It's time for the Listeners' Choice episode!

Thanks to you, we didn't get a choice in this week's episode (thank goodness you all have good taste). Backed by popular demand, we are very excited to discuss Harry Potter in depth for the first time in Popcorn & Cumin history. We have come up with some plot holes in the Harry Potter universe and we will do our best to explain why these holes are not so holey (unlike George). How does Harry become so rich? How does Hagrid fly without a broom or magic motorbike? Why is Dumbledore so bad at hiring teachers? We have all the answers.

(04:30) Harry Potter Cross-Border Factoids

(12:30) Solving HP Plot Holes

(01:00:52) Solving Listener HP Plot Holes

Content warning: mentions of abuse

It's the biggest night in showbiz! Sarah and Euan are back talking about more mostly meaningless awards shows – this week it's the most prestigious and controversial of them all – the Academy Awards! A.k.a the Oscars (who knows why they are called that, you won't find out here). Will Sarah savage Oppenheimer and Cillian Murphy some more? Will Euan come around on What Was I Made for? Is a courgette/zucchini a fruit or a vegetable? Listen to this week's Popcorn and Cumin to find out!

(02:16) Cross-border factoids

(05:36) What is a vegetable?

(09:24) The Oscars results

Worms and sand. Sand and worms. It’s the most hotly anticipated movie of the year (so far): Dune: Part 2! 

In this episode, we tell the story of attending the Dune afterparty and meeting all the actors…kinda. You’ll also hear Sarah go on a rant against Hans Zimmer, listen to our all-insightful book2film adaptation analysis, and hear us say pasty boys at least five times. We had a lot to say about Dune in both non-spoiler and spoiler sections, so we hope you enjoy this extra special one-hour-plus-long Dune deep dive!

(17:25) Non-Spoilers

(52:30) Spoilers

It’s a movie! It’s a musical! It’s a movie musical! This week on Popcorn and Cumin, Euan hates on beloved British institutions, Sarah reveals some anti-ginger monikers for a children's prank, and they collectively decide whether the new Mean Girls movie musical is better than the original (spoiler alert: they do not agree).

(03:05) - Cross-border factoids

(15:01) - Mean Girls (2024)

(37:56) - Better as a musical

(40:55) - Who Is the real villain (big baddie)?

In this shorter episode, Euan has the misfortune of recapping the story of Saltburn to Sarah, who has been lucky enough to avoid watching it. Hear Sarah's live reactions to the most talked about, sensual, disturbing scenes in Saltburn. This episode is not for the faint of heart...

Content warning: graphic sex description, mention of suicide, mention of drug abuse

We did not feel like poor things after watching this movie . . . This episode starts (as usual) with our UK/U.S. cultural difference of the week, followed by a quick discussion about Oscar nominations, and finally, the meat of the episode, a look at the movie Poor Things.

What prank did Willem Dafoe (Sarah apologizes for calling him his given name "William" throughout the episode) pull on Mark Ruffalo? what does a true Scot AND fan of Alasdair Gray think of the director's decision to set the film in London instead of Scotland? Find this all out and more on episode 10 of Popcorn and Cumin!

Content warning: mention of suicide

(00:38) UK/U.S. Differences

(08:53) Movie News: Oscar nominations and snubs

(18:15) Poor Things

The Golden Globes recently aired, signaling the beginning of Awards Season. You know what that means - discussion, debate, and disagreement about made-up trophies for which often the individuals who win do not even care enough to show up.

In this episode, we discuss the film categories of the Golden Globe Awards. If you have been dying to know our thoughts on some of 2023's biggest releases (Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon) and some of 2023's not-so-big releases (Magic Mike XL, Ant Man Quantum Menace, Theatre Camp), and many, many more, this week's episode is where you'll find it. Will the podcast and, more importantly, Sarah and Euan's relationship survive when they pick different movies as the best of the year? Does Sarah know how to pronounce the word scythe? Does Euan hate Billie Eilish? Listen to find out!

*Spoiler Alert* - Light spoilers for Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon.

*Content Warning* - Mentions of suicide

(00:30) Inter-Country Cultural Differences

(07:30) 2023 UK films that were released in 2022 in the US / Babylon, Whiplash, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Menu

(11:25) Recent(ish) controversy with the Golden Globes

(16:52) Best Motion Picture - Drama / Past Lives, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon

(33:20) Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy / The Holdovers, Poor Things, Barbie

(44:53) Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

(46:27) Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy / Poor Things, Barbie

(51:20) Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama / Saltburn, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer

(54:36) Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role / Oppenheimer, Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon

(59:21) Best Motion Picture - Animated / The Boy and the Heron, Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse, Super Mario Bros, Elemental

(01:07:36) Best Original Song for a Motion Picture

(01:09:38) Euan and Sarah's top movies of 2023

It's time to argue about Christmas movies! Thank you to everyone who voted in our Christmas movie bracket. This week we're discussing the merit of your decisions and exploring some of the classic Christmas-movie questions (Is Die Hard really a Christmas movie??). We also discuss UK and U.S. Christmas traditions and have six guests contribute their opinions to the Christmas-movie debate to give you a break from listening to the drone of our voices.

Note: This was our first time recording remotely, and our recording situation was not ideal, so we apologize for the poor sound quality! It does slightly improve after 3 minutes.

Content warning: mentions of sexual assault

(3:44) UK and U.S. Christmas traditions

(14:40) The Battle of the Christmas Movies begins - The Holiday & It's a Wonderful Life

(20:03) Die Hard, The Nightmare Before Christmas, & The Snowman

(25:47) A Christmas Story

(27:35) Rudolph & Nativity

(30:00) Miracle on 34th Street, Gremlins, & Polar Express

(34:14) Home Alone & Elf

(41:10) How the Grinch Stole Christmas & The Muppet Christmas Carol

(45:30) Love Actually

(49:54) Guest contributors (Rudolph, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Die Hard, The Nightmare Before Christmas)

We're going back to Panem! Is it the very first hunger games? No! Is it Haymitch's backstory? No! Is it at least a Quarter Quell? Absolutely not! Is it a kinda-sorta anti-hero story about the big baddie of the hunger games taking place during the tenth annual hunger games when people don't really watch it cause it's kids killing kids? Yes!

(00:35) Are there any good prequels?

(03:25): The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

(41:28) Country-Specific Trivia

This week, we actually did research for our biggest blockbusterest film yet: Titanic! What was James Cameron really like to work with in this iconic film? What were the iceberg's real motives when taking down the ship? And, most mysteriously, who put PCP in the chowder?? Find it all out in this week's episode.

(01:30) Country-specific trivia

(6:00) Titanic

(51:12) Who's the biggest baddie of Titanic?

(54:50) Would Jack and Rose both fit on the door?