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28 Oct

Top 10 Darkest MCU Moments Ranked

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This article contains major MCU spoilers If the Marvel Cinematic Universe does one thing particularly well, it’s deliver family-friendly outings for us all to enjoy. It’s in stark contrast to Warner Bros.’ typical DC output, which has been called out for its bloody and brooding aesthetic that puts the dark in Dark Knight. Although there have been talks about a more mature MCU, we’re still yet to get an R-rated outing – that honour will soon go to Deadpool 3.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of death and destruction in the MCU, with movies like Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange…

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27 Oct

Barbarian: The Scary Similarities of Justin Long and Bill Skarsgard’s Characters

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This article contains major Barbarian spoilers. Before it goes off in directions that no one could have anticipated, Barbarian asks a simple and relatable question: When is it okay to be impolite? That question is posed in the movie’s opening scene, which finds Tess (Georgiana Campbell) arriving late at night at the Detroit house she’s rented via AirBnB, only to learn that it’s already been booked by a man called Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Tess, standing in the rain in a clearly rundown neighborhood, makes her agitation plain as she demands answers from the man in what was to be her…

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27 Oct

Star Wars Finally Delivers the Missing Piece of Revenge of the Sith

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This Star Wars article contains spoilers for Tales of the Jedi. While The Clone Wars made great strides in redeeming George Lucas’ divisive Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, some fans still consider the animated adventures to have been too bogged down in their own lore and too aimed at kids. That’s all changed with Tales of the Jedi, the new animated anthology series which puts the “dark” into the dark side of the force. Among all the tragedy depicted on the show, one episode sticks out more than most by tying back to an underrated gem from the Prequels. Although 2002’s…

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27 Oct

Smile vs Halloween Ends: Original Horror Movies Are Beating Franchises at the Box Office

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Halloween ended not with a bang or a whimper, but rather a long wail as it made its way down a precipitous dropoff at the box office. The allegedly final chapter in the Michael Myers and Laurie Strode saga opened well enough for a horror movie greeted by tepid reviews and a day-and-date release strategy on Peacock (more on that later), debuting at $40 million in its first three days. But then came the second weekend and the eyeball-gouging 80 percent drop that accompanied it. Over a weekend dominated by Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, the severe stumble of Halloween Ends…

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27 Oct

First Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Reactions Pour In

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For a long while, it felt as if Black Panther: Wakanda Forever would never come. Yes, the Marvel Studios sequel to one of 2018’s biggest movies—and the first superhero film ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar—was greenlit, and, sure, Ryan Coogler wrote and rewrote his screenplay, with cameras rolling in Georgia and everything. But in the immediate aftermath of the monumental loss of Chadwick Boseman, it seemed difficult to fully accept. How could they continue without that central, indispensable performance? As it turns out, it would be by sincerely honoring to it. When the first teaser for…

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27 Oct

The Eerie Rise of Witches at the Movies

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Although most synonymous with the Halloween season, witches have woven their way onto the silver screen at every time of the year since the earliest days of the motion picture. From the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz to the Sanderson Sisters in the Hocus Pocus films, witches have long been popular characters, as well as common archetypes in general, akin to the likes of superheroes, vampires, or even Santa Claus. The witch has kept her place as a very common figure in the stories told on film. When you think of a witch, you probably…

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27 Oct

The Most Shocking Horror Movie of the Year Is Now on HBO Max

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When Universal Pictures released Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho into cinemas in 1960, the notoriously theatrical auteur required an addendum from theater owners: they would close the box office to anyone who showed up after the opening credits began. For the first time ever, a director would require audiences to watch his movie from the beginning. Before the release of Hitch’s horror masterpiece, it was a common habit for audiences to show up late or even in the middle of a movie, buying a ticket and watching the story out of order between multiple showings. However, for a film as twisty as…

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27 Oct

Star Wars Finally Solves Big Mystery About Lost Prequel Trilogy Character

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As American Horror Stories, Marvel’s What…If?, and Star Wars: Visions have taught us, anthology shows can be a great format with which to experiment with storytelling styles or explore lesser visited corners of a popular universe. And after the success of its riveting anime anthology, the galaxy far, far away is back with more bitesize adventures. Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi promised to revisit the sometimes maligned Prequel Trilogy, and with the first six episodes out, it’s already proved to be a whistlestop of Lucas lore. Whether it’s the adorable Baby Ahsoka or getting Liam Neeson back as Qui-Gon…

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26 Oct

How Hollywood Changed Werewolf Lore Forever

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“Beware the moon, lads,” two young Americans are told by a cranky pub regular in An American Werewolf in London (1981). Alas, the summer break tourists with sheep shit in their backpacks did not stick to the roads and instead crossed the moors beneath a full moon. After all, that guy sounded crazy. But by the movie’s end, who’s howling now? Horror movies make lycanthropes out to be lunatics, but only during certain moments of the lunar cycle. Why does the wolfman have to wait for a full moon to change though? There are werewolves reading this who are hungry…

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26 Oct

DC Fans React to James Gunn Studio Head News

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Ever since DC attempted to launch a cinematic universe with 2013’s Man of Steel, the internet has had opinions. For some, Zack Snyder‘s brooding approach signaled a more mature take on superheroes, a welcome contrast to the MCU. For others, his movies lacked the intelligence or sophistication to justify his rather humorless take, an unwelcome contrast to the MCU. Even as Snyder moved away from the center of DC movies, allowing directors such as James Wan, Patty Jenkins, and David F. Sandberg tell in-universe stories, while Matt Reeves and Todd Phillips got to pursue their own visions with The Batman…

