Failed Critics (2012-2019 episodes)

Like buses, you wait for three years and then two come along at once, overcharge you, and make you late for work. Or something. Released at almost the exact same time as the previous episode, because why wait? This time, it's just Steve and Owen talking about stuff they've seen - including Disney+ series Andor, Disney+ movie See How They Run, and non-Disney+ Christmas movies - and think up some ideas for TV shows that deserve a spin-off movie. Like Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie. Only different. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surprise! We're back, sort of, for a couple of episodes at the very least. We do sure hope nothing's changed since we last stepped onto this feed in 2019. Steve is putting the memory foam back in his hosting chair seat, Owen is being as pretentious as always, as Brooker is, of course, reviewing horror movies. The more things change, the more they stay the same. There's quizzing, a round up of 'what we've been watching' that spans the last couple of weeks rather than years featuring Ghostbusters, Netflix's The Watcher, and the best/worst of FrightFest 2022 - plus a couple of new releases sneak their way in under the radar with reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front, the new Hellraiser movie, and a couple of words at most for Black Adam. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quick announcement from Failed Critics' new publisher and editor Tony Black discussing the return of Failed Critics and where to now find the podcast, plus a sneak peek at our first episode back with Tony, regular host Steve Norman, and guest Matt Lambourne.This feed will remain active as a storehouse for all 290+ episodes of Failed Critics between 2012-2019, but you can find the rebooted era of the show by subscribing at the following link here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/failed-critics-podcast/id1611135627You can also find the podcast on Spotify and all good pod catchers if you type in 'Failed Critics Podcast'.We'll see you there! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes had a day off work and decided to kill time by doing an impromptu podcast on stuff they've seen in 2019. It also means we edge one step closer to the magic episode 300 mark - just nine more to go. But, seeing as the last podcast they released was in June 2018, it's unlikely to be reached any time soon.The pair talk about what they've watched recently, including a chat about bizarre Japanese arthouse film Tetsuo, The Iron Man, and the wave of true crime documentaries lately. In triple bill, they each pick out their favourite new film of 2019, their favourite first-time watch of the year, and the worst film they've seen over the past three months or so.We'll be back.. probably.. at some point.. hopefully. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! Sort of. Host Steve Norman is back, at least, for another Star Wars special episode with regulars Paul Field and Dave Valentine booting misery guts Owen Hughes from the podcast. There's quizzing, japes, and of course more Solo: A Star Wars Story chat than you could shake a lightsaber at. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy birthday to you guys! Yes, it's your birthday everyone. Or, rather, the Failed Critics Podcast turned six this week, which means happy birthday to us and all of our listeners who witnessed this Frankenstein's monster of a podcast come to life.To celebrate, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes have put together a hastily arranged episode with a sneaky post-credits Avengers: Infinity War review.Also on the episode, we return to a classic format for the quiz section, before covering The Discovery, Money Monster, Alien 3 and Rampage in WWBW.Thanks to everyone who has ever downloaded, listened, shared, liked, commented on, complained about, subscribed, unsubscribed, or otherwise interacted with the podcast in some form or another throughout our existence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back for a bit. No biggie. Just Steve Norman, Owen Hughes and Paul Field, hanging around recording a random triple bill podcast trying to ride the crest of interest that usually comes during the Oscars season.Resurrected from the near dead, the Failed Critics revive an old quiz - not an old quiz format, literally they replay an old quiz - and chat about what they've been watching lately. Paul revels in riotous horror Freehold, Owen revisits 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Steve rubbishes a bunch of Netflix Originals.In the triple bill section, there's chaos, confusion and regular shambolic behaviour as each critic picks a movie that missed that all important award nod from the Academy throughout history.Don't get too excited; this doesn't actually signal a return to a weekly format for FC. But we're on 288 episodes now. You'll probably see us appear in your feed at 12 other points throughout the year as we push for the magic 300, so don't unsubscribe just yet!If you want more regular podcasting goodness from Owen and Steve (and Tony Black!) then please subscribe, listen and rate to STT: Rewind over at SetTheTape.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year and all that jazz. We're back from our end of year celebrations (sort of) as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes head to a pub in Oxford to chat movies and TV with Character Unlock's Andrew Brooker.Recorded over a month ago in the same pub as our last live podcast, the trio run through what they've been watching lately, as well as a triple bill giving insight into what has caught their eye over the past year at the cinema, on Netflix and the goggle box. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another year down, and another awards ceremony concluded. Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by a returning Paul Field to produce another quality end-of-year quiz, and to help us round-up the results from the Failed Critics Awards 2017.Our huge thanks go out to everybody who took the time to submit nominations in the various categories. We'll be posting the results as a list later in the week, but for now we hope you have a great New Year!We'll return soon for another special live episode recorded in Oxford earlier this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...Steve, Paul and Crisp Packet Dave returned for their annual Star Wars podcast and took an in-depth look at Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. (Note: This review contains spoilers, a lot of them.)Elsewhere, there is the traditional quiz where football-loving Steve tries to hide his geek tendencies. And with 5 years of Failed Critics the lads look back at their 5 favourite films of the last 5 years, as well as their least favourite.We hope you all have a great Christmas and happy new year and all that jazz. We'll have the results of our end of year awards in the next episode. Don't forget to vote if you haven't already! Deadline for submissions is midnight on Boxing Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hopefully by now you will have caught up with DCEU's latest attempt at salvaging a flailing franchise with Justice League. Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes run their beady eye over Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon's ensemble superhero flick, as well as chatting about some post-apocalyptic fiction and reviewing their favourite cough sweets. Yum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So very, very late this week that it's actually now "next week" but hey, at least it's here, right? Let's cut out the chit chat and get straight to it: Steve Norman hosts (and edits) this week as Owen Hughes and Brian Plank join for a review of the MCU's latest fantasy adventure with Thor: Ragnarok. In the absence of the news section, the trio run through some Netflix stuff, chat about what else they've been watching, and recommend you some stuff to watch during the week that's just been so is now entirely useless. Sorry about that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by Callum Petch, fresh from this year's London Film Festival.We kick off the podcast with a chat about the ins and outs of the Festival itself as Callum explains what it's like being one of them proper critics that they have in London. He also rounds up five of the best (including Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, Irish Afghanistan animation The Breadwinner and NOT hip-comedy The Party) and a few of the rest.Of course, you can read back on all of Callum's diary entries from the BFI London Film Festival 2017 right here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast. This one is actually being published within a reasonable amount of time since the recording. Aren't we spoiling you, eh! In it, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes chat about the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer as well as react to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse news. In What We've Been Watching, Steve reviews survival romance drama The Mountain Between Us, starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, and Owen takes a trip to the cinema for Loving Vincent, the hand-painted animated mystery noir about the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh. However, the main release review this week is Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve's long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's science fiction classic, starring Ryan Gosling as a replicant caught up in the search for a missing key. Would the film provide to be as divisive amongst our podders as the original was with the cinema audiences upon its release? You'll just have to listen to find out. Join us again next week for a London Film Festival special as we catch up with Callum Petch who has attended the prestigious movie event. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Only a week and a half late this time, it's our Kingsman: The Golden Circle podcast! Entering into the fool's golden circle that is the Failed Critics Podcast this week is Steve Norman, Owen Hughes, Tony Black and Brian Plank. The quiz was cut from the final audio due to being incredibly shit. Sorry. Maybe doing anagrams on the radio is not a great idea. But if you want to play along, you can find the questions that Steve et al struggled through at the bottom of this bumf. Elsewhere on the show: Steve reviewed BBC's dark comedy series Stag which has just been added to Netflix; Tony gets to grips with the new Star Trek Discovery episodes as well as sports drama Borg McEnroe; Brian watches the "very strange" Mr Biffo's Found Footage; and Owen is back on Shudder once again to watch the remastered 70's cult classic Phantasm. We'll be back next week (hopefully) with another podcast of some description. Probably about Blade Runner. QUIZ: Spot the odd one out. If you spot it, you get a point. If you know why it's the odd one out, you get 2 points. They are all name anagrams. QUESTION 1: a) Naked Borrower; b) Lank Rap Bin; c) Nobly Tack. QUESTION 2: a) Wet Math Van Hug; b) Guy Itchier; c) In Vec Hav Gun. QUESTION 3: a) Preteen Sir; b) Dry Voices; c) Panache moment. QUESTION 4: a) Asia Flub Hoe; b) Invader Gross Run; c) Men Am Thin. QUESTION 5: a) Tarhut C Rackle; b) Liphip K Kid-c; c) Ego Reg W Hubs. Q1 Answer = A - Andrew Brooker, he's the odd one out because b) Brian Plank and c) Tony Black were both meant to be on this episode, and Brooker wasn't, despite Steve emailing him the agenda before we recorded. Q2 Answer = B - Guy Ritchie, both Matthew Vaughn and Vince Vaughn have the same surname. Q3 Answer = C - Phantom Menace is a Star Wars film, whereas a) (Enterprise) and b) (Discovery) are Star Trek series. Q4 Answer = C - Tim Henman is a real tennis player, where as b) is Sverrir Gudnason, and a) is Shia LaBeouf, both of whom star in Borg McEnroe. Q5 Answer = C - George W Bush, he's a former president, whereas a) Arthur C Clarke and b) Philip K Dick are sci-fi