PopaHALLics

PopaHALLics #145 "Schemers & Dreamers"

In this week's offerings: A businessman trying to con investors, improv actors trying to con criminals, a group hoping to draw attention to black string bands, and cops trying to solve murders despite long odds. Will they succeed or fail? 

In Theaters:

• "The Phoenician Scheme." Writer/director Wes Anderson's latest quirky, deadpan, exquisitely shot dark comedy...

PopaHALLics #144 "Mission ImPOPible"

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to learn if these pop culture offerings are enjoyable: "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning." "Thunderbolts." "Fountain of Youth." "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." "Wolf Man." And more!

In Theaters:

• "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning." In the eighth film in the fra...

PopaHALLics #143 "Pop Go the Generations"

Dad and daughter discuss the thrill of introducing your kid to your childhood pop culture faves. Also: Tina Fey does a series remake of an old Alan Alda/Carol Burnett movie. A documentary looks at Anita Pallenberg, "a rock and roll goddess." And Steve examines the making of the classics "Double Indemnity" and "High Noon."

Streaming:

• "The Four Se...

PopaHALLics #142 "Aren't You Somebody?"

We know the face, but not the name, whether that's members of the Eagles (biography "Life in the Fast Lane") or comedian Martin Short being mistaken for a waiter (memoir "I Must Say"). But being somebody can also apply to coming into your own, whether you're seeking your first orgasm after a terminal diagnosis ("Dying for Sex") or finding ...

PopaHALLics #141 "Sing Me a Song"
A folk duo's pricey gig for one rich prerson. A utopian paradise hiding a dark secret. A serial killer tale: Is it real true-crime or made-up horror? And who IS Kate's favorite Mr. Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice"?

Theaters:

• "The Ballad of Walllis Island," written by Tim Key and Tom Basden and directed by James Griffiths. An eccentric lottery ...

PopaHALLics 140 "Pop Go the Clues"

It's no mystery why we love TV's "The Residence" and the book "The Last"—they're both murder mysteries, albeit very different ones (a comedy and a dystopian thriller). And does Seth Rogen have a clue about being a Hollywood executive in "The Studio"? Stay tuned!

Streaming:

• "The Residence," Netflix. A brilliant, eccentric, no-nonsens...

PopaHALLics #139 "Deception"
The truth is, er, fluid in the pop culture discussed in this episode, from a married spy trying to determine if his spouse is doing wrong, to an Australian pretending to have a fatal disease for profit and influence, to a supervillain seemingly going straight who might still be very bent. 

In Theaters:

• "Black Bag." In this spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh, a legendary...

PopaHALLics #138 "I'm Still Standing"

As the Who said: "People try to put us d-down" ... whether the "us" is Elton John, British gangsters, or a smartypants movie critic. But guess what: We're still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Streaming:

• "Elton John: Never Too Late," Disney +. As his final American concert approaches at Dodger Stadium, Elton John looks back at his meteoric rise to ...

"PopaHALLics #137 "Ch-ch-ch-changes"

Bridget Jones is dating again ... A new Captain America faces off against Red Hulk ... The sixth wife of Henry VIII tries to say alive ... and a cat faces off against a massive flood. Oh, and did we mention Kate's grandmother caused a fire at IU?

Theaters:

• "Captain America: Brave New World." The new Cap, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), takes up the shield just in time...

PopaHALLics #136 "Like a Rolling Stone"
How does it feel, to be on your own, a complete unknown, or a Dracula clone? We discuss the new Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" as well as the gothic horror film "Nosferatu." Spy Keira Knightley goes after her lover's killer in "Black Doves," and Vince Vaughn investigates a severed arm, not his, in "Bad Monkey."

In Thea...

PopaHALLics #135 "We're Cold on These Xmas Songs"
Hey kids! Let's gather around the Christmas tree and play "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"! What? Matricide doesn't make you merry? Well, OK, how about the Pussycat Dolls' "Santa Baby"? Too bump-and-grindy? Steve and Kate discuss a few Christmas songs that annoy us, and our playlist is full of them. As well as a few we like. ...

PopaHALLics #134 "Wicked Good"
For our Thanksgiving weekend episode, we talk about the pop culture offerings we're grateful for: the new movie version of "Wicked"; movies about a mother and son's love in "The Blitz" and the quest for the first test tube baby in "Joy"; and more. There's always a turkey—"Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft." Oof!

Theater...

PopaHALLics #133 "Martha My Dear—NOT!"
A new documentary fails to make Martha Stewart sympathetic, in Kate's view. We also discuss season 2 of "The Diplomat" and "Colin from Accounts," a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and books about therapy, a cult, and a "normal" serial killer. Yikes.

Streaming:

• "Martha," Netflix. This documentary directed by Jay Cutler traces ...

PopaHALLics #132  "Into the Great Unknown"
Can a rabbi and an agnostic shiksa find true love? Can humans meddle in the affairs of gods? If you could survive the zombie apocalypse, would you want to? Our pop culture offerings delve into these burning questions—and more!

Streaming:

• "Nobody Wants This," Netflix. Sex podcast co-host Joanne (Kristen Bell) and "hot rabbi" Noah (Adam Brody) fa...

PopaHALLics #131 "Won't You Take Me to, Spooky Town!"
We return from fall break with some super supernatural offerings featuring that demonic scamp Beetlejuice, a new twist on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, macabre goings-on in the fashion world—and more! 

In Theaters:

• "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." Michael Keaton reprises his iconic role in this sequel to the cult classic horror comedy "Beetlejuice&q...

PopaHALLics #130 "The Witch, The Killer ... & Emily in Paris"
Kate muses on the appeal—and fashion—of the Netflix hit "Emily in Paris," recently named by The New York Times as one to "hatewatch." (You dislike the show so much that you still watch it so you can ridicule it.) First, we look at "American Murder: Laci Peterson" and talk about three novels. Also: "The Lost Kitchen.&qu...

PopaHALLics #129 "Girls, Girls, Girls"
Girls and women dominate our pop culture choices this week, from a British teen trying to solve a murder to a black woman struggling with racial tensions in 1960s America. Sometimes they're good "girls" and sometimes, like "Abigail," they're very, very bad.

Streaming:

• "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder," Netflix. For her school...

PopaHALLics #128 "Four on the Floor"
Our podcast is four years old! We celebrate with a funny, more-or-less-true movie about profanity-laced letters, an animated noir Batman, an Alice Hoffman novel about the power of reading, and an influential "sensation" novel first published in 1859-60. Once again, we're on the cutting edge! [Joke.]

Streaming:

• "Wicked Little Letters," streaming...

PopaHALLics #127 "Let's Do the Twist-er"
Despite her tornado fears, Kate gets sucked into the new disaster movie "Twisters." Steve goes samurai with "Shogun." Also: Murders! Mysteries! Monkeys! (Haven't you always wanted a mon-KEY?)

In Theaters:

• "Twisters." In this "stand-alone sequel" to the 1996 hit, a woman (Daisy Edgar-Jones) testing a new tornado track...