Popcorn and Cumin

We're back for a final episode with guest Jenny, an animation industry expert! Get ready for a behind the scenes look at animation, this time focused on production and post-production, and all centered around the Pixar classic, Monsters, Inc. And don't miss this week's cross-border factoid, because it is 100% ridiculous.

Inconceivable!You voted, and we listened—this week’s Listeners’ Choice pick is The Princess Bride! Join Popcorn and Cumin as we dive into the magic behind Rob Reiner’s beloved classic. We’re serving up behind-the-scenes trivia, our signature top-tier analysis, and answers to your burning questions: How were the Rodents of Unusual Size brought to life? How does the film stack up against the original novel? And which co-star needed consoling from André the Giant during a not-so-daring stunt? All this and more awaits in this week’s episode!

We’re diving into the animation pipeline in this week’s episode, with industry expert Jenny guiding us through pre-production (or development).Don’t worry, there are plenty of side quests along the way into fun behind-the-scenes facts about some of your favorite Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks animation films, including The Incredibles, Shrek, Ratatouille, The Emperor’s New Groove, and, of course, Monsters Inc. Jenny also sneaks in a trivia quiz to check how well Euan and Sarah paid attention when watching Monsters, Inc. (spoiler alert, they apparently did not pay attention at all). (34:23) skip to Monsters, Inc. Trivia Quiz

This week, we’re breaking down the Academy Awards — so whether you watched the whole thing or skipped it entirely, we’ve got you covered! We’re diving into the winners, the snubs, and those cringy speeches (yes, we’re looking at you, Emilia Perez songwriters and Adrien Brody).Sarah goes full throttle with a rant about biopics and the overall meh-ness of this year’s nominees, while Euan rides to the rescue, defending Anora and The Substance as gems that deserved their moment. Oh, and if you watch nothing else from the night, do yourself a favor and check out the Wicked opener with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Calling all Pixar and Disney movie lovers!Popcorn and Cumin is back again, but with a twist. For the first time ever in the podcast's illustrious history, we have a guest! This is the first in a series of episodes centered around the wonderful world of animated movies, and who better to discuss animation with than friend of the podcast, Jenny. Jenny has first-hand experience working on some of your favorite animated movies, and this week she is sharing her insight and love for one of our favorite animated movies: Monsters, Inc. Stay tuned to Popcorn and Cumin as Jenny will join us for the rest of the Animation Series to give first-hand insight into filmmaking and animation. See you in two weeks to complain about the Oscars results!

Popcorn & Cumin is back for our annual Academy Awards complain-athon. We are just as aggrieved as you at Dune: Part 2's underperformance (sorry Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, and Denis Villenueve). We are even madder at Challengers' total snub (sorry Zendaya...again!) Sarah remains upset that Jonathan Bailey has not been nominated for any awards for playing Fiyero in Wicked, while Euan is too concerned with dangerous wildlife in the USA to worry about this. But it's not all negative! We also include a 30-second review of Ralph Fiennes' performance in Conclave (we liked it) and we provide some more insight into Emilia Perez (we still don't like it). See you in a few weeks where we will be back to complain about Dune Part 2 not winning best picture (sorry Zendaya... again...again!!)

Happy New Year! Popcorn and Cumin is back and our 2025 resolution is to continue to review movies even if they are terrible. This week's topic is the 2025 Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winner Emilia Pérez. This is a French film that has cleverly masqueraded itself as a Mexican movie by cunningly casting a single Mexican actor. Are you a fan of culturally insensitive and poorly translated dialogue and song lyrics? Do you love songs that sound like they were written by an AI? Do you like Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez (okay, they are actually quite good)? If any of the answers are yes, then Emilia Pérez was made for you, and what better way to round off your viewing experience than listening to your favorite pop-culture podcast's thoughts on this modern masterpiece. (We hope to be back doing good movies soon).

If you thought the WICKED craze was dying down, think again! Did Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey really record their vocals live on set? What Wizard of Oz easter eggs did filmmakers sneak into the movie? And does Sarah or Euan know the lyrics of Wicked better? We are revisiting Oz for a second time to answer all your burning questions. Ozians rejoice!

You've all heard it. The great debate. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? On this year's Christmas edition of Popcorn and Cumin, we're defining what are the criteria for something to be considered a Christmas movie. Framing the discussion is the 1998 action classic Die Hard. Die Hard is famously set at Christmas, but is that all something needs to be considered a Christmas movie. Spoiler Alert: one of your hosts think so, the other host thinks not.

Fellow Ozians; Are you holding space for the newest episode of Popcorn and Cumin? We're off to spend one (not so) short day in the Emerald City. We're rejoicified to report we have bounced back from the disgusticifying depths of Joker 2, to the swankified delights of a good movie. Well, half of a good movie. In celebration of splitting things that could be whole into two, this will be the first part of our Wicked discussion (Wicked, Part 1, Part 1, if you will). Join Sarah and Euan as they argue who has a longer history with Wicked, how to say colloquially, and provide a run-down on all the performances - from the highs of Ariana Grande to the even higher highs of Jonathan Bailey. I hope you're happy!

