Nerdfest

This episode takes us on a wild and crazy ride as we discuss the life and times of 1980s comedy stars Steve Martin, John Belushi, Rick Moranis, Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy and John Candy. Gain insights into everything from "Ghostbusters" to "Beverley Hills Cop" from Dan’s review of Nick de Semelyn’s new book ”Wild and Crazy Guys”, then test your own knowledge of 1980s comedy trivia as he sets us a quiz based on stories from the book. Jon has ignored Gary Netflix yet again, to review ”The Perfection”, a disturbing new horror film involving a pair of amorous cello players. Peter and Hazel discuss ”Rocketman”, the biopic of Elton Hercules John, and how it ranks as a musical fantasy. And Hazel broaches the subject of ”Nanette”, a 1 hour Netflix special by Australian comedienne Hannah Gadsby, and how it swiftly swerves from stand-up to something much, much more. And finally, we preview what’s coming up in cinemaland over the next few months: including ”Spider-Man Far From Home”, ”Yesterday”, ”Ad Astra”, ”Once Upo

If there was ONE thing that really stood out in 1997’s "Batman & Robin".... In light of the news there’s going to be a new Batman protecting the streets of Gotham, our nerds debate who was the greatest actor to don the Bat Cape, Bat-nipples or no Bat-nipples. Most of us chose different portrayals although, spoiler alert, none of us selected Batfleck (in fact, we sort of forgot about him...) Before that, we have our Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz, where our nerds face questions on the friendship between Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, the Starship Enterprise, and whether Jim Carrey actually paid for the CIA to torture him... We round off the show with a quiz, in which Jon asks us to identify movies, based on reviews from a Christian Right website...

How do you become a guest on the Nerdfest podcast? Sex and cookies, apparently. This time we have a new voice amongst our nerds, Andy, who joins us for an extra long spoiler special on 'Avengers: Endgame', now that most of the world has seen it (Some of us three times!) In the second part of the show we go scene-by-scene, discussing the fate of many beloved characters, whilst also pondering the eternal question: "How do you spoon a raccoon?" We open the show with lots of new recommendations: Jon reviews one of the best horror movies he’s ever seen,'The Babadook', now released on Amazon Prime. Hazel has been mesmerised by new Netflix documentary 'Knock Down the House' about four women vying to replace long-serving Congressmen in the 2018 House race. Peter explores the new 'What We Do In The Shadows' TV show based on the Taika Waititi movie. And finally Andy has a solution for anyone who has a beef with Bear Grylls - try and cause him harm in the new and interactive choose-your-own-adventure series, 'You vs.

So, if you HAD to, which dinosaur would you choose to "make the beast with two backs" with? It’s these sort of high-brow questions and more which our nerds seek to tackle in this episode. First up is Film Buff or Bluff, starting with Jon's three outlandish storylines involving The Joker. Then Dan gives us three Jeff Goldblum facts, (one of which is his favourite dinosaur, taking us on said dinosaur dating route.) Peter tests our knowledge of some of Marvel’s wackiest characters, and Hazel tries to pull one over on us with her tricksy facts about the first cinematic appearances of certain female actors. This episode also sees the return of “Shameful Gap”, as Hazel shares her first ever viewing of “Groundhog Day”. This episode also sees the return of “Shameful Gap”, as Hazel shares her first ever viewing of “Groundhog Day”. The jokes don’t get much better we’re afraid, as we explore the themes of Bill Murray’s starring performance as Phil Connors, the egotistical weatherman doomed to repeat the same day ov