writers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the absolute best podcast we've ever recorded.... ooooh chinny reckon. Chinny. Reck. Kon. Oooh Jimmy Hill chinny reckon. Chinnnnny. Ok, ok. No, it's probably not the best podcast we've ever recorded, but it was still a lot of fun as hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes chat Korean revenge thrills in The Villainess with Paul Field, as well as trying to work out whether Darren Aronofsky's mother! was pretentious tosh, or if that is even a bad thing at all. The pod kicks off with one of Paul's famed Amazon Review quizzes before the trio run through a few notable winners from last weekend's Emmy awards. Steve finally watches Dangerous Game, the so-called "worst football film ever made" according to The Independent, whilst Owen struggles through a review of indie drama The Song of Sway Lake due to losing all his notes minutes before recording; and Paul discovers Australian horror Killing Ground. We'll be back again next week to review Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just a short podcast for you all this week as Owen Hughes and Andrew Brooker float the idea of a very short It Spoiler Alert review special rather than take a week off. This is your second and final warning: do NOT listen to this episode unless you have seen the weekend's release of Stephen King's killer clown movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leaping out of a moving aircraft with a Union Jack adorning their parachutes, before safely landing in the driver's seat of their sub-aquatic Aston Martin, it's your podcast hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes. Spinning around on his high-backed leather chair with a pussy in his lap, it's our special guest Paul Field, joining Owen and Steve for a special spy triple bill episode! Oh, drat! I wasn't supposed to tell you that. The cat is out of the bag, so I might as well reveal what else occurred on this week's show. Paul was back on quiz hosting duty for a rather smutty game of Bond or Bonk, before reviewing Danish comedy film Dan-Dream, from the makers of the popular Klown series. After revisiting Return of the Living Dead 3 recently, Owen sought out Brian Yuzna's body-horror social commentary directorial debut from 1989, Society, whilst Steve took a trip to the cinema to see what Steven Soderbergh's non-retirement looked like with Logan Lucky. We'll be back next week with a review of Stephen King's It. In the meantime, why not check out Paul's Underground Nights co-host's latest stand-up special which has been made available to stream for free via Amazon Prime Instant: http://amzn.to/2eOYzpC This podcast will self destruct in 1hr 3mins and 8secs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spooktacular! Fangtastic! Unbelieva...ghoul...? Yes, it's our Horror Channel FrightFest 2017 special episode of the Failed Critics Podcast. Hosts Steve Norman-Bates and VoodoOwen Hughes drag Andrew 'PVCface' Brooker and Mike ShawcrossedTheWrongGuy straight from FrightFest and onto Skype for a podcast devoted entirely to the UK's largest genre film festival. Amongst the general chit-chat about the five-day event over the bank holiday weekend, we chat about over 15 different films, including: Leatherface; Cult of Chucky; 68 Kill; Better Watch Out; Tragedy Girls; The Bar; Mayhem; Double Date; Psychopaths; Freehold; Fanged Up; Jackals;  Bloodshed; Mob; and not forgetting the Adam Wingard's Netflix Original Death Note. We'll be back next week with a spy thrillers triple bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes do not podcast with their microphones; he who podcasts with his microphone has forgotten the face of his father. They podcast with their friends, Maaya Brooker and Liam, as the each pick their three favourite Stephen King movies for this week's triple bill episode, in addition to a review of the sci-fi / horror / fantasy author's latest big screen adaptation, The Dark Tower. Also on the podcast, Steve is back in the host's chair for the quiz pitting Owen's King knowledge against Maaya and Liam's, before the group chat about the news that vampire horror Nosferatu is getting a remake from Robert Eggers (The Witch). In What We've Been Watching, Steve speaks highly of new Netflix Original What Happened to Monday?, Liam plucks out period drama Lady Macbeth from Curzon's vast array of quietly quality features, and Maaya ignores all advice to take a trip to the cinema to see The Hitman's Bodyguard. We'll be back again next week for a round-up of FrightFest from horror aficionados Andrew Brooker and Mike Shawcross. Why not check out Brooker's preview piece on the horror film festival whilst you wait... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our speaking talk is no good on the latest episode of Front Row with Owen Hughes and Paul Rutland. Straight from their Bucks 101 Radio show, the pair fumble a review of Atomic Blonde, mumble through the week in sport, and give a heads up about some news (as the dice dictates). We'll be back on the air on Monday at 10am (listen via TuneIn radio or over on Facebook) where the no doubt inelegant chatter will continue, alongside some great music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Failed Critics Podcast where your hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes were joined by Brian Plank to review David Leitch's newest action thriller, Atomic Blonde. The episode was recorded a day late and about half an hour short after Steve decided to copy the film's star, Charlize Theron, and drink his own bath water. And we all know what Steve fills his baths with.  Needless to say, he was violently ill. Also on the podcast this week, Owen heads to the cinema with fingers crossed for the fourth film in The Conjuring Universe as Lights Out director David Sandberg helms Annabelle: Creation. Elsewhere, Brian revisits 90's cult comedy Tank Girl, and Steve basks in peak Bay with a Bad Boys rewatch. We'll be back next week with a Stephen King triple bill in honour of The Dark Tower's release. