Ka-pow!

Our holiday hiatus is over and Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast is back to full speed.  Coach Mayor Jared Lowe sticks around to help us catch up on three huge releases from Disney+, including the last episode of a furiously fun Marvel series, the start of a new Star Wars chapter and a future-classic of an animated film. Length - 01:31:04 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:02:40 - HAWKEYE Our SPOILER-filled take on episode 6 of the Marvel superhero series, as all the lingering threads get pulled together for the explosive finale. - 0:23:02 - CROSSING THE STREAMS The first three installments of the Star Wars solo adventure "The Book of Boba Fett" debut to mixed fan reaction and the magical family film "Encanto" finds an even bigger streaming audience.

Happy New Year!  After a couple years of uncertainty in Hollywood, Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast - and our guest Coach Mayor Jared Lowe - return to one of our longest running traditions and preview all of the movies scheduled to arrive in 2022.  We go month by month, revealing all the major motion pictures hitting theaters and streaming services in the coming year, then compile a list of our Top Ten most anticipated films. Length - 01:46:03 Language - PG-13.  (Contains some adult language.)

Happy New Year!  For our final episode of 2021 Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast catches up on some of the television and film that has been entertaining us this holiday season, including another in-depth discussion of Marvel's festive limited series "Hawkeye." Length - 01:26:37 Language - PG-13.  (Contains adult language.) - 0:03:18 - MOVIE NEWS The star-studded biopic "House of Gucci" from Ridley Scott, a modern take on the classic musical "West Side Story" and "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street" sheds light on the creation of the revolutionary children's show. - 0:34:50 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" restages vintage episodes of "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes," sitcom "American Auto" from the creator of "Superstore," the second and final season of "Pen15," an in-season version of HBO's "Hard Knocks," "Succession" continues its masterful run, working-class story "Maid" connects with viewers and historical drama about famed Russian ruler "The Great."

The biggest movie in the multiverse has arrived and Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast is here with our review of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."  It's not possible to discuss the plot of Marvel's latest blockbuster without massive SPOILERS, so beware, but those who have seen the film already can relive it with us as we talk about whether it lived up to high fan expectations, where the franchise may go from here and where it ranks in the history of Spider-movies. Length - 01:17:56 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.)

As the year winds down, the quality of movies goes up and Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast has been catching as many fantastic films as possible.  Both at the cinemas and streaming at home, we have reviews and recommendations on ways to spend your upcoming winter nights. Length - 01:26:50 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:06:50 - MOVIE NEWS Family film "8-Bit Christmas" adds 80s nostalgia to the holidays, Will Smith's "King Richard" a tennis biopic about the legendary Williams family, two new HBO "Music Box" documentaries "DMX: Don't Try to Understand" and "Listening to Kenny G," Paramount+'s "South Park: Post COVID" flashes forward to the kids' future, Nicolas Cage drama "Pig" arrives on Hulu, "Tick, Tick... Boom!" a celebration of Broadway dreams from Lin-Manuel Miranda, arthouse Western "The Power of the Dog" features a bravura performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, a trip to Columbus to catch Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch," SPOILER-y reactions to that unexpected cameo in "T

It's Christmas time, bro!  Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast has decked our halls with some new IKEA bookshelves, taken our long winter's naps and now we're ready for some festive TV to get us in the holiday spirit.  Luckily we've got "Hawkeye," an animated superhero spinoff, the worst people in Philadelphia and The Beatles to give us hours and hours and hours and hours (and hours) of joy. Length - 01:09:18 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:14:30 - HAWKEYE Our SPOILER-ific reactions to the first three episodes of the latest Marvel TV series on Disney+, we're talking Hawkguy, bro! - 0:42:20 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS Spending several candid hours with the lads in "The Beatles: Get Back" documentary, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" breaks the record for television's longest running live-action comedy and the CW-verse's "Beebo Saves Christmas" becomes the most confounding holiday special of the season.

The bizarre and befuddling fifth season of Riverdale concludes, and like a crew of off-duty firemen digging for palladium, Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast continues to mine every nook and cranny of this show for its most precious elements.  So stick with us for the final three installments, as we discuss Chapter 93 "Dance of Death," Chapter 94 "Next to Normal" and Chapter 95 "Riverdale: RIP (?)." Length - 01:09:50 Language - PG-13. (Contains adult language.)

