What makes for a good comedy film or show? Funny people reading (or improvising) funny lines, right? WRONG? Mark, Erica, Brian, are joined by Heather Fink to discuss the role of the director in making a comedy (or anything else) actually good. Heather has directed for TV, film, and commercials and spent a lot of time doing sound (a boom operator or sound utility) for … [Read more...] about PMP#100: Directing Comedies w/ Heather Fink
film podcast
PMP#90: Godzilla vs. Kong vs. All the Kaiju!
Are gynormous monsters ("kaiju") stomping on cities just stupid fun, or do they channel deep fears of our own helplessness? Mark, Erica, and Brian reflect on the MonsterVerse films, plus the history of Godzilla in Japan from the 1954 original to 2016's award-winning Shin Godzilla. Do we care at all about the humans in these films? Are King Kong films too sad? Is there any … [Read more...] about PMP#90: Godzilla vs. Kong vs. All the Kaiju!
PMP#89: The Chicago 7 (and the Aaron Sorkinverse)
In lieu of an Oscars episode, we consider one of the nominated films, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and the career of its writer/director, Aaron Sorkin, which started with A Few Good Men through four TV series (most notably The West Wing), and films like The Social Network, Steve Jobs, and Molly's Game. Brian, Erica, and Mark consider Sorkin's stock recurring characters … [Read more...] about PMP#89: The Chicago 7 (and the Aaron Sorkinverse)
PMP#87: Female Buddy Comedies w/ Erica’s Female Buddy Micah Greene
The buddy comedy is a staple of American film, but using this to explore female friendship is still fresh ground. Erica, Mark, Brian, and Erica's long-time friend Micah Greene (actor and nurse) discuss tropes and dynamics within this kind of film, focusing primarily on Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, the 2021 release written and starring Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo as a … [Read more...] about PMP#87: Female Buddy Comedies w/ Erica’s Female Buddy Micah Greene
PMP#82: Cobra Kai and the Karate Kids
Did anyone suspect that the beloved 1984 "Kid Rocky" karate film (and its decreasingly beloved sequels) would now be not just remade but revived as the YouTube-Red-turned-Netflix hit Cobra Kai? Is this new show actually good, or just living unhealthily on nostalgia and the fascination of watching teens and middle aged people fistfight and fall in love. Mark-san, Erica-san, and … [Read more...] about PMP#82: Cobra Kai and the Karate Kids
PMP#80: Reliving Groundhog Day (and Palm Springs, Russian Doll, etc.)
Time looping, where a character is doomed to repeat the same day (or hour, or longer period) is a sci-fi trope dating back more than a century, but really entered American consciousness with the 1993 Bill Murray film Groundhog Day. Since then, and especially in the last five years, there have been numerous iterations of this idea in various genres from racial police-shooting … [Read more...] about PMP#80: Reliving Groundhog Day (and Palm Springs, Russian Doll, etc.)
PMP#79: The Fargo Formula w/ Tamler Sommers (Very Bad Wizards Crossover)
On the Coen Brothers' 1996 film and Noah Hawley's 4-season TV show, an enterprise that has evolved from darkly comic morality tale to sprawling organized crime drama. Mark, Erica, Brian, and guest Tamler from the Very Bad Wizards podcast explore the plaudits and criticisms of the show, covering its elaborate style, "tundra western" setting, dry humor, speechifying, gender … [Read more...] about PMP#79: The Fargo Formula w/ Tamler Sommers (Very Bad Wizards Crossover)
PMP#77: The Big Screen Experience
Plague has kept us out of the movie theaters, forcing new streaming practices so that films can be released at all, but as these restrictions end in 2021, do we want things to go back just to the way they were? Your hosts Mark, Erica, and Brian reviewed many articles where filmmakers fretted about the future of cinema, but we pretty much ignored all that (at least for … [Read more...] about PMP#77: The Big Screen Experience
PMP#76: Wonder Women (84 and Others) w/ Vi Burlew
The holiday film release season has passed us with only one real blockbuster, which is the return of Wonder Woman, and we likewise have a returning hero: Our college-going young guest from ep. 33 on heroine journeys has now grown into a grad student just studying comics and brings her deep WW knowledge to consider the new film in context with Erica, Mark, and … [Read more...] about PMP#76: Wonder Women (84 and Others) w/ Vi Burlew
PMP#73: Beloved Bad Films w/ Manos’ Jackey Neyman Jones
What makes a film transcendently, fascinatingly bad, as opposed to merely unwatchable? A number of turkeys have become cult classics whose surviving cast members are lauded at conventions and bear witness in loving documentaries exploring how and why such movie monstrosities could have been made. Jackey Neyman Jones was six years old in 1966 when she appeared (just her body; … [Read more...] about PMP#73: Beloved Bad Films w/ Manos’ Jackey Neyman Jones