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a week-long hiatus, Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are back with a new episode and a slightly less conventional format than usual. With the premiere of Sharknado 5: Global Swarming airing on the SyFy Channel at the same time as the pair sat down to record, we cover the usual movie chat whilst dipping in and out of the Asylum's unfathomably popular franchise. In between all of the moaning about terrible acting, dialogue and inane celebrity cameos, Steve and Owen chat about Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's Rick and Morty over on Netflix, and HBO's penultimate season of the critically acclaimed fantasy epic, Game of Thrones. We even turn our heads away from the car-crash of a TV film for long enough to discuss Luc Besson's $200m space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, more incomprehensible disaster action in Arctic Blast, and the surprisingly entertaining cannibal b-movie, Blood Diner. We'll be back to our usual schedule next week for with a review of Atomic Blonde. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You won’t believe this, but for the first time in months, your hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker found time to play games... together.Taking their own advice from last week’s episode, John and Brooker spent some time on the Destiny 2 online beta, before starting the original FPS MMO over and losing an entire night to killing aliens in Old Russia. Did it convince Destiny skeptic Brooker to stick with it? You’ll have to listen and find out.Stuck in another slow news week, the lads delved a little deeper into some of the other games that they have laid their hands on over the last couple of weeks.On the docket for this episode? Ubisoft brawler For Honor goes up against the second episode of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and online Overwatch-wannabe Lawbreakers competes for space in the enormously crowded online shooter market.Plenty of sidetracking and and talking nonsense keeps the guys going on for longer than maybe they should be allowed to, but that's why they are here.Come join us in a couple of weeks for more pointless shenanigans, and maybe some games. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it their finest hour and 17 minutes? With a stonking quiz hosted by guest Callum Petch, pitting hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes against each other, plus reviews of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, 2016 mystery thriller Pet, and the extraordinarily awful documentary Extraordinary: The Stan Romanek Story, it might well possibly be! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We honestly don’t know what’s going on. There should be plenty of big news floating about about now, but it seems like everyone has started their summer holidays early and the guys struggled to find news this week! Still, they have to try don’t they? Welcome to this week’s episode of Character Unlock. That’s not to say there wasn’t stuff to talk about, with the fresh of the presses (at time of recording) announcement that Titanfall 2, a favourite game from last year for both of our hosts, is getting some significant DLC for free just in time for those that pick it up from EA’s vault. Along with some confused conversation about the newly announced Atari console that no one knows anything about. John managed to drag himself out of a gaming funk this week by hitting old dependables Destiny and Battlefield 1; he even managed to school Brooker a little bit as he starts his Destiny career (again) in time for the sequel. Brooker fell back to his pile of unfinished games, this time spending time with fantasy action epic Dishonored 2; a game he simultaneously loved (and hated) with a burning passion. Join us again in a couple of weeks and catch up with the guys and their escapades. Gaming and not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NOOOOOOOOOOO-- I mean, yes, it's the latest episode of the Failed Critics podcast with Callum 'bright eyes' Petch and Dr Andrew Brookerzaius joining hosts Steve 'chimpan A' Norman and Owen 'chimpan Z' Hughes as they get their stinkin' paws on The Dawn of the War Beneath the Battle for the Planet of the Living Dead Apes, or whatever it's called. Elsewhere on a particularly shambolic episode, we mull over the casting of a woman (aka Jodie Whittaker) as The Doctor for the upcoming series of BBC sci-fi fantasy series Doctor Who, as well as the passing of legendary filmmaker, George A Romero. There's also a quiz to open the show, with Steve and Owen neck-and-neck at 2-2 in the table. Winner of the quiz takes it all this week and forces the other to watch a film of their choosing. In What We've Been Watching: Owen continues the zombie theme by watching gory Korean thriller Train to Busan; Callum catches up on some Ben Wheatley with folk/hitman horror Kill List; and Brooker finally gets hold of a copy of The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Join us again next week for a review of Christopher Nolan's war drama, Dunkirk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another episode of the Failed Critics Podcast where hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are left on their lonesome to review the week's major new release. With no news to discuss nor quizzes to, er, quiz, it makes space for both a spoiler-free and a post-credits Spoiler Alert, all about Spider-Man: Homecoming. In What We've Been Watching, Owen suggests adding upcoming found-footage horror Phoenix Forgotten to your watchlist and delves into a discussion with Steve about the genre as a whole. Meanwhile, Steve tries to understand why The Girl With All The Gifts was quite as lauded as it was. We'll be back again next week with a review of War for the Planet of the Apes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this week’s episode of Character Unlock, where hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker decide to mark the occasion of the recently announced Super