Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

Mark and Al share their mutual interest in fantasy novels. Is "high fantasy" fundamentally different than what enjoyed as kids? Did Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and HBO's Game of Thrones show us that these big books are adaptable, or were they exceptions? We're anticipating the upcoming Mistborn/Cosmere adaptations , as we're both into Brandon Sanderson. We also talk about  The Wheel of Time...

In light of The Mandalorian and Grogu (and the Disney+ Darth Maul cartoon), we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) check back in with Star Wars . Is it now "just another franchise"? Does the movie meet expectations? What's the right volume of Star Wars media? Are the cartoons good? What variety of creators and genres is there room for? Should anyone bother with the books and comics? Get more at pre...

In light of the new, well-acted and well-shot BBC/Netflix adaptation, we discuss William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and its previous (1963, 1991) adaptations. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. What do we think of the updates made for this retelling? Its pacing? Its repeated close-up shots of kids' silent faces? Is this per usual obviously inferior to the novel, or does it actu...

We discuss the career of Meryl Streep in light of The Devil Wears Prada 2 , insofar as we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) have a hold of it; she's been in over 65 films! Is she really the best actor on the planet? Did Prada need a sequel? We all brought in our own experiences with her catalog, touching on Sophie's Choice , Kramer vs. Kramer , A Cry in the Dark , Adaptation , The Iron Lady , Dea...

We discuss Steven Knight's six-seasons-and-a-movie historical crime show Peaky Blinders , featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Does the show live up to its initial excellence? It's got a great emotional premise (post-WWI PTSD), and there's a ridiculous amount of gravitas among the cast, but do the heists undermine this heft? It's OK if you haven't seen the show; we hold off on spoilers for...

We discuss the hard sci-fi film Project Hail Mary , which along with The Martian (2015) was based on a novel by Andy Weir and adapted by Drew Goddard. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al consider how hard we actually like our sci-fi, the directors of these films (by Lord/Miller and Ridley Scott respectively), how the books got adapted, Weir's other work ( Artemis , some webcomics, etc.), and more. How...

We talk about the Scream meta-slasher film franchise, from the original Wes Craven /Kevin Williamson 1996 debut starring Neve Campbell, and Courtney Cox to the new one (#7), still with three out of four of those participants (Wes Craven being dead). Is the self-reflection about the horror genre in these films actually elevating, or just a permission structure to enjoy the base pleasure of seeing p...

In light of Judd Apatow's HBO documentary The 99-Year-Old Man , we discuss the films of Mel Brooks, which were to varying degrees formative on us (i.e. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al). Get more at  prettymuchpop.com . Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at  patreon.com/prettymuchpop . Sponsors : Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp . Visit squarespace.co...

In light of the now-completed black history month and the upcoming Oscars, we consider the "Oscars So White" issue that was a hot topic about a decade ago. We all tried to watch some of the Oscar-nominated films by black creators, like Twelve Years a Slave , Moonlight , Judas and the Black Messiah , Boyz in Da Hood , et al. What makes for a critically lauded drama in this genre? Does a film have t...

When we don't know much about some genius playwright's life, why not make up some things based on the contents of his plays? Maybe put Shakespearean dialogue right in character's mouths, so the audience will say, "hey, I remember that line!" Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk through the Chloe Zhao Oscar-bait historical drama, Hamnet , and its source, the 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell. Is the...

We're discussing Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central show that premiered in 1997 and has just finished its politically relevant 28th season, featuring the usual crew: Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. How can a show be so juvenile yet so apparently well thought out?e get into the evolution of the show,, the equal-opportunity offensive humor, the use of child characters to deliver it, their...

The Netflix sci-fi/horror/teen series by the Duffer Brothers that started in 2016 has now finished with its sixth season, attempting to be both epic and sentimental. Who is this show actually aimed at? We talk about the initial appeal through various uneven seasons through the execution of the finale. Has the thing gone on so long that we can't make sense out of the continuity. Featuring, as usual...

