The Countdown

The boys have headed back to the cinema with thanks to Warner Brothers Australia and Universal Australia to see the sequel which, well, few people expected: The Accountant! The critics seem to be liking and the audience score is high on most-metrics, but what do Paul and Wayne have to say about this apparent crowd-pleaser?   Can Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and director Gavin O'Connor re-capture the...

Countdown #503   Just when you thought it was safe to peer back into your podcatching app ... the boys are back!   Sure, it's been a hot minute since the last Countdown ep, and yes, everyone did their most anticipated films of 2025 about three months ago. But by holding out for those three months, not only have Paul and Wayne distilled their list down to nine months' worth of films, but they've al...

Paul and Wayne return to the land of reviews with the new spy "thriller", Black Bag.   Is it everything the critics would have you believe? Or is it a bunch of boring conversations around a dinner table interspersed with a lot of emotion-less dialogue?   Either way, you can be sure it's a lively discussion, given this is Wayne's favourite genre and it's directed by Mr Hit-or-MIss, Steven Soderberg...

Countdown #502   Jason from Binge Movies  returns to join the lads as they - finally! - countdown their Top to Films of 2024!   Sure it's two months after most every other podcast has done this episode, but you've sampled the entrees and here's the main course - complete with films all three wouldn't have watched if they did do this episode on Jan 1st.   Jason gets upset with Paul for multiple pic...

Countdown #501   There were doubters. There were nay-sayers. And there were the incredulous.   But today, Paul and Wayne prove there is life in The Countdown yet. As well as fulfill their promise to (triumphantly) return in 2025 with more episodes. Not weekly; sure. But with new episodes none the less.   And it begins with this PSA regarding the very worst of the worst films from 2024 that the lad...

Countdown #500   ... ONE ...   Here it is, valued listener.   The final episode of the (weekly) podcast. And it is a fittingly massive one (that's what she said).   In this finale, the boys countdown their top 10 film goodbyes for, well, reasons.   Plus there's is a huge amount of listener feedback, messages from other podcasters and emails galore to celebrate the end of 9 and three quarters years...

Okay, everyone. This was meant to be the last major review in the weekly format of the podcast, but instead we have some major information re a long-teased release ...   On Friday Dec 20th, Reap: The Motion Picture will be released for Patrons at the $10 and $20 level. While we're sorry we're about to ruin your Christmas, we do thank you for your incredible support of the show.   On Friday Dec 27t...

Countdown #499   ... TWO ...   The penultimate episode of the (weekly) podcast covers the best and worst of television in 2024, as far as Paul and Wayne have seen it. Two lists, one from bad to worst, and the other from good to great.   At least, that was the plan.   Somehow, after 499 episodes, one of the hosts (Wayne) forgets that's the way things have always been done and mashes the two lists t...

The second to last review for the weekly show arrives in the form of a film that's been out in North America and the UK for some time, Heretic.   Wayne, of course, is too much of wuss to see this one, to it's left to Paul to do all the heavy lifting for this psychological thriller-horror starring Hugh Grant.   Is it elevated horror? Should you race to see it at your local theatre? And will Wayne r...

Countdown #498   ... THREE ...   This week the guys get personal as the end of the (weekly) show looms large. They're talking the films that personally spoke to them and in some way, shape or form, moulded their lives into the people they currently are.   Everything from childhood cinema experiences through to films that determined artistic endeavours and shaped careers are discussed.   Beyond tha...

Finally. Here it is.   As the weekly podcast draws to a close, Wayne rights a very old wrong by agreeing to watch one of Paul's favourite horror films of all time as this week's feature review, Train to Busan.   Whether Wayne did so because the only other options this week were to see Wicked at the cinema or suffer through the Aussie version of The Office at home, is irrelevant. What matter is has...

Countdown #497   ... FOUR ...   The boys covered the best television since the show began last Ep, so it's only natural that this week they turn their attention to the very best films they've covered since The Countdown began in late March 2015.   Can Wayne somehow manage to stick to the brief this week? What will the show's consensus #1 be? And how annoyed will Paul get when Wayne omits a key fil...

It's not often the most expensive film of the year drops in November, but here we are ...   Ridley Scott returns sans Russell Crowe and Hams Zimmer to continue the story of his dead hero, Maximus, making for some very big shoes to fill (as Wayne posits).   Paul, meanwhile, is very concerned with how this is all just politccccssssss-ahhh!   Find out what all that means, as The Countdown continues ....