Nintendo Classic by dragging back on their guest from February’s Resident Evil episode, fellow Failed Critic Matt Lambourne rejoins the duo. With a veritable buffet of nonsense to cover, the lads tackle the ridiculous situation that Activision caused for themselves with their insane rerelease of their Modern Warfare rerelease. Moving swiftly into more news of old classics getting awfully misguided releases, the latest Micro Machines game to be unleashed on the world takes a well-deserved beating from the group. Matt rolls the conversation right back around to Call of Duty in his episode’s What We’ve Been Playing section, as he explains why he wasn’t as taken with Modern Warfare as everyone else. While our hosts revisit favourites and faithfuls like a Grand Theft Auto, FIFA and Bulletstorm before delving into our first good, meaty topic in a while. Come join the trio as they dissect the games on the soon-to-be-on-eBay-at-four-times-the-cost Super NES Classic Mini console. From Kirby’s Dream Course to Castlevania and everything in between, the guys take a good hard look at the nostalgia driven console and the games that could make or break it. Join us again in a couple of weeks for more gaming foolishness. In the meantime, maybe come find us on a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all @CharacterUnlock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get a round in, pull up a pew and try the fish - we recommend the ultimate haddocks. Yes, that's right, Tony Black, Owen Hughes and Andrew Brooker are back together again for another Failed Critics Unplugged, recorded live at The Mitre in Oxford last weekend. Unfortunately Steve Norman couldn't make it but he was still with us in spirit as Tony, Owen and Brooker take on Steve's suggested triple bill of films where the band gets back together, in honour of the trio rejoining after February's podcast recorded in the Old Contemptibles pub in Birmingham. Due to this episode being recorded over a week ago, there's no actual news section on this show but What We've Been Watching remains. Brooker revisits 90's classic The Usual Suspects, Tony checks out historical mystery drama The Childhood of a Leader, and Owen reviews brand new sci-fi fantasy adventure Origin Wars (aka Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child). We'll be back to our usual format next week for Spider-Man: Homecoming. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dare! Dare to believe you can survive [another Michael Bay Transformers movie]. You hold the future in your hand. Dare. Dare to keep all of your dreams alive [of never having to sit through another one]. It's time to take a stand. And you can win, if you dare [to stay home when the Bumblebee solo film comes out]. Yes, listeners, it's fair to say that the reaction from Steve Norman, Owen Hughes and Callum Petch to Transformers 5 / Transformers: The Last Knight / Trans5mers was less than positive. Perhaps it was the lack of Vince DiCola and Stan Bush that sours those films so..?  Not even listening to the all-time greatest movie soundtrack ever no backsies can change our opinion. I say it's the greatest movie soundtrack ever, but Edgar Wright's Baby Driver, which is also reviewed on this episode, may have something to say on that matter! In What We've Been Watching, we also cover another new release, The Book of Henry, as well as The Skeleton Twins, 80's exploitation Contamination, and last year's War Dogs. We'll be back again next week with a live episode from The Mitre in Oxford, with a brand new triple bill! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to our regularly scheduled programming. After a mammoth E3 last week, the Character Unlock guys are back to doing what they do: playing video games and talking an unlimited amount of nonsense. This week is no different. This episode, hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker forego a news section - nothing much happened anyway - and jump straight into what they've been playing since the end of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Having garnered some help in the form of a Twitter poll, the CU audience decided which of Brooker's half finished games he should get out the way first. As it turned out, he was destined to spend two solid days finishing off Guerrilla Games' open-world action/adventure Horizon: Zero Dawn. And boy does he speak at length about it. Similarly, after months of pestering, John finally got his teeth into Dontnod's time bending Life is Strange; and the pair try to talk about it without spoiling anything. No mean feat, I can promise you that. GTA V's latest online update and the re-release of the criminally underrated Bulletstorm bring up the rear for this week's gaming chat. Oh, and the lads argue about who is recommending what freebies this episode. All in a day's work. Join us back here in a couple of weeks for more foolishness from our hosts, and maybe even some gaming chat. Until then, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all @CharacterUnlock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite reports of different creative visions for this episode of the Failed Critics Podcast, hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes haven't left the project, but have brought on board Underground Nights co-host Paul Field to delve into some film news and reviews. The pod kicks off with Owen still in the big comfy leather armchair, pitting Steve and Paul against each other in a quiz themed around our main review this week; Jason Flemyng's directorial debut, the British horror-comedy, Eat Local. We follow the quiz with a brief round-up of a couple of recent news headlines, including the retirement of Daniel Day-Lewis, and "different creative visions" for the Han Solo solo movie which has seen Phil Lord and Chris Miller given the ol' heave-ho. Our main feature this week sees each of the panel picking their three dream jobs from within the fictional world of any film, in honour of Baby Driver, which will be reviewed next week. Did any of our team choose