440. Destroyer (#—)

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guests Donal Sweeney and Andy Melhuish, 250 is a (basically) weekly journey through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for Users of the Internet Movie Database. New episodes are released every other Saturday at 6pm GMT, including the occasional bonus episode.

This week, Benny Safdie’s Smashing Machine.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Mark Kerr was the great hope of the emerging combat sport of mixed martial arts, a champion of the sport that was moving towards the cultural center. Not even imagining defeat, Kerry was on the brink of greatness. However, Mark quickly discovers that sometimes the most brutal fights happen outside the ring.

At the time of writing, it did not make the list of the greatest films of all time Internet Movie Database.

Show notes:

• Recorded on February 8, 2026.
• Smashing Machine on Internet Movie Database.
• DonalSweeney.com.
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• guard Reports on Conor McGregor’s civil liability for rape, December 2024.
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• Kenzie Bryant on Vanity Fair Recalls the feud between The Rock and Vin Diesel fast and furious Movies, April 2017.
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• Aaron Couch and Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter Consider Rocky’s efforts to restore Henry Cavill as Superman, December 2022.
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• Allison Wilmore on Vulture Discusses The Rock’s oddly genderless screen persona, August 2021.
• Jesse Hassenger at Nylon Discusses Rock’s Sexless Existence, July 2018.
• Mikhail Koresky believes Southland Tales for that reverse shotNovember 2023.
• Philippa Snow argues The New Statesman that Southland Tales is “View relevant lock”June 2020.
• Eric Cohn IndieWire It reports on Rocky’s difficult relationship Southland TalesJanuary 2019.
• The rock describes Southland Tales as “devastating” on TwitterMay 2019.
• Reviews by Richard Lawson Pain and gain for that wireApril 2013.
• James Owen argues for value Pain and gain on The Columbia Daily TribuneAugust 2018.
• Simon Usborne on guard believes “looks great”February 2024.
• Scott Mendelsohn at Forbes He considers the rock as “Franchise Viagra”June 2015.
• Richard Newby on The Hollywood Reporter Considers the reputation of the rock “Franchise Viagra”October 2022.
• Darren Mooney on escapist believes black adam As a superhero vanity project for Rock, October 2022.
• Matt Bellon and Jonathan Handel Puck Report on The Rock’s Massive Payday in July 2023.
• Justin Kurp at Uproxx Discusses the disagreement between Rock and Warner Bros. about drinking tequila black adam Premiere, January 2023.
• Patrick Willems at YouTube Treats Rock as a brand, not a movie star, January 2024.
• Bruce Haring on term reports on Rock’s Three in roles DC Superpet LeagueAugust 2022.
• Drew Swanson on player Benny Safdie, who plays Bowser Jr Super Mario Bros. Galaxy movieNovember 2025.
• Kate Erbland on IndieWire Reports on Josh Safdie directing Adam Sandler’s stand-up special, August 2024.
• John Hyams talks The New York Times About receiving Destroyer machine Documentary, June 2021.
• Rory Doherty on time Discusses the true story of Mark Kerr, September 2025.
• Patrick Heaps at term Reports of Rock’s plans to direct Mark Carrey biopic November 2019.
• Emily Blunt talks IndieWire About Rock and Benny Safdie getting back in touch, September 2025.
• Benny Safdie confirms Diversity That she separated from her brother, January 2024.
• Ethan Shenfeld on Diversity News reports that Josh Safdie is developing March Supreme As a solo project, without a brother, July 2024.
• Tatiana Siegel on Diversity Reports of allegations of misconduct good time and Uncut Gemstones Produced by Sebastian Bear-McClard, March 2023.
• Tatiana Siegel on page six Reports on alleged reasons for split between Josh and Benny Safdie, January 2026.
• Kate Ritchie anklet Reflects the narratives on the armament during the awards campaign, February 2026.
• Charles Barfield at playlist reports that March Supreme and Smashing Machine are two of the most expensive films A24 has ever made, Nov 2024.
• Jessica Kiang and Elise Schaefer cover the Venice Film Festival awards DiversitySeptember 2025.
• Rebecca Rubin and Ramin Setude Diversity Report on receiving Smashing Machine in Venice, September 2025.
• Ethan Atler on Golden Derby reports Smashing Machine Play in Toronto, September 2025.
• Zach Scharf on Diversity reports of box office disappointment Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Josh Safdie talks The Washington Post For editing about the race March Supreme Premiere at the New York Film Festival in October 2025.
• David Ehrlich describes March Supreme as “One pillow after another”October 2025.
• Josh Safdie talks IndieWire About how to turn on ping-pong correctly March SupremeDecember 2025.
• Mike Fleming term Two rivals report road house To be continued, October 2025.
• Doug Liman writes term About the struggle to get it road house In theaters January 2024.
• Benny Safdie talks dizzy On his documentary approach to filmmaking, October 2025.
• Tyler Chin GQ Discusses how a rock gained mass Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Kazu talks to Hiro Academy magazine About makeup design Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Jake Kanter on term reports with enthusiastic praise for Christopher Nolan Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Benny Safed and Christopher Nolan talk Smashing Machine on Directors Guild of AmericaOctober 2025.
• Elvis Mitchell discusses Smashing Machine on treatmentNovember 2025.
• Caroline Frost on term Reports of The Rock’s return to pro wrestling, February 2024.
• Marco Reports of Donald Trump’s possible return to pro wrestling, November 2025.
• Mark Raymond at ESPN Reports of Rocky being awarded the BMF belt at UFC, October 2019.
• Michael Balderston ScreenRant reports on Mark Kerr’s reaction Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Caroline Darney on for the victory Considers closing Mark Kerr Smashing MachineOctober 2025.
• Angelique Jackson Diversity reports on an upcoming collaboration between Rock and Benny Safdie Lizard musicOctober 2025.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Andy Melhuish, Benny Safdie, Donal Sweeney, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, imdb, Mark Carrey, mma, opioids, podcast, wrecking car, sports film, structure, sabotage, rock, ufc |