A collection of reviews which appear in full on Pop Culture Maniacs.
Pop Culture Maniacs
If you turned off the adaptation of Cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood before reaching the halfway point of its short, sixty minute runtime, you'd likely mistake it for Japanese military propaganda, which is unmistakably curdled by what comes after. Although the location, time period, and details of the
Pop Culture Maniacs
"We'll be vagrants. Sea urchins. Maybe even orphans!"
Pop Culture Maniacs
"Everything I did before today wasn’t me. It was somebody else."
Pop Culture Maniacs
Although Jennifer Kent's debut film, The Babadook, brought international attention to the Australian horror scene, little would come of it until nearly a decade later. Talk to Me kicked off the wave we're currently riding, for better or for worse (mostly better). That's fortunate
Pop Culture Maniacs
"Who are you, really?"
Pop Culture Maniacs
"By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!"
Pop Culture Maniacs
"We all have our loops."
Pop Culture Maniacs
"We don't want your money. We want your transcendence."
Pop Culture Maniacs
Forbidden Fruits starts as a riff on Mean Girls, but set in a mall (somehow still thriving in 2026) at a store halfway between Forever 21 and Nordstrom, called "Forever Eden". The "Plastics" are replaced by the "Fruits", Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti)
Pop Culture Maniacs
Bursting onto the scene with a strong voice, a distinct style, and a fresh tale is a fantastic way to get yourself noticed. But if your follow up repeats (or even deepens) the same beats and style, you risk pigeonholing yourself as a certain kind of director. Some are perfectly
Pop Culture Maniacs
"Inhale. Exhale. You are safe. You are calm. You are exactly where you need to be."
Pop Culture Maniacs
Until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of the video game Iron Lung. Neither had I heard of the YouTube channel Markiplier, much less Mark Fischbach, whose name it bears. His feature film debut (which he wrote, directed, edited, and starred in) only came to my attention