Raya and the Last Dragon sees Disney enter into the world of martial arts fantasy with their new princess being the most action ordinated heroines. 500 years ago the land of Kumandra was blighted by the Druun, cloud spirits that turn people into stone. The world was saved by the legendary dragon Sisu (Awkwafina), who used […]
Film
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 […]
Stowaway Review
Stowaway is the latest film to show the perils and challenges of space travel. A three-man crew goes on a two-year mission to Mars. The make up of the crew are commander Marina Barnett (Toni Collette), medical officer Zoe Levenson (Anna Kendrick), and the ship’s biologist David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim). However, their mission is complicated […]
The Mitchells vs The Machines Review
Sony Animation’s new film The Mitchells vs The Machines is a movie for young movie lovers. The film follows the titular Mitchell family as they embark on a cross-country road trip to take daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) to her first year of film school. Katie is passionate about making movies, as demonstrated by the (often […]
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), […]
In Search of Darkness: Part II Review
The journey into ’80s horror continues with In Search of Darkness: Part II. David A. Weiner’s epic documentary begins with a veracious quote from renowned horror director Dario Argento: “Horror is like a serpent; always shedding its skin, always changing.” Argento’s sentiment perfectly encapsulates the horror genre. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, […]
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.










