Pop and Schlock

​Ava DuVernay's adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's seminal classic A Wrinkle in Time is in theaters now. Jake and Meredith sit down to discuss where the film soars and where the film sinks and what that means for the future of DuVernay, who has proven herself to be one of the most interesting directors working today.

This week on Pop and Schlock LIVE, Jake and Meredith sit down to discuss Duncan Jones' MUTE now streaming on Netflix. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd and Not Luke Wilson.

The film is not perfect, which makes for some good discussion. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Annihilation is pretty much Jake's cup of tea. Nevermind the fact that Jake doesn't like tea. Meredith is more ambivalent. This episode deals with some of the themes and arguments brought up in the Black Mirror episode and ponders whether internal narratives can be translated to a filmed medium. Also they fancast Jake into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fun all around.

​Black Panther is one of the best films of the year so obviously this is one of our best episodes of the year. We brought on local Houston artists and Black Panther enthusiasts Isaiah Broussard and Stephen Patrick Kelly to talk about what made the film work, why it was so special, and somehow work in a tangent about why the X-Men don't work when Spider-Man is also around.

Jake likes sci-fi. Meredith likes sci-fi. They don't like it when people try to dismiss things that are sci-fi for being sci-fi. A discussion on the versatility of the genre, fan entitlement, conventions, tropes, and why Speed Racer is the pinnacle of cinematic achievement ensue.

​Sci-fi is like orange juice; some people like a little pulp. The recent surprise release of Julius Onah's The Cloverfield Paradox became a major talking point on the web this week and we sat down to talk about why the backlash seemed so severe. We get into the nature of science fiction and also the way distribution models for film are wildly evolving and what we can expect to see in the coming years when it comes to streaming.

​This week we sit down to discuss representation in media. How important is accuracy? Does it distract from indigenous stories if filtered through a Caucasian lens? Is it okay to make fun of Irish people? Listen to find out!

Greetings and salutations! This week we sat down to talk about Jack Black's The Polka King, now streaming on Netflix. Is it better to judge a film based on its merit or how well it serves the history it is adapting? Should Jake have just given up on credibility and done morning radio instead of whatever nonsense this is? Why did ska go away?

Listen to find out!

his week we sat down to talk about the film Proud Mary and why diversity in media is such an important concept. We also discuss the merits of workmanship in delivering upon expectations when walking into a film, and Jake manages to turn everything into a discussion about The Last Jedi. (Not really, but sorta.)

Hola amigos! This is the very first episode of Pop and Schlock LIVE on KPFT. Their website can be a little hard to navigate and find new shows so I wanted to ensure that our fans have a chance to listen to the broadcast.

We want to again thank Don Freeman and everyone at KPFT for giving us this platform. We hope to continue to grow and improve as time goes on.