PopCult Podcast

This episode features two films that explore ideas of gender & society but in wildly different ways and styles. For our first film, we journey to Lahore, Pakistan where we enter the world of erotic theater where transgender women perform on stage. Then it's over to a land of make believe where toys come to life and face the complex problems of the real world. Ariana and Seth watched Joylan...

It's tough for ladies out there. Whether its trying to commute to work in the midst of French transit strikes or handling the trauma of being a cannibal in your formative years, women are being asked to balance a lot. Ariana & Seth watched the wildly intense Full Time and the darkly comic first two seasons of Yellowjackets. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so...

Two new 2023 releases are spotlighted in this episode. One is a period piece about a lesbian teacher in 1980s England dealing with the pressure of staying closeted to keep her job. The other is a contemporary comedy about an author who overhears her husband saying he doesn't like her work. Ariana & Seth watched Blue Jean and You Hurt My Feelings and share their thoughts on the movies. If y...

Love is in the air this week on the PopCult Podcast. Our first film explores the power dynamics between a wealthy hotel heir and his ambitious dominatrix. The second film is about love blossoming between two young people in modern London. Ariana & Seth watched Sanctuary and Rye Lane and want to talk about them. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon -...

It's all about the girls in book adaptations this week's episode. One is a beloved coming of age novel that has been the subject of much censorship since it was published over 50 years ago. The other is a remix of a classic horror novel set in America and about the scourge of death in poor communities. Ariana and Seth watched Are You There God? It's Me Margaret and The Angry Black Girl...

From the present, we have a film about a struggling artist trying to determine if she has anything of value to say and where she fits in with the larger art community. From the past, it's a film about falling in love but with some heavily problematic messages and weird stalker-ish, parasocial behavior. Ariana and Seth watched Showing Up and Sleepless in Seattle for this episode. If you would l...

It's birthday time for two movie releases from the past. One signaled the weak spots in a mega movie star's career. The other was the first steps of a comedy star who would dominate the 1980s. Ariana and Seth watched Last Action Hero and Trading Places and talk about them on their respective anniversaries this episode. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at o...

Whether your family are a quasi-cult of car ninjas, a media empire owning cluster of ghouls, or living in a doublewide on the plains homeschooling via YouTube this episode has what you are looking for. Ariana and Seth watched Fast X as well as the fourth & final seasons of Succession and Barry. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠htt...

A couple of quirky offbeat films make up our pair for this episode. One tells the story of the rise & fall of the most popular cellphone before the iPhone came along. The second is surreal, dreamlike, unsettling odyssey through suburbia Ariana and Seth talk BlackBerry and Ham on Rye. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.pat...

Completely unintended, this episode ended up being about the horrors of motherhood. Our first flick is a debut from a Mexican director that explores a mother-to-be's anxieties manifesting as a curse over he life. The second is a new entry in a beloved horror franchise that puts us in a new setting & centers the horror around one family. Ariana and Seth talk Huesera: The Bone Woman and Evil...

It's attack of the IPs in this cineplex double feature. One movie is a spin-off of a trilogy of animated films which themselves have become an ongoing meme. The other is an adaptation of a beloved tabletop game using Marvel flavoring for every element in the movie. Ariana and Seth talk about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. If you would like to supp...

Europe is producing some fantastic films these days and today we spotlight two of them. In one film, a young boy finds his friendship with another boy questioned by their peers leading to a fatal outcome. In the other, a writer attends the court trial of a woman accused of infanticide and in turn discovers truths about her own relationship with her mother. Ariana and Seth talk about Close and Sain...

Young people these days get up to all sorts of crazy things. Some kids in NYC are going to school & trying to avoid attacks from a serial killer. Then you have these kids in Texas blowing up a damn oil pipeline. Zoomers, amirite? Ariana and Seth talk about Scream 6 and How To Blow Up a Pipeline. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https:/...

One is the story of a mysterious man carrying guns in his guitar case & out for revenge. The other is the tale of a Spanish priest attempting to get into the Devil's good graces on the night the Antichrist is to be born. Ariana and Seth talk about Desperado and The Day of The Beast. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patre...

New York based director Abel Ferrara left Hollywood and came back to his NYC indie roots in 1995 by directing a very...um, pretentious vampire movie. This was also the same year the creator of Akira got an anime anthology devoted to three of his stories. Ariana and Seth talk about The Addiction and Memories. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

1995 was a year with some wildly diverse films. For instance, this week we have a Gus Van Sant picture that wants to comment on the media & celebrity. The other is probably the most controversial film you've never heard of and is about the collapse of Yugoslavia done as a slapstick comedy. Ariana and Seth talk about To Die For and Underground. If you would like to support the show & th...

We're continuing our flashback to 1995 with a very talky film about a bunch of white people (that narrows it down) as well as one of the "lesser" works of a Hong Kong filmmaking master. Ariana & Seth talk about Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming as well as Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do so at our Patreon -...

We're going back to 1995 for April to watch & re-watch some fantastic films. Our first picture is a darkly comic examination of life in the East Coast suburbs. Our second film is a French crime-drama that moves at a breakneck speed and is a perfect piece of cinema. Ariana & Seth are talking about Welcome to the Dollhouse & La Haine. If you would like to support the show & the b...

Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows wasn't considered exceptional at the time of its release but successive generations of filmmakers certainly knew what a fantastic picture it was. In this episode, Ariana & Seth discuss the two most prominent remakes of that film. The first is a German New Wave film about inter-generational & interracial love by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The sec...

Brits & music, two things that go together surprisingly well. In today's episode of the podcast, Ariana & Seth talk the Who rock opera Quadrophenia and Todd Haynes's tribute to glam rock & queerness Velvet Goldmine. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do at our Patreon - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/popcultblog⁠ You can visit our website at PopCult Reviews...

Two unsettling films. One is a stop motion anthology centered around the same house and the horrors that await its occupants. The other is dread-filled exploration of the way modern life sickens us. Ariana and Seth talk about The House and Safe. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do at our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/popcultblog You can visit our website at PopCult...

A family comes to terms that they are losing the land they have farmed for two generations. A queer director expresses his frustration in three fragmented narratives. Ariana and Seth talk about Alcarràs and Poison. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do at our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/popcultblog You can visit our website at PopCult Reviews - https://www.popcult.b...

An African action film inspired by Sergio Leone and The Evil Dead? Yup. A smoldering love story of gay cowboys who can't quit each other? Got that too.  Ariana and Seth talk about Saloum and Brokeback Mountain. Plus, the first edition of our PopCult Picks. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do at our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/popcultblog   You can visit...

Love can be painful in a myriad of ways, whether you're on a weekend date with a serial killer or feeling yourself growing closer to the spouse of the person your own spouse is having an affair. Damn, it's complicated. Ariana & Seth talk all about the hallucinatory horror of A Wounded Fawn and the aching beauty of In the Mood For Love.  If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do a...

Bob Odenkirk is a man of many faces. Today we talk about two of them. Seth and Ariana finally watched all of Better Call Saul and got tons to say. Plus we talk about Odenkirk's action movie debut in Nobody. If you would like to support the show & the blog you can do at our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/popcultblog You can visit our website at PopCult Reviews - https://www.popcult.blog Make...