Popcorn Culture

One of many movies to have fallen victim to 2020’s schedule changes, Soul is Pixar’s latest release and the first to have an African-American main character. Building on Inside Out’s experimental feel, it explores what happens after death, and before life, combining metaphysics, spirituality, jazz, and Pixar’s signature bittersweet touch. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! In this episode of Throwback Tuesday, we’re celebrating Tim Burton’s 1988 classic that saw Michael Keaton’s star turn as the eponymous poltergeist. Blending comedy, fantasy, and an unforgettable use of Harry Belafonte’s music, this movie was (and remains) a strange, affecting, visually stunning exploration of the afterlife. See omnystu...

New Year's Eve is ripe ground for storytelling, with its sense of possibility, anticipation and change. In this episode of Throwback Tuesday, we look at a selection of movies that have used this particular day as a springboard for their narratives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After several postponements and then migrating to a streaming service, one of 2020’s supposed biggest releases has finally made it to SOME cinemas. We review the much-awaited sequel to 2017’s “Wonder Woman”, with Gal Gadot returning to wield the Lasso of Truth, alongside Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, and Pedro Pascal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With cinemas mostly closed in 2020, watching television shows at home took on a whole new dimension. We look back at the variety of programming that has been on offer, and all the different stories we had to keep us company. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have our favourite watches we turn to, when we need to feel better. The screen equivalent of Linus's blanket, if you will. Whether it's comedies, the familiar strains of musicals, childhood favourites, or the explosions of big action sequences, we'll be talking about it all - from movies to television, and everything in between. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blockbusters have been few and far between this year, but some have made their way to our cinemas nonetheless (and are now available to watch at home). We run through some of the big titles that premiered in 2020, including some that we (and perhaps you) might have missed, including Vanguard, Peninsula, New Mutants, Mulan and of course,Tenet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mawwiage. My name is Inigo Montoya. As you wish. The Princess Bride is chock-full of quotable quotes, and is a classic for a reason. In this episode of Throwback Tuesday, we look at Rob Reiner's 1987 fantasy comedy classic, and discuss whether it really is the ultimate feel-good movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood loves a good retelling of a true story, and so do we. Whether it's the story of legendary rock icons, revolutionary presidents, or historical figures who were previously overlooked, a film based on real-life events has the power to be moving, uplifting, and even educational. But true stories also bring out the worst in Hollywood. Creative license, historical inaccuracies, and poor castin...

Citizen Kane is widely regarded as the most must-see film in Hollywood history. But behind the scenes, there was enough drama unfolding to rival its on-screen counterpart. Adding to Citizen Kane's strange and illustrious mythology is Mank - a film directed by David Fincher and written by his late father, Jack Fincher, nearly a decade ago. Mank explores 1930s Hollywood through the lens of Herman J....

What's in the box??!!! Dark, disturbing, and sinfully captivating, David Fincher's Se7en remains one of Hollywood's most popular crime thrillers to this day. David Mills (Brad Pitt), a young detective who's new in town, is paired with Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a veteran on his retirement leg, to solve a series of grisly murders modeled after the seven deadly sins. In this episode, we...

Starlord grooving to “Hooked on a Feeling”. Marty McFly rocking out onstage to “Johnny B. Goode”. Little Olive performing an inappropriate dance to “Super Freak” at a children’s beauty pageant. On this week’s Supercut, we put our headphones on and belt out (metaphorically) our favourite songs and soundtracks from film and TV, and talk about why some...

Directed by Ron Howard, Hillbilly Elegy explores the idea of the American dream by looking at three generations of a lower-income family in Ohio; the story centres around a Yale law student (played by Gabriel Basso) who is forced to return to his family after a family emergency. Based on a memoir by J.D. Vance, the movie also stars Glenn Close, Amy Adams, Haley Bennett, and Freida Pinto. We review...

Puteri Gunung Ledang, Malaysia’s first-ever big budget film production was epic in every way: from its period fantasy setting to the star-studded cast. The 2004 film, directed by Saw Teong Hin and starring Tiara Jacquelina, M. Nasir and Adlin Aman Ramlie, was adapted from the Malay legend of the mysterious princess who lived on Mount Ledang, and a Malacca sultan’s efforts to woo her. W...

Stay home and stay safe has been a motto and a rallying cry for many in 2020 - but that also means that the new experiences and sights that travel affords us have been off limits. Which is why this episode focuses on the escape that cinema and entertainment can give! We run through some of our favourite watches for when we want to leave the walls of our home and explore the world (and maybe even b...

Fitting for a show that focuses on possibly the most privileged family in the world, The Crown is also one of the most expensive shows ever made. And this budget emerges in its lavish sets and outfits, and careful attention to period detail, as it chronicles the royal family through various decades. But within the aesthetics, lies the story of a family with drama, class and power struggles - and t...

Telling the story of a wartime king, and a different path towards leadership and courage, The King's Speech turns 10 this year. We revisit this story of a famous stammer, and Colin Firth's Oscar-winning turn and also explore the power of the grey pound/dollar/ringgit when it comes to movies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's all the rage - all the Cage on today's Supercut as we celebrate the career of the man, the myth, the legend... Nicolas Cage! Whether he's screaming about bees in the critically panned remake of the Wicker Man or winning Academy Awards for his captivating work, there's no one who can match the manic, eclectic energy that's so signature to Nic Cage. We talk about Cage's biggest hits and misses,...

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, The Witches is about an orphaned boy who flees a rural town with his grandmother in order to escape a group of diabolical witches. Trouble is, the duo are then faced with the worst witch of them all - The Grand High Witch, played by Anne Hathaway. In this episode, we review HBO's latest feature-length offering, The Witches, and discuss if this whimsical live-action...

Leaving Las Vegas has been called many things - powerful, dark, and poignant. It's also the movie that rewarded Nicolas Cage with an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his visceral performance as Ben Sanderson. In this episode, we're taking it back to 1995 and revisiting Sanderson's fateful one-way trip to Vegas, where he meets Sera, a prostitute, and moves in with her. We also dis...

What do Harrison Ford, Bill Pullman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jamie Foxx have in common? They’ve all stepped into the (fictional) shoes of the United States’ commander-in-chief. With all the recent suspense of the US elections, and Joe Biden now declared the next president, we look at the various avatars American presidents have taken on screen - and why some of these roles have become...

After his movie debut 14 years ago, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat is back - and this time, it’s in a world that almost seems too bizarre even by his standards. This time around, the fictional Kazakh journalist and television personality travels through America with his daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) during the COVID-19 pandemic and run-up to the 2020 presidential election. We review the f...

If there was one Tamil movie that sent scores of young hearts afluttering in the early 2000s, it was Alaipayuthey. Directed by Mani Ratnam, one of India’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers, the movie tells the story of a pair of young lovers (played by Madhavan and Shalini) who elope, only to realise marriage might not be a bed of roses. Critically acclaimed for capturing a realistic l...

Telling the true story of the Chicago Seven, a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines in 1969, The Trial of the Chicago 7 sees its writer and director Aaron Sorkin returning to the courtroom for a dramatic setting. It also boasts an all-star ensemble cast, including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. We discuss whether...

The first man to utter the famous line, order a martini shaken not stirred, and given that license to kill, Sean Connery was, for many, the ultimate James Bond. But more than that, he was also a true Hollywood icon, and someone who gave varied, interesting and dynamic performances in a bid to grow further away from the role he was best known for and create new opportunities for himself. In this ep...