Popcorn Culture

Disappointed by the 2017 Justice League movie? Left wanting more from its lacklustre plot? Have no fear, the Snyder Cut is here! We review the four-hour director’s cut of Justice League, which presents the movie as director Zack Snyder intended it before he departed the production. The film features the coming together of the DC Extended Universe’s major superheroes - Batman (Ben Affle...

More than 40 years after the release of the first Superman movie, many would argue that there still hasn’t been a Man of Steel to equal Christopher Reeve. Directed by Richard Donner, it was also the first major big-budget superhero movie, and paved the way for all the larger-than-life heroes we now have onscreen. Besides Reeve’s career-making turn, the movie also features a stacked cas...

It has (only) been a year since the start of the first MCO, so we decided to look back at how it has changed our viewing, binging, and hate-watching habits. What did we love, what did we waste our time on, and what hidden gems did we discover while endlessly scrolling through the on-demand catalogue? We celebrate all our favorites in the first, and hopefully last, MCO anniversary Supercut. See omn...

Inspired by Southeast Asian folklore, 'Raya and the Last Dragon' takes place in the fantasy land of Kumandra, where an ancient horde known as the Druun have returned. Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), a lone warrior in this dystopia, must track down the only thing that can restore peace in the realm - a legendary dragon named Sisu (Awkwafina). After much hype and anticipation, we review Disney's latest blo...

The Disney Princess has been a staple in pop culture ever since Snow White made her animated debut in 1937. Whether it's Cinderella fleeing the castle at the stroke of midnight, Jasmine flying across a whole new world, or Belle singing shade at the townsfolk, princesses have always been at the core of Disney's greatest stories. On this episode, we geek out over the many iconic princesses from our...

The decade that brought us ET, Marty McFly, Maverick and Goose, Ghostbusters, Footloose and so, so much more, it's continued to have an outsize influence on the movies and television we watch today, especially with the advent of shows that have revisited (hello, Stranger Things). In this Supercut, we look back at the watches that defined the 80s and discuss some favourites. See omnystudio.com/list...

What happens when you revisit teenage heroes and villains after decades, when they're in their 40s? What might have changed, and what has stayed the same? These are some of the questions Cobra Kai asks (and then answers in fine 80s style) - looking at what life has done to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) since The Karate Kid. Beginning its run as a Youtube produc...

Sweep the leg! Finish him! Wax on, wax off. The Karate Kid is an iconic 1980s movie for good reason: teenage romance, action, bullying, a struggle to belong, a wise mentor - it has it all. We look back to the first instalment of this franchise and discuss what made it special. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is it about watching a pill-popping doctor, a gangster with a dubious moral compass, or an ice-cold assassin on screen, that is so deliciously engaging? In this Supercut, we discuss why “unlikelable” characters are often so memorable - and of course, share some of our favourites. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is it about watching a pill-popping doctor, a gangster with a dubious moral compass, or an ice-cold assassin on screen, that is so deliciously engaging? In this Supercut, we discuss why “unlikelable” characters are often so memorable - and of course, share some of our favourites. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returns home to find his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing - and eventually, the suspicion shifts to him. But as the mystery behind Amy’s disappearance unfolds, what unravels is the story of a complicated past and a twisted relationship. Directed by David Fincher and based on the bestselling thriller novel by Gillian Flynn, Gone Gir...

Strange dimensions. Bizarre technology. Futuristic architecture. Science fiction as a genre is home to some of the most influential movies and TV shows of all time. Its imaginative concepts like parallel universes, time travel, and extraterrestrial life have been used throughout the decades to give us shows like Star Trek, The Matrix, and most recently, Tenet. On this Supercut, we geek out about o...

Fashioned after sci-fi landmarks such as Cowboy Bebop and inspired by cult favorites like Firefly, Space Sweepers is considered K-Cinema's first big space opera. In this episode, we join the ragtag crew on Victory, a spaceship tasked with, as the name implies, cleaning debris from space... only to stumble across a 7-year-old girl in a crashed space shuttle. We chat about what Space Sweepers means...

Fashioned after sci-fi landmarks such as Cowboy Bebop and inspired by cult favorites like Firefly, Space Sweepers is considered K-Cinema's first big space opera. In this episode, we join the ragtag crew on Victory, a spaceship tasked with, as the name implies, cleaning debris from space... only to stumble across a 7-year-old girl in a crashed space shuttle. We chat about what Space Sweepers means...

It's 2019 and we're in a technological hellscape. Overpopulated cities are made up of gargantuan structures that look both futuristic and archaic at the same time. Neon is everywhere. And replicants are running wild. Directed by Ridley Scott and based on the legendary works of Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner sees special agent Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) on a mission to hunt down a crew of rogue rep...

Jack and Rose, Riggs and Murtaugh, Han and Chewie, Thelma and Louise - there's no shortage of iconic on-screen pairings, whether romantic or otherwise. We explore some of our favourites and discuss what the magic formula is when it comes to putting two people together and letting the chemistry spark. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first Hollywood production to be written, financed and produced during the pandemic, Malcolm and Marie stars John David Washington and Zendaya as a couple facing a test of their relationship as tensions come to the fore on the night of a big movie premiere. We talk about whether this self-contained romantic drama works, and whether it heralds a new way of making movies in this time of Covid-19...

"I want the truth!" "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" This legendary line has been mimicked, memed, and parodied more times than we can count. But back in 1992, it set a new benchmark for courtroom drama and became one of the most powerful performances that year. On this Throwback Tuesday, we revisit 'A Few Good Men', and discuss how this early-90s classic elevated the unaging Tom Cruise and the ever-...

One of the great romantic comedies, Roman Holiday stars Audrey Hepburn (in a role that she won an Academy Award for) as a princess on an anonymous jaunt, accompanied by Gregory Peck as a journalist on the hunt for a story. In this episode of Throwback Tuesday, we look back at this tender, bittersweet and very funny film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mouthful of Ratatouille. A Chef’s perfectly grilled cheese sandwich. The perfect Chinese dinner as we Eat Drink Man Woman. Food on screen often transcends the mere act of eating, and becomes instead a metaphor, a motif, or even a plot point. In this Supercut, we chew on the ways in which food and eating are used in film and TV, and digest our favourite scenes involving meals. See omnystudi...

With Chinese New Year around the corner in 2021, we could all use some cheering up. So we’re throwing back to a festive staple: All’s Well, End’s Well from 1992. The tale of three brothers going to hilarious lengths to win their parents’ approval for their romances offers both wholesome family fare, as well as a star-studded cast featuring Leslie Cheung, Stephen Chow, Raymo...

For legions of fans around the world, Christopher Plummer is inseparable from Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. However, Plummer already had an acclaimed stage career before the movie, and went on to play a impressive variety of roles on screen - including an Oscar-winning performance in Beginners in 2010 at the age of 82. In this episode, we pay tribute to Christopher Plummer and his body...

It may not have its own category at the Oscars, but watching a comedy is one of the most communal experiences one can have at the movies. From Buster Keaton's pioneering pratfalls and Jim Carrey's outlandish antics, to Tina Fey's whip-smart dialogue and Eddie Murphy's trailblazing sense of humor, there's no genre that has transformed through the years much like comedy. We discuss who and what make...

Seth Rogen plays Herschel Greenbaum, an Eastern European immigrant who gets preserved in a vat of pickles, as you do, only to wake up generations later in modern-day New York. In this episode, we review Brandon Trost's An American Pickle, based on writer Simon Rich's 2013 short film, Sell Out. We also discuss the film's place on a streaming service, and how a plot like this is a throwback to much...