Popcorn Culture

Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho returns with Colony, a zombie thriller in which professor Se-jeong, played by Gianna Jun, is thrust into a nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is unleashed at a biotech conference, sealing the facility and trapping survivors inside. The film premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and marks Yeon's most thematically ambitious genre work yet. Meanwhile, closer to home, Malaysian director Zulkarnain Azhar steps into horror with Polong. Inspired by the real case of Mona Fandey, the film follows an ambitious journalist who uncovers the dark past of a notorious female shaman only to unleash a dangerous entity the shaman once controlled. Then on Take 2, we discuss your favourite types of horror baddies/antagonists.Image Credit: IMDBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Helmed by returning director Simon McQuoid, Mortal Kombat II is the sequel to 2021’s initial return to this video game universe. Expect martial arts hijinks and fantasy as the champions of Earthrealm are (surprise) forced to fight one another even as they attempt to resist the rise of a larger villain, Shao Khan. We discuss whether this installment in the franchise is good old-fashioned action fun, or another video game adaptation dud. Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 2 of The Pitt takes us back to Dr Robby’s emergency department in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, where the team continues to negotiate high stakes medical emergencies, personal conflicts and hurts, and America’s political tensions. So we discuss whether this season lives up to the highs and strengths of the first, before turning our attention to the many doctors who have graced our screens, from Meredith Grey, to JD and Turk, and House… and more.Image Credits: 1MDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Throughout the month of March, The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions were released in Malaysia for the first time in conjunction with the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The Lord of the Rings, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's magnum opus novel of the same name, is, of course, one of the most celebrated film franchises of all time. It's one of the rare franchises that is beloved by the nerdiest of fans, smashed the box office, went on to win 11 Oscars, and still remains incredibly relevant in contemporary pop culture. In this episode, we review the extended editions and discuss whether they still hold up after all these years. Later on Take Two, we celebrate our favourite things about the franchise, be it characters, moments, rousing speeches, music, glorious battle sequences and more.Image Credits: 1MDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Disney Adventure recently setting off on its inaugural sailing, we take you on board and explore the little pop culture nuggets that make the cruise unique - expect cameos from Robert Downey Jr., and lots of Disney music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been one of the most talked-about movies in the awards circuit: Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel about the death of William Shakespeare’s young son, and the grief that ripples through a family. We discuss whether the film earns its tears, and open up the phone lines and ask: what’s a movie or series that always makes you cry?Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we review two films. First up is the new science fiction-comedy by Gore Verbinski, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. It stars Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson and Michael Pena and follows a man from the future who arrives at a diner and must recruit a ragtag crew to save the world from a rogue AI. We also review the latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively. And then on Take 2, we discuss movies and scenes that make us uncomfortable.Image Credits: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After dipping his toes into the MCU, Sam Raimi is back with the genre that made his name - horror (and corresponding squelchiness). In Send Help, Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien go head to head, as a mistreated employee and sexist boss respectively, who get stranded on a desert island together, and need to survive, whether by working together, or turning on one another and emerging victorious. We discuss whether this is a worthy entry into the canon of survival movies, before turning our attention to that genre in Take Two, and asking: What are the best depictions of survival, whether in movies or TV? Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a direct sequel to last year’s installment in the franchise, and sees Alex Garland returning as screenwriter, and Nia DaCosta taking over as director. Filmed back to back with 28 Years Later, it picks up on the story of Ralph Fiennes’ Dr Ian Kelson, and expands on the cult of the Jimmys. We discuss the film (and whether it’s likely to lead to the promised third movie of this trilogy), before then turning our attention to the question of zombies on screen, and who’s done it well/badly.Image Credits: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this double bill episode, we review the newly concluded Season 1 of Apple TV's Pluribus, and discuss whether it has us excited for a second season of this philosophical sci-fi mystery, before turning our attention to the final season of Stranger Things, which sees us bidding goodbye to the denizens of Hawkins, and the Upside Down. Then, we ask the question: What movies and/or shows have really great, satisfying endings?Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We wrap up the year by returning to the simultaneously murderous and cosy setting of Rian Johnson's Knives Out series, with the latest installment, Wake Up Dead Man, which sees Benoit Blanc return to investigate a murder at a small upstate New York church and the close-knit community there. And then since it’s the end of the year, we ask you what were the best series and movies of 2025.Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, it's all about the follow-up to 2016's wildly successful Zootopia, which sees the return of earnest bunny cop Judy Hopps and wily con artist fox Nick Wilde, and the continuation of their unlikely partnership as they go undercover to pursue a new and mysterious reptilian resident Gary De'Snake. And since so much of Zootopia's delights rest in its animal-centred world and setting, we then extend the discussion to ask: What (or who) are your favourite on-screen animal characters?Image Credit: IMDbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.