Explore every episode of the podcast Popcorn Moms
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Marty Supreme (2025): Oscars Movies Part 1 | 09 Mar 2026 | 00:56:31 | |
This week, Popcorn Moms talks about the sports comedy-drama film Marty Supreme (2025), directed by Josh Safdie, It stars Timothée Chalamet as table tennis player Marty Mauser, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher. This is the first of two episodes covering movies nominated at the 2026 Academy Awards. It is nominated for nine Oscars. Like all our episodes, this one includes big spoilers. Unlike all our episodes, this one also includes some discussion about the Holocaust near the end. Topics include: 00:00 Introduction to Marty Supreme 05:21 80s Music in a 50s Period Piece 09:08 Steph Loves Sports Movies 10:54 Expectation vs reality vs second viewing 13:39 Do we like Marty? 15:02 The Movie's Big Flaw: It Needed Anti-Semitism 27:33 A Chip Off the Old Egypt Pyramid 29:08 Missed Opportunities in Storytelling 32:48 What does his triumph at the end mean? 36:55 Two Movies in One 41:36 It matters that he wins, but it matters more that he doesn't lose 44:01 The Honey Scene 52:25 More Missed Opportunities 53:08 Character Names 54:38 What's next? 56:02 Outro We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com | |||
| 3. Black Bag (2025) | 27 Feb 2026 | 00:58:03 | |
This week, Popcorn Moms talks about the spy thriller Black Bag (2025), directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan. Topics include: 00:00 Intro 04:09 The music didn't work 06:13 Spy thriller meets stage play 07:38 Marriage metaphors 07:59 Caring about characters, or not 11:21 The big reveal 13:09 Is it a good marriage? 14:59 Privacy vs secrecy 18:19 Spy thrriller vs relationship drama 21:48 Adoration makes a good marriage 26:22 Style and design 30:10 Should've set it in the 70s or 80s 33:32 Great villain scene 37:18 Opening sequence and title cards 39:33 Misalignment 41:49 How to do a spy thriller relationship drama, according to us 46:10 No kids, good choice 47:59 Critic vs audience score 48:58 Movie ending 51:31 Therapist character 52:48 What next 57:34 Outro We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com | |||
| 2. Marie Antoinette (2006) | 27 Feb 2026 | 01:00:50 | |
This week, Popcorn Moms talks about the historical drama Marie Antoinette (2006), directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman. Topics include: 00:00 Intro 02:57 Music and Soundtrack 08:16 All About Louis XVI 10:24 Marie and Louis Make A Good Team, But Bad Rulers 15:42 Are They Brave, Stupid, or Clueless? 23:11 Influence and Limitations of Women in Power 25:22 This is Another Teen Movie 31:50 Marie Antoinette as the Every Girl 32:58 Insulated World of Versaille 36:10 Accent and Authenticity in Historical Contexts 43:11 Foreignness and Identity in Marie Antoinette 50:19 Complexity of Sympathy for Marie Antoinette 59:59 Outro We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. popcornmoms.com (coming soon) IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com | |||
| 1. A Few Good Men (1992) | 27 Feb 2026 | 00:52:01 | |
This week, Popcorn Moms talks about the military legal drama A Few Good Men (1992), directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. We didn't plan for our first episode to be a Rob Reiner film, since we recorded this before his passing, but we hope our genuine praise for this movie honors him. RIP, you legend. Topics include: 00:00 Introduction and Movie Selection 03:17 Humor, Charisma, and Aging Well 07:17 Scripting Military Culture 11:56 Characters who stand for different moral codes 19:59 Maybe the villain has a point 24:19 Ego, Humanity, Justice, Leadership, and Responsibility 28:54 Political Influence in Leadership Roles 29:54 Why Steph loves military movies 32:35 The Complexity of War and Individual Stories 33:43 Movie Stakes 37:11 Demi Moore slash Joe 43:51 Steph explains that one scene that doesn't make sense 46:42 90s Movies and why we love them 47:34 The Evolution of CGI and AI in Film 50:23 What's next? We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. popcornmoms.com (coming soon) IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com | |||