Good news!  Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast has a lot of entertaining stuff to talk about this week, including a field trip to Columbus to a retro toy Mecca, new movies both streaming and on the big screen, a stack of essential reading to add to your library and some recent television worth getting excited about.  You can Book It! Length - 01:25:58 Language - PG-13.  (Contains some adult language.) - 0:15:40 - MOVIE NEWS A few further non-spoilery thoughts on Marvel's "Eternals," "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" a fun nostalgic experience, the star-studded "Red Notice" a globe-trotting Netflix adventure, "Music Box: Jagged" documentary takes a closer look at Alanis Morissette's breakout album, Tom Hanks in the post-apocalyptic drama "Finch" for Apple TV+, "Jungle Cruise" arrives on Disney+ and avoiding the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" trailer. - 0:48:25 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS Reading "The Wheel of Time" to prep for the new Amazon Prime series, grown-up kid detectives star in Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin's

We kick things off this week with the tale of Seth commemorating a milestone by getting his first tattoo, then we explore some promising recent television that's just getting started (and one already canceled), catch up on a few old favorites and then dissect how an expertly crafted horror story can affect us by pushing the right deep-seated psychological buttons.  So enjoy a little Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast now, before we get too popular and inevitably K-P-Peter out. Length - 01:33:53 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:17:33 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS A year late to "The Haunting of Bly Manor," the second season of Netflix's "Locke & Key," "Y the Last Man" canceled on the verge of becoming interesting, "Maid" shines the spotlight on America's underclass, more "The Righteous Gemstones" on the way, "Awkwafina is Nora From Queens" grows more sure of itself as a sitcom, some bold moves leading up to the season finale of "What We Do in the Shadows," a new cast adds a different f

Cliff is back from Disney World (reluctantly), and has a trip report on what's happening during the 50th anniversary of the park.  And visits to the movie theater are finally happening on a more regular basis, so we have reviews and recommendations on what we've seen recently, both streaming and on the silver screen.  So keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, because Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast is ready for takeoff! Length - 01:05:28 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:24:30 - MOVIE NEWS Initial thoughts on Marvel's cosmic-scale ensemble piece "Eternals," the long-awaited adaptation of sci-fi classic "Dune," "Last Night in Soho" presents the dark shadows behind the swinging sixties, Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond in "No Time to Die," watching the film version after reading Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," the Netflix western "The Harder They Fall" has an all-star cast and DC Fandome event drops new trailers, teasers and concept art.

It's time for another Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast Countdown!  With Cliff away at Disney World, we invited Coach Mayor Jared Lowe to join us in choosing the greatest Western movies of all time.  Featuring a nice mix of classic cowboy flicks and more modern revisionist takes, we circle the wagons and use our "competitive collaboration" method to muster up our Top 17 favorites from the genre.  And don't worry... all the mustaches are real. Length - 02:42:16 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.)

We've been derelict in our duty lately, failing to squeeze every last drop of joy out of every precious minute of Riverdale.  So we play catch-up in this episode of Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast, bending a knee to the King of the Rats and the Queen of the Bees and hitting all the half-remembered highlights in the back half of season five with Chapter 87 "Strange Bedfellows," Chapter 88 "Citizen Lodge," Chapter 89 "Reservoir Dogs," Chapter 90 "The Night Gallery," Chapter 91 "The Return of the Pussycats" and Chapter 92 "Band of Brothers." Length - 01:14:44 Language - PG-13. (Contains mild adult language.)

Finally on the other side of three hundred, Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast begins our next era catching up on all the fun fall television we haven't talked about in a while.  And be sure to check out our brand new Patreon page at www.patreon.com/youdownwithkpp.  We have revamped our whole Patron system to offer more choices and more rewards.  A small monthly contribution to this labor of love gets you access to fun Patron exclusives from a vote in our polls to early access, special bonus episodes and more! Length - 01:21:07 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:02:46 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" ends their run with a satisfyingly silly conclusion, struggling to get on the same wavelength as "Y the Last Man," AMC's Fear Fest brings back "Eli Roth's History of Horror" docuseries and more episodes of the "Creepshow" anthology, "Muppets Haunted Mansion" adds classic Muppet humor to the Halloween season, putting an anime spin on a galaxy far, far away in "Star Wars: Visio

Welcome to Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast's super-duper-sized Three Hundredth Episode milestone annivers-a-ganza!  And just like we did when we hit #100 and #200, we are celebrating with a carefully curated look back at an array of our favorite moments.  Hear some of our funniest pre-planned bits, spontaneous moments that went off the rails, the debuts of several long-running segments, the origins of a couple inside jokes and much more.  So whether you've been down with KPP since the old days or are just tuning in for a sample of the nonsense we get up to on a weekly basis, thanks a million and we love you 300! Length - 02:25:58 Language - PG-13. (Contains mild adult language.)

As Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast preps for our 300th episode, we decided to make this previously "Patron Only" bonus show available to all our listeners.  In it, we experiment with a new way of creating a Top Ten list, stress testing our recent brand of "competitive collaboration" list-making for the first time.  So listen in as Cliff and Jordan work together (and against each other!) to compile KPP's picks for the all-time best third entries in our favorite film franchises. Length - 01:02:50 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.)

We've had a busy couple of weekends lately, with festivals, fairs, homecomings and work, work, work, but Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast couldn't let a Marvel blockbuster go by without sharing our review!  So after Cliff lets us know how he did in a bout of toy trivia against some podcasting pals and we cover a couple of recent documentaries, it's on to "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." Length - 01:23:53 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:12:22 - MOVIE NEWS "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed" explores the life of the beloved artist and the corporate maneuverings that stole his name, the earliest days of Music Television discussed in Biography's "I Want My MTV" and a biopic about a comic book creator's unconventional romance, "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women." - 0:41:43 - SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS Marvel Studios' 25th film had another record-breaking release and we share our SPOILER-filled opinions about the mashup of martial arts fa

With many of our favorite summer series concluding and brand new fall premiers dropping, it's a busy time of year for television.  So trust Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast with recommendations and reviews of nothing but the best of the bunch.  We put on pants for this! Length - 01:38:16 Language - PG-13.  (Contains adult language.) - 0:12:20 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS Native cast and crew capture a specific slice of life in Hulu's "Reservation Dogs," second season of "Dave" ends on a triumphant high, "Ted Lasso" doesn't suffer the sophomore slump we feared, Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as public school teacher "Mr. Corman," "Brooklyn 99" tackles policing problems in final episodes, nobody learns any lessons on "The White Lotus," NFL football means more "Hard Knocks," an uneven third season of "Titans" features the Scarecrow, outlandish dating show "FBoy Island," "Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes" docuseries chronicles the journalism behind the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Mindy Kaling mines the immigrant exp

The countdown to #300 begins with this episode of Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast featuring a thorough review of "The Suicide Squad" and recaps of our trip out to the ol' ball yard and this year's Free Comic Book Day festivities.  Then we wrap it all up with an unexpectedly deep Yeah You Know Me segment about the family keepsakes we hold most dear. Length - 01:03:18 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:15:35 - THE SUICIDE SQUAD Deciding whether James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" improves on the original's expendable supervillain formula in this SPOILER-packed review. - 0:32:22 - MOVIE NEWS Hugh Jackman explores dangerous memories in Lisa Joy's sci-fi romance "Reminiscence," the struggles of a child with deaf parents in the weepy Apple TV+ film "CODA" and Kevin Bacon still holding out hope for more "Tremors." - 0:41:15 - YEAH YOU KNOW ME What one heirloom would we save from our houses in the event of an emergency?

We are back to "The Crossroads," celebrating the most entertaining and unexpected crossovers between well-known properties in comics, TV or movies.  This time out it's just a single episode of ALF (Season 2, Episode 2) called "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" where the alien refugee dreams of a visit with the famous TV castaways.  So sit right back and you'll hear a tale, here on Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast! Length - 00:42:28 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.)

The Olympics didn't manage to preempt ALL of our favorite shows the past few weeks, so Ka-Pow the Pop Cultured Podcast is back with a TV-themed episode reviewing what's new and exciting.  From a stellar year so far from a reality-show favorite to the animated adventures of He-Man to a captivating musical documentary to bucket hats and "Beastmaster," we've got it covered! Length - 01:14:20 Language - PG-13.  (Contains mild adult language.) - 0:01:28 - TV RECAPS & REVIEWS Getting invested in the latest season of "Big Brother," "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" warms our toy-loving hearts but divides fans, Hanna-Barbera characters updated for HBO Max series "Jellystone," "The Prince" mocks the British royal family, the present and future clash in "Transformers: War for Cybertron - Kingdom," a magical world of musical theater in "Schmigadoon!," "Kevin Can **** Himself" takes more chances as it ends its first season, "Mrs. Fletcher" a showcase for Kathryn Hahn, "Workin' Moms" still has something to s