Pop Screen

One year ago, a very good boi and a steel-drum cover of 50 Cent became the most unexpected Oscar-season obsessions this side of Karla Sofia Gascon's tweets. It's Anatomy of a Fall, of course, and if you're thinking "Where's the Pop Screen connection?", look closer - you've got former Savages frontwoman turned "personal album"-maker and prolific collaborator Jehnny Beth playing the nanny, the real hero of the film. Real hero? Well, yeah - she saves the dog.

Join a flu-riddled Graham as he reteams with Film Stories's Mark Harrison to discover, once and for all, whether she did it or not, talk about Sandra Huller's incredible 2023, uncover what was originally going to replace that immortal Fiddy needle-drop, and discuss this thoughtful, grown-up hit in the only way men of their generation can: through Simpsons references and repurposed gags from The Day Today.

Not everyone can afford a house like the one in this film on a writer's wages, so we'd be grateful if you could back our Patreon, where you'll get a bonus episode of this very show every month, plus regular written reviews of The Twilight Zone, classic Asian genre cinema, Red Dwarf and The X-Files, and a special chaotic bonus podcast at the end of every month. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to find out more.

As soon as we heard the tragic news about David Lynch's death, we knew we had to do one of his films on Pop Screen. But which one? Most of Lynch's films feature some sort of musician cameo - and, to answer your next question, we've already done his version of Dune. But there's only one that caught the industrial, trip-hopping, nihilistic zeitgeist of the late '90s, and that's Lost Highway.

Join Graham and Rob as they discuss Lost Highway's iconic soundtrack, featuring Trent Reznor, Rammstein, David Bowie and Barry Adamson. We also talk about its on-screen cameos from Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson - come back! - as well as the cut one from Scott Ian, and the movie's other cut scenes and multiple enigmas. Plus chat about Jack Nance, The Straight Story, and everything we'll miss about the unique Eagle Scout from Missoula, Montana. Like the Man From Another Place says, let's rock!

We recently failed to steal five hundred dollars from a sleazeball we accidentally killed with a glass coffee table, so we'd appreciate your support over on our Patreon. We're about to release an exclusive bonus episode on Masked and Anonymous, and we also post regular written reviews of The Twilight Zone, Red Dwarf, classic Asian genre cinema and The X-Files. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more.

It's suppertime! Yes, after our review of 2024 Pop Screen is back to its old tricks with a look back at 1986's Little Shop of Horrors, the horror-comedy-musical powered by an unforgettable voice performance from none other than The Four Tops's Levi Stubbs. As the "mean green. mother from outer space" Audrey II, Stubbs made Academy Awards history - but you'll have to listen to find out how...

Join Graham and Mike in their weird world as they discuss the songs and set-pieces both added to and taken from the stage musical, as well as the film's relationship with the Roger Corman film it's inspired by. We also unearth Little Shop of Horrors's unexpected connection to Kurt Vonnegut, its successfully unreal soundstage aesthetic, its cameos for everyone from John Candy to Miriam Margolyes... and THAT original ending.

If you want to keep us from being bought out by World Botanical Enterprises, you can join our Patreon where we're just about to drop an exclusive bonus episode about Better Man - yes, the Robbie Williams monkey film. You'll also find an end-of-month round-up podcast called Last Night..., Mike's Twilight Zone reviews, Graham's X-Files reviews, more written pieces about Red Dwarf and classic Asian genre cinema, and more. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more.

You've heard the first half of our retrospective of 2024's cinema on The Uncut Network, now Pop Screen takes over for an even more epic second half - and that's just the bit where we all argue about The Substance. Join Graham, Robyn, Rob, Kat, Simon, Mike, Faye, Aidan, Andy and - in spirit if not in person - Ygraine as they run down their favourite UK releases from July to September. Which one reminds Aidan of Robert Altman? Which one does Kat think sums up modern motherhood? And which one features hundreds - possibly thousands - of beavers?

From Oscar frontrunners like Anora to instant cult favourites like Strange Darling, from multiplex smashes like The Wild Robot to British debuts like Sky Peals, from the guts and gore of Terrifier 3 to the guts and glitz of, er, Guts and Glitz, this is your definitive guide to everything that mattered at the movies in the back end of 2024. And, at the end, our festival-going contingent give you some tips for what to look out for in 2025...

And we've got more! Over on our Patreon we're putting out weekly written reviews of classic science fiction series including The X-Files, Red Dwarf and The Twilight Zone, our series on Asian genre cinema gems is about to relaunch, there's a freeform monthly podcast - Last Night... - where we catch up with anything we've been watching recently, and a monthly bonus episode of this very show - we're about to release one on the chimp-mendous Robbie Williams biopic Better Man. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up.

Marvin Gaye! Originator of conscious soul, Motown legend and surely the coolest man ever to be called "Marvin", he had the kind of raw charisma that you'd think the movies couldn't get enough of. In fact, his acting roles were few and far between, with this curious Vietnam-vets-versus-bikers B-movie the most prominent of them.

In Pop Screen's last show of 2024, Aidan returns to discuss with Graham the legacy of Roger Corman, the bitter glory of Here My Dear, director Lee Frost's super-sleazy entry onto the Video Nasties list, and why the discovery of unreleased tracks by Marvin Gaye could be bad news for a British sitcom legend. Also, after last week's cameo from Mark's dog, another animal makes an appearance...

We'll be back in a fortnight's time with our Best of 2024 show, but in the meantime you can donate to our Patreon, where you'll get an exclusive episode of this show every month, plus regular written reviews of Red Dwarf, The Twilight Zone, The X-Files and classic Asian genre cinema, plus our Patreon exclusive end-of-month review Last Night... Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to find out more.