| 6. Atomic Blonde (2017) | 26 Mar 2026 | 00:48:31 | |
Atomic Blonde is a 2017 spy action thriller film directed by David Leitch based on a graphic novel called The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The film stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate (5 stars) and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 04:03 Visual Style and Aesthetic Appeal 05:30 Loose Plots Leave Room for Twists, But Is It Worth It? 11:06 Pacing, Interview Format and Its Impact 15:25 Exploring the Stakes of Interrogation 16:57 Cultural Differences in Intelligence Agencies 18:41 Popup Book Visual Aesthetics of Graphic Novel Adaptations 23:02 The Fighting: Oners, John WIck, and Cool Kills 27:09 Music and Soundtrack 30:36 Dynamic Chemistry: Charlize Theron and Delphine 34:58 Moral Clarity and Loyalty in Espionage 36:04 Plot Holes and Character Holes 43:09 Forgiving Plot Holes 46:38 The Reveal 47:52 What's next week? | |||
| 5. One Battle After Another (2025): Oscars Movies Part 2 | 13 Mar 2026 | 00:58:38 | |
This week, Popcorn Moms talks about the black comedy action-thriller One Battle After Another (2025), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. This is the second (and last) of two episodes covering movies nominated at the 2026 Academy Awards. It is nominated for 13 Oscars. Like all our episodes, this one includes big spoilers. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com | |||
| Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:35:13 | |
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a 1999 American satirical mockumentary black comedy film directed by Michael Patrick Jann and written by Lona Williams. It stars Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards, along with Brittany Murphy, Allison Janney and Amy Adams in her film debut. The film follows a small town beauty pageant and the fierce, deadly lengths the contestants will take to secure the crown. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Initial Impressions 05:01 Mockumentaries and going against the grain 10:38 Cynical Take on the American Dream 16:32 Religion 17:51 Talent Shows, Performing Femininity, and Class Status 27:45 The Nostalgia Factor 33:43 What's Next 34:44 Outro | |||
| Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) | Rom-Com Romp #4 | 08 Jun 2026 | 00:51:10 | |
Under the Tuscan Sun is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama written, produced, and directed by Audrey Wells and starring Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan, and Raoul Bova. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Exploring Under the Tuscan Sun 05:58 Upfront Emotional Investment 10:22 What starting over means: Beauty, Age, and Divorce 14:21 Rebuilding Life and Finding Family 16:22 Sandra Oh is the Male Lead: The Depth of Adult Female Friendship at the Core of the Movie 19:43 Character Dynamics: Orbiting Around Diane Lane 21:26 Rom-Com Elements are Spread Out 22:30 Wanting and Getting: Life's Unexpected Turns 25:12 Hope, Renewal, and the Water Spigot: Why this movie means so much 27:41 Taking Risks: The Power of Intentional Choices 31:41 Diane Lane could've slept with anyone 36:28 Rebuilding Life and Self 37:27 Different types of love on display and not giving up on a great love 39:44 Life as a Labour of Love 43:43 Is it a Christmas movie? 45:33 Do we like the end? 50:29 What's next 50:41 Outro | |||
| What's Your Number (2011) | Rom-Com Romp #3 | 21 May 2026 | 01:01:45 | |
What's Your Number? is a 2011 American romantic comedy directed by Mark Mylod, starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. Written by Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden, the film is based on Karyn Bosnak's book 20 Times a Lady. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Introduction to Popcorn Moms Podcast 03:47 Humor and comedy style 07:06 Movie makes fun of itself: A constant flow of comedy 13:14 The world a romance lives in 14:17 Public declaration of love, done right (i.e. privately) 17:49 Love thesis 25:09 Ally as a full character 28:16 Tension/Rom Com Tropes/ Weaknesses 37:43 Chris Evans' character/ The Love Interest 48:05 Parade of men 50:14 Life arc for Allie 51:37 Comedy style, revisited 52:18 Missing its audience/ Rotten Tomatoes Score 55:43 "Female" comedies 58:36 Sister relationships 01:01:07 What's next | |||
