Popcorn Culture

Bong Joon-ho, acclaimed director of Parasite, is back with Mickey 17! This sci-fi thriller stars Robert Pattinson as a disposable worker on a colonization mission, one who keeps getting replaced every time he dies. We discuss if this is another win for Bong Joon Ho (and Pattinson) and then, on Take Two, talk about desperate protagonists in film and TV. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listene...

As Oscar-nominated films continue to grace Malaysian theatres, the latest in the list is James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. With Timothee Chalamet filling the lead role, the movie charts a very specific time in Dylan’s life, as an up-and-coming folk musician in New York, and his electric turn. We talk about the movie and whether it deserves the fanfare it’s getting, before pivot...

The highly anticipated Robert Eggers gothic not-Dracula film, Nosferatu finally hits Malaysian cinemas. We review this remake and discuss why Eggers is one of the best auteurs today, and then on Take Two, talk about our favourite vampire movies and shows then on The B-side, tbc. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve got a double bill for you this week! Starting with A Real Pain, directed and written by Jesse Eisenberg,a buddy comedy road movie that looks at the (mis)adventures of two cousins exploring Poland after the passing of their late grandmother. Lauded for its performances and bittersweet tone, the movie is also up for two Academy Awards. And on a separate note and just in time for Valentine’s Da...

Captain America is back on the big screen! But if you’ve been following the MCU, you’ll know it’s no longer Chris Evans wielding the shield, but Anthony Mackie. With Marvel on a slump, could this be the film that revives the franchise? We review the film and then on Take Two, discuss iconic characters from the big screen and small, before ending with the B-side, where we talk about Cap’s heart pou...

Ke Huy Quan returns to the big screen with Love Hurts, where he gets to flex his action chops alongside Ariana Debose, Daniel Wu and Marshawn Lynch. Ke plays a former hitman pulled back into his old life when he finds out his brother is hunting him. We talk about whether this action-comedy (from the producers of Nobody) succeeds on both fronts, before heading into a longer conversation about what...

To commemorate Chinese New Year, we’re throwing back to a 2011 Hong Kong film, A Simple Life, directed by Ann Hui. It stars Andy Lau and and Deannie Ip and explores a middle-aged man’s bond with his domestic helper. After that on Take Two, we explore the best Chinese New Year movies before wrapping up with the B-Side, where we dive into the music of Wong Fei Hung, who was a Chinese martial artist,...

Following the sweet and spectacular successes that were the first two Paddington films, this third installment finds everyone’s favourite little marmalade-loving bear adventuring in Peru. We get into whether this movie lives up to the charm set by its predecessors, and then segue into talking about our favourite movies and films from childhood, and how they’ve continued to shape our tastes. We the...

Leigh Whannell returns following his 2020 critical and commercial hit, The Invisible Man. This time he’s tackling another ‘Universal Monster’, Wolf Man. It stars Christopher Abbott as Blake, a man who, after moving his family to his childhood home, is attacked by a werewolf and that transforms him into something horrifying. Does Whannell deliver the goods? We review the film and then on Take Two d...

In this double header edition of Stuff We Missed, we’re catching up with a couple of releases from late 2024. First up, what some are dubbing Clint Eastwood’s final film, Juror #2, which stars Nicholas Hoult in a courtroom thriller about a juror grappling with a moral dilemma in a high-profile murder trial. Then, we discuss a movie that’s been making waves more for its off-screen controversy - It...

On the first episode of Popcorn Culture of 2025, we’re reviewing the second season of the highly popular Korean series, Squid Game. We discuss if the second season is a step up from season 1 and if it's worth the binge. Then in Take Two, we ask you if hype influences your decision to watch something or not. Image Credit: Netflix See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the final edition of Popcorn Culture this year, we’re reviewing the latest in Disney’s relentless lineup of remakes and prequels - Mufasa: The Lion King. With an all-star cast and crew (Barry Jenkins directing, Lin-Manuel Miranda songwriting, voices like Mads Mikkelsen joining the original cast), expectations are high. In our chat, we unpack whether the movie is worth a school holiday watch, an...

