Popcorn Culture

This is our no-holds-barred review of Loki, and it is burdened with glorious spoilers! In this special episode of Popcorn Culture, we talk about the latest Marvel TV show to our hearts' content - and this is no deception, there WILL be spoilers on plot, reveals, and twists, and what it all means for the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the golden age of superhero content and cinematic universes, sequels, spinoffs, and offshoots have become the norm. But this lucrative concept is hardly a new one. While many of these attempts to expand an existing franchise have backfired in epic fashion, some have turned out to be better than the originals! On this Supercut, we get into the age-old Hollywood art of milking the cash cow... and...

He is Loki, of Asgard, and he is burdened with glorious purpose! After escaping The Avengers with the help of the Tesseract, the God of Mischief finds himself in the crosshairs of the mysterious TVA - an organization that exists beyond time and space. As things unravel, Loki soon realizes that there is more to his existence than he could have ever imagined. In this episode, we review Marvel Studio...

Chuck a bunch of people together in a confined space, whether a remote island, a hyper-surveilled house, or a mansion vying for love. Add some abrasive personalities, a large incentive, and dramatic twists and turns, and watch the sparks fly! That was a tried and true recipe for reality television for a long time. But in the decades since Big Brother, reality TV has also come to encompass the Kard...

After making his name for decades as a wildly popular and polarising TV host, a motorhead and a know-it-all, Jeremy Clarkson's latest venture is... becoming a farmer? Officially one of the highest rated programs on Amazon Prime, Clarkson's Farm highlights the struggles and highlights of someone diving headfirst into a new life, and grappling with things like climate change, stubborn sheep, and str...

What if your life wasn't your life? What if instead, everything around you, every moment, was engineered to evoke reactions, to create a story - one that was then broadcast around the world? This is the premise of Peter Weir's The Truman Show, which starred Jim Carrey in one of his first dramatic turns. 23 years on, we talk about the movie's larger impact, and what it has to say about our fascinat...

Has anything captured our imagination (and our screens) as much as the existence of extraterrestrial life? Whether cute and friendly, or murderous and terrifying, movies about aliens have spanned cinema through almost all genres. In this Supercut, we geek out on our love for movies and TV shows about aliens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In director Steven Soderbergh’s latest foray into the crime genre, the setting is 1954 Detroit, where a group of small-time criminals are hired for a heist that goes terribly wrong. Their search for who hired them and why sends them on a journey that spans every level of the city. The movie stars a whole roster of interesting actors, including Benicio del Toro, Jon Hamm, Don Cheadle, and Bre...

“Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”... from the alien invasion. Didn’t we all cheer when a geek, a pilot, the US President, and a group of unlikely heroes unite to save mankind from being destroyed by an advanced alien race? Twenty-five years after its release, we revisit the Roland Emmerich alien invasion classic, which stars, among others, Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and J...

What makes a crime movie good? Is it the mystery, the thrill of the chase, or the heinousness of the crime itself? Whether it's a heist, a murder, or a procedural, there's something about cracking a case that keeps us glued to our screens. On this Supercut, we get into our favourite crime films and TV shows, as well as the characters and criminals that made them work. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Stealing is bad, but what if the thief is also a gentleman? We'll let you ponder on that question as we review both parts of the critically acclaimed Netflix series, Lupin. Based on the classic story about gentleman thief and master of disguise, Arsène Lupin, this retelling puts the character on a path of revenge with a few plot twists and turns along the way. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

If there was ever a film that defined the word "caper", The Sting would be it. Starring Hollywood heavyweights Robert Redford and Paul Newman, the film went on to sweep The Oscars in 1974 by winning a slew of technical trophies plus Best Picture. In this episode, we take it back to an era rife with con men, gangsters, and scheming criminals - the 70s... and we also review The Sting. See omnystudio...

From hand drawn characters and scenes, to great sweeping CG vistas and almost photorealistic creatures and faces, animation has come a long way. In this episode of Supercut, we talk about what we've gained and lost with technology, what some of our favourites in the genre are, and why animation offers some storytelling possibilities that simply aren't possible elsewhere. See omnystudio.com/listene...

The latest from Pixar, Luca tells the story of a young sea monster who yearns for adventures beyond his childhood home, and finds it by exploring the town of Portorosso with his best friend. Inspired by influences as varied as Federico Fellini and Hayao Miyazaki, and aiming to explore a sense of nostalgia, and what it means to be different, Luca stars Jacob Tremblay and is the feature directorial...

An enchanted tale of a girl trying to find her way through a world of spirits, dragons and folklore, Spirited Away is one of the great Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's most well-known films - and it's celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. We look back at Spirited Away, and all its hand-drawn, dreamy glory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s something special about the things we watched as children - they may not all have been high quality, but they were certainly high on joy. Whether you grew up on Thudercats or Jem, Harry Potter or Hannah Montana, we’re dedicating this episode to pure childhood nostalgia onscreen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel series by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a mysterious virus, where many children are somehow being born hybrids of humans and animals. Against this backdrop, a boy who is half-human and half-deer sets out on a journey to understand his past, with an unlikely protector. We review this latest TV offering, and talk about how...

For those of a particular generation, the tale of 10-year-old Bastian finding his way into the magical land of Fantasia through a mysterious book, is the stuff of beloved childhood nostalgia. Directed by Wolf Petersen, the 1984 movie was groundbreaking in its time for its depiction of a fantasy world and its fascinating characters. We revisit the film and discuss whether it continues to enchant. S...

No one thought this year's sleeper hit would be a cartoon on Amazon Prime, but here we are. Based on the Image Comics series by Robert Kirkman, Invincible is the story of Mark Grayson (Steven Yuen) finally coming into his superpowers. He's also the son of the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), and things are not as simple or as innocent as they seem. We review the ultr...

The signature fedora. The rousing score by John Williams. The iconic crack of the whip. This is where the legend of Indiana Jones began - in Steven Spielberg's 1981 blockbuster, Raiders of the Lost Ark. In this episode, we revisit the pop culture phenomenon that redefined the action-adventure genre, spawned multiple sequels, videogames, and cartoons, and further cemented Harrison Ford as one of th...

Some actors have been gracing our screens now for decades (Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep... even Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise), changing from young ingenue or action hero, to grizzled familiar face and grand dame. In this Supercut, we talk about the experience of watching actors and stars over the years, and how their careers and signature moves change and shift with time and trends. See omnystudio.com/...

Everyone loves a hero. Whether they're squeaky clean like Superman or slightly more questionable like John Rambo, we enjoy watching these characters kick *bleep*, take names, and look good while doing it. But is that all a hero is? On this Supercut, we discuss our favorite heroic archetypes and what makes them tick, the difference between a hero and a regular protagonist, and why some of these cha...

The One Where They Get Back Together... Friends: The Reunion is the on-screen manifestation of something fans have been asking for years: give us more of Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey. This special reunites the gang after 17 years, to reminisce and talk about their experiences making one of the most successful shows of all time. We discuss whether this reunion is everything we'd...

Based on Stephen King's novella, Stand By Me is many things: a classic coming-of-age adventure story, a look at childhood friendships and how they shift and change, and even a study on the weight of grief. Anchored in a group of friends hiking in the woods to find a dead body, this Rob Reiner-helmed film stars 80s icons Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell and Kiefer Sutherl...

If there’s one genre that refuses to stay dead, it’s the zombie flick. For all that it’s about reanimated corpses, zombies have been reimagined on screen across genres - everything from horror to romance to comedy. For this week’s Supercut, we dissect the zombie film and talk about the unique pleasures of watching flesh-eating creatures on screen. See omnystudio.com/listene...