Popcorn and Cumin

We're back for a final episode with guest Jenny, an animation industry expert! Get ready for a behind the scenes look at animation, this time focused on production and post-production, and all centered around the Pixar classic, Monsters, Inc. And don't miss this week's cross-border factoid, because it is 100% ridiculous.

Inconceivable! You voted, and we listened—this week’s Listeners’ Choice pick is  The Princess Bride ! Join Popcorn and Cumin as we dive into the magic behind Rob Reiner’s beloved classic. We’re serving up behind-the-scenes trivia, our signature top-tier analysis, and answers to your burning questions: How were the Rodents of Unusual Size brought to life? How does the film stack up against the orig...

We’re diving into the animation pipeline in this week’s episode, with industry expert Jenny guiding us through pre-production (or development). Don’t worry, there are plenty of side quests along the way into fun behind-the-scenes facts about some of your favorite Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks animation films, including The Incredibles, Shrek, Ratatouille, The Emperor’s New Groove, and, of course,...

This week, we’re breaking down the Academy Awards — so whether you watched the whole thing or skipped it entirely, we’ve got you covered! We’re diving into the winners, the snubs, and those cringy speeches (yes, we’re looking at you, Emilia Perez songwriters and Adrien Brody). Sarah goes full throttle with a rant about biopics and the overall meh-ness of this year’s nominees, while Euan rides to t...

Calling all Pixar and Disney movie lovers! Popcorn and Cumin is back again, but with a twist. For the first time ever in the podcast's illustrious history, we have a guest! This is the first in a series of episodes centered around the wonderful world of animated movies, and who better to discuss animation with than friend of the podcast, Jenny. Jenny has first-hand experience working on some o...

Popcorn & Cumin is back for our annual Academy Awards complain-athon. We are just as aggrieved as you at Dune: Part 2's underperformance (sorry Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, and Denis Villenueve). We are even madder at Challengers' total snub (sorry Zendaya...again!) Sarah remains upset that Jonathan Bailey has not been nominated for any awards for playing Fiyero in Wicked, while Euan is...

Happy New Year! Popcorn and Cumin is back and our 2025 resolution is to continue to review movies even if they are terrible. This week's topic is the 2025 Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winner Emilia Pérez. This is a French film that has cleverly masqueraded itself as a Mexican movie by cunningly casting a single Mexican actor. Are you a fan of culturally insensitive and poorly translated...

If you thought the WICKED craze was dying down, think again! Did Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey really record their vocals live on set? What Wizard of Oz easter eggs did filmmakers sneak into the movie? And does Sarah or Euan know the lyrics of Wicked better? We are revisiting Oz for a second time to answer all your burning questions. Ozians rejoice!

You've all heard it. The great debate. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? On this year's Christmas edition of Popcorn and Cumin, we're defining what are the criteria for something to be considered a Christmas movie. Framing the discussion is the 1998 action classic Die Hard. Die Hard is famously set at Christmas, but is that all something needs to be considered a Christmas movie. Spoiler Alert: one of...

Fellow Ozians; Are you holding space for the newest episode of Popcorn and Cumin? We're off to spend one (not so) short day in the Emerald City. We're rejoicified to report we have bounced back from the disgusticifying depths of Joker 2, to the swankified delights of a good movie. Well, half of a good movie. In celebration of splitting things that could be whole into two, this will be the first pa...

Times are tough in Gotham, but they are tougher for everyone who had to sit through Joker: Folie à Deux. Listen to two movie musical fanatics tear down this sad addition to one of our favorite genres. Listen as Sarah psychologically diagnoses Mr Joker with the knowledge she gained from her degree in psychology, Euan provides key cultural insights into news media, and both hosts basically tear the...

Sistas! The spookiest time of the year is upon us and to celebrate Popcorn & Cumin is bringing you its annual spooktacular episode, as voted on by you! Join Sarah and Euan as they venture into the world of 17th century Salem, Massachusetts where 3 evil witches are hanged by the neck until dead (alongside a host of innocent women). This week, you will learn all about the history of witch hunts,...

This week on Popcorn & Cumin we are continuing our death march towards All Hallows' Eve (otherwise known as Spooky Season). On the chopping block this week is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long awaited (36 years!) follow-up to the 1988 cult-classic Beetlejuice. Neither Sarah nor Euan are crazy about the original, but did the sequel leave them feeling hot, cold, or indifferent about the Ghost wi...

