Better Lighting

Better Lighting

By The CrewLeisureHobbies
Download on the App Store

Better Lighting episodes

  • The One With Time Travel, Bleak Futures And Artificial Intelligence

    This week, the boys (Ed and Daniel) suddenly remember that they are—at least in theory—a movie podcast, so they sit down to watch Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Shockingly, they actually have thoughts. Even more shockingly, some of those thoughts are almost coherent.

    There’s a lot to enjoy in the film, and the boys dive into its ideas about the future, humanity, and how we might coexist with AI… despite the fact that neither of them can successfully coexist with their own phones half the time.

    Daniel has also finally finished Resident Evil 4, which means the boys can now openly share their deep, spiritual, unshakeable hatred of Ashley. A hatred built not on malice, but on the universal human experience of shouting “JUST STAY BEHIND ME” at a fictional character who refuses to listen.

    It’s movies, it’s games, it’s chaos, it’s the boys doing what they do best: talking nonsense with absolute confidence and having a great time doing it.

    1 hr 57 min
  • The One With The Guillotines

    The boys are back in town, bravely wading into topics that are—let’s be honest—several miles above their actual brain capacity. This week, Dan and Ed decide it’s finally time to tackle everyone’s favourite conversation starter… politics. Yes. Politics. Because what could possibly go wrong when two men armed with enthusiasm, half‑remembered documentaries, and zero qualifications start unpacking world events.


    They quickly arrive at the conclusion that there’s nothing ordinary people can do, and the only logical option is to “rise up like the French” and stage a revolution—despite neither of them being able to name more than one thing about the French Revolution with confidence.


    Somehow, in the midst of all this, the boys also manage to sketch out what they believe is a complete plan to “fix the situation in the Middle East.” It is, of course, wildly oversimplified, deeply optimistic, and absolutely not something anyone should treat as expert commentary. But it is very on‑brand for them.


    It’s chaotic. It’s overconfident. It’s the boys doing what they do best: talking nonsense with absolute conviction.

    2 hr 7 min
  • The One Where The Boys Go LGBTQ+HDMIPS5

    In this episode, Daniel and Eddie set out with the noble goal of becoming excellent allies to the LGBT+ community… and immediately prove they have absolutely no idea what they’re doing. Their hearts are in the right place, but their ideas? Chaotic. Confused. Deeply unhelpful. Anyone with sense should probably not treat them as educators on this topic — but they are trying, and that counts for something.

    The boys also dive into the big leadership shift at Xbox and the arrival of the new CEO. Is this the start of a bold new era, or the beginning of a slow, confused wobble into the abyss? Naturally, Daniel and Eddie believe they know exactly how to save the Xbox brand, despite having zero authority and even less restraint.

    There’s also the usual despair about GTA never releasing, a rant about why some Japanese games simply refuse to end, and Daniel unexpectedly discovering a new love for the modern Resident Evil titles.

    It’s messy. It’s enthusiastic. It’s very them.

    2 hr 20 min
  • The One Where AI Cheats, Christmas Disappoints, and London Floods Us Out

    The boys kick things off in full gremlin mode, warming up with cartoon voices, half‑baked accents, and whatever nonsense their brains produce before the caffeine hits. Once they’ve stopped making each other laugh, they dive into the tech rabbit hole: CES, modern monitors, and the new wave of “AI‑powered” features that may or may not just be cheating with extra steps. They fixate on MSI’s concept monitor with “AI goggles” to reduce flashbangs and highlight enemies, and spend a good while debating whether that’s innovation… or pay‑to‑win disguised as productivity.

    From there it’s a life catch‑up, which quickly becomes a seasonal therapy session. One of them is firmly anti‑Christmas—expectations, travel, gifts, the whole machine—while the other shrugs and says it’s fine because “the kids like it.” Time passing, holidays creeping up, and the existential dread of December all get their moment.

    Then comes the weather. London winter weather. The cold. The constant cold. And the rain—endless, morale‑destroying rain—plus the misery of cycling through it. It’s a full rant, and honestly, they earn it.

    The episode’s biggest detour lands in politics and the news cycle, especially the state of things in the United States. They talk about the Trump administration, NATO tensions, immigration enforcement, and the general sense of instability, and then wrestle with what that means for the UK and Europe watching from across the Atlantic.

    Naturally, this spirals into sport. They touch on the upcoming World Cup hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico, the logistics of travel, and then somehow end up relitigating Luis Suárez’s infamous handball against Ghana in 2010. Ethics, gamesmanship, and whether “doing what it takes” is noble or villainous all get thrown around.

    And because no episode is complete without a movie tangent, they wrap by referencing Falling Down and God Bless America while talking about societal frustration, catharsis, and why certain films hit differently when the world feels like it’s wobbling.

    It’s tech, weather, politics, sport, movies, and two men trying to make sense of all of it while staying vaguely warm and dry.

    2 hr 6 min
  • The One Where Austin Butler Tries to Steal Our Hearts… but Caught Stealing Doesn’t

    This week the boys open with exactly the kind of nonsense you’ve come to expect: questionable accents, cartoon impressions, and a warm‑up routine that feels like two men trying to make each other break before the episode even starts. It works. It always works.

    Then they dive into Caught Stealing, a film they both agree is… fine. Perfectly fine. It has a beginning, a middle, an end — all the structural components of a movie — but absolutely none of the spice the trailer promised. They spend a good chunk of time trying to work out how a poster can feel more energetic than the actual film.