Times are tough in Gotham, but they are tougher for everyone who had to sit through Joker: Folie à Deux. Listen to two movie musical fanatics tear down this sad addition to one of our favorite genres. Listen as Sarah psychologically diagnoses Mr Joker with the knowledge she gained from her degree in psychology, Euan provides key cultural insights into news media, and both hosts basically tear the movie to shreds from start to finish. Joker? I wish I barely know her. (07:02) Euan's Political Fact (09:55) Joker: Folie à Deux

Sistas! The spookiest time of the year is upon us and to celebrate Popcorn & Cumin is bringing you its annual spooktacular episode, as voted on by you! Join Sarah and Euan as they venture into the world of 17th century Salem, Massachusetts where 3 evil witches are hanged by the neck until dead (alongside a host of innocent women). This week, you will learn all about the history of witch hunts, the definitive list of child actors (ranked by talent), and be given all the Hocusy Pocusy trivia you could ask for. Listen, if you dare!

This week on Popcorn & Cumin we are continuing our death march towards All Hallows' Eve (otherwise known as Spooky Season). On the chopping block this week is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long awaited (36 years!) follow-up to the 1988 cult-classic Beetlejuice. Neither Sarah nor Euan are crazy about the original, but did the sequel leave them feeling hot, cold, or indifferent about the Ghost with the Most? Listen to find out! (01:25) Vibe Check: Spooky or Scary? (16:10) Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Popcorn and Cumin is back, better than ever, and ready to guide you through Spooky Season. Our first episode of Season 2 focusses on 1979's horror classic Alien. Sarah is a first time viewer, but was she prepared enough to survive her trip on the Nostromo? Luckily Euan is here to guide us or bore us, with all the necessary context. Like, is the planet they land on Saturn? Does a dog play the Alien? What really happened during the Boston Massacre in 1770? Your answers can only be found in deep space where no one can hear you scream.

Bad news everyone, it's the season finale of Popcorn and Cumin! Your favorite podcast is taking a (well-earned) break, but we will be back before you know it making great jokes at the expense of all your favorite bits of pop culture. This week, we are tackling the first Chapter of arguably the seminal film franchise, Star Wars! Listen as we do a deep-dive into the divisive film which gives us what every Star Wars fan wanted, a 10 year old Darth Vader who says yippee frequently. Who is Euan's theory for the who the real villain is? Does Sarah understand the plot of the movie we are reviewing? Wait a minute, that's Keira Knightley?!? We're going out with our longest episode ever folks, be sure to tune in.

Dearest Gentle Reader, This week, your esteemed hosts, Lord Euan James and Lady Sarah Jean, cordially invite you to lend your ears as we consider the latest tattle that has overtaken the ton. Why can't Colin Bridgerton close his mouth? Why are Cressida Cowper's sleeves so big? Is it to hide all her secrets? And who is the infamous Lady Whistledown? All will be revealed in Popcorn and Cumin's latest edition: Bridgerton.

Dracula walked so Edward could run. Join us on a nostalgic trip back to Forks, Washington, as we delve into Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, a world of sparkling vampires and a pasty plain girl from Arizona. Euan dives into the history of vampires in literature and Sarah reads every hateful thing Robert Pattinson has said about this supernatural romance. (01:42) Cross-border factoids (08:00) A brief history of vampires in literature (19:18) Twilight (40:40) Behind-the-scene trivia (46:30) R.Pats hates Twilight (59:18) Better as a musical? (01:02:33) Pop-Quiz and Cumin

Love triangle, tennis, Zendaya, oh my! This week we review the new movie, Challengers, starring Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, and, of course, Zendaya. Get ready for behind-the-scenes movie trivia, critique of the film (and of tennis as a sport), and some...interesting cultural differences between the US and the UK. Hip! Hip! (00:42) Cross-border factoids (15:50) Challengers (38:15) Challengers ending explained

Euan and Sarah dive into the new Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action-comedy movie, The Fall Guy. What does Eurovision have to do with anything? Which Fall Guy stunt broke a world record? How did Ryan Gosling's improvisations change the movie script? Find it all out here! (00:57) Cross-border factoids (13:03) Non-Spoilers (38:19) Spoilers

Sarah and Euan are back finding and fixing plot holes in the Harry Potter book series! How come Fred and George don't mention Ron sleeping with Peter Pettigrew? Why can't Harry see thestrals after seeing his mum die? How many times can Euan say 'on the lam'? All your questions and more will be answered on today's episode of Popcorn and Cumin! Content warning: mentions of abuse Time Codes: Cross-Border Factoids (01:10) Why are Lily and James not each other's Secret Keeper?(13:23) Why do Fred and George ignore Peter Pettigrew on the Marauders Map? (21:32) Why can Harry only see thestrals at the start of Order of the Phoenix (32:02) How do escaped Death Eaters recover their wands after escaping Azkaban? (39:34) Why do Harry, Ron, and Hermione struggle to find food when they can use Magic? (44:12) Why does the Seven Potters plan seem like a good idea to the Order of the Phoenix? (49:47) When is Snape going to tell Harry about the last Horcrux?(54:14) How do Ron and Hermione escape the Chamber of Secrets? (1:01:54)