Popcorn Culture

From the lightning-in-a-bottle craze that was Barbenheimer to awards contenders like Napoleon and Killers of the Flower Moon, 2023 turned out to be a stacked year for movies, especially those in cinemas. Despite two historic Hollywood strikes that shook-up the industry for good, the year saw heavyweight filmmakers like Nolan, Scorcese, Fincher and Scott produce some of their most intriguing works,...

Long before its release, Pendatang was making headlines, and for good reason too: it's billed as Malaysia's first fully crowdfunded movie (in part, so that it would also be free for all to watch), it's premiering on Youtube (in part, for wide distribution but also to sidestep issues of censorship), and it has an intriguing premise. It's a dystopian thriller, based in a version of Malaysia where di...

Directed by Jin Ong, Abang Adik has been making the rounds at film festivals and garnering acclaim along the way. The film explores themes that are familiar to many Malaysians: inequality, urban living, and family, through the story of two undocumented orphans living in Malaysia, Abang and Adik. While Abang tries to eke out an honest but modest living, Adik has different dreams - and then an event...

A new Hayao Miyazaki film is always a treat, especially since The Boy and the Heron comes after a 10-year gap since his last. The story revolves around a 12-year-old boy struggling to deal with his mother's death, when a talking heron tells him she's still alive and leads him to a magical world. We review the movie, celebrate the joys of hand-drawn animation, and discuss that Miyazaki magic touch....

Adapted from the wildly popular Japanese anime, this live action series managed to achieve that rare feat: the approval of the original's fans. Set in a fantastical world of oceans, islands, and pirates, the series tells the story of Monkey D. Luffy, who dreams of finding the ultimate treasure and becoming a Pirate King - and along the way, amasses an unlikely crew of friends, each with their own...

Wonka gave us the origin story of Willy Wonka. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes told us how President Snow, and the Hunger Games, came to be. Whose origin story do we want to see next, and whose origins are best left to uncertainty? In this Supercut, we go through some of our favourite characters and if we want to see their stories expanded. We also discuss if some not-so-interesting characters...

Did we need a whole movie about Willy Wonka's backstory? Probably not, but it's hard to be cynical about anything by Paul King, director of the heartwarming smash hits, Paddington and Paddington 2. Starring Timothee Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka and Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, the movie aims to explain how an ordinary man with big dreams became the eccentric owner of the world's most legendar...

The cat. The bat. The penguin. In the spirit of the holidays, we're throwing back to 1992's Batman Returns - the much anticipated yet highly controversial sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster, Batman. With Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne and show-stealing performances by Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle and Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot, Batman Returns amplifies the gothic e...

You talkin' to me?  I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.  We were on a break!  Some lines are just imminently quotable... but which movies and shows actually top the list of being quoted most often (and let's face it, often out of context). That's what we explore in this week's Supercut, along with what makes a good quotable line, and why some endure over others.  Imag...

A teen/high school comedy with a twist, Bottoms is all about two unpopular queer teenagers (Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott), who inadvertently start a fight club in order to get the cheerleaders of their dreams. Taking its cues from Wet Hot American Summer, Bring It On and Heathers, it was a hit at the festival circuit. Now that it's made its way to our (streaming) shores, we take a look and discu...

We're breaking both the first and second rule of Fight Club this week, as we throwback to this modern classic from David Fincher. Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, Fight Club explored male disenfranchisement, the disconnectedness of capitalist life, and mental health, in a highly stylised, highly violent and lurid way. We explore how the film has aged, and also discuss the many similar mo...

The premise of today’s Supercut is simple: if you could, what movie would you like to make? Would it be a quirky indie feature with up-and-coming actors, a big blockbuster action movie, a dark, futuristic rumination on humanity, or a laugh-out-loud comedy? Or something else entirely? The sky’s the limit, so we discuss our dream screen projects. Image Credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

A Ridley Scott film comes with certain expectations: epic scale, larger-than-life characters, and lots of bombast. Napoleon certainly ticks all the boxes. The movie reunites Jaoquin Phoenix with the director, in the titular role as the famed French commander who ascends to the throne, and the plot examines his story through his relationship with the woman who is said to be his one true love, Josep...