Countdown #496   ... FIVE ...   The more things change, the more they stay the same. And so it is with The Countdown podcast.   After 496 attempts to countdown topics in order of awesomeness so you don't have to, Paul and Wayne are once again arguing about a loose brief. Of course, Wayne is the one contorting reality to fit into his very, very "flexible" list, and as always, it's Paul (and by exte...

It's still early November, and yet Hollywood would have you believe it's Christmas time already. How else to explain the release of Red One, the big budget holiday film, which at time of writing, has yet to open in North America, and critics were mysteriously not allowed to see until the day before it opened around the world.   Rarely a good sign, but can the star power of The Rock and Chris Evans...

Countdown #495   ... SIX  ...   Here it is. The FINAL Top 10 Last 10 (at least for the weekly show), and boy oh boy wow-wee, have the lads saved the best for last for you.   Yes, there's the usual 10 mini reviews conducted by each of the guys of the ten films they've most recently watched but never spoken about on the show, and of course, they're ranked from worst to best. But the one film they ha...

Having learned very little since the last Spider-adjacent movie came out, Sony are at it again, making Tom Hardy honour his three film contract to make Venom: The Last Dance.   Insert disbelief, consternation, and a healthy dose of WTF as Wayne and Paul try to make sense of this third and supposedly final film in the franchise.   Find out whether there will be more Venom, as The Countdown continue...

Countdown #494   ... SEVEN ...   It's bigger than a very big thing on the biggest day of it's big, BIG life. It's HUGE. It's m-a-s-s-i-v-e! It's the final Show Vs Show episode for the (weekly) podcast and it stars two of the podcast's very best friends and most generous supporters, B-Dizzle and David Powell of the Poddy Mouth Radio network .   They join Wayne and Paul to countdown the Top 10 WTAF...

This week Wayne is fan-boying for Kevin Smith by reviewing his newest film no-one (other than a fan-person) has heard about,k while Paul does actual work for the podcast (in terms of thinking about download numbers) by reviewing the horror sequel, Smile 2.   Neither are screaming the merits of their film from the roof tops, but who will be the bigger champion of their type of film ... as The Count...

Countdown #493   ... EIGHT ...   If you're sick of the lads talking just about recent films and would love to hear about some classic film choices on The Countdown, then keep on scrolling, because in this episode Wayne is pulling left-field choices out of every orifice, while Paul (of course) is flying the old-school horror flag...   ... Or, you know, find out just how crazy these lists are, as Th...

Wayne is an insanely greedy person trying to avoid Terrifier 3, while Paul is like a pig in excrement while getting to review the same. The result? Two non-spoiler reviews of films you might like to check out!   Find out which film (if not both) you should check out, as The Countdown continues ...   Time Stamps: Greedy People SPOILER-FREE Review: 0.00 - 9:03 Terrifier 3 SPOILER-FREE Review: 9:03 -...

Countdown #492   ... NINE ...   Do you have a few films that you love and yet which, to your befuddlement, failed to make any kind of splash at the box-office? In fact, they went so poorly, they belly flopped into that box-office pool and lost approximately all the money?   Paul and Wayne most certainly do. And this week they're counting their ten favourite films which completely tanked at the box...

It should be a week of glowing positively on the show. Wayne is reviewing a Batman-adjacent film and Paul is reviewing a long-awaited horror film from one of his favourite Stephen King novels of all time. But, regardless of expectations, are either of the lads happy?   Find out as The Countdown continues ...   NOTE: Spoilers throughout both of these reviews! Salem's Lot (2024) SPOILIER-FILLED Revi...

Countdown #491   TEN.   It's barely the spooky season and Wayne is suffering in his jocks (again!) for your amusement, this time by doing the horror-adjacent topic of the Top 10 Stephen King Adaptations.   Of course, another fantastic podcast was required to make up for Wayne's many, many shortcomings, and this time that role is filled by John and Lloyd from the fantastic The Pint: A Pop Culture p...

The only way Wayne could have been any more ready for this George Clooney and Brad Pitt starring action crime comedy on Apple TV would have been if Henry Cavill and Tom Cruise were also both involved!   So how did Wayne take this Jon Watts written and directed film? Was he completely in love with its cool factor? Or did this one promise too much and deliver too little? And could it be that Paul is...