This week, we review another double bill of Stuff We Missed – TV edition. First up is the gritty crime-thriller set in Matt Reeves’ Gotham City and centred around the iconic Batman villain, The Penguin. And then, we move on to the most expensive animated series of all time, Arcane, an adaptation of the hit video game League of Legends. After that on Take Two, we discuss some of our favourite TV sh...

8 years after the first movie, Moana 2 is hitting the big screen, and sees our heroine reunited with some familiar faces, while fighting new foes. With Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles as Moana and Maui respectively, this was a movie that was originally conceived as a limited series - so how does it fare as a feature film? We discuss that, before continuing to ask a larger qu...

Based on the famed musical that tells the story of Glinda and Elphaba (the Good Witch of the North, and the Wicked Witch of the West respectively) in the Land of Oz, Wicked: Part I is a much-anticipated movie, not least because of the musical firepower in its cast and the credentials of its director Jon M. Chu. We kick things off by reviewing the film, and whether we’re looking forward to Part II,...

Ridley Scott returns with Gladiator II, a sequel to his 2000 classic that nobody asked for but we’re all excited for nonetheless. Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, the film promises a fresh and intense journey into the brutal and captivating world of ancient Rome. We discuss if it lives up to the original, then on Take Two, talk about some of our favourite sequels of all ti...

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans team up for Red One, an action-packed Christmas-themed film from Jumanji director, Jake Kasdan. Johnson stars as the North Pole’s Head of Security, who teams up with a rebellious “naughty list” tracker played by Evans to save Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) from a mysterious kidnapping. We review the film and then on Take Two discuss our favourite action-comedies and fina...

With the 4th season of OMITB newly wrapped up, we share our thoughts on the latest instalment of the cosiest murder crime podcast show around. From its jam-packed cast of Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch (and even more guest stars), to its clever writing, there’s a lot to love. Then on Take Two, we discuss what are some of the movies and shows that have...

It’s the week of Deepavali! In light of that, we’re reviewing a Tamil film, specifically director Ram’s 2019 family drama, Peranbu. It stars Mammootty and follows the journey of a single father raising his daughter with cerebral palsy. After that on Take Two, we discuss what we like to watch during festival seasons and close off with the B-Side, where we look at one of composer Yuvan Shankar Raja’...

After the success of 2022’s Smile, writer-director Parker Finn is back with a sequel in which Naomi Scott plays Skye Riley, a pop star working through trauma and a difficult past, who finds herself ensnared and haunted by a series of increasingly horrifying and disturbing events. We start off by reviewing the movie, and discuss whether - in essence - we found it scary. Then, we move on to asking w...

This week, we’re reviewing a double bill of Stuff We Missed: movies that premiered earlier in the year, that we didn’t get to at the time. First up, the Thai tearjerker How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Pat Boonitipat’s film about a university dropout who cares for his dying grandma with ulterior motives. And then we move on to Inside Out 2, which sees Riley at the age of 13, dealing with...

Joaquin Phoenix is back reprising his role as the iconic DC Comics villain in Joker: Folie A Deux, the highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s Joker, which received critical acclaim, smashed the box office and was celebrated by fans too. The sequel which also stars Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, promises to be just as quirky, thrilling and deeply disturbing as the first. We discuss if we agree with the 12...

Based on the book series of the same name, The Wild Robot explores the themes of survival, discovery and connection, through the story of Roz, a robot that’s shipwrecked on a deserted island, who then has to adapt to these new surroundings. We discuss this critically acclaimed movie, that’s also likely to be the last Dreamworks movie done in-house, before expanding the conversation to look at othe...

Blumhouse is back with another horror outing, this time it’s Speak No Evil, a remake of the 2018 acclaimed Danish film. The 2024 film is directed by James Watkins and stars James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis. We discuss if the film lives up to the original, and then in Take Two talk about remakes that worked (or didn’t) and finally on The B-Side explore the music of horror trailers. Image Credit: IM...

After a very long and circuitous road to being made, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out! The sequel to the original 1988 film sees the return of Tim Burton (of course), but also most of the main players: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, along with new additions Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, among others. We discuss this much-anticipated sequel and whether it’s a return to form for B...