Pop Culture: with Helen O’Hara

It's not often that you see a Christmas film with Oscar buzz, nor one that the studio for some reason decide to release in the second half of January. Yet here we are, with the excellent cast and crew of The Holdovers. The reunion of Sideways' director and Star, Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti respectively, sees them tackle the story of a depressed teacher left looking after outcast students at a boy's boarding school over the holidays, which is no-one's idea of fun. Joining your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) to talk about it is Radio One film critic and host of Radio One’s “Screen Time” Ali Plumb (@AliPlumb), here to dissect perhaps the best Christmas movie of the decade... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Folklore: not just a Taylor Swift album. In this Norway-set horror / comedy, an enraged barn elf just ruins a family Christmas in revenge for being fed fish instead of cookies. It may be a relatable beef, but it's taken to extremes in a sort of Gremlins-esque romp through Norwegian folklore. Director Magnus Martens joins us to talk about the levels of horror and humour involved, and then your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) is joined by film journalist Tom Beasley (@TomJBeasley) to discuss the best way to survive a Scandinavian Christmas... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Woo is back, and he's brought a Christmas movie: now that's the kind of present we like to see under the tree. Or is it? To discuss this new Christmas-set tale of revenge and voicelessness starring Joel Kinnaman, your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) is joined by Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) to delve into questions of action, representation and why you should be watching For All Mankind... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple TV's big Christmas extravaganza this year is a showcase for the multi talented Hannah Waddingham, the star of Ted Lasso who is also a classically trained opera singer and Broadway star. As she gathers celebrity friends and family for an evening of Christmassy fun, Charlotte Harrison (@sometimescharlotte) joins me to talk variety shows, musical selections and hot tubs... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it a Christmas film? Technically maybe not. But then again, yes, utterly. Paul King's follow-up to Paddington 2 is a musical, an ode to the power of chocolate and one of the most delightful films of the year, and in this episode Helen is joined by The Independent's film critic Clarisse Loughrey (@ClarisseLoughrey on Twitter) to discuss how Wonka isn't a Christmas movie but is it kinda? Kinda, it is. Wonka is in cinemas everywhere from December 15. If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices