Popcorn Culture

This week, we review another double bill of Stuff We Missed – TV edition. First up is the gritty crime-thriller set in Matt Reeves’ Gotham City and centred around the iconic Batman villain, The Penguin. And then, we move on to the most expensive animated series of all time, Arcane, an adaptation of the hit video game League of Legends. After that on Take Two, we discuss some of our favourite TV sh...

8 years after the first movie, Moana 2 is hitting the big screen, and sees our heroine reunited with some familiar faces, while fighting new foes. With Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles as Moana and Maui respectively, this was a movie that was originally conceived as a limited series - so how does it fare as a feature film? We discuss that, before continuing to ask a larger qu...

Based on the famed musical that tells the story of Glinda and Elphaba (the Good Witch of the North, and the Wicked Witch of the West respectively) in the Land of Oz, Wicked: Part I is a much-anticipated movie, not least because of the musical firepower in its cast and the credentials of its director Jon M. Chu. We kick things off by reviewing the film, and whether we’re looking forward to Part II,...

Ridley Scott returns with Gladiator II, a sequel to his 2000 classic that nobody asked for but we’re all excited for nonetheless. Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, the film promises a fresh and intense journey into the brutal and captivating world of ancient Rome. We discuss if it lives up to the original, then on Take Two, talk about some of our favourite sequels of all ti...

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans team up for Red One, an action-packed Christmas-themed film from Jumanji director, Jake Kasdan. Johnson stars as the North Pole’s Head of Security, who teams up with a rebellious “naughty list” tracker played by Evans to save Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) from a mysterious kidnapping. We review the film and then on Take Two discuss our favourite action-comedies and fina...

With the 4th season of OMITB newly wrapped up, we share our thoughts on the latest instalment of the cosiest murder crime podcast show around. From its jam-packed cast of Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Jane Lynch (and even more guest stars), to its clever writing, there’s a lot to love. Then on Take Two, we discuss what are some of the movies and shows that have...

It’s the week of Deepavali! In light of that, we’re reviewing a Tamil film, specifically director Ram’s 2019 family drama, Peranbu. It stars Mammootty and follows the journey of a single father raising his daughter with cerebral palsy. After that on Take Two, we discuss what we like to watch during festival seasons and close off with the B-Side, where we look at one of composer Yuvan Shankar Raja’...

After the success of 2022’s Smile, writer-director Parker Finn is back with a sequel in which Naomi Scott plays Skye Riley, a pop star working through trauma and a difficult past, who finds herself ensnared and haunted by a series of increasingly horrifying and disturbing events. We start off by reviewing the movie, and discuss whether - in essence - we found it scary. Then, we move on to asking w...

This week, we’re reviewing a double bill of Stuff We Missed: movies that premiered earlier in the year, that we didn’t get to at the time. First up, the Thai tearjerker How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Pat Boonitipat’s film about a university dropout who cares for his dying grandma with ulterior motives. And then we move on to Inside Out 2, which sees Riley at the age of 13, dealing with...

Joaquin Phoenix is back reprising his role as the iconic DC Comics villain in Joker: Folie A Deux, the highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s Joker, which received critical acclaim, smashed the box office and was celebrated by fans too. The sequel which also stars Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, promises to be just as quirky, thrilling and deeply disturbing as the first. We discuss if we agree with the 12...

Based on the book series of the same name, The Wild Robot explores the themes of survival, discovery and connection, through the story of Roz, a robot that’s shipwrecked on a deserted island, who then has to adapt to these new surroundings. We discuss this critically acclaimed movie, that’s also likely to be the last Dreamworks movie done in-house, before expanding the conversation to look at othe...

Blumhouse is back with another horror outing, this time it’s Speak No Evil, a remake of the 2018 acclaimed Danish film. The 2024 film is directed by James Watkins and stars James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis. We discuss if the film lives up to the original, and then in Take Two talk about remakes that worked (or didn’t) and finally on The B-Side explore the music of horror trailers. Image Credit: IM...