Last Christmas, we gave you a Christmas special, and this year we're doing the same because we're not very imaginative. This year, to save you from tears, we're doing Paul Feig's Wham-inspired romantic comedy Last Christmas. It was poorly received on its 2019 release, but as was generally the case with 2019 we didn't know how good we all had it. Now, it's settling in to become a Christmas favourite, with all the cheesy appeal of a Netflix or Hallmark movie filtered through two key talents - Feig and screenwriter Emma Thompson - who actually know what they're doing.

Join Graham, Mark and show favourite Dexter (Mark's dog) as they discuss George Michael's legacy, the recent documentaries about him, the connection between the former Yugoslavia and the KLF, and how this film gets the most out of its often-miscast stars Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. Plus appreciations of supporting player Ritu Arya and Jason Statham, the latter of whom isn't in this movie but I dunno, the conversation just went that way.

If you want to help us audition for the big ice show, you can donate to our Patreon, where you'll get a bonus episode of this show every month - the next one comes out tomorrow, and it's about Santa Claus Conquers the Martians - plus weekly articles on The Twilight Zone, Red Dwarf and The X-Files and our end-of-month miscellany podcast Last Night..., which is gearing up for its own Christmas special. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more.

The 1990s! A time when Hollywood's brightest minds were trying to solve the impossible problem of how to make a whole movie from those comic book thingies. Nowadays, they're trying to work out how to stop doing that, but that hasn't decreased the charm of things like Rachel Talalay's Tank Girl, a post-apocalyptic slice of pop feminism in which Lori Petty's titular antihero fights a scenery-chewing Malcolm McDowell while also - and there is no polite way to say this - getting it on with mutant kangaroos. One of whom is Ice-T.

It's fair to assume you won't be seeing this in Phase Whatever of Marvel, but plenty of people have sought it out since its legendarily unsuccessful initial release. On this episode, we're joined again by comics expert Andrew from Behold! podcast in order to properly assess the film's position in comic-movie history, talk about its quintessentially '90s soundtrack and tease out its connections to alt-rock icons like R.E.M., Devo and Bjork. Please note that our statement that Margot Robbie is usually well-cast was recorded before the Great Wuthering Heights Casting Disaster of 2024.

If you can forgive us for that, we'd be super-grateful if you could go over to our Patreon. In return, you get a bonus monthly episode of this show - the latest one, about House of Gucci, is a howl - as well as lots of other stuff that isn't available anywhere else: exclusive podcasts, reviews of The X-Files, Red Dwarf and The Twilight Zone, and much more. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more.

In all the annals of Hollywood flops, Heaven's Gate stands tall. Michael Cimino's follow-up to The Deep Hunter, a film beloved by seemingly everyone other than Jane Fonda at the time, it bankrupted its studio and became a byword for commercial failure. But what if we told you... it was good?

Admittedly you might not be as surprised as people once were. Since its 1980 release, Heaven's Gate has been restored and reassessed, and now Graham and Mark are teaming up to give it a few more flowers. We also pay tribute to its star, the late, lamented Kris Kristofferson, a man who practically exemplifies the concept of a solid dude. From a film about hate comes an episode about love.

It's gettin' dangerous to be poor in this country, but if you've got the money to spare we'd love to get your support over on Patreon. We're just about to launch our review of the original Twilight Zone, to add to our ongoing written series about Red Dwarf, The X-Files and classic Asian genre cinema. All this plus our end-of-month round-up podcast Last Night... - follow us at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to find out more.

Bow before the mighty Thor! That's Jon Mikl Thor, obviously, the musclebound Canadian hard rocker whose mix of riffs and strongman stunts never quite led him to rock Valhalla. Not that it stopped him trying, and Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare was his biggest swing at the big leagues. On paper, it's a canonical hard rock horror movie, right down to the not-exactly-a-stretch casting of Thor as the frontman of a rock band. In practice, it is far, far stranger than that.

Join Graham and Jeff as they discuss the film's alarmingly phallic puppets, its inexplicably long driving sequences and the insane third-act twist that seals its cult movie legend. We also discuss the twisty career of Thor himself, not least the time when he got a new manager who wanted to reshape his career path based on the channelled wisdom of the New Age entity "Seth". The '70s, everyone!

If you want to hear us talking about rock - rock! Rock! - as well as several other musical genres, you'll find a monthly bonus episode of this show on our Patreon, as well as our monthly movie round-up Last Night..., weekly reviews of The X-Files and Red Dwarf, articles on classic Asian genre cinema and much, much more. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up!

Phoebe Bridgers! Snail Mail! Fred Durst?! The list of Pop Screen-qualifying cast members is only the beginning of the weirdness in Jane Schoenbrun's sophomore film I Saw the TV Glow. Released in the UK after a wait almost as punishing as the film's devastating time-jumps, it's the story of two kids who really, really like a TV show. That is, if you're satisfied with a surface-level reading.

If you're not, allow Graham and Robyn to take you through the film's multitude of trans and queer readings, its nods to 1990s telefantasy classics from Buffy to Twin Peaks, its use of - and critique of the abuses of - nostalgia, its subtle coding of each time period it's set in, and of course its soundtrack, whose mix of modern artists and '90s vibes has already made it a cult classic independent of the film it's soundtracking. We also discuss Harmony Korine's short films, the weirdness of early internet video and so much more. It's for the ladies, the fellas and the people who don't give a [censored] - which, we now realise, is an acknowledgement of nonbinary identity. Who knew?

If your heart is like a claw machine, grab a subscription to our Patreon where we release an exclusive episode of this podcast every month, plus lots of other DVD bonus features: written reviews of The X-Files and Red Dwarf, classic Asian genre cinema under the microscope and even more. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to find out more.