Pop This!

Summary   "'He is using up all our sunset." We have a bit of an announcement this week but we're also very much Reese Witherspoon completists so we're combining both things and also talking about her latest film, You're Cordially Invited .    Content warning: discussion of cancer.     Show notes:     Claws (Apple TV+)     Recommendations   Andrea W.:  Doctor Odyssey (Disney TV+)   Lisa:  Conclave...

Summary   "Even when I wanted to look away I knew I couldn't." This week we are talking about the story of photographer Lee Miller as portrayed in the movie Lee . Also discussed: our favourite new music,  benefit concerts, and movies about Great Men.     Show notes:   Lee Miller Archives     Recommendations   Andrea W.: Confessions of an Anti-Social Butterfly by Bukola (music)   Lisa:  A Wild Shee...

Summary   "You Don't Know What Tennis Is." We finally dig into the sports drama Challengers with ace guest Brittany Tiplady and discover what the sport is all about. Also discussed: Zendaya, tennis, and the idea of marrying the 'ick.'     Show notes:   Challengers got everything right about my sport – apart from the sexiness (Andrea Petkovic, The Guardian)     Recommendations   Andrea W.: Sports C...

Summary   "I'm not being paid enough for this." This week we dive headfirst into Oscars season with a film that has elements of both romance and comedy but is definitely not a rom-com: Anora .  Also discussed: the feasibility of watching movies and TV in this day and age without looking up anything on our phones.   Show notes:   Heaux Joy: I'm a sex worker. Anora is one of the few movies about my...

Summary   "I don't want to be in a situation for even an hour where I'm not enjoying myself." We finally get around to talking about our favourite pop culture items from last year, and vow to live by the words of Kim Cattrall in 2025.    Show notes:   Robot Dreams   Absolute Elsewhere by Blood Incantation   The New York Brownstone in Mr. & Mrs. Smith Is the Show's True Star   Music credits  "Elect...

Summary:   We're still on holiday break this week so we're resurfacing this episode we did in 2018 on Little Women .    "Not so little women." Over the years, there have been many film, stage and television versions of the classic book  Little Women . Pop This! producer Andrea Gin loves the 1949 version, Lisa Christiansen prefers the 1994 iteration and Andrea Warner is watching both for the first...

Summary: When Harry Met Sally just celebrated its 35th anniversary and we are re-releasing the episode we did on it way back in 2017 because there is no better way to greet the New Year than by re-watching one of the best rom-coms of them all! Also discussed: The African Queen , Atomic Blonde , and The Way We Were . Show notes:   Spanish Twelve Grapes   When Harry Met Sally trailer   The Way We We...

Summary   "I used only the good notes." We're celebrating Christmas the only way we know how at Pop This! — by arguing about Love Actually vs. The Holiday . This year we are thrilled to have New York Times bestselling author Marissa Stapley on the episode to give us a new perspective on this decade-old debate. Also discussed: maximalism, Bill Cunningham, and the excellent podcast Bookspo .      Sh...

Summary   "Isn't there anybody that loves me?" After a decade of talking about holiday rom-coms, we're finally watching The Family Stone. Also discussed: Black Doves , Doctor Odyssey , and holiday music from Breagh Isabel.   Show notes:   The Family Stone Is The Most Jewish Christmas Movie (Refinery29)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  Black Doves (Netflix)   Andrea G.: Doctor Odyssey (Disney +)   And...

Summary   "I don't cause commotions. I am one." This week we're talking about the biggest musical of our times: Wicked . Also discussed: Interior Chinatown , A Man On The Inside , and brain rot.     Show notes:   Tressie McMillan Cottom on Wicked (Instagram)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  Glee - Season 1 " Defying Gravity " (YouTube)   Andrea G.:  Interior Chinatown (Disney +)   Andrea W.:  A Man O...

Summary:   This week we have an encore presentation of a holiday episode we did way back in 2017. Andrea Warner and Lisa toss  Love Actually and The Holiday by the wayside and bring their actual favourite holiday movies to the table - let the new argument begin! Also discussed: the words and wisdom of Angela Davis, onscreen kissing, and whether Die Hard constitutes a Christmas movie (the answer is...

Summary   "There's been a slight misuse of the Substance." Brace yourself, because this week we take on the satirical body horror film everyone's buzzing about: The Substance starring Demi Moore . Also discussed: cashmere pants, new music from Abigail Lapell, and the movie Hope Floats .     Show notes:   If You Thought Demi Moore's Transformation Was Crazy in 'The Substance,' Wait Til You Hear How...

Summary   "I think imperfection is something that you can deal with." This week we watch the new documentary Martha and reconsider everything we know about the lifestyle icon. Also discussed: Olive Kitteridge , My Old Ass , and the appropriate time to start Christmas.     Show notes:   Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg's Friendship Timeline (People)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  The books of Elizabeth...

