As stated before, I go through a bunch of podcasts lately. So when I was looking for a new one to listen to, I didn’t want anything too serious. I was just looking for something funny but still interesting to keep my mind occupied. That’s when I stumbled upon Sarah Silverman‘s podcast. Let me say, I have never seen any of her stand-up specials, or followed her career. But I have always known who she was. And I like most of her opinions, so I thought, hey, let’s give this a shot. It took Sarah a few episodes to get everything “polished” (intro, ad breaks, signing off etc.), but that is what I liked – we get to see her and her podcast evolve.

From what I have seen all over the Internet, Sarah is that kind of comedian who you have heard of and have a strong opinion on. It’s like with my favourite stand-up comic, Frankie Boyle, you either love them or hate them because they say what they want to say and don’t look back. Except Sarah uses her platform (this podcast, her Twitter) to look back and isn’t afraid to admit when she was wrong…? What is that? It almost seems like she might be a half-decent human being…?

That is why I keep listening to her podcast, and I am all caught up on it because I admire somebody who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and be reflective enough to admit when she was wrong. Well, not even wrong per se, she isn’t shy to apologize for her previous jokes that didn’t age too well, instead of doubling down with excuses. That is what keeps me listening to her podcast – the fact she does what she is preaching. She is all about evolving, understanding that anyone can fuck up, but it’s how you deal with it afterwards. Without getting too serious here, this is my biggest problem with social media – everybody is trying to be “as pure as God’s balls”, throwing stones left, right, and centre. There is no room for nuance, for any reasonable discussion. If Twitter finds you guilty, nothing else matters anymore. But that’s not how people act or grow. And Sarah understands that and talks about it well, not only because she’s been through it a couple of times herself. I honestly believe that even though (as she often says) she is Godless, this is how Jesus would have acted had he came back (and you know, existed). I am an atheist myself (shocking after that previous sentence, isn’t it?), but I honestly believe that if there is some God, he would have acted more or less the same as Sarah. Meaning forgiving, talking to people about why are they the way they are, trying to engage with them, not shun them.

I love the show’s chaotic energy, as this is an “anything goes” podcast. Anything from taking calls from the listeners to making up songs with the live-searched porn phrases to the tune of “We Didn’t Start a Fire”. This podcast truly is pure chaotic energy in its raw form, and I adore it. That said, if you are looking for something more structured and “clean” (family-friendly), this might not be the podcast for you.

The only tiny negative thing I can say about this podcast, there are a lot of ads. I get it people need to be paid, we all have to eat, but sometimes it just seems like a bit too much. Especially sometimes, when Sarah’s commenting on a more sensitive issue, and suddenly the show goes to an ad break… it disrupts the flow a bit. But she isn’t the only one, and I understand that since podcasts are free, they need to make money somehow, and you know what they say, nothing is truly free in this world.

This podcast also makes me want to watch some of Sarah’s specials, as I like her opinions. Even though sometimes I might not agree with her on certain things, but guess what? People don’t have to always agree on every single thing. What I have noticed about the way she presents her opinions, she sometimes seems to be making a great argument, only to finish it off by saying: “But what do I know?” or something similar. I wish she wouldn’t question herself like that, as she seems knowledgeable on a plethora of issues. It almost seems like a reflex at this point, and I don’t think that’s necessary.

Overall, The Sarah Silverman Podcast is a fun way to spend around 50 minutes or so. Sarah seems to be someone you want to hang out with, maybe share some vegan food and listen to her talk about a bunch of things, just to hear her opinions. She seems like a cool, down to earth person who can make fun of you and herself. That is common for comedians but not so common in many people. I would say give her a listen if you don’t mind some politics, explicit language or porn-related songs. I am now hooked and can’t wait for new episodes.

That’s all for this one! Did you listen to it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

When you are into movies and say the name Leonard Maltin, you might think “the movie royalty, the man, the myth, the legend, who’s seen it all”. At least, that is what you might think if you are born and raised American. Believe it or not, even amongst “us”, movie folks/fans, he isn’t that know in the Czech Republic, where I am originally from. But when I was looking for podcasts to get into some while ago, his name kept popping up, so I have tried it. And stuck with it until now.

Hopefully, this won’t make me sound like a hipster (or at least not too much), but I am a complecionist, so I have listened to every single episode of this podcast. Yes, that means I still remember, the original co-host Baron Vaughn (who I greatly miss, as he always brought a different perspective and was also really funny) and the fact this podcast used to be primarily about movies (each week, the podcast used to have one actor/actress as the main topic, and our hosts would discuss 3 movies of theirs – one great one, one “not so great one” (or turkey, as Leonard would always call it) and one hidden gem, an underseen movie, that they thought deserved a bit more attention/love.