    Naturally, this derails into a full‑blown debate about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. One of them insists it’s indulgent, meandering, and basically a collection of short films wearing a cowboy hat; the other argues it’s still entertaining and has some killer set pieces. They wrestle with the idea that the movie doesn’t “start” until suspiciously late, and how much it leans on the audience already knowing the real‑world context.

    From there, the conversation mutates into a broader theme: trailers lying to us. Overpromising. Catfishing. They joke that trailers should get their own awards because sometimes the trailer is the best part of the whole experience.

    And because it’s Eddie and Daniel, the episode then explodes into rapid‑fire tangents — rewatchability, comfort films, superhero chaos, Venom’s weird charm, Transformers’ loud commitment to being Transformers, Jurassic Park’s decline, and the eternal question: why do people like the things they like?

    It’s messy, it’s affectionate, it’s cinematic therapy with two men who definitely shouldn’t be left unsupervised with a microphone.

    1 hr 59 min
  • The One Where The Boy's Do It Together

    The boys this week take their friendship to the next level — bonded by a shared admiration for Alison Brie and an equally shared, entirely irrational, completely unserious dislike of Dave Franco. Why? No one knows. Not even them. It’s just one of those bits that got out of hand.

    There was a moment where Daniel tried to make a point about “the other Franco brother,” but after a quick Google search and a full emotional U‑turn, that entire tangent has been permanently deleted from the timeline. We don’t talk about it. Ever again.

    So anyway — back to Eddie and Daniel. They watched Together “together,” and now they have thoughts. Big thoughts. Tangled thoughts. Possibly relationship‑defining thoughts. Join them as they unpack the film, their dynamic, and the increasingly worrying trajectory of their shared future as two men who spend far too much time analysing movies and each other.

    Come along for the ride. It’s messy, it’s affectionate, it’s cinematic, and it’s very, very them.

    2 hr 12 min
  • The One With Ballerinas and Frenchmen (For Those Who Come After)


    In this chaotic, barely‑coherent episode, Daniel and Eddie once again prove that letting them speak unsupervised was a terrible idea. They start by mangling the finer points of British small‑talk etiquette, confidently misunderstanding weather psychology, and then—because why not—launch into a wildly overcaffeinated breakdown of this year’s Game of the Year nominations.

    Expect the usual nonsense: Daniel pretending he understands art direction, Eddie declaring himself the authority on soundtracks despite having the musical taste of a malfunctioning Roomba, and both of them insisting they know the state of modern fighting games while demonstrating the opposite.

    Naturally, the conversation derails into Steam hardware rambling, Battlefield nostalgia therapy, and an accidental detour into U.S. politics that neither of them is qualified to comment on. They wrap things up with a brutally confused review of Ballerina, the John Wick spinoff that left them both wondering if they’d watched the wrong film.

    Rants, tangents, bad opinions, and two hosts who absolutely should not be trusted with a platform. Classic Better Lighting.

    2 hr 8 min
  • The One Where Honey, Don’t Really… Didn’t

    The old farts are at it again. This week, Daniel and Ed’s quest to rewind the clock lands squarely on the state of modern gaming — back when all you needed for a perfect weekend was a mate, a sofa, and whatever controller they remembered to bring. Naturally, this spirals into an unreasonably passionate debate about which controller reigns supreme and why on earth any of them are laid out the way they are. Two grown men, far too invested in lumps of plastic. Classic.


    But the real chaos kicks in when it’s time for the film of the night: Honey Don’t. A stylish, female‑led thriller that leaves the boys… confused? Impressed? Mildly traumatised? You’ll have to listen to find out whether they rise to the occasion or crumble under the weight of their own cinematic expectations.


    Nostalgia, nonsense, and a few spicy opinions — exactly what you came for.

    2 hr 22 min
  • The One Where The Girls Got The Baps Out

    Look, we know… we vanished again. But it’s a new year, so maybe get off our backs a little. The boys are finally back — fresh year, fresh look, exact same nonsense. And if you think we’re late, you’re even later, because this episode drags you all the way back to Halloween.

    This week, Dan and Ed dive into one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: how men can have a full‑blown argument, shake hands, and carry on like nothing happened… while women can keep a feud alive longer than some houseplants and still call each other friends.

    They also tackle the big cinematic question no one asked but everyone secretly wonders: how long is too long before you can ask for a movie refund? Minutes? Hours? Weeks? Years? (Dan has thoughts.)

    And to top it off, the boys take a detour into the infamous heist in France — because of course they do.

    Same chaos. Same energy. New year. Let’s go.

    1 hr 57 min
  • The One Where Scarlett Johansson Was Asian

    Daniel and Ed kick off the night by questioning their place in the anime world — two self-proclaimed “old men” still watching cartoons. Should they even be here? Who knows.

    But since this is a movie podcast, they’ve decided to double down on films, and this week’s pick is Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson. Spoiler alert: they hated it. Expect a full hour of grumbling, nitpicking, and “we could’ve done it better” energy.

    Whether you think they’re insightful critics or just man-babies yelling at Hollywood, one thing’s for sure: making movies isn’t easy, and they’re not the ones doing it.

    P.S. Scarlett Johansson rules — and no, that’s not bias.

    2 hr 10 min

About Better Lighting

From the publisher's feed

Better Lighting is based on the idea that the difference between the boring humdrum of daily life and the crisp sheen of the silver screen is simply better lighting!