PMP#67: Borat Pod Show! Very Nice! With Aaron David Gleason
Let's stop obsessing about election matters and consider instead a clown who brings out racism in rubes. Mark, Erica, Brian, and musician/actor Aaron consider the comedy of Sacha Baron Cohen, especially the new Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which you should definitely go watch before listening, unless it's the kind of thing that so repulses you that you'll never watch it, in … [Read more...] about PMP#67: Borat Pod Show! Very Nice! With Aaron David Gleason
PMP#66: Scary Movies w/ Nathan Shelton
What scares us? Why do people enjoy being scared by films? What's the deal with "horror" movies that are good but not scary or that are terrible yet still scary in some way? Mark, Erica, Brian are joined by actor/SFX makeup designer Nathan Shelton (who runs the Frightmare Theatre Podcast) for a Halloween conversation where no one gets a rock. We present our picks for what … [Read more...] about PMP#66: Scary Movies w/ Nathan Shelton
PMP#62: Mulan Re-Disneyfield w/ Michael Tow
Is the new Mulan the equivalent for Asian-Americans what Black Panther was for African-Americans? The largest entertainment machine we have featured an all-Asian cast telling a traditional Chinese story aimed at the widest possible audience. Did it work? Actor Michael Tow joins Erica, Mark, and Brian to discuss the development, aesthetics, and political controversies … [Read more...] about PMP#62: Mulan Re-Disneyfield w/ Michael Tow
PMP#59: David Lynch’s Popular Surrealism
Mark, Erica, Brian, and guest Mike Wilson discuss the director's films from Eraserhead to Inland Empire plus Twin Peaks and his recent short films. We get into the appeal and the stylistic and storytelling hallmarks of his mainstays--Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive--and also consider outliers like Dune, The Elephant Man, and The Straight … [Read more...] about PMP#59: David Lynch’s Popular Surrealism
PMP#43: The Korean Wave w/ Suzie Oh
We're seeing a lot of Korean media in American popular culture nowadays, what with Parasite winning the Oscar for best picture and K-Pop and K-Dramas finding an increasing American cult following. This is not an accident: The Korean government has as an explicit goal the growth of "soft power" through exported cultural products. This Korean Wave (Hallyu) was aimed foremost at … [Read more...] about PMP#43: The Korean Wave w/ Suzie Oh
PMP#38: Costuming w/ Whitney Anne Adams
How does clothing mesh with set design, cinematography, sound design, etc. to create the mood in a film? Whitney designed for and dressed leads and crowds on The Great Gatsby, the Happy Death Day films and several indie flicks. She joins Erica, Mark and Brian to discuss how clothes on screen relate to clothes in life, designing vs. curating, historic vs. modern vs. genre, when … [Read more...] about PMP#38: Costuming w/ Whitney Anne Adams
PMP#33: The Heroine’s Journey w/ Vi Burlew
Pretty Much Pop taps in to what today's youth are talking about... or at least what they're writing their term papers on. Our guest Vi Burlew has arisen, a shining figure clad in mail, carrying aloft a shimmering broadsword (...and presumably a trapper keeper; the kids today still use those, right? Damn, we are old.) to bring your hosts Mark, Erica, and Brian this topic about … [Read more...] about PMP#33: The Heroine’s Journey w/ Vi Burlew
PMP#30: Why Every Film Will Win the Oscar! (A Debate)
The 2020 Oscars are almost up on us! (OK, realistically, most of you will find this episode well after they've already passed, but seriously, that's fine.) Your intrepid non-film-critic hosts have each been randomly assigned three of the best picture nominees to argue for either for why it should with the Oscar, or if we really don't like it, why we think it will win anyway. … [Read more...] about PMP#30: Why Every Film Will Win the Oscar! (A Debate)
PMP#29: Martin Scorsese the Auteur w/ Colin Marshall
We consider the highly lauded 2019 film The Irishman in the context of Scorsese's body of work and the styles and themes that his films tend to exhibit. Writer/podcaster Colin Marshall joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk about what we do and don't connect with in Scorsese's work and how these films qualify as "art films" despite their watchability, not to mention the big … [Read more...] about PMP#29: Martin Scorsese the Auteur w/ Colin Marshall
PMP#27: For the Love of Star Wars
Mark, Erica, and Brian grasp the low-hanging fruit in pop culture to talk about Star Wars: The unique place that these films have in the brains of people of a certain age, how we grappled with the prequels, and why we feel the need to fill in and argue about the details. We primarily focus on the two most recent emanations of this beast, The Mandalorian and Rise of … [Read more...] about PMP#27: For the Love of Star Wars