Popzara Podcast

Article: Dashing Through the Snow (2023)

Remember when made-for-TV movies used to have a stigma about them? Heck, remember made-for-TV movies, period? Well, they’re still around, they just have a new face. The dawn of the streaming service has significantly muddled the once-extant line that separated theatrical movies — even the incompetent ones — from those relegated to network television.

Movie Time! Becoming Santa: The Santa Clause (1994) and Christmas Evil (1980)

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast, where our in-house movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

Wrapped under this year’s podcast tree is our second Santa-themed holiday episode featuring two very different, yet oddly similar movies about men becoming Santa Clause. Parents should exercise caution before gathering the family around the television, however.

First up is 1994’s The Santa Clause, the John Pasquin-directed, Tim Allen-starring family film about a man tricked into becoming the literal Father Christmas. The guys dissect why this holiday favorite, which spawned a massively successful franchise that continues to this day, is darker and more satisfying than you remember. It’s the rare Christmas entertainment where body horror and child custody take center stage, where farting reindeer and legalese reveal the true meaning of Christmas is about loving not who you are, but who you could be.

Next is 1980’s Christmas Evil (aka “You Better Watch Out”), Lewis Jackson’s infamously miscategorized psychological examination of a man descending into madness that’s more Taxi Driver than a typical Halloween-style slasher. Lighter on blood than the marketing suggested, Brandon Maggart wows in a stunning performance predated Joaquin Phoenix Oscar-winning turn in Joker, with beautifully shot locations that look better than most modern films. How many Christmas films can boast having a Frankenstein-like mob wielding actual torches?

Article: Concrete Utopia (2023)

Concrete Utopia is a breath of fresh air. Most disaster movies can’t get past the obvious problems.

Article: Wonka (2023)

If Wonka doesn’t taste quite as magical as you’d hoped there’s a good reason. Mel Stuart's 1971 uber-classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has rightfully taken its place as one of the most beloved films of all-time, whereas writer/director Paul King has managed to craft not one, but two Paddington films many now consider among the best of their generation.

Article: Persona 5 Tactica

Tired of your day job? Sick of running the rat race? You might want to consider a life of crime! It'd only take one heist to pay your way through retirement, after all. It's so easy, it's a wonder everyone doesn't do it! If you need a little taste of the thief life, you might want to check out Persona 5 Tactica, the latest Persona 5 spinoff featuring the game's Phantom Thieves served as a strategy-RPG.

Article: Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader

We should probably all get ready for the far future. There's a few options we can use to do that as far as media go, and I think we should probably go with The Jetsons.

Article: Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

There's no reason to be a hardware snob. Well, okay, that's a lie - better gaming hardware tends to yield better performance and thus a better experience.

Article: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

License-based games get a bad rap, and they by and large get it for good reason. For a while there, the only really great movie-based games were.

Professor Bernard Schweizer Talks Heresy Press, Diversity of Expression, and Nothing Sacred

Our guest on this literary episode of the Popzara Podcast is Dr. Bernard Schweizer, Professor Emeritus of English at Long Island University, who joins our own book nerd Nathan Evans to talk about the formation of Heresy Press, his new publishing outlet designed to "give oxygen to unfettered creativity and to provide a home for authors and books that are not currently favored through the conventional publishing channels."

They also discuss Heresy’s debut release, Nothing Sacred: Outspoken Voices in Contemporary Fiction, an anthology of 12 original stories from an eclectic collection of authors whose only commonality is fearlessness.

Dr. Bernard and Nathan also chat about the importance of freedom of speech in a world increasingly given into tribalism, Pen America's worrying analysis on the publishing industry's "booklash", avoiding left/right labels, censorship by exclusion, navigating and avoiding destructive negativity on social media, the growing dissatisfaction with identity politics (exemplified in recent works like R.F. Kuang's Yellowface and the Jeffrey Wright-starring American Fiction), and much more.

Article: Tram Simulator - Urban Transit

Astragon Entertainment seems to be the leader of most of the successful simulation games out there. They’ve now turned their attention to the world of Trams in their latest release, Tram Simulator - Urban Transit.

Article: Police Simulator: Patrol Officers

When Police Simulator: Patrol Officers hit the streets last year, it had its fair share of problems, but most who played were treated with a nice simulation of what it’s like to be a police officer on the streets. From writing tickets to interviewing witnesses to solve various crimes, it felt like you were making a difference in your neighborhood.

Article: Merry Little Batman (2023)

I have to admit, when I first came across Merry Little Batman on Amazon Prime and saw it’s wacky artstyle and animation, I wasn’t too impressed and was quick to look the other way. After sitting down and giving it a chance however, it turned out to be one of the most fun and funny films I’ve seen this year, as well as being a Batman story the whole family is sure to enjoy.

Article: The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Is there anything in the world more full of hope and wonder than a Studio Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki? Perhaps that’s why fans were so sad when Hayao Miyazaki announced his (most recent) retirement back in 2013, and even more overjoyed when he reversed his decision (yet again) three years later and began working on The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka/How Do You Live for those who prefer the Japanese title). Supposedly Miyazaki’s swan song - a fitting term, seeing as how birds are so central to the story - the film tries to recapture the magic Studio Ghibli - and the great director himself - is known for.

Article: Gunnar Loki: Asgard Edition Glasses

I’m a big fan of actor Tom Hiddleston as he captured everyone’s attention when he took on the role of Loki in the MCU and became a dominating force in it over a decade ago. Now that he’s conquering the small screen in the Loki TV series, Gunnar is bringing his sly style to this realm with the Gunnar Loki: Asgard Edition Glasses.

Article: Gunnar Assassin’s Creed: Mirage Edition Glasses

While I didn’t become a true fan of the Assassin’s Creed games until Origins came about, I’m all on board with the series and couldn’t wait to play the latest entry, Assassin's Creed Mirage that takes the franchise back to its roots with a bigger focus on stealth and finding multiple ways to take out a target. Famed glasses maker Gunnar Optiks are on board with the newest game too with one of their latest products, the Gunnar Assassin's Creed: Mirage Edition Glasses.