Karthik Subbaraj is the director behind pulpy, Tarantino-flavoured gangster films full of Bruce Lee nods and larger-than-life characters. In Dorothy, now streaming on Netflix, he trades some of that swagger for something gentler. Set in a rural village in the 1980s, it follows two lifelong friends who grow up steeped in machismo and violence, until a woman marries into one of their households and changes the course of both their lives. We dig into the music, the performances and the look of the film, and whether it's a good place to start with the director's work.

Image Credit: IMDb

Karthik Subbaraj is the director behind pulpy, Tarantino-flavoured gangster films full of Bruce Lee nods and larger-than-life characters. In Dorothy, now streaming on Netflix, he trades some of that swagger for something gentler. Set in a rural village in the 1980s, it follows two lifelong friends who grow up steeped in machismo and violence, until a woman marries into one of their households and changes the course of both their lives. We dig into the music, the performances and the look of the film, and whether it's a good place to start with the director's work.Image Credit: IMDb

Talking apes and Jedi Knights are cool, but how do they impact Hollywood as a whole? That's the kind of stuff we talk about on Popcorn Culture - a mixed-bag-exploration of the movies, TV shows, and pop culture buzz that we love, as well as the ones we love (slightly) less.

Talking apes and Jedi Knights are cool, but how do they impact Hollywood as a whole? That's the kind of stuff we talk about on Popcorn Culture - a mixed-bag-exploration of the movies, TV shows, and pop culture buzz that we love, as well as the ones we love (slightly) less.

Popcorn Culture

Karthik Subbaraj's Dorothy

This week's a DC double bill. First up, Clayface, a body horror villain origin story written by Mike Flanagan alongside Hossein Amini and directed by James Watkins — a pedigree that had us intrigued before a single frame rolled. A mob boss disfigures a rising, Oscar-nominated actor, and the experimental treatment meant to restore his face instead turns him into the shape-shifting monster of the title. We dig into whether the gnarly practical effects and dread-filled first half are enough to carry it through to the end. 

Then we turn to Lanterns, the small-screen Green Lantern Corps series from Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as a grizzled veteran and an idealistic newcomer dragged into a rural mystery spanning two timelines a decade apart. It's less space opera, more prestige crime drama — and we break down whether that trade-off pays off.

Image Credit: IMDb

This week's a DC double bill. First up, Clayface, a body horror villain origin story written by Mike Flanagan alongside Hossein Amini and directed by James Watkins — a pedigree that had us intrigued before a single frame rolled. A mob boss disfigures a rising, Oscar-nominated actor, and the experimental treatment meant to restore his face instead turns him into the shape-shifting monster of the title. We dig into whether the gnarly practical effects and dread-filled first half are enough to carry it through to the end. Then we turn to Lanterns, the small-screen Green Lantern Corps series from Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as a grizzled veteran and an idealistic newcomer dragged into a rural mystery spanning two timelines a decade apart. It's less space opera, more prestige crime drama — and we break down whether that trade-off pays off.Image Credit: IMDb

DCU Special: Clayface + Lanterns

This week it's a double bill that swings from blockbuster spectacle to underwater survival. First, Jailer 2 sees Rajinikanth return as “Tiger” Muthuvel Pandian, picking up three months after the first film as he goes after the cartel behind a statue smuggling ring, all the way to the top. We discuss whether the Superstar’s latest outing lives up to the first installment.

Meanwhile, Whalefall follows a grieving son who sets out to honour his late, estranged father and ends up swallowed by a whale, left to figure out how to survive. We discuss how this thriller handles grief, and whether it works as a survival story. Image Credit: IMDB

Image Credit: IMDB

This week it's a double bill that swings from blockbuster spectacle to underwater survival. First, Jailer 2 sees Rajinikanth return as “Tiger” Muthuvel Pandian, picking up three months after the first film as he goes after the cartel behind a statue smuggling ring, all the way to the top. We discuss whether the Superstar’s latest outing lives up to the first installment. Meanwhile, Whalefall follows a grieving son who sets out to honour his late, estranged father and ends up swallowed by a whale, left to figure out how to survive. We discuss how this thriller handles grief, and whether it works as a survival story. Image Credit: IMDBImage Credit: IMDB

Jailer 2 + Whalefall

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director behind Birdman and The Revenant, turns his gaze on climate catastrophe with Digger, and the result is as divisive as his back catalogue. Tom Cruise disappears into the title role as an oil tycoon with the US president's ear, whose relentless exploitation has pushed the world to the edge of ecological collapse — icebergs, tsunamis and all. We talk about why we love Digger, and why this bold, original swing has been tanking at the box office despite some of the best work of Cruise's career.



Image Credit: IMDB

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director behind Birdman and The Revenant, turns his gaze on climate catastrophe with Digger, and the result is as divisive as his back catalogue. Tom Cruise disappears into the title role as an oil tycoon with the US president's ear, whose relentless exploitation has pushed the world to the edge of ecological collapse — icebergs, tsunamis and all. We talk about why we love Digger, and why this bold, original swing has been tanking at the box office despite some of the best work of Cruise's career. Image Credit: IMDB

Karthik Subbaraj's Dorothy

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