But as with most things, this podcast has evolved into something different. Firstly, from what I understand, it was quite challenging for a person like Leonard (whose job it is to watch movies, so he can write about them) to go back and “just” watch 3 older movies a week. Also, Baron got a role on Grace and Frankie (2015 – 2021). That led to this podcast shifting into being more interview/chat with famous people about their roles when comes to movies, how they love them. But most importantly, Baron’s leaving has allowed for “the other Maltin” to take his place – Jessie Maltin. That is how she calls herself, but she’s so much more than that. And Jessie made her mark on this show, from being funny to representing us, the listening audience, when somebody, who’s managed to reach “the legendary” status shows up to be interviewed (the likes of Al Pacino or Laura Dern). I genuinely love how she can geek out over guests and doesn’t try to hide her excitement.

The other thing about why I love this podcast and Jessie being involved, is the daughter/father dynamic, where she is allowed to (in a polite way) make fun of Leonard. But it’s always done with love, where you can tell how much they care about each other. She also is a great source of different stories, as you can imagine, growing up, being around her dad a lot, you get to meet a lot of celebrities/variety of famous folks. What I am trying to say is they complement each other so well – him, being the “straight, let’s talk about movies” host and her, being the more down-to-earth person, who isn’t afraid to tell someone how much they mean to her, or show her emotions.

Even though I’ve been listening to this podcast for about 3/4 years now, I couldn’t write a review for it until now. Because this podcast has a special place in my heart, to tell you the truth, as it was them who inspired and “made” me create this blog. During my years, I’ve always tried to write and share my movie opinions, as that’s one thing I care about and love. And yet, for a variety of different reasons (English not being my native language, thinking nobody will care about my opinions on anything, Internet being overcrowded with people spouting their opinions on everything…) I haven’t pulled the trigger. That was until I was sitting down at the airport in Paris (late 2019, before COVID-19), listening to this podcast. Jessie was talking about people coming up to her dad, asking “how can I do what you do?” and she said something along the lines of “Simply start writing and keep at it”. I know what (some) of you might be thinking: “Wait, if this was late 2019, how come you didn’t start until April 2020, during the pandemic?” Touché, you observant stranger. The truth is, I knew at that moment that I will start, I just didn’t know when, how… until the pandemic hit and suddenly, I didn’t have any excuse.

So, yes. If you ever happen to read this, dear Maltins, you are solely responsible for me having this tiny blog, where for over a year now, I have been trying to review everything from movies, TV shows, podcasts and even books (more coming soon, promise) and try to push and improve myself, because that would be the dream. To focus on my writing, watching movies for a living, writing about them, talking about them. But I know, this is hard to do, especially nowadays. So, in the meantime, I might as well sacrifice some spare time and write the occasional reviews, hoping somebody out there, might value something I say.

Overall, Maltin on Movies is a golden standard on how movie podcasts should be done. Interesting guests, impeccable hosts, who keep shining a spotlight on not just what is popular, but mainly on what is great. What deserves to be seen, people, who have stories to tell. That’s another thing I appreciate about this podcast, not every single episode has a “big A++ Hollywood name”. Plenty of times, I don’t recognise the names, which is fine with me. Because that usually means, I will find out about somebody new and get introduced to a different perspective, different opinions, different movies. If you love movies and have around one hour a week to spare, I can’t recommend this podcast enough.

That’s all for this one! Do you listen to this one? What do you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

When you have a job like mine (where you work 12hour shifts by yourself, watching a bunch of screens, monitoring data and trying to sort out a lot of issues) you try to keep your mind occupied and trust me, your playlist, no matter how “fire” it is, gets boring quickly. Luckily, we live in an age, where everyone (except me) has their own podcast. Some are great, some not so much. Luckily, Office Ladies belongs to the first group.

At first glance, you might think this would get boring rather quickly – two people breaking down every single episode of The Office (2005 – 2013, my review here) minute-by-minute. And yes, if those two people were robots and did it just for the sake of it, it would have been the most boring podcast ever created. But luckily, those two people are no other than the phenomenally funny great actresses and best friends, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. And each week, they bring you an episode packed full of interesting information, behind the scenes trivia and occasionally interviews with a variety of people, from their fellow actors to people behind the camera (screenwriters, producers etc.)

What sells it and the main reason I immediately fell in love with this podcast, is the genuine chemistry between Jenna and Angela. I wasn’t surprised these two “office ladies” were best friends in the real life, because that’s one of those things everybody, who’s ever watched the show, will learn sooner or later. What I was surprised by is how entertained I was by simply listening to them talk (and sometimes rant, or as Jenna would say, “get on my soapbox”) about anything and everything, not just the show. What also amazed me was the fact, how different both of them are outside the show.

Look, I get it, they are professional actresses, so of course, they will be different. But this just goes to show how talented these two truly are. To be honest, I suspected Jenna would be more of the “preppy, motivated person”, but what I didn’t expect is how I would fall for Angela, as I have (for the most parts) didn’t like her character on her show. To the point, I have fallen for something I would like to call “an audience curse”, where she acted her character so well, I couldn’t believe how cheery, geeky (she loves Star Wars, Game of Thrones and all that great stuff, unlike Jenna, who’s more into real-life pop culture) and overall lovely person she is. Both ladies strike me as someone, I would love to have lunch with, followed by some cocktails, just to talk to them about anything.