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26 Oct

Oscar Isaac Just Gave Away What’s Holding Back the Metal Gear Solid Movie

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Rumors of a live-action Metal Gear Solid movie adaptation have been floating around almost as long as the franchise itself. Every year brings with it new rumors as well as new doubts that this Moby Dick of video game adaptations will ever actually happen. Still, what is a pipe dream to some is a guarantee for others, especially those with a vested interest in a Metal Gear film. And no, we’re not talking about Konami. In 2020, Deadline reported that Oscar Isaac, who you’ve seen most recently as the MCU’s Moon Knight and Duke Leto Atreides in Dune, had signed…

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25 Oct

James Gunn Just Confirmed New Era for DC Studios and DCEU Movies

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We don’t know where filmmaker James Gunn is at the moment, but we’d like to think he is dancing real groovy-like to some a.m. radio classics based on the news that was just made public. Because the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director is joining producer Peter Safran to act as co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios. The stunning revelation, which was broken Tuesday afternoon by The Hollywood Reporter, confirms the pair will be reporting directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. They also replace former DC Films president Walter Hamada, who exited the company last…

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25 Oct

The School for Good and Evil Ending Explained: How It Sets Up Part 2

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The School for Good and Evil, Paul Feig’s fantasy adventure film based on Soman Chainani’s YA book series, explores the gray areas in fairy tale morality through a pair of girls who are whisked away to the titular Schools for Good and Evil (SGE for short). Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso), who has always considered herself something of an unappreciated Cinderella within the town of Gavaldon, longs to be the kind of princess she’s only read about in fairy tales. Agatha (Sofia Wylie), regarded as the town witch, only wants Sophie to be happy.  When Sophie writes to the SGE begging…

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25 Oct

The Batman Movie Universe Easter Egg Ties Together Riddler’s Entire History

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The Riddler: Year One is a unique, even historic comic book event. Not only is it a DC book that functions as a prequel to one of the biggest movies in the year in The Batman, telling the tale of how a put upon, socially awkward accountant eventually becomes a terrifying serial killer and Gotham City villain of note, but it’s written by the actor who played the character himself, Paul Dano. We spoke with Dano about how this book helped him utilize some of the backstory he had created in his mind when formulating his Riddler performance, and you…

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25 Oct

The Best Horror Movies Based on True Stories

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Despite what popular perception might be, a lot of horror fans watch scary movies to get away from life’s harsh realities. So in a way, basing a horror on something that actually happened defeats the point. But the fact is it’s all in the telling. We’ve been quite strict about not including things that were just loosely inspired by a real event, with the majority of the story a fiction. So no Psycho or Texas Chain Saw Massacre (both inspired by Ed Gein) and no The Exorcist (the book was inspired by a real boy) etc. Without further ado, here…

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24 Oct

Upcoming Star Wars Movies and TV Series Release Schedule: Will a New Film Ever Come Out?

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There’s never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan in terms of quantity. There’s more Star Wars on screen and on the page now than ever before in the franchise’s history. From Disney+ series to video games to The High Republic books and Marvel comics, you can experience new adventures in the galaxy far, far away pretty much any way you want it right now. If Lucasfilm were able to get some movies off the ground, we’d be able to say that the franchise is firing on all cylinders. Whether or not we finally do get some…

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24 Oct

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Trailer Isn’t Fooling Anyone

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It’s trailer time once again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the House of Mouse is largely focused on promoting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever right now, let’s remember Phase 5 is also kicking off with a bang thanks to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. In fact, things are looking darker than every before in the first trailer for the latter film. This doesn’t quite look like the usual comedic adventure you’ve come to expect from these subatomic heroes. The clue is in the name that Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man will once again be sharing the screen with Evangeline Lilly’s Hope…

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24 Oct

Link Tank: Stream These Horror Movies FREE on Crackle in October

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The latest episode of POPPED CULTURE powered by Crackle features five *killer* titles. Satisfy your spooky season fix by catching horror favorites Train to Busan, Silent Scream, When A Stranger Calls, and The Blob on Crackle this month. Host Aaron Sagers and guest Chris Woolsey also discuss a bonus title, John Carpenter’s iconic slasher Halloween, which is streaming for FREE on RedBox. Additional spooky season titles streaming on Crackle this month include: V/H/S, Dahmer, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Lake Placid 2, and more. Check them out here. Watch Episode 3 of Popped Culture: Spooky Season Edition below. Simon Pegg…

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24 Oct

Barbarian: Where to Watch the Scariest Horror Movie on Streaming

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Every once in a while a horror movie comes along that takes audiences—and the box office—by surprise. Barbarian, written and directed by Zach Cregger and starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long, seems to be 2022’s out-of-nowhere surprise hit thanks to a wildly fun narrative structure with some genuinely jaw-dropping twists and turns. To say more about the film’s story would ruin the fun, and that sort of tight-lipped response from folks recommending the movie is part of the reason the film has grossed over $40 million worldwide on a $4 million budget. While smaller-budget comedies and dramas tend…

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24 Oct

DC Finally Confirms Future of Henry Cavill Superman Movies

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This article contains Black Adam spoilers. Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird! No, it’s a plane! No, it’s the social media cloud of millions of DC fans rejoicing because Superman is coming back to the big screen! Finally. Five years after Henry Cavill last donned the red and blue tights in the much maligned Justice League theatrical cut of 2017, and more than six since Superman got to be a marquee name (while sharing space with Batman), DC Comics’ Man of Tomorrow finally can look forward to a tomorrow on the big screen. This was strongly teased during…

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