Based on the book of the same name, this prequel to the phenomenally successful Hunger Games franchise tells the story of 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), years before he becomes the dictator of Panem. Snow is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12 as the 10th annual Hunger Games quickly approaches. We discuss The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and how it add...

Loki, Morbius, Sylvie and the TVA return for another round of time-hopping, reality-altering shenanigans, following the events of the critically acclaimed first season. While not as bombastic as its predecessor, Season 2 sheds new light on our timeless characters in arguably one of the best stories in a post-Endgame MCU. We review the second season of Loki and discuss the titular character's glori...

Every decade of filmmaking has its own mores and boundaries of what's acceptable, or okay to say and do. But in recent times. we've seen people revisiting some classics and pointing out some problematic storylines or behaviours, as well as major studios making a point to - at least on the surface - highlight diversity and inclusivity. But that hasn't come without pushback as well, particularly fro...

Neither Phase Four nor Five of Marvel's releases have been hugely popular among fans and moviegoers, so the question is: where will The Marvels land? Featuring Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani's Ms Marvel, and with a plot that hinges on their powers becoming entangled with one another, The Marvels is a movie that comes with a fair amount of baggage, bu...

The latest from David Fincher sees him returning to well-trodden ground: an action thriller about an assassin (played by Michael Fassbender) who gets involved in an international manhunt after a job goes badly wrong. Some have said this is one of Netflix's best films this year, and with the talent of both Fincher and Fassbender (and bonus Tilda Swinton), the odds are good. We review it and discuss...

From films that crawl at a snail's pace, to movies where lots of things happen but somehow none of it matters, there's a lot to explore when it comes to what makes a cinema visit simply... boring. In this episode, we talk about some of our favourite (and least favourite!) boring movies, and try to unpack what makes them tick.  Image credit: IMDb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Described as a science fiction romance, this movie revolves around controversial new technology that allows couples to test their relationship for true love. But what happens when you find yourself in love with more than one person? The cast is packed with interesting names, including Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White, Riz Ahmed, and Annie Murphy. We review the film.  Image credit: IMDb See...

We missed out on reviewing Shahrukh Khan’s latest megahit when it was in the cinemas, but we’re all locked and loaded for the big streaming release. Jawan sees the King Khan pairing up with buzzy Tamil director Atlee Kumar, for a movie that is big on action and drama, with a bunch of hit songs that have become viral hits - and a story that revolves around a mysterious vigilante who seems out to pr...

Some films - and shows - come with crazy high expectations, whether it's because it's an epic culmination of decades-long buildup (Avengers Assemble, The Rise of Skywalker), the reunion of major stars and directors (De Niro and Pacino, anyone?), or just the latest blockbuster from a serious filmmaker (Oppenheimer). And frankly, sometimes those expectations are met and exceeded - but other times, i...

Based on the ultra-popular 2014 videogame, Five Nights At Freddy's tells the story of a security guard (Josh Hutcherson) who starts working the night shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Things get crazy when the restaurant's mascots come to life and have violent ideas of their own. We review Five Nights At Freddy's and discuss its quirky horror vibes, the state of videogame adaptations, and if thi...

To millions of people around the world, Matthew Perry will always be Chandler (Muriel) Bing: king of sarcasm, transponster, one half of Mondler, and the love of Joey Tribbiani's life. And it was a mark of how many lives he had touched when news of Perry's death on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54, resulted in a huge outpouring of tributes and grief. Offscreen, Perry was open about his struggles...

From the more than 21 hour runtime of Amra Ekta Cinema Banabo (purportedly the longest non-experimental feature film ever made) to the more common, but still challenging 4 hour duration for the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings films, many movies pose a challenge to film lovers. In essence: how long is too long? When does a film's runtime become a turn-off? When is it justified? In this S...