BBC’s ‘Ghosts’ - we explore them further. We also ask if Homer Simpson is abusive and we answer your questions in this special bonus edition.

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We'd love to hear your comments and guest suggestions on the show. Email: shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com



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SHRINK THE BOX: Shrink the Inbox

The new home of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. They’re back, and it’s bigger, and better and larger-er and more-er.

Film reviews, TV reviews, and all your conversation around movie and non-movie related stuff. Plus a whole bunch of recommendations to watch in cinemas, on all streaming services and on physical media.

As well as the film and TV reviews, Mark and Simon will be talking about anything and everything. Punctuation, Thunderbirds, obscure German pop music, fax machines, subtitles, MRI scans, magic, school assemblies, Scandinavia, and don’t forget the dad jokes.

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There's more to discover at kermodeandmayo.com.

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TV & Film

Film Reviews

TV Reviews

Film Interviews

This week, Take fave Benedict Cumberbatch tells Simon all about his psychological miniseries ‘Eric’, which sees him play troubled puppeteer Vincent, who clings to his missing son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet named Eric, convinced that if he can get Eric on TV then his son will come home.  

Mark also gives his take on the show, as well as reviewing ‘Sting’, which sees a 12-year-old's pet spider rapidly transform into a giant flesh-eating monster, forcing the young girl to fight for her family’s survival.  

This week’s big review is ‘The Beast’, a science fiction romantic drama loosely based on Henry James’ novella ‘The Beast in the Jungle’, which imagines a near future in which artificial intelligence is in control of everyone’s lives and human emotions are perceived as a threat. Lea Seydoux and ‘Gorgeous George’ Mackay star.  

Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!): 

08:14 – Sting Review 

12:03– Box Office Top Ten 

24:44 – Benedict Cumberbatch Interview 

39:15 – Eric Review 

45:42 – What's On June 

49:06 – The Beast Review 

 

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo  



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A Sony Music Entertainment production.    

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts   

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Benedict Cumberbatch, Eric, The Beast & Sting

He’s grumpy, belligerent, stubborn, filterless and has to win every single argument. We ask how Larry David has any friends left and why he is so concerned with manners, yet is rude to virtually everyone he meets. Plus, Ben and Nemone look at why some people find Curb Your Enthusiasm excruciating whilst others just can’t get enough of the hit show.  

We want to hear about any theories we might have missed, what you’ve thought of the show so far and your character suggestions. Please drop the team an email (which may be part of the show): shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com 

 

NEXT CLIENTS ON THE COUCH. Find out how to view here

Michael, Office (USA. Season 1) 

Chandler, Friends (selected episodes) 

Sydney, The Bear (season 2) 

Tyrion, Game of Thrones (seasons 1&2). 

Alex and Bradley, The Morning Show (Season 1)  



CREDITS 

We used clips from Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Episodes 1,4,5,7,10.   

Starring (in the clips we used):  

Larry David as Larry David,  

Jeff Garlin as Jeff Greene 

Cheryl Hines as Cheryl David 

Susie Essman as Susie Greene 

Jason Alexander as Jason Alexander 

Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser 

Catherine O'Hara as Bam Bam 

Anita Barone, as Denise 

Peter Mackenzie as Man in Shorts 

Paul Webster as Larry's Friend Jim 

 

Created and written by: Larry David. Directed by Larry Charles, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Bryan Gordon, Jeff Schaffer and Andy Ackerman, 

 

Produced by: Linda Balaban, associate producer 

Alec Berg, executive producer 

Larry Charles, executive producer 

Larry David, executive producer (showrunner) / executive producer 

Jeff Garlin, executive producer 

Tim Gibbons, executive producer 

David Mandel, executive producer 

Megan Murphy, co-producer 

Erin O'Malley, executive producer 

Gavin Polone, executive producer 

Jeff Schaffer, executive producer (showrunner) 

Laura Streicher, producer 

 

Produced by HBO and Production Partners.  

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts. 

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. 

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LARRY DAVID: Curb star who falls out with everyone in SHRINK THE BOX

This week, director George Miller sits down with Simon to chat all things ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’, the origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max.

Mark also gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘In Flames’, a Pakastani-Canadian supernatural drama, which sees a mother and daughter’s precarious existence ripped apart after the death of the family patriarch.

The big review of the week is ‘The Garfield Movie’, which sees Chris Patt voice the iconic, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving cat, who finds himself unexpectedly reunited with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat who draws him into a high-stakes heist.

Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

08:18 – In Flames Review

12:04 – Box Office Top Ten

24:48 – George Miller Interview

39:29 - Furiosa Review

51:25 – The Garfield Movie Review

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo



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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

To advertise on this show contact: podcastadsales@sonymusic.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Miller, Furiosa, In Flames & The Garfield Movie

Gang dynamics, whether you can escape a criminal heritage and the physiological cause and effect of PTSD. Plus, race rigging, opium smoking and casual violence - all in a day's work for The Peaky Blinders.

We want to hear about any theories we might have missed, what you’ve thought of the show so far and your character suggestions. Please drop the team an email (which may be part of the show): shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com



NEXT CLIENTS ON THE COUCH. Find out how to view here

Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 7)

Michael, Office (USA. Season 1)

Chandler, Friends (selected episodes)

Sydney, The Bear (season 2)

Tyrion, Game of Thrones (seasons 1&2).

CREDITS

We used clips from Season 1 of Peaky Blinders.

Starring:

Cillian Murphy (Tommy Shelby), Paul Anderson (Arthur Shelby), Sophie Rundle (Ada Shelby) Helen McCrory (Polly Gray) and Samuel Edward Cook (Danny Whizz-bang).

Created by: D Steven Knight Written by D Steven Knight, Toby Finlay and Stephen Russell.

Directed by: Otto Bathurst and Tom Harper.

Produced by: Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).



Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts.

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TOMMY SHELBY: We Peek Behind the Blinders in SHRINK THE BOX

This week, Vicky McClure chats to Simon about her new limited series ‘Insomnia’, which sees a mother approaching her fortieth birthday forced to grapple with her traumatic past after she develops insomnia.  

Mark gives his thoughts on various new releases, including ‘Two Tickets to Greece’, a French comedy-drama starring Laure Calamy (of ‘Call My Agent’ fame) which follows two childhood friends who cross paths after many years and finally decide to take their dream vacation to Greece; and ‘Hoard’, a social realist psychodrama, which sees a teenager living in a foster home encouraged by a previous resident to revisit her childhood memories of her mother who used to be a hoarder.  

The big review of the week is 'If’, John Krasinski’s latest, which sees a 12-year-old girl, who can see everyone’s imaginary friends, embark on a magical journey to reconnect the forgotten so-called IFs with the now-adult kids who dreamt them up. 

Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!): 

07:00 – Two Tickets For Greece Review 

11:49 – Box Office Top Ten 

21:40 – Vicky McClure Interview 

35:36 – Hoard Review 

42:40 – IF Review 

 

You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo  



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A Sony Music Entertainment production.    

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts   

To advertise on this show contact: podcastadsales@sonymusic.com 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SHRINK THE BOX: Shrink the Inbox

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