Popcorn Culture

The Tragedy of Macbeth has all the makings of a film that's going to dominate at this year's Oscars. It's produced by A24 and is hosted by Apple TV+, the most prestigious of the streaming platforms. It's a black and white film shot in the unorthodox 1.37:1 aspect ratio, just to keep things classy. It's directed by Joel Coen and stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, three Hollywood heavywe...

Ironically, there are more than ten things to absolutely love about 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), a movie that many consider to be the most genre-defining romcom of its generation. From Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivering some of their most memorable performances, to Heath Ledger's iconic song-and-dance number, 10 Things continues to be one of the most rewatchable movies of all t...

A genre that is deeply specific in its intent, and requires precision in its execution, psychological thrillers have long been a popular genre - after all, we got the term 'gaslighting' from 1946's Gaslight by George Cukor. In this Supercut episode, we discuss what makes for a truly successful psychological thriller, and what it takes to pull it off. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

The latest from Guillermo Del Toro, Nightmare Alley is a psychological thriller based on a William Lindsay Gresham book from 1946 - which is also the era it's set in. Circling a tale of grifters and cons, it also boasts a huge cast, including Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Willem Dafoe. We get into whether this film works for us, and got under our skin. See omnystudio.com/listen...

It’s tough to describe, but you know it when you see it: the movies that are slightly odd or awkward, the shows that lean into the weirdness, the stories that sit somewhere between laughter and seriousness. Whether it’s Wes Anderson and Tim Burton to Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry, off-kilter, quirky films sit in a funny category all of their own. We share our favourites, and discuss whether th...

This might be as Wes Anderson as it gets: an anthology of wry, comedic stories that are all structured as articles written and published in the final issue of the fictional newspaper, The French Dispatch. Featuring a huge ensemble cast of Anderson stalwarts, the movie is expectedly a visual treat. But how does it fare overall? We discuss. Image Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Studios See omnystud...

Directed by Ridley Scott, this epic film of historical fiction takes on a difficult and complex tale: in medieval France, a knight named Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), challenges his former friend Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) to a duel to the death after Jean's wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Jacques of raping her. We review the movie, and discuss the ways in which the story plays around...

It may not have been the best year for cinemas and studios worldwide, but that didn't stop us from watching, bingeing, and enjoying an irrational amount of content over the last twelve months. While not every show was a resounding success, many had us geeking over them to no end. From pop culture sensations like Squid Game to box office phenomenons like Spider-Man: No Way Home, here's a rundown of...

Director Adam McKay's ability to curate an unbelievably stacked cast for his movies is something else. His latest offering, Don't Look Up, brings together heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, and Meryl Streep (among others!) in a story about a comet that's about to destroy planet Earth. In this episode, we talk about what we loved (or hated) about Don't...

You can call her iconic, legendary, or incomparable, but the truth is there isn't an apt enough word to describe the kind of career Betty White had in Hollywood. She may be best known for playing the beloved Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, but Betty was also an author, animal rights advocate, and winner of seven Emmys, one of which was for hosting Saturday Night Live in 2010 at the age of 88! She...

Almost twenty years on from The Matrix Revolutions, we return to the world of Neo and Trinity and the Matrix, with all its attendant questions about reality, illusions and love. We discuss what it's like to watch this film so many years after the original trilogy launched, and how its themes and technology have aged over time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The brainchild of Issa Rae, for five seasons, Insecure has by turns been sparkling, funny, and smart, as well as deeply felt and (sometimes) deeply awkward. As we bid farewell to the show with Season Five, we talk not just about the season itself, but about the experience of watching the show, and why we'd recommend it. Image Source: Courtesy of Netflix + Netflix See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Fair warning: a tangled web of spoilers lies ahead! In this special Spideycast of Popcorn Culture, we review and geek out over every amazing plot twist and turn of Spider-Man: No Way Home. We discuss the Spider-Verse, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and what the future might hold for our friendly neighbourhood webslinger. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might just be the most awaited Marvel release of the year, with months of teasers and rumours and leaked images heightening the buzz. With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter Parker finds his normal life in disarray, and his loved ones bearing the brunt of it. But when Peter turns to Doctor Strange for help, all hell breaks loose. We review the movie and talk about how it is a love letter...

After the bombshell finale of the previous season, our third outing with the Roys sees the family split into various scheming factions - and as machinations and manipulations heighten, so do the emotional stakes. And through it all, the lingering question of, does bulldozing patriarch Logan still have what it takes to run the family’s billion dollar empire? We review the latest season. See omnystu...

Cue finger-snapping. 1961's West Side Story is an iconic film by any standard, so it was always going to take a master filmmaker like Steven Spielberg to successfully remake the musical for a new audience. Set in 1950s New York, West Side Story is a tale of Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler), two kids who instantly fall in love at the school dance. However, their romance escalates the r...

On this episode, we review the new Western drama that's being hailed as a frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars, The Power of the Dog. If you've always wanted to see actor extraordinaire Benedict Cumberbatch chew scenery as a rude, domineering rancher in 1920s Montana, then The Power of the Dog is nothing short of a treat! Based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage, the film al...

32 years after the release and events of Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters: Afterlife picks up the threads of the story far from the skyscrapers of New York - exploring instead how the estranged family of Egon Spengler reckon with the legacy of being a Ghostbuster... and of course, begin fighting supernatural forces. Starring Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, the film is also d...

Disney's latest (and the 60th film from the studio!) tells a story of the Madrigal family, living in an enchanted house in the mountains of Columbia - and how Mirabel, the only child in the family who doesn't have magical powers, has to save the people, and the home she loves. Featuring the voices of Stephanie Beatriz and John Leguizamo, and songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Encanto has all the...

Seven actors, (nearly) six decades, 27 movies, and countless vodka martinis (shaken, not stirred) later, Bond still remains one of cinema’s most fascinating characters. As we come to the end of Daniel Craig’s iteration, and await the announcement of the next name, we celebrate the legacy of this complicated screen hero, and discuss how he’s evolved with the times. At the very lea...

After months of delays, it’s finally here: the last of the Daniel Craig James Bonds! And it seems like Bond is… retired? But then, there’s a kidnapped scientist! A mysterious villain! Really, do we even need the plot? Directed by Cary Fukunaga and co-starring Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, and Lashana Lynch, this latest outing looks to be everything we’ve come to expect from Cra...

Often hailed not just one of Stanley Kubrick’s best films, but one of the greatest films of all time, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, satirises fears around the Cold War that swirled in the 1960s. Featuring a stellar turn by Peter Sellers in multiple roles, the 1964 movie is set during a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the US. We review the...

On this episode, we review Jai Bhim - a Tamil film that has been garnering stellar reviews and simultaneously stirring intense controversy thanks to its sociopolitical themes. Based on a landmark court case in 1995, Jai Bhim tells the story of a woman (Lijomol Jose) from the Irula tribe who desperately searches for her husband (K. Manikandan) who is missing from police custody. Chandru (Suriya), a...

Squid Game may be 2021's most popular show and a certified pop culture phenomenon, but would you believe that it wasn't unanimously celebrated in South Korea? As streaming services continue to capture the industry and as Hollywood makes an effort in terms of representation, we're seeing a lot of cultures represented on our screens. And while a lot of them work, many don't, and the rest are lost in...

Squid Game may be 2021's most popular show and a certified pop culture phenomenon, but would you believe that it wasn't unanimously celebrated in South Korea? As streaming services continue to capture the industry and as Hollywood makes an effort in terms of representation, we're seeing a lot of cultures represented on our screens. And while a lot of them work, many don't, and the rest are lost in...