getaway driver as their dream job in movies? You'll have to listen to find out! You could also check out our podcast from around this same time back in 2013, where Steve and Owen (along with James Diamond and Gerry McAuley) picked their three worst movie jobs: https://failedcritics.com/2013/07/05/failed-critics-podcast-worst-movie-jobs/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The end is here!Join our hosts as they take apart the last of this year’s E3 press conferences. This episode, we focus on Nintendo who, as has become tradition, have foregone the big stage for a pre-recorded show.That means that we were treated to a super-short advert fest and not much else. Reggie introduced us to a few new games and detailed some E-Sports tournaments they have upcoming over the coming months. And not an awful lot else.Lots of Japanese games, as expected, with Xenoblade and Fire Emblem getting everyone’s attention. With Arms, Mario Odyssey and Kirby brining up the rear.And that’s it. A bit of a damp squib show to end the conferences. We hope you’ve enjoyed the last few days with us. We’ll be back next week for our regularly scheduled programme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel. As the guys sit an go through the second to last showcase of 2017’s E3; the light can barely be seen as the tired, squinting eyes of our hosts are barely open.It’s 4am, and we’ve got games to talk about. Loads of games. Everything from the new God of War to the Uncharted expansion is trailered and talked about by our flagging hosts. Desperately trying to stay awake as Sony did nothing to help them out, with only Horizon DLC trailers and an extended Spiderman demo to keep them going.Join them later on tonight as they finish up their marathon podcast sessions with Nintendo’s showcase. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This isn't a tomb, it's an audio prison. It takes a couple of monsters in hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes to create a podcast episode (and nobody else) reviewing Universal's first foray into their new Dark Universe, The Mummy. It's just the two of them and they can make it if they try. To make up for the lack of guests, they take it upon themselves to review two movies each in What We've Been Watching this week. Steve chats about Irish comedy The Young Offenders and dystopian drama The White King, whilst Owen pleads with people not to be put off by the title of Netflix Original I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore, and ponders why on Earth we're getting a Blade Runner sequel when the first was so damn good. The pair also turn their attention to the recently departed Adam West - but you should probably read this article by James Diamond to see why he is rightfully revered as a legend. Join us again next week as one-part of Field & Mullinger's Underground Nights (that'd be Paul Field) will return to the mothership... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As day three of E3 starts up and the guys have managed to get a few hours kip… it’s time for the Ubisoft conference.As tiredness and hay fever appear to be getting the better of the boys, join them in going through the developer’s advert-fest for 2017.Assassin’s Creed Origins makes it’s expected appearance. As does The Crew 2, Just Dance and the latest, much delayed South Park sequel.Surprises hit in the form of a Pirate filled naval combat game, a Rabbids and Mario collaboration and an expansion for the thought dead Steep.The lads seem to come out of this one happier than any of the other shows so far this year. Keep up-to-date with their thoughts as the conferences wind themselves up over the next 24 hours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seriously. This can’t be healthy.With only two hours sleep, we are back covering this year’s E3 press conferences. This time, it’s fan favourite - but not John favourite - publisher Bethesda.Quickly getting the records for latest ever E3 presser and the shortest ever E3 conference, join the lads as they pick apart the Skyrim publisher’s outing.Quake, Wolfenstein, Fallout and Dishonored all get a showing, pretty much as we predicted in our preview show last week. No real surprises this year, but plenty to get excited about.With around 14 hours until the next show, the guys are going to get some kip before they crack into Ubisoft’s press conference. Join the conversation with us on Twitter (@characterunlock) and follow the live tweeting goodness.Until tonight… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The E3 Hype train continues today as Microsoft’s Xbox Showcase rolls into town.Join the lads as they pull apart what could be the most important conference of the week as Microsoft formally announce the name of what we’ve all come to know as Project Scorpio.The newly named Xbox One X provides all of this episode’s talking points as we got a list of new games coming for the new machine. Old favourites, new favourites and even a surprise or two.And the most important announcement? A new… Porsche?? No, we didn’t understand it either.Keep up to date with us on Twitter and follow us as we suffer through the rest of E3 week for you, the listener. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

E3 is finally here. That means late nights, early mornings and far more caffeine than is healthy.Let us begin this year's festivities with EA Play. The first show of the conference gets underway with a flurry of old favourites and ends with a very anticipated title.Hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker dive into all the FIFAs, Maddens and Star Wars: Battlefronts that the publishing giant has to offer. Listen in to see what they thought.Follow the guys on Twitter (@CharacterUnlock) to see their thoughts on this years show in real time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's almost here! E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the start of the next 12 months of marketing is finally upon us for 2017. Hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker will be spending a couple of hours talking all things E3, just like every other video game podcast, website, foghorn, whatever, right now. They cover everything in this preview episode, including what they would like to see at each show, the rituals they might or might not do every year for E3 and even throwing a few far out ideas that could (but absolutely won't ever) happen. Join the lads as they flip through each of the big companies Press conferences and try to figure out if it really is worth staying up until silly o'clock in the morning to watch a whole load of adverts. Trying something a little bit different for the next few days: As the biggest event in gaming's calendar rolls through, the guys will be following the events in as close to real time as they can possible handle. Keep an eye on our social media (@CharacterUnlock on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) as the boys will be running live commentary on the shows as they happen. Prepare for snark a-plenty and an awful lot of tired gibberish. Keep those eyes peeled on the podcast feed too as our hosts will be throwing up quick episodes after each show giving their gut reactions to everything they've just seen. You can of course come and join us on our social media pages to keep up with everything the guys have to say over the next few days and get involved in the conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got what you want, what you need AND what you deserve on this week's Failed Critics triple bill special episode with not one, not two, but a whole bunch of Wonder Women - and we're not just referring to Maaya Brooker! Maaya joins hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes for a Wonder Woman inspired triple bill as they each pick three films directed and/or written by women, leading to quite an eclectic mix of movies up for discussion in our main feature. But before that, the team also review the latest entry into the DC Extended Universe released this past weekend, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian warrior princess, Diana. We also have a newly formatted quiz to open proceedings before a brief mention of Peter Sallis and his part in Wallace and Gromit, following his death at the age of 96 earlier this week. We'll be back again next week for a review of The Mummy - but in the meantime, keep an eye out for our sister gaming podcast, Character Unlock (@CharacterUnlock on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram), who will be releasing an E3 preview episode prior to the big event next week. If that wasn't spoiling you enough, then prepare to get really excited as Field & Mullinger's Underground Nights (@UGNights on Twitter) is also back soon as Paul and James run through Brit-flicks for your aural pleasure! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cue the sax, it's the Failed Critics Podcast: Latenight Softcore Edition, where host Steve Norman finally gets his wish to make Owen Hughes review Emmanuelle In Space, possibly the boobiest of all our quiz booby-prizes thus far. If you giggle when you hear naughty words, you're going to, well, giggle, when you hear our quiz. The new releases this week see the team joined by Maaya Brooker (making her podcast debut) to chat about the amount of bounce in a slow-motion run along the beach in Baywatch, and mull over Disney's latest blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge / Dead Men Tell No Tales / the Fifth one / delete as applicable. Elsewhere on show, we mourn the death of British acting legend Roger Moore; and review Netflix's latest Original Movie, the satirical combat movie War Machine, the Stephen King adaptation Misery, as well as creepy Verhoeven sci-fi thriller, Hollow Man. We'll be back next week for a Wonder Woman special. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer is (kind of) here, and what better way to celebrate the amazing hot weather we've been blessed with than listening to a couple of guys chatting about playing video games indoors? Welcome to the Character Unlock tangent-cast where ,in a surprisingly news heavy week that came with a ton of game playing too, hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker seem to struggle to keep themselves on track. Desperately trying to talk seriously about the future of IO Interactive and their fan favourite Hitman IP, whilst trying to make sense of the Destiny 2 announcement and the Red Dead Redemption 2 delay, the guys have clearly found themselves with a heat induced attention deficit detour into conversations about coffee and deluxe ice cream trucks in Milton Keynes. No. Sadly, we're not joking. The insanity continues when the pair sink their teeth into what they've been playing, including relatively in-depth chats about Darksiders: The Warmastered Edition and newly released superhero based beat-em-up Injustice 2. Somehow, they keep finding themselves dragged off topic. At one point, the lads find themselves in a conversation about the extended DC TV Universe and spicy pretzels. Consistency was not the order of the day for this episode. Join us in a couple of weeks, the day before the gaming industry's annual self-pleasuring festival E3 for our thoughts, predictions and plans for the busiest week in the gaming calendar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Awight you pwopa nawty boys, oi oi! Brian Plank joins Steve Norman and Owen Hughes for a top, top podcast this week. We've got a review of Guy Ritchie's new movie, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. It's sick, bruv. Banterific. As well as the Kaiju drama(?) comedy(?) action(?) indie(?) flick, Colossal, starring Anne Hathaway. Following a news section which covers the casting of Tom Hardy as Venom, leading to more head-scratching about who owns what in the MCU, Steve continues the superhero theme with a double bill of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Elsewhere, Brian watches gritty crime thriller Sicario, and Owen finally gets to cast a beady eye on Mindhorn. Join us again next week