Summary   "Team Logan." We welcome Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist back on the show to discuss the incredible life and times of Kelly Bishop as laid out in her new memoir The Third Gilmore Girl . Also discussed: Bunheads , The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , and Etoile .     Show notes:   Kelly Bishop as Sheila in A Chorus Line (TikTok)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  Somebody Somewhere (Season 3) (Crave)...

Summary   "You Survived, Like Witches Have Been Doing For Centuries." This week, our resident Marvel expert Carlos Hernandez Fisher joins us to talk about Agatha All Along . Also discussed: new music from the Cure, witches through history and our 10th anniversary.     Show notes:   Agatha All Along is a Marvel show you don't have to do homework for (Vox)   Don't have time for a 'WandaVision' rewat...

Summary   "You don't name things that eat you." Zombie month ends on a gloriously bloody high note as we discuss Jeff Barnaby's Blood Quantum with film scholar Joseph Clark. Also discussed: dental hygiene,  Women Talking , and the films of Alanis Obomsawin.     Show notes:   " Notes from an Apocalypse " (Walrus)   " Decolonizing the zombie apocalypse: An interview with Jeff Barnaby about his new f...

Summary   "Let's make a zombie podcast horror film." Zombie Month continues with the meta indie zombie comedy One Cut of the Dead  (warning: this episode contains spoilers). Also discussed: Vancouver Writers Fest, Troll 2, and rain-appropriate clothing.   Show notes:   One Cut of the Dead review (RogerEbert.com)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Ma...

Summary   "Are we gonna die Miss Caroline?" We haltingly stagger into our third week of zombie movies with the little-known zombie flick Little Monsters starring Lupita Nyong'o. Also discussed: band t-shirts, Ali Wong's new Netflix special and jerk redemption stories.     Show notes:   Lupita Nyong'o's Very Good Year (Lainey Gossip)     Recommendations:   Lisa:  Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (book)  ...

Summary   "Why is your ringtone so tacky?" We are our second week of Zombie Month and we've reached one of the all-time classics: Train to Busan. Also discussed: Andrea Warner's new old book, shows that hit a little too close to home, and the rules of zombie films.     Show notes:   We Outta Drag Brunch     Literary Trivia: '80s and '90s style (Vancouver Writer's Fest)   We Oughta Know: How Céline...

Summary   "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" It's Zombie month at Pop This! and we're kicking things off with the 2004 classic Dawn of the Dead starring Sarah Polley. Also discussed: fast vs. slow zombies, pajamas as clothes, and our long-running dream of living in a mall.     Show notes:   The First 10 Minutes of Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead Are Perfect Horror (Syfy)      Recommendations:  ...

Summary:   "Just rock 'n' roll and the truth." This week we invite Rose Melberg on the podcast to talk about her favourite film, the criminally underrated Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains . Also discussed: Jane the Virgin , Girls Rock Camp, and our love of Kim Wexler from Better Call Saul .   Show notes:   The Best Show on TV is Jane the Virgin (Vulture)   Rose Melberg (Wikipedia)   Rose...

Summary   "For you, Daddy." This week, we are transported back to 1980s America while watching the original Firestarter starring Drew Barrymore. Also discussed: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein, All Fours by Miranda July, and a lovely new song from Toronto singer and songwriter taeo.     Show notes:   Here's Why Stephen King Hated 1984's Firestarter (Slash Film)     Recommendations:   Lisa: Emily in Pa...

Summary   "The rain on my car is a baptism." This week we revisit one of the greatest teenage rom-com dramas ever made on its 35th anniversary: Say Anything . Also discussed: Emily Gilmore, Creed, and other pop culture reckonings.     Show notes:   Nobody Thinks It Will Work, Do They? 'Say Anything…' Turns 30 (The Ringer)     Recommendations:   Lisa:   Deaner '89 (film)   Andrea G.:  If Cats Disap...

Summary   "A sadness of men." We've reached the final movie of our Manix Pixie Dream Girl series and realize what connects these movies are sad men of the early 2000s, not quirky women. Also discussed: Behind Her Eyes , Jackpot! and the second ending of Bennifer.     Show notes:   The Bataan Death March of Whimsy Case File #1: Elizabethtown (AV Club)   I'm sorry for coining the phrase "Manic Pixie...

Summary   "I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember." We have come to the third movie in our Manic Pixie Girl series, and some say this is the movie where it all began: Elizabethtown . Also discussed: Andrea Warner's broken toe, swimming while injured, and the various films of Cameron Crowe.     Show notes:   The Bataan Death March of Whimsy Case File #1: Elizabethtown (AV Club)   I'm so...