Popcorn and Cumin is back, better than ever, and ready to guide you through Spooky Season. Our first episode of Season 2 focusses on 1979's horror classic Alien. Sarah is a first time viewer, but was she prepared enough to survive her trip on the Nostromo? Luckily Euan is here to guide us or bore us, with all the necessary context. Like, is the planet they land on Saturn? Does a dog play the Alien...

Bad news everyone, it's the season finale of Popcorn and Cumin! Your favorite podcast is taking a (well-earned) break, but we will be back before you know it making great jokes at the expense of all your favorite bits of pop culture. This week, we are tackling the first Chapter of arguably the seminal film franchise, Star Wars! Listen as we do a deep-dive into the divisive film which gives us...

Dearest Gentle Reader, This week, your esteemed hosts, Lord Euan James and Lady Sarah Jean, cordially invite you to lend your ears as we consider the latest tattle that has overtaken the ton. Why can't Colin Bridgerton close his mouth? Why are Cressida Cowper's sleeves so big? Is it to hide all her secrets? And who is the infamous Lady Whistledown? All will be revealed in Popcorn and Cumin...

Dracula walked so Edward could run. Join us on a nostalgic trip back to Forks, Washington, as we delve into Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, a world of sparkling vampires and a pasty plain girl from Arizona. Euan dives into the history of vampires in literature and Sarah reads every hateful thing Robert Pattinson has said about this supernatural romance. (01:42) Cross-border factoids (08:00) A brie...

Love triangle, tennis, Zendaya, oh my! This week we review the new movie, Challengers, starring Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, and, of course, Zendaya. Get ready for behind-the-scenes movie trivia, critique of the film (and of tennis as a sport), and some...interesting cultural differences between the US and the UK. Hip! Hip! (00:42) Cross-border factoids (15:50) Challengers (38:15) Challengers en...

Euan and Sarah dive into the new Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action-comedy movie, The Fall Guy. What does Eurovision have to do with anything? Which Fall Guy stunt broke a world record? How did Ryan Gosling's improvisations change the movie script? Find it all out here! (00:57) Cross-border factoids (13:03) Non-Spoilers (38:19) Spoilers

Sarah and Euan are back finding and fixing plot holes in the Harry Potter book series! How come Fred and George don't mention Ron sleeping with Peter Pettigrew? Why can't Harry see thestrals after seeing his mum die? How many times can Euan say 'on the lam'? All your questions and more will be answered on today's episode of Popcorn and Cumin! Content warning: mentions of abuse...

It's time for the Listeners' Choice episode! Thanks to you, we didn't get a choice in this week's episode (thank goodness you all have good taste). Backed by popular demand, we are very excited to discuss Harry Potter in depth for the first time in Popcorn & Cumin history. We have come up with some plot holes in the Harry Potter universe and we will do our best to explain why t...

It's the biggest night in showbiz! Sarah and Euan are back talking about more mostly meaningless awards shows – this week it's the most prestigious and controversial of them all – the Academy Awards! A.k.a the Oscars (who knows why they are called that, you won't find out here). Will Sarah savage Oppenheimer and Cillian Murphy some more? Will Euan come around on What Was I Made for? Is...

Worms and sand. Sand and worms. It’s the most hotly anticipated movie of the year (so far): Dune: Part 2!  In this episode, we tell the story of attending the Dune afterparty and meeting all the actors…kinda. You’ll also hear Sarah go on a rant against Hans Zimmer, listen to our all-insightful book2film adaptation analysis, and hear us say pasty boys at least five times. We had a lot to say about...

It’s a movie! It’s a musical! It’s a movie musical! This week on Popcorn and Cumin, Euan hates on beloved British institutions, Sarah reveals some anti-ginger monikers for a children's prank, and they collectively decide whether the new Mean Girls movie musical is better than the original (spoiler alert: they do not agree). (03:05) - Cross-border factoids (15:01) - Mean Girls (2024) (37:56) -...

In this shorter episode, Euan has the misfortune of recapping the story of Saltburn to Sarah, who has been lucky enough to avoid watching it. Hear Sarah's live reactions to the most talked about, sensual, disturbing scenes in Saltburn. This episode is not for the faint of heart... Content warning: graphic sex description, mention of suicide, mention of drug abuse