In celebration of two great franchises both coming to their conclusions, we have some special features for this episode... Dan has devised a dragon-sized Game of Thrones quiz, spanning all seven previous series. And we record our first reactions to seeing "Avengers Endgame" - mere minutes after leaving the cinema (but after relieving our bladders!). Don’t worry - it’s all spoiler free. Before that, we each have brand new recommendations for you- Jon reviews 'Sorry to bother you'; the Tessa Thompson and LaKeith Stanfield starring comedy which tells the tale of a telemarketer bejng told to use a ”white person voice”. Hazel goes all Elizabethan on us, performing a solioquy or two from 'William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily A New Hope' by Ian Doescher. Peter has seen DC’s latest effort, 'Shazam', and classifies it as enormous fun, and Dan has another recommendation for the Nerdfest bookshelf - 'The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs', provoking many deep and meaningful discussions (including which dinosaurs took

Duh duh du-du-duh duh du-du DDUUUUUH. "Game of Thrones" is back in front of our eyeballs and we couldn’t be more excited! In this episode we make our predictions for who we think will die first, and who'll end up on the Iron Throne at the end of the series. Unfortunately the three-eyed raven we’d hired for this purpose flew away, which means none of these predictions will come true, but it’s a fun segment! Before that, it’s the return of ‘Film Buff or Film Bluff’ - and this time we try to fool each other with a combination of true and fake facts about movie special effects, the "Star Wars" Cantina band, Captain America, and Marlon Brando’s crazy on-set antics. Plus, Hazel has a bonus Buff or Bluff about submarines. Hope you’re ready for a science lesson! Also, one of our nerds had never seen 90s action blockbuster “Last Action Hero” - so hear their thoughts upon watching it for the very first time in our “Shameful Gap” feature. Our resident quizmaster Ian McLaughlin has come up with another sterling quiz i

It’s "Captain Marvel" review time, the majority of which we spend trying to come up with our own synopsis. Once we get that established however, we have a lively debate about the film’s merits and shortcomings. In another inspired quiz, Ian borrowed the DeLorean to ask his 5 year old self to describe 10 famous movies, while the rest of us try and guess it from his cryptic clues. And we start the show with our reviews section - including the "RBG" documentary and it’s cinematic counterpart, "On The Basis Of Sex". Peter enrols us in the "Umbrella Academy", and Ian plays a new game he found to comfort him after being too terrified by an "Alien" videogame. Meanwhile, Jon can't make up his mind WHAT to cover, so he attempts to review the entirety of human existence.

Can you tell the difference between the snarl of a Gremlin and the pwish of the Enterprise doors? Then you’ll probably do a lot better at Ian’s masterful movie sounds quiz than we did! Also in this episode are our(spoiler-free) reactions to 'Captain Marvel' - captured in our mobile recording studio (AKA Hazel’s car) just after leaving the cinema. In Buff or Bluff, Dan delves into the sitcom careers of Marvel directors, Hazel tries to fool us with ‘facts’ about Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jon looks at reshot movies, and Peter links Batman and James Bond. And we try out a new game called ‘Pitchstorm’, in which we each try to pitch ludicrous movie concepts, while the rest of the nerds make “helpful" suggestions to ensure box office success.

It's a full Nerd house, thanks to Hazel’s recovery (though Jon doesn’t quite want to let go of his temporary hosting duties) and Ian Mac being back from whatever he was doing... Ian recommends perhaps the strangest video game concept we’ve ever heard (two words: "Vicious Strawberry".) Jon cautiously recommends the updated version of “Suspiria”. We find out whether the eyes have it for “Alita: Battle Angel”. Hazel recommends a person (no, not Chris Hemsworth...) as she’s been enjoying two pieces of work by the luminous Richard Ayoade. And a review of new Netflix series “Riverdale”, leads us down the inevitable path of a Saved by the Bell debate...(yeah, us neither...) We also have a live draw for our Oscars sweepstake and discuss each Best Picture nominee's merits and flaws. Find out who drew the winning film under Hazel’s needlessly-complicated scoring system, and (as this was recorded just before the Oscars) use your superpower of hindsight to see if our wilder predictions came true, you lucky things.

