Free Entertainment: Kermode and Mayo's Film Review Podcast

I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of radio.  I'm also a huge fan of podcasts and audiobooks.  If you look at my MP3 player, half of its 16GB is occupied by music; the other half is occupied by either podcasts or audiobooks. Of course, podcasts are the free/cheap entertainment of the affluent - you need a computer/smartphone and internet access to play.

My absolute favourite podcast is Mark Kermode's and Simon Mayo's Film Review, which is their Friday afternoon radio program edited to remove the travel and news items.  Even if you aren't a huge film buff, the interplay between Simon and Mark will have you in stitches.  The only problem I have with them is that I have so many knitting podcasts on my playlist that I have to make a conscious effort to move  "Kermode" up to the top of the list each week, or I fall too far behind and have to spend a week catching up.

Last Friday, I caught up on the "Kermode" from 10th February, where they reviewed both the 3D release of Star Wars Phantom Menace and the new Muppet film, The Muppets.  Mark was justifiably scathing about George Lucas' latest attempt to extract money from a gullible public.  To summarise:  the original film was poor; the retrofitted 3D version was worse.  Lucas has only re-released it for the money to be made from merchandising. 

What cracked me up, though, was their response to the clip he played of Yoda ("Thank you Fozzie") because Yoda did sound exactly like Fozzie Bear.    Sadly, I can't find that clip but you should try Simon's Fozzie Bear impression  because it's very entertaining.  I'd just walked back to the car after a night out and had to lean against it to stay upright, I was laughing so hard.

I really urge you to try this podcast.  It's available globally via iTunes and there is an archive of several years' worth of podcasts.   Each episode lasts approximately an hour and forty five minutes.  You can get a flavour from this collection of clips. I'd particularly recommend their Twelve Days of Christmas if you want a laugh.

- Pam