Whiskey and Popcorn

'The Favourite' is best period piece of the year

11/30/2018

There's been a slew of period movies this year from Colette to Outlaw King. Out of them all The Favourite reigns. Witty, sharp, filled with humor and drama, director Yargos Lanthimos gives us a gem of filmmaking.

Hear why this is the film to see. And as always our reviews are spoiler-free!

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Movies for Foodies

11/21/2018

As we gather around the dinner table in ritual homage to all the things we’re thankful for we thought if there must be an argument, let it be around which movies have the best food scene.

Our hosts Kaely and Tuesday sat down with a special dinner guest to hash out the absolute most delicious moments in cinema. No food fights here, but there is plenty of drooling. From the giant cookie moment in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids to decadent feast in Hook to the dreamy pies in Waitress, we cover the whole menu.

For a very special Thanksgiving episode, we give you Movies for Foodies.

Bon Appetit!

Do you agree with our list? See the scenes for yourself. What is your favorite movie food scene?

Kaely's Picks

Hook, 1991

Howl's Moving Castle, 2004

Babette's Feast, 1987

Tuesday's Picks

Heavy Weights, 1995

Grease, 1978

Eat, Pray, Love, 2010

Stina's Picks

Waitress, 2007

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, 1989

Big Night, 1996

'Beautiful Boy' confronts the ugliness and tragedy of addiction

11/20/2018

Accomplished student, athlete, and artist with a charismatic personality, Nic Sheff has it all. But his life quickly spirals into despair and chaos as he gets hooked on meth. Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell deliver the ultimate performances as father and son in a film that feels immediately present in light of today's opioid addiction crisis.

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Powerful performances make 'Boy Erased'

11/19/2018

Light is shed on the practices of gay conversion therapy in the arresting film Boy Erased. This powerful film reaches deep into your heart and forces you to confront questions much of the country still would rather turn away from.

Powerful performances by Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe are what make this film the masterpiece that it is. It's a difficult watch but worth it. Listen to our review to hear why.

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'Green Book' - A touching and poignant buddy road trip through the 1960s deep South

11/15/2018

Italian-American, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) lands a new job as a driver for Dr. Don Shirely (Mahershala Ali), a musical genius. Set in the 1960s, their friendship starts off on the rocks before with laughs and poignancy. A true gem this season. Listen to find out why you should see "Green Book."

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Kids Say ‘Give Us More Female Superheroes’

11/13/2018

By Kaely Monahan

Courtesy of BBC America

The demand for more female super and sci-fi heroes is on the rise according to a new study by BBC America and the Women’s Media Center. And it doesn’t come as a surprise. The box office success of Wonder Woman ensured that studio executives are at least looking into more female-led sci-fi and female-led stories.

In the first in a series of studies Superpowering Girls: Female Representation in the Sci-Fi/Superhero Genre, the researchers polled some 2,431 girls and boys ages five to 19 years, as well as the parents of kids between five and nine years old.

Both kids and their parents were asked about their favorite role models, favorite superheroes, gender representation in the media, and for the children specifically, what their future aspirations are.

Courtney Thomasma is the Vice President of research for BBC America and one of the leaders on the project. She says the study uncovered two very interesting points when it comes to role models.

Across the board girls and boys look to role models that are the same gender as themselves. You know you can see it. You identify with your own gender a lot more. That can be really empowering,” she says. “We also found outside of parents and family, superheroes were actually the number one source of inspiration and role models for children.”

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to superhero role models, boys have an extensive list of choices. From Batman to Superman to Spider-Man, there’s nearly a hero for every boy -- although diversity among the superheroes is still lacking. For girls, however, the list is much shorter. According to the study, Wonder Woman is most picked by girls as their favorite superhero, with Supergirl getting mentioned here and there.

Courtesy of BBC America

“That was pretty telling,” Thomasma says. “There's an important space for that sort of character and I think, especially in the sci-fi superhero genre where it's about imagination and possibility more so than some other genres. There's a real opportunity for representation in the space. And unfortunately a real lack of representation on the female side.”

This lack of representation translates into real-world concerns for young women. The study found that by the time a girl reaches her teens she is significantly less likely than a boy to describe herself as confident. They also don’t describe themselves as brave nearly as often as boys, and perhaps the most distressing of all 57% of teen girls said that they don’t feel like they’re heard. The numbers are even higher for girls of color.

Courtesy of BBC America

This lack of confidence and feeling of being unheard means that young girls may not feel able to do things or choose career paths that are traditionally male-dominated. Take for example the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field. Only one-third of teen girls say they want to pursue a STEM career.

Courtesy of BBC America

So how does having more female superheroes and sci-fi heroes help?

“Girls were much more likely to say that female superheroes made them feel like they could be anything that they wanted to. (And) actually, boys who have a lot more male superheroes to choose from we're less likely to cite those empowering effects,” Thomasma says.

She believes that there is not only a hunger to see more women in these roles but that there is a real need to show women in the role of the hero.

It makes good business sense to create more female heroes. The demand is high, and perhaps most surprising, girls and boys across the board both say they want to see more women in these roles. If the appetite is there, then it only serves in the studios' interests to fill the demand with well developed, interesting, powerful female heroes.
Take, for example, the overwhelming outpouring of enthusiasm and support for Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor in Doctor Who. She says they were inundated with fanart, fanfiction, videos of reactions to the news that a woman was playing the pivotal role of the Doctor after 50 years of men.

“One (video) clip, in particular, went viral of a mom and her daughter watching the announcement. And this girl looks to the camera as soon as Jodie Whittaker who plays The Doctor took her hood off and revealed that she was, in fact, a woman. The girl turned to the camera and squeals the ‘New Doctor the girl!’ I think with the most aired video of the day. People like P!nk picked it up and shared it,” Thomasma says.

BBC America and the Center for Women in Media is continuing their research, but it is clear that there is a huge space to fill with female-led hero roles. And with Captain Marvel hitting theaters next year, and whispers of a Harley Quinn solo movie, one can only hope that the space so long dominated by white-male heroes will make room for a diverse cast of fresh-faced heroes for our young women.

• Kaely Monahan the creator and host of Whiskey and Popcorn. She is also a radio producer for KJZZ News, and an entertainment reporter. Follow her @WhiskeyPopcorn and @KaelyMonahan.

'Outlaw King' introduces Chris Pine as Scottish hero-king Robert the Bruce

11/13/2018

No kilts are donned in this historical costume drama. But we get plenty of swords, horses, battles, and mud. Chris Pine becomes Robert the Bruce but can he swing a Scottish accent? Find out in our spoiler-free review of Netflix's Outlaw King.

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'MID90s' grabs right at the heart

11/5/2018

Jonah Hill captures a specific moment in time where kids played outside, got into trouble, and skating was king. MID90s is this year's Lady Bird.