The Hallmark Channel became famous for producing low-budget, formulaic Christmas films, and this has spread to other outlets, sometimes with higher budgets and ambitions. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al each watched a smattering of these and share their reflections on the genre and their specific experiences. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/pr...

We discuss the British spy show based on the novels of Mick Herron, which are in turn firmly in a tradition of anti-007 books by John le Carré. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. The point is not to glamorize the spy service, but to use realism and black humor to stress the human cost and general boredom of this work along with the dysfunctional nature of the institutions involved. Get an...

In light of One Battle After Another , Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al walk through the range of his films from his 1996 crime film Hard Eight through his much lauded Magnolia , Boogie Nights , Punch-Drunk Love , and There Will Be Blood and his more controversial recent ones like Licorice Pizza , The Master , The Phantom Thread , and Inherent Vice . Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking f...

In light of Noah Hawley TV show Alien Earth , Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al revisit the franchise through its seven canon films beginning with Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. While there's plenty of sheer repetition (alien loose, killing people one by one) throughout these properties, the various filmmakers attempt to avoid sure repetition by shifting genres. On the new show, we get a pronounced sh...

It's a special two-hander where Mark and Lawrence reflect on the appeal of horror and how the new Monster: Ed Gein Netflix show has to contribute, given that it is not merely a (very loose) presentation of real events, and itself a horror drama, but also a commentary on the Hollywood properties influenced by the Ed Gein murders, including Psycho , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , and Silence of the L...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al watched Spinal Tap and its new sequel, and we throw these into a mix with K-Pop Demon Hunters and other films and shows involving made-for-TV (and film) bands, including We Are Lady Parts , That Thing You Do , Fear of a Black Hat , CB4 , Atlanta , The Blues Brothers , The Commitments , Almost Famous , The Rutles , and The Monkees . Get an ad-free experience, plus b...

For our Emmys/back-to-school episode, we cover the pinnacle of the current network sitcom landscape: The six-time 2025 Emmy nominated Abbott Elementary, which is beginning its fifth season. Mark, Lawrence, Al and West-Philly-resident Sarahlyn discuss the show's Philly-ness and how it integrates cringe humor with realistic depiction of how messed up it is for schools to be so underfunded. Is this a...

What do we expect out of a superhero film? Does it need overqualified dramatic actors? Does it even need a real budget? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the various films modeled after Marvel's Fantastic Four comics initiated by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961.  First Steps is clearly the best of them and surpassed our low expectations, with its delivery of a believable family dynamic and...

What is the state of the stream-of-gags formula that used to stand tall in the films of the Zucker Brothers (mainly Airplane ) and Mel Brooks? A new generation attempts to revive that with a new Naked Gun film. How does this new effort relate to the classic films? Are these kinds of films particularly timeless? Rewatchable? Do young people appreciate this kind of thing? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, a...

In light of the new James Gunn film Superman , Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the character, his stories, and past films and shows. Did Zack Snyder ( Man of Steel ) miss the point? Are the Richard Donner films (chiefly 1978's Superman: The Movie ) as good as nostalgia would have us recall them? How does one write a convincing plot centered around a flawless, basically all-powerful her...

Purported the first summer blockbuster, Jaws has now hit 50 years, and so we discuss this wonderful early Spielberg film, its ill-conceived sequels, some of the making-of docs, and the legacy of shark/big carnivore films that it spawned. Is the film as flawless as it's made out to be? Are the sequels as awful as typically described? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss! Get an ad-free experien...

In light of the new film Ballerina , we discuss the John Wick franchise that kicked off in 2014 with four films plus a (bad) Peacock TV show. We also watched the recent documentary Wick Is Pain . Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by Brian Casey to mostly talk about the main four films in the series: They have a formula, but is that bad? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for th...

In immediate reaction to the Apple TV+ Seth Rogan show The Studio , we talk about Hollywood's obsession with itself and how studio dynamics interfere with what exactly we all get to see. Also, what's with the fascination with old Hollywood? What's the appeal of Hollywood gossip? Erica our first-season co-host returns to join Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hea...