Popcorn Culture

Inspired by historical photographs from the 1860s of an enslaved man's heavily scourged back, thereby providing evidence of the cruelty of American slavery, Emancipation tells the story of Peter (played by Will Smith), who flees a plantation in Louisiana. Inescapably, the film is also Smith's first release since the infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. We review the movie and talk about Smith's perfo...

Let's face it, we watched a LOT of TV in 2022. Game Of Thrones returned with fire and blood in House of the Dragon. Apple TV+ put out prestige award-bait like Severance. The Disney-Marvel machine churned out Miss Marvels and Moon Knights. And Netflix gave us more content than we could handle. Some shows were good, some were bad, and others were fun yet forgettable. As 2022 comes to a close, we loo...

They're creepy and they're kooky/ Mysterious and spooky/ They're all together ooky/The Addams family. If you sang along to that, Wednesday might be the show for you. Part-YA coming-of-age, part whodunit, part dark comedy, Wednesday explores what happens when Wednesday, this child of woe, goes away to a boarding school where mysterious events keep happening. It features Jenna Ortega in a pitch...

On this episode, we review one of the most ambitious, and most highly anticipated Star Wars shows on Disney+ Hotstar - Andor. Directed by veteran filmmaker Tony Gilroy and starring Diego Luna, the first season of Andor takes place a few years before the catalytic events of Rogue One, and long before Cassian Andor found himself fighting in the Rebellion against the Empire. We discuss Andor's restra...

It's a simple fact of being a movie and TV buff in 2022, that there's simply a deluge of content to watch: from old to new, episodic to full season drops, cinema to streaming. So how do you decide what to watch? What's the most reliable path towards a good watching decision and experience? We try to unpack that in this episode of Supercut.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By the time it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, rumours around Don't Worry Darling had been swirling for months: on-set romances and fights, a star and director who didn't get along, infidelities. So much so that the drama of it all almost eclipsed the film itself. In this episode, we review this Olivia Wilde-directed psychological thriller and talk about whether the hype helped or hindered...

An Irish girl stops eating, yet remains alive and well for months. An English nurse is sent to observe her, and to see if it is in fact a miracle. That's the starting point for this Florence Pugh-led psychological period drama. In the first of our Pugh double-header this week, we review The Wonder and assess whether it's worth a watch. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death of Chadwick Boseman has left an irreplaceable void at the centre of this Black Panther sequel, and the film addresses it through a collective process of grieving and paying tribute - both in and outside of the world of the movie. We review the movie and talk about how familiar characters like Shuri (Letitia Wright), Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and Okoye (Danai Gurira) are expanded an...

Often celebrated as the first black superhero film adaptation, this 1998 film brought one of Marvel’s darker characters to life, and features a charisma-loaded main cast: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, and Kris Kristofferson. While it received middling reviews, the movie has gone on to gain cult classic status and spawn an entire franchise. We revisit the movie and talk about whether time has been...

We've all heard of the famous roles that almost had another very famous face playing them: Leonardo DiCaprio as Patrick Bateman, Sean Connery as Gandalf (and Russell Crowe as Aragorn), Emily Blunt as Black Widow. In this episode of Supercut, we talk about what could've been, and whether the movies and shows in question would have been improved - or made immeasurably worse.  See omnystudio.com...

Following on 2020's Enola Holmes, this sequel follows our eponymous heroine as she works on her first case as a detective, looking for a missing girl (with an assist from her famous brother, Sherlock). We discuss whether Enola Holmes 2 lives up to the success of the first film, and if it's worth catching.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest installment in the MCU, Werewolf By Night is a lean, standalone take, exploring what happens when hunters gather in the wake of Ulysses Bloodstone's death, to participate in a hunt to see who will earn the right to hold the Bloodstone - but there are other players in the game, who have very different motivations. Directed by Michael Giacchino, and starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Laura Donn...

The adaptation of a beloved book onto the screen is exciting... but also has the potential to go so wrong. In this Supercut, we discuss all the important questions about book adaptations, such as: What makes an adaptation work? Are some books just unfilmable? Can you call yourself a true fan if you've only watched the movie? And, is the book always better than the movie?  See omnystudio....

Based on the acclaimed 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front is a German epic anti-war film set in the tail end of World War I. It follows the life of a German soldier, whose hopes of becoming a hero are shattered when faced with the harsh realities of war. The film's been gathering excellent reviews since its release; we review it and talk about whether it lives up to...

Thirty years after its release, Bram Stoker's Dracula still seems to have very few contenders when it comes to matching its adaptation of the original bloodsucking creature of the night. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, and Keanu Reeves, the movie was packed with prestige, and attracted both praises for its gothic horror vibe and criticism f...

We've all looked at a highly successful, critically acclaimed film and wondered what all the fuss is about, right? Avatar is the biggest film of all time, but is it worthy of that title? Citizen Kane is... just okay? No Country For Old Men is kinda boring. And Black Panther is good but, is it a 10/10? From hot takes on Christopher Nolan's filmography to shrugging at Nomadland, we're talking about...

Shazam! 15 years after he was cast as Black Adam, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has finally (finally!) released the film that he claims will change the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe. Well, did it? Also starring Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Black Adam is the story of a slave-turned-demigod who vows to unleash his signature brand of brutal, vengeful justice on the world... unless the Justice S...

Nine weeks after reviewing the first episode, we return to King's Landing to re-review our thoughts on this season of House Of The Dragon as a whole. Did we love-hate the characters as much as we thought we would? Were the time-jumps too jarring? And let's be honest, how many people did we want Dracarys'd on the show? We discuss the ups and downs of this Game Of Thrones spinoff, as well as our exc...

From 3-hour-long epics to shows that have episodes that stretch beyond 60 minutes - how long is too long? When does it stretch the patience of the audience, and when is it a rewarding way to tell a complex story? In this Supercut, we try to answer that question (and yes, discuss watching 12 hours of Lord of the Rings).  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attempting to tell the story of a great war, and of Galadriel's quest for revenge against the enemy Sauron, Rings of Power brings together several different story strands and characters, including a mysterious Stranger, harfoots, an elf-dwarf friendship, and the building of a forge. All for the cool reported price of one billion dollars. We review the season now that it's freshly concluded and dis...

Based on the epic Tamil novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy, Ponniyin Selvan: I is the first of two films directed by Mani Ratnam. This long-awaited adaptation has taken a circuitous road to the big screen - in this review, we talk about the experience of watching this film, and whether it manages to capture the complexities of its origin story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

From Sam Rockwell and Stanley Tucci, to Toni Collette and Regina King, some actors just don't get the shine they deserve - even though they've got an amazing roster of roles. This Supercut, we discuss the perennially under-appreciated actors, and share some of our favourites.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David O' Russell's latest comes, predictably, with a stacked cast featuring, just to name a few, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, and Timothy Olyphant. Set in 1930s, the plot is inspired by the Business Plot, a 1933 political conspiracy in the US, and tells the story of three friends who witness a murder, end up becoming suspects themsel...

Every so often, a movie comes out of nowhere and gathers enough buzz to break into the mainstream. Such is the case of French action drama Athena, which received a warm reception at various festivals before making its way to Netflix. The film, directed by Romain Gavras, revolves around the tragic killing of a young boy from the community of Athena, which sparks a larger conflict involvin...

Marilyn in her white dress, John Wayne in his hat, Rajinikanth in his sunglasses - what are the ingredients that go into making cinematic icons, well, iconic? In this Supercut episode, we try to unpack that and answer why some of these stars continue to burn so bright.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.