After a very long and circuitous road to being made, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out! The sequel to the original 1988 film sees the return of Tim Burton (of course), but also most of the main players: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, along with new additions Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, among others. We discuss this much-anticipated sequel and whether it’s a return to form for B...

It’s a slow week in cinema releases, but there’ve been a slew of movies that either never made it to the big screen here in Malaysia (or that we didn’t get to review), including The Holdovers, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, so we’re discussing them all and dissecting which one is worth watching and re-watching. Then on Take Two, we’re looking at the movies we wish...

With Merdeka just around the corner, we’re having an all-Malaysian episode today! Kicking off with a review of Amanda Nell Eu’s much-lauded Tiger Stripes, in its full form on Netflix, before segueing into a discussion about the best that Malaysian film has to offer, before we close off with The B-Side as always. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Alien franchise rolls on with its latest instalment, this time as a standalone interquel that takes place in between the events of Alien and Aliens, when young space colonists encounter a xenomorph, while scavenging on an abandoned space station. Helmed by Fede Alvarez, it’s a highly anticipated movie especially following the (relative) disappointments of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. We dis...

M. Night Shyamalan’s back with his latest high-concept thriller: this time about a serial killer trapped at a concert with his daughter, as the walls and law enforcement close in. We discuss whether this Josh Hartnett-led vehicle works, and whether the nepo baby accusations are warranted. Then on Take Two, we discuss the directors who are either the main draw for watching something, or the reason...

The second season of House of the Dragon is done and dusted, with the tensions between the Greens and the Blacks at an all time high and more glorious dragon battles. We discuss the entire season before getting into the question of on screen kings & queens on Take Two and closing it off with another one of Ramin Djawadi’s iconic themes from the franchise on B-Side.  Image Credit: IMDb See...

Carmy and the gang are back, cousins! Each season of The Bear has had its own unique flavours and travails, and Season 3 picks up exactly where we left off, with the crew of the newly formed restaurant on the search for their menu, and a good review. We discuss how this season stands up against the earlier ones, and then since the awards (and some viewers) keep insisting that The Bear is a comedy,...

Everyone’s favourite motor mouthed masked hero is back, partnered (for real this time) with a well-loved cigar-smoking Adamantium-clawed member of the X-Men! In other words, this week we’re reviewing Deadpool & Wolverine, and discussing whether this heavily anticipated reuniting of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman lives up to the hype. Then on Take Two, we discuss the moments when other actors h...

New FBI agent Lee Harker finds themselves tangled in the dark web of a Satanic serial killer known as Longlegs, played by the ever eccentric Nicolas Cage. We review the film, before reflecting on our favourite horror films on Take Two and then closing it off with Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score from Psycho. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

House of the Dragon is back with its second season, and with all the hallmarks that have come to characterise Westeros: intense, twisted relationships, endless battles both literal and figurative, and more dragons than you can shake a stick at. We catch up with HotD Season 2 - or at least all the episodes that have dropped so far - before getting into the question of power struggles on screen in T...

Popcorn Culture is back, with some changes in the lineup and the show, and we’re kicking things off with a review of the latest installment in the A Quiet Place series, A Quiet Place: Day One. After that, we move on to hearing from folks about the movies and shows they've enjoyed the most in 2024 - so far at least - before capping off with a deep dive into Bobby Darrin’s Beyond The Sea, which play...

All good trilogies need a big finale, so for the third time, we're celebrating music on screeen, and talking about our favourite needle drops, famous film composers, and the movie songs and soundtracks that we just can't stop listening to. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The TV landscape is an immensely crowded one these days, with new shows dropping every few days, and often, disappearing into the ether just as quickly. Despite that, 2023 proved to be a strong year for TV viewers, whether with adaptations that managed to capture fans both old and new (The Last of Us, One Piece), ongoing shows that kept raising the bar (The Bear, Succession), or unexpected new hit...