for a review of the new Pirates of the Caribbean film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by regular Failed Critic Andrew Brooker as they delve in to Ridley Scott's latest instalment in the Alien franchise, Alien: Covenant, complete with Spoiler Alert as well as a spoiler free review. In the news we pay tribute to the late Powers Boothe and in What We've Been Watching Steve goes gangster with Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Brooker watches some "balls out torture porn" with Fright Fest favourite Jessica Cameron's gruesome Truth or Dare, and Owen reveals all when he goes Commando. Join us again next week for some propa nawty Camelot shenanigans, squire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The seals have been broken and the armies of Heaven, Hell and Earth are locked in a battle to decide the fate of all eternity. Answering the call, your hosts John Miller and Andrew Brooker are here to make sense of the chaos that has ravaged the Earth. Ok, maybe things aren’t quite that bad, luckily, because no one wants these two to be the guys deciding the fate of humanity. I mean, it took the not-so-dynamic-duo three attempts and a ton of giggling like children to even get the episode off the ground this week - they ain't ready for that kind of responsibility. What they can do is kill an hour of your life by exploring the gaming news from the last couple of weeks and sharing the games they’ve been playing for the last fortnight. Newly leaked Assassin’s Creed games and recently confirmed not-dead Darksiders 3 are the main orders of the day as the lads get into what they do and don’t want from the jumpy, stubby, stealth series’ return. The pair get more than a little giddy at the thought of a return to the universe of The Four Horsemen. Continuing his trek through the digital pile-of-shame, Brooker makes decent headway as he completes not one, not two, but three of his episodic game backlog. Meanwhile, John is inspired to start Batman and finally gets his hands on multi-Game-of-The-Year award winning online shooter, Overwatch. What was good, what was bad, what bored them to tears and what left them shell-shocked and wanting more? Get this week’s episode in your ears for the answers to all these questions and more. Until next time, come say hello on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ee arr, our kid. Yow wo' believe it, but we've only gon' an' published anuva bostin' episode! Ark at four half-soaked wallies blaberen about films an' that in a Failed Critics Dudleycast. Only kidding. The main feature of this week's podcast is a triple bill on British comedy films post-1980s in honour of Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby's newest hilarious collaboration, Mindhorn. Tony Black, the mastermind behind the popular X-Files podcast, The X-Cast, joins hosts Steve Norman and Owen Hughes to discuss the Isle of Man-caper Mindhorn, whilst Underground Nights co-host Paul Field is back on the fetishist documentaries, specifically On Tender Hooks - who knew the suspension capital of the world would be Birmingham? Elsewhere on the show, Owen dismays everybody by not-disliking last week's quiz booby-prize, The Most Hated Woman In America, before chatting about noir classic The Night of the Hunter; and Steve invents (and finishes) a brand new Denzel Washington game after watching Déjà Vu. Join us again next week for our main release review of Alien: Covenant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where does a pirate keep his buccaneers? Apparently on the bucking Failed Critics Podcast this week, as Steve Norman and Owen Hughes are joined by both Andrew Brooker and Brian Plank for some jolly rogering - and to talk about Marvel's latest space adventure movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2! We've got a full spoiler-free review of James Gunn's second feature in the MCU, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Kurt Russell and many more besides. As if that wasn't enough, we even dredged up our own stinger with a post-credits Spoiler Alert section where we'll plunder all the booty that we can from this madcap adventure through the galaxy. The quiz kicks things off and reaches a disappointing climax before Brooker turns his attentions to the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for What We've Been Watching, swiftly followed by Brian's review of the nautical TV show Black Sails. Elsewhere, Owen turns his attentions to the classic Western, Shane; and Steve is enraptured by Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of Character Unlock, the video game-centric (but equally shambolic) Failed Critics sister podcast. In our 17th episode, usual host Andrew Brooker has stepped aside to let his partner in crime John Miller take the reigns, guiding us through the news from the past couple of weeks and keeping things on track as the guys share their last couple of weeks of gaming. World War II is the focus of a big portion of this week’s news as the pair dig into the worldwide reveal of the latest Call of Duty instalment: WWII. Going back to its roots, as we discussed back in January, Activision’s yearly franchise has gotten someone all excited with its promise of things to come, while somehow really managing to get on the guys’ nerves with their incessant buzzwords and marketing nonsense. Elsewhere, there's the welcome addition of Xbox digital refunds, exciting looking indie games, and playing Battlefield 1 DLC for free. A mixed bag fills the last fortnight of gaming. From playing co-op games on their own and suffering for it, to spending a more than healthy amount of time playing iPhone games; all via a couple of episodic Telltale games, Character Unlock certainly have been keeping themselves busy recently. Join us again in a couple of weeks for more nonsense, from us to you.In the meantime, find us on a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (all @CharacterUnlock) and let us know what you think of our latest episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.