| Sleepless in Seattle (1993) | Rom-Com Romp #2 | 07 May 2026 | 00:56:18 | |
Second in our series of rom-coms and romantic movies! Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 romantic comedy directed by Nora Ephron. It stars Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, and Rob Reiner. The film also features Rosie O'Donnell, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, Rita Wilson, Barbara Garrick, and Carey Lowell. In the episode, we mention John Hutman's video, "Sleepless In Seattle | Designer Critiques 90s Rom Com Design." We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Introduction to Sleepless in Seattle 04:11 Bad allergies and annoying laughs: Alternate options fatal flaws are silly, in a bad way 07:23 Lack of passion, tension, and beauty in the main love story 12:41 Making sense of the main love story line 19:06 Romantic Comedy Expectations 21:14 Insane behavior, like stalking 26:11 Netta's standards for a good rom-com 27:41 Alternate ways of telling this story 31:09 Supporting Cast Highlights 32:06 Scene telling An Affair to Remember 34:24 Tom Hanks' and Meg Ryan's Performance 38:09 Romantic Fantasies vs. Reality and the Role of Sacrifice 41:50 Fantasizing About Love 45:29 Dated Tropes in Romantic Comedies 48:57 Production Design and Characterization 52:28 Is this romantic to a 19 year old? 54:17 David Hyde Pierce line 55:38 What's next? 55:49 Outro | |||
| Intolerable Cruelty (2003) | Rom-Com Romp #1 | 23 Apr 2026 | 01:02:33 | |
First in our series of rom-coms and romantic movies! This week, we discuss Intolerable Cruelty, a 2003 American romantic comedy directed, co-written and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Richard Jenkins, and Billy Bob Thornton. When high-profile divorce lawyer Miles Massey, famed for his iron-clad prenup, comes head-to-head with gold-digger Marylin, soon the sparks start to fly between them. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com * Topics include: 00:00 Introduction 04:01 Silliness and emotion weight 05:20 Silliness and genre 07:08 Genre Bending: Un-coupling romance and comedy in a comedic romance 08:41 Public declaration of love (blehhh) 11:04 The world of rom-coms is absurd, which matches Coen Brothers style 14:39 Tim Burton vs. Coen Brothers: A Style Comparison 18:49 Absurdity, no sentimentality, humor 24:58 Character Depth and Uniqueness 29:05 This movie still has a typical take on love 30:51 Defining Romance in Film 38:25 Too Silly or Just Silly Enough: A Debate 44:37 The asthmatic hit man and lawyers spinning stories 47:36 The Quest for Satisfaction and Connection 54:01 Rethinking romance when you're married with kids in the suburbs 56:00 Financial Dynamics in Relationships 59:50 Evaluating the Movie Experience 01:01:29 Future Movie Selections 01:02:04 Outro | |||
| 7. Monkey Man (2024) | 10 Apr 2026 | 00:57:37 | |
This week, we discuss Monkey Man, the 2024 revenge action thriller directed, produced, co-written and starring Dev Patel. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com * Topics include: 00:00 Introduction to Monkey Man 04:28 Dev Patel's Directorial Debut 08:37 Axes, Biting off Noses, Camerawork Choices: Steph Gushes Over the Action 14:48 Music to Fight To 17:07 Mish Mashing the Best To Make Something Fresh 18:03 Exploring the Revenge Narrative 19:52 Reveal Motivation Slowly: Trauma, Love, and Drugs 24:25 Watching Mother-Son Relationships in Revenge Tales, as a Mom 26:54 Shifts in Motivation and Purpose: Turning Childhood Trauma to Fight Present-Day Injustices 29:34 The Climax and Its Emotional Weight 31:07 The Significance of the Ending: Personal, Political, and Spiritual Levels 43:35 Movie Marketing Done Right 44:43 Tight Movie: Told through Movement, Scenery 45:25 Not as stylized 48:24 How it was marketed 48:24 John Wick reference with dog 49:22 Fight Scene Humor 51:16 Steph Finds the Flaw 55:37 So much happening in this movie, rewatching, disclaimer again 56:48 What's next? 57:08 Outro | |||