We have lots of wonderful recommendations for you this episode - Jon tests the breakability of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass”, Dan endures a nightmare commute on the “Last train to Busan” and Peter shares some “Sex Education” From beyond the void, Ian Mayor enthuses over the incoming news about Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune". And once more we brave Jon’s Sack of Fun, the world’s unluckiest dip. WARNING. Does not contain nuts (or, at least, Hazel), but she’ll be back next time.

In the official* Nerdfest preview of 2019, we chat about the likes of Star Wars Episode IX, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Toy Story 4, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and Avengers Endgame. Find out which will make the top of our watchlist. We partake in our usual fun and frivolities during a Film Buff or Film Buff Quiz, including unusual hobbies of Marvel actors, some musical trivia, and some Muppety facts and fiction. Ahead of the 2019 Oscars ceremony, Dan has concocted a Quiz about this year’s Best Picture nominees. Test your own knowledge against that of our nerds. And we discover what the boys get up to when Hazel leaves them to their own devices... *Official by Nerdfest standards

Love him or loathe him, you can’t deny that Nicolas Cage is... interesting. in this episode, No. 1 fan Jon breaks the podcast record (probably)for the most NC references, including his ‘recommen-dont’ film called Left Behind (“It’s the f*****g rapture, innit”) - another consequence of Jon’s late night, post-pub viewings. Dan has the misfortune of reviewing Next, the Cage-starring caper he picked from Jon’s Sack of Fun (TM). Our regular ‘Buff or Buff’ Quiz is back - this time featuring facts about Jar Jar Binks, sport horror movies, Eurovision and David Bowie cameos. Find out which piece of trivia is a complete and utter lie. And in our recommendations segment we talk about Bird Box, Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse, The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, and Dan’s latest addition to the Nerd Bookshelf - a Firefly novel. Before all that, hear about our best nerdy Xmas swag, plus Dan’s review of Mary Poppins Returns.

Well hey there 2019, you sexy thing you. So, what was 2018? A whole crock of... well, we won’t go into that here. But the saving grace for a lot of us was the cinematic experiences we encountered, so enjoy our rundown of the best that last year had to offer. This episode also sees the first appearance of Jon’s "Sack of Fun", whereby we all benefit from his recent trip to a discount DVD store, and will be forced to watch whatever we pull out of his sack. In this week’s Film Buff or Bluff Quiz Jon has some wacky movie monsters for us, Hazel explores the life and career of Robert Redford, and Peter brings some...erm... statistical analysis to the table... That’s not the only quiz in this episode, as Ian has devised an enormously fun ‘Guess the movie song’ challenge you can play along to at home. Finally we have another Nerd Debate, in which we discover whether we should consider changing career to scriptwriter... or not

ORDER! ORDER! Please assemble for the return of Nerd Court, in which we engage in our fiercest debate yet: the merits of "Total Recall". Will Peter succeed in his quest to send this Arnie classic to Nerd Jail, or will Jon's real-life lawyering skills save it from a fate worse than a decompressive explosion? Also in this episode, we discuss the trailer for "Avengers: Endgame"- including why Tony Stark is still so handsome after 4 days without food or water, the implications of Thanos doing the unthinkable, and some possible theories on how our heroes might work themselves out of this small pickle. We round off the show with an incredibly entertaining Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz. Topics this time include elaborate Freddie Krueger kills, monsters from "Fantastic Beasts", and the lesser-discussed Chris on this podcast, Chris Pine. Be sure to stick around for another one of our fabulous end-credits sequences!

Yeehaw! pardners. There’s a Wild West theme to this one-year anniversary episode, as we cover new Coen Brothers movie, "Buster Scruggs" and the game "Red Dead Redemption 2". Other recommendations are Pratchett and Gaiman collaboration "Good Omens", Netflix’s "Apostle" and comedian-testing panel show "Taskmaster". And we choose some great nerdy gifts for Xmas, including a Geek cookbook, a giant lego Star Wars creature and an intriguing book about the weirdest comic book superheroes ever created. As it’s been a year since we started, we have fun struggling to remember which of us said what in previous episodes, in a special self-indulgent quiz. And we also meet the mysterious “Gary Netflix”, a fictional construct who tries his best to head off Jon’s drunken post-pub viewing choices.

