. Now, to paraphrase John Lennon, “We’d like to thank you on behalf of the podcast, and we hope we’ve passed the audition…"

Things get festive at Nerdfest HQ, as Louise returns with tidings of comfort and joy … and the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe- It’s a thing! Our ‘Film Buff or Film Bluff’ quiz includes eclectic puzzlers about horror villains, Les Miserables, whether Gromit and K-9 are related, and Wilson ‘Kingpin’ Fisk (for no reason, no reason at all). All that, and we tackle a listener question about the best fourth film in a series. Settle down with some mince pies and a selection box, travel with us to a non-specific fictional European country, and enjoy!

Its a bumper recommendations special this episode, as we talk about legacy sequel "Ghostbusters AfterlIfe", Apple's Tom-Hanks-with-a-robot movie "Finch", magical dark nostalgia treat "Last Night In Soho", the new TV incarnation of "Chucky" and the "Hawkeye" comics which the new Disney+ series draws heavily from. And Jon takes it upon himself to personally rate Tom Hanks' career. Sorry, Tom.

Is anything real? Should we accept this reality? These are the questions on Hazel’s mind as she faces up to her umpteenth Shameful Gap: The Truman Show. Before that, there’s more reality twisting in our Buff or Bluff quiz. Andy gets creative by dreaming up a plot for a Mubi-worthy movie, whilst Kerris gets her teeth into some trivia about ‘The Lost Boys’. Peter offers 3 creepy and kooky facts about ‘The Addams Family’, and Hazel celebrates the return of live improv by inventing an improvised scene. And finally, Jon stays on brand by coming up with some monstrous facts about Frankenstein-related movies.

Spooky greetings! Join the Nerdfest gang as we celebrate Halloween with our unique bag of tricks and treats. Have you played 'Squid Game' yet? Peter has, and lives to tell the tale with his review of the Netflix sleeper hit. Hazel navigates the desert to bring you her review of sci fantasy epic 'Dune'. It’s not what she was expecting at all… Andy enthuses about one of the highlights of the BFI film festival, with a review of Celine Sciamma’s beautiful new drama, 'Petite Maman' And finally Jon bucks the recommendations format, yet again, by describing his issues with the latest in the Halloween franchise, 'Halloween Kills.' But not before an impressive rundown of where each Halloween movie since 1978 falls in the timeline. Honestly, it’s worth listening to the episode just for that….

Kerris returns to the podcast to tell us all about her membership of a most excellent Keanu Reeves movie club, and jumps her shameful gap in his back catalogue. We play Film Buff or Film Bluff, fighting over the "Tekken" series, some films you won’t believe exist and the Muppets (You’ll never look at Big Bird the same way again!) And finally, Dan has a quiz about movie teenagers and the much older actors who played them! We hope you enjoy our latest episode - just make sure not to exceed 55mph while you’re listening…