It’s almost that time again! After such a long break from cinemas, our society can once again gather in a loud dark room and watch some big men hit each other with their cars. Yes, with the arrival of F9: The Fast Saga close upon us, we here at Pop Culture Maniacs figured we’d take […]
Film Articles
Bondathon: The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun is one of the most infamous films in the Bond series. It was nearly a franchise killer and ended Harry Saltzman’s relationship with the franchise. Yet The Man with the Golden Gun was still able to provide some iconic Bond moments and imagery. MI6 is sent a golden bullet with 007 engraved on it. […]
The 7 Best Zombie Movies of All Time
Zombies! These undead movie monsters have had many alterations through the years. From the supernatural voodoo zombies of the 1930s to the infectious viral zombies of today, filmmakers continue to find ways to keep these creatures alive (undead rather) and relevant. A large reason why the zombie subgenre has remained so popular is because of […]
Bondathon: Live and Let Die
1973’s marked the start of a new era for the Bond franchise with Roger Moore taking over the Bond role. Three British agents have been killed in the space of 24 hours whilst investigating a Caribbean dictator and a New York drug lord. M assigns Bond the mission to investigate what happened and carry on with their […]
Bondathon: Diamonds Are Forever
The seventh film in the official Bond series saw the return of Sean Connery in the role that made him famous. It was a final official Bond adventure for the Scot. After finding and killing Blofeld, M assigns Bond on a mission to investigate a diamond smuggling ring where the people on the smuggling chain are getting […]
Bondathon: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Following three bombastic adventures with Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice, the Bond series returned to a more grounded adventure with 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. James Bond had been searching Blofeld for two years but has not come up with any results. With the case running cold Bond gets an offer from Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), […]
Bondathon: You Only Live Twice
After the detour with the parody version of Casino Royale, Bondathon returns to the main series with the iconic if excessive Japanese-set adventure You Only Live Twice. The USA and USSR are on the brink of war after an American spacecraft disappears. The Americans blame the Soviets but MI6 believes the real culprit is in Japan and […]
Bondathon: Casino Royale (1967)
The 1967 version of Casino Royale was the second adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel and the second unofficial Bond film. It is also the worst film to have anything to do with the legendary spy. The major intelligence services are in crisis. Their best agents have been captured or killed. In desperation, MI6, the CIA, Deuxième Bureau, and […]
Pop Culture Maniacs Podcast Episode #18: Movie Franchises and Cinematic Universes
Kieran Freemantle and Jean Henegan discuss Hollywood’s increased dependence on movie franchises and the art of making a cinematic universe.
Multi-Platform Releasing: the Future of Film Distribution?
The pandemic has been the big disturber to many businesses and industries, including the film industry. The long closure of cinemas and the backlog of unreleased films has led to studios looking for alternative methods of distribution. Warner Brothers planned to release most of the 2021 slate in cinemas and on HBO Max simultaneously, with films […]