| Nosferatu (2024) | Robert Eggers Romp #2 | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:41:21 | |
Continuing with our Robert Eggers series, this time we have Nosferatu. Nosferatu is a 2024 American Gothic horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers. It stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Willem Dafoe. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Introduction and Movie Overview 03:31 Initial Impressions 06:01 Dracula and Ellen's Connection 09:53 Feels like a TV show 11:32 Core of the story 17:03 What Does Ellen Want? 26:29 Ellen's Sexual Pleasure 27:51 Evolution of Vampire Lore 31:44 Thomas and Ellen's Relationship 33:57 Visual Aesthetics and Cinematic Composition 36:58 Moodiness Level Started High and Went Up 39:34 Why We Like Eggers 40:28 What's next 40:52 Outro | |||
| Middle Life (2025) | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:43:07 | |
We are taking a brief detour from our series on Robert Eggers movies to talk about an indie film fresh off the film festival circuit. This week we’re talking about Middle Life, a 2025 Canadian indie rom-com directed by Pavan Moondi, starring Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, who are also a real life couple and singers in the alt-rock group July Talk. Middle Life follows Andie, a perfectionist wedding planner who is married and is also a new mom, and Ryan, a blue-collar plumber, whose lives collide after she saves him and his dad from a car accident. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:11 First Impressions 05:04 Timelessness in Film: Warmth, Call-Backs, and Technology 07:20 An Unusual Meet-Cute 10:55 Infidelity Portrayed in Film 18:59 Marriage Portrayed in Film 26:25 Andy and Ryan's long term viability 32:02 Dry toilet humor 34:23 Class and characterization 39:15 LA Disaster 40:12 Final Thoughts 42:38 Outro | |||
| The Lighthouse (2019) | Robert Eggers Romp #1 | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:36:29 | |
The Lighthouse is a 2019 film directed and produced by Robert Eggers, from a screenplay cowritten with his brother Max Eggers. It stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as turmoiled nineteenth-century lighthouse keepers stranded at a remote New England outpost by a violent storm. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Introduction to Popcorn Moms and Movie Selection 05:12 Ambiguity in Storytelling 11:04 Greek Mythology in The Lighthouse 23:25 Sound Design, Coloring, and Aspect Ratio: Necessary Ingredients for this Film 30:04 Timeless Movies 33:33 The Lighthouse as Art 35:36 What's Next 36:00 Outro | |||
| All I Wanna Do or Strike! or Hair Bird (1998) | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:40:43 | |
All I Wanna Do (originally titled The Hairy Bird, later Strike!) is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Sarah Kernochan. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Monica Keena, Heather Matarazzo and Rachael Leigh Cook in an ensemble cast as students of the fictional Miss Godard's Preparatory School for Girls, and Lynn Redgrave as the school's headmistress. The film takes place in 1963 and focuses on several students' plotting and sabotage of a proposed merger for the school to go coed. We'd love your support! Subscribe, rate and review us, and share the episode with someone you know. IG: @popcornmoms Music and logo by Sean Andrews: stillavenue.com Topics include: 00:00 Intro 02:28 Harvey Weinstein's role in limiting the film's release 03:31 Initial Impressions of 'Strike' 07:42 Gabby Hoffman brings us into the world 08:35 Feminist Themes Resonate Now 11:52 Girls Supporting Each Other's Dreams and Aspirations 20:35 Navigating age appropriateness in movies 25:38 Balancing Ambition and Boys 33:39 School Headmistress: Female Authority Figure 36:25 Epilogues: A Necessary Closure 39:39 What's next? 40:21 Outro | |||