WVIA Pop Shop: Where movies meet meaning — and overthinking is part of the fun!
Welcome to WVIA Pop Shop — a place where stories on screen spark real conversations about the world off-screen.
Hosted by Allan and Patrick, two professors with a deep love for movies (and a tendency to think way too hard about them), this show explores what our favorite films reveal about culture, identity, relationships, and what it means to be human.
From timeless classics to today’s blockbusters, we’re not just reviewing movies — we’re unpacking the lessons, questions, and surprising truths behind them.
Whether you're a lifelong cinephile or just someone who loves a good story, you're invited to pull up a seat, press play, and join the conversation.
Support for WVIA's Pop Shop is provided by the FM Kirby Center
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More than 30 years after the original animated series, does X-Men '97 still have something important to say?
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Is Supergirl just another superhero movie—or does it have something meaningful to say about justice, trauma, and what it means to be good?
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Is Toy Story 5 really about toys—or is it about what children are losing in a technology-driven world?
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In this episode of WVIA Pop Shop, Allan Austin and Patrick Hamilton discuss Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg's latest science-fiction thriller.
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Can a He-Man movie actually say something meaningful about modern masculinity?
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In the return of WVIA Pop Shop, Allan Austin and Patrick Hamilton discuss The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars movie to hit theaters in years. Is it a worthy big-screen adventure, or does it feel like a streaming episode stretched into a movie?
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Join us as we close out Season One of Pop Shop by dissecting Honey Don’t—the latest film from Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza.
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In this episode of Pop Shop, our crew take a Wakandan wild ride through Eyes of Wakanda—the first streaming series of Marvel’s Phase Six, produced by Ryan Coogler. This four-part animated anthology explores the mysterious missions of Wakanda’s War Dogs as they recover lost vibranium artifacts across history and time.
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Take a deep dive into Eddington, the latest film from director Ari Aster, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal. Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eddington explores power, politics, and personal trauma in a New Mexico town teetering on the edge.
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Is the new Naked Gun reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson a worthy successor to the classic spoof series? In this episode of Pop Shop, the crew take a deep dive into the absurd, hilarious, and surprisingly complex world of the rebooted Naked Gun.