Spider-Quiz, Spider-Quiz. Does whatever a Spider-Quiz does. Which in this case, means we talk about a peculiar Spider-Man comic book arc that distinctly rhymes with the word ‘Quiz’... Yep, our Film Buff or Bluff Quiz is back, and this time we try to out-fact each other on fake documentary synopses, 'Quantum Leap' episodes, 'Spider-Man' comics, and which films feature the famous ‘Willhelm Scream’. We also pay tribute to Stan Lee, and offer some thoughts and insights about his greatest creations. Ian Mayor is still trapped in the Void, but someone must be letting him out for an hour every day, because he was able to record a great review of 'Daredevil' Season 3. And finally we talk about 'Killing Eve', a superbly written BBC America production from the phenomenal Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Our podcast can now legally consume alcohol in America! Three cheers to that! To celebrate, we go on a right old rant as Ian ‘takes one for the team’ and reviews the disappointing Venom (in a very amusing way). It’s not all doom and gloom, as we chat positively about Making a Murderer II, Bohemian Rhapsody, John Carpenter’s tour, and Bad Times at the El Royale, before going all ranty again about Dr. Who (we’re really not sure what Ian had for breakfast that morning). We then have a spontaneous quiz on the values of iconic movie props, followed by Peter’s more planned, and very clever (once we got the hang of it) movie characters quiz.

This episode has more twists than the spinning top from Inception ...if it was real...(answers on a postcard). We discuss our favourite movie twists, from the moments that made us jump out of our seat, to the moments that made us give a little appreciative nod. Inevitably, we also digress to talking about our least-favourite plot twists (here’s looking at you, M. Night Shyamalan). This is a fairly spoiler-filled chat, but we do our best to warn you before we make the big reveal. Mostly. In our Film Buff or Film Bluff quiz, we try and guess which ridiculous movie plot line Ian has concocted in his awesome brain, Dan befuddles us with some of Boba Fett’s lesser known escapades, Peter’s got some "Walking Dead" trivia up his sleeve, Jon reveals some interesting inaction figures, and Hazel takes us down memory lane with some "24" facts, goddammit. Also don’t miss a visit from Ian Mayor, still trapped in the Void, reviewing new video game "Into the Breach" and listen out for the usual after-party fun after the cr

Time for another Nerdfest podcast - and "time" is the optimum word! Dan opens the show with his recommendation of a clock (it’s better than it sounds, trust us) before we get chatting about the new series of Dr Who in which we have a brand new Time Lord in the form of Jodie Whittaker. Our other recommendations include the BBC’s Bodyguard, Hotel Artemis, and a great documentary find of Ian’s, that looks behind the scenes of the lives of stand up comedians. We round off the show with Hazel’s film quote challenge, in which Dan and Ian take on Peter and Jon to see who can place the most iconic lines. Make sure you listen to the end for a bonus post-credits scene!

We’ve been away for a bit but the nerds are officially back in town! In this show our film quiz ‘Buff or Bluff’ covers the world's most Batshit-crazy "Batman" stories, plus some “Rocky”, Firefly", and Stan Lee trivia you won’t have heard before (unless you read the internet...) and we find out Jon's not-so-secret Sushi recipe. For our recommendations we review "Disenchantment", "The Meg", "Hereditary", "BlacKKKlansman", and "Ant Man and the Wasp". And Hazel picks her Born Identity - ultimate East meets West punch-up, "Rocky IV". Best training montage ever? Yes, yes it is... P.s on behalf of Jon, we’d like to issue a deep and heartfelt apology to all Australians. We love you really :) P.p.s Also, sorry USA P.p.p.s And Argentina...