I also admire how much time and energy they both (and not just them, based on how many people they reach out to) put into making this podcast, re-watching every episode several times, looking through bloopers and deleted scenes, going through scripts… One would think “this must be the easiest podcast ever, you just talk about a show you were on, easy!” Well, if you want to do it properly, it isn’t that easy and these ladies do it really well. I love hearing all the different stories, how some scenes were scripted down to the last word and some were improvised or shot a certain way because things change and as Queen taught us, “the show must go on”, so you need to solve the issue on the spot. I had a rough idea, how much goes into a production of a TV show, but these ladies made me appreciate everyone working on any kind of movie/TV show even more.

Come to think of it, if you have any aspirations when comes to working in the show business, this podcast is quite informative when comes to everything from how production works, to the occasional reminders about fame and success. How it doesn’t come instantly and you need to constantly work for it for a long time. Both Jenna and Angela shared their stories, how long did it take for them to break through, and they also ask each one of their guests how they started, what did they do on their journey to get where they are now. I find this so useful, in today’s “instant” society, where success isn’t and can’t be instant. If you want something, you need to work hard for it, no matter what that “it” is for you.

Overall, I managed to catch up on Office Ladies fairly quickly (again, 12hour shifts, time is not an issue) and as somebody, who listened to every single episode, I am still looking forward to every Wednesday, as that’s when a new episode drops. And I still love it. I can’t recommend this podcast enough, whether you are a die-hard fan of The Office or just a casual one, this should be on everybody’s device. And I can’t compliment both Jenna and Angela enough, as they are professional, funny, and most importantly, their interaction feels genuine. Give it a listen and judge it for yourself.

That’s all for this one! Do you listen to this podcast? What do you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I love podcasts. For the past 6 years I have spent a lot of time driving around (nature of my current job) and when you do that, you will eventually get sick and tired of your own music. Trust me, you do, no matter how big your playlist is. So a few years ago, I started listening to podcasts. And just like with any TV shows, when I start something, I start from the very beginning. I have started listening to the SinCast (one of my first reviews, can be found here) and it took me a while to catch up, as they have been going strong for some time when I started listening. After I had caught up, they have launched a behind the scenes podcast called Behind the Sins (great pun) and to be honest, this took an episode or two before it grabbed me, but then, I was hooked.

I started listening to this podcast when the COVID-19 pandemic started (around March/April 2020) and all I can say is, I don’t regret it. Because they had some part of getting me through some tough times. Aaron, Deneé and Jonathan (please make sure you follow these lovely people on their Twitter accounts, linked above and the official Twitter account) have a great chemistry together, because they are all different people. Aaron is the “responsible” one, who’s trying to keep the show together and moving along (when he’s not arguing why it’s ok to be married to your second cousin ;-)), Jonathan seems like a movie lover, whose calm and almost “fatherly figure” intrigues me and I would be opposed grabbing a drink with him, but the main star of this show is without a doubt Deneé, who is the definition of “chaotic energy ball trapped in a glass box, that’s rolling down the hill”… in the best possible sense…? She can be all over the place, she can sing, she can make weird noises, or freak out over interviewing one of her heroes, once she realises more than halfway through the interview, who he actually is (yes, I am referring to them interviewing Scott Christian Sava and Deneé realising towards the end of the interview he’s the creator behind one of her most favourite web comic series The Dreamland Chronicles) in the episode titled The Eggs, the Eilish, the Croods, and the Crackers episode from 3/12/2020. Also, her voice is pleasant to listen to and I want her to narrate audio books. And these 3 lovely people work very well together, it’s honestly such a fun time and just because of them, this quickly became one of my favourite podcasts, as I could listen to them talk about pretty much anything for hours. That’s the staple of a great podcast, that you can see yourself having a conversation or drinks with the people behind it and they definitely seem like a lovely bunch.

It’s also sobering to listen to everything that’s going on behind the scenes of their YouTube channels (CinemaSins, TVSins, MusicVideoSins and the newest “family” member CommercialSins), specifically how much work, effort, research and everything else is going into every single video, podcast, script… It’s proving yet again, that the old saying “Comedy is harder than drama” rings true and the format doesn’t matter. Whether it is a Hollywood movie with a big budget, YouTube channel or a podcast, if you can make people laugh on regular basis and you can make it look easy, it definitely isn’t easy. It takes lot of work, preparation and some talent and these guys and Deneé definitely have the dedication, work ethic and talent to deliver every week.

To me, this is a great underdog story – what started as “let’s see, whether people are interested to learn what’s happening behind the scenes” quickly became its own thing, with its own inside jokes, and I couldn’t be happier for all of them. I can’t stress this enough, Behind the Sins has quickly become one of my favourite podcasts to listen to and I am always looking forward to Thursdays, to hear these 3 lovely people talk about movies, videos, comics, mobile games, their kids, weird researches they’ve done for the videos and everything else. I would strongly recommend you checking it out, if you are looking to relax and escape this stressful world, for at least some time. Also, these chips are good slaps hard! 🙂

That’s all for this one! Are you fan of this podcast? Will you check it out? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke