PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
Written by William Shakespeare, Franco Zeffirelli, Paul Dehn, and Suso Cecchi d’Amico
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Shakespeare was a product of his time. Yes, we can find instances of the playwright challenging the mores of his society, and he was a brilliant weaver of language. However, his views on marriage and women weren’t revolutionary, as we can see in the comedy The Taming of the Shrew. Perhaps it should make us feel better that from the play’s debut in the late 16th century, criticisms were leveled at what it says about women. I don’t expect these to have been very loud protests based on how women were treated in the centuries that followed.

Laptop Blues

So my laptop’s charging port finally gave out after years of struggling with it. That means the podcast is on hold and text reviews may be spotty until we get this resolved. The repair is estimated around €200.

I’ve always had a difficult time asking for money/charity, but our budget is fairly tight. It doesn’t escape me that so many are struggling far more than me. If you are able to give, I appreciate it.

Below are links to places I can receive funds. Hopefully we get this resolved sooner rather than later.

Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/c/popcultblog

Ko-Fi – https://ko-fi.com/popcultblog

Ariana’s PayPal – vesseltosea@gmail.com

Movie Review – Throne of Blood

Throne of Blood (1957)
Written by William Shakespeare, Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryūzō Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, and Hideo Oguni
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

I could have gone with more traditional adaptations of MacBeth, but I wanted to see how Kurosawa interpreted the work. I was also interested in learning how far back Japan’s history with Shakespeare’s work went to understand how well-known the play was. Shakeapeare’s plays arrived in Japan during the Meiji Restoration when power was reconsolidated under the Emperor. If you watch Shogun, it is the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ended with the Meiji Restoration. It was marked by the opening of Japan’s borders to foreign influence in a way that had never been seen before.

Movie Review – Julius Caesar (1953)

Julius Caesar (1953)
Written by William Shakespeare, adapted by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Once upon a time, I was a student at university who didn’t know exactly what to major in. I had chosen mass communications, but after taking some of the English prerequisite classes for all students at my liberal arts college I found I really loved those teachers and the subject matter. Upon becoming an English major, I had some new required classes. Two of those were Shakespeare: Comedies and Shakespeare: Tragedies. I wasn’t a stranger to the work of the Bard. I was homeschooled but still assigned Romeo and Juliet to read. An afterschool Literature Club that our local homeschool group formed had us read Julius Caesar and even performed excerpts from it at the homeschool group talent show. I got to deliver Mark Antony’s “Friends, romans, countrymen” speech which I am sure if I reviewed the crumbling VHS tape I’d pick on several areas of improvement.

PopCult Podcast – Eraserhead/Blue Velvet

In January we lost my favorite filmmaker, David Lynch. Today we pay tribute by talking about two of his best films. A young man wrestles with the horrors of adulthood. Another young man learns about the dark side of his small town.

Solo Tabletop RPG Review & Actual Play – Everspark Part Four

Read the previous session here.

This session will look at a Spark for Cypress’s overall quest inside Murkspire. They are here for The Nightveil Stone, so I’ve written up the NACHOS for it below.

N – The Nightveil Stone
A – After each successful action or favorable event
C – Starting after the third advance
H – Cypress escapes with the Nightveil Stone
O – Skragz’s Fangguard locks up Cypress and his allies
S – None

Because Cypress made it into Murkspire, he can add one step to this Spark. I will not check until I mark the third advance.

The Nightveil Stone – 1/5

February 2025 Posting Schedule

Film Series
[Some Shakespeare on Film – 3 Feb thru 27 Feb]
Julius Caesar, Throne of Blood, The Taming of the Shrew, Prospero’s Books, Henry V, Richard III, Romeo + Juliet, Hamlet (Branagh), Titus

Comic Book Review – Iron Man by Christopher Cantwell

Iron Man: Books of Korvac I – Big Iron (2021)
Reprints Iron Man (2020) #1-5
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Art by Cafu

Iron Man: Books of Korvac II – Overclock (2021)
Reprints Iron Man (2020) #6-11
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Art by Cafu and Angel Unzueta

So, I’ve never been an Iron Man fan. I read issues here and there, and there are plenty of comics in which Iron Man appears. I’ve seen all the Iron Man movies. I just feel very meh about the character. If you had to compare him to a DC analog, I would say Batman is the closest. They are both rich white dudes who use their wealth to fund their superhero exploits. Batman is more interesting to me because of the darker aspects, and I think his Rogues Gallery is far more interesting than anyone who has ever fought Iron Man.

31 Days of Character Creation #31 – Dungeon Crawl Classics

Wow. This is the first time I’ve ever done one of these X Days of Y things and I actually completed the damn thing. I mostly see drawing related challenges and I can’t draw to save my life. I really enjoyed getting to look at several systems I’d never even cracked open before and see the mechanics and how characters work. It’s led to me choosing several systems I want to play sometime in the future like Outgunned, Star Trek Adventures, and Dragonbane. Here’s our final character.

31 Days of Character Creation #30 – Ryuutama

Not all fantasy tabletop RPGs are the same. Ryuutama is a great example of that. World building is a collaborative effort between players and GM with a world creation sheet passed around the table allowing everyone to add an element. XP isn’t typically derived from killing monsters, but from traveling and exploring. The more difficult the terrain the greater the reward for passing through it. The general feel here is of a Hayao Miyazaki game with a lush, verdant world to explore.