The Nerdery Movie Night #252: Emilia Pérez and Whopper Popcorn

¡Ay dios mio! *gazes at the camera dramatically as the strings come in*

Whopper Popcorn

Dave: What did I just watch? It’s like that extremely mediocre Woody Allen musical, which cast actors with no musical talent, got mixed up with a soap opera. The amount of ear-splitting autotune was enough to turn my stomach (but not quite: see popcorn review), and I cared about none of the characters halfway through the movie. I just wanted it to end about an hour earlier than it did. This film wanted to be Netflix’s Hamilton, but it felt more like an “avant garde” student production. Is this really the best we can do in 2025? (️️⭐️⭐️)

I’d hoped this popcorn would taste a little less like popcorn and a little more like malted milk balls. The malted milk/cocoa/sugar mixture was delicious by itself, I swear! But the sweet corn flavor from the popcorn took over and obliterated it once it was on the popcorn. Even if I got inspiration for this from a mommy blog, I’m not giving up on the Internet as popcorn inspiration - we’ve made so many popcorns, we don’t have a lot of options at this point! (️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

Joe: Did I just watch the most insane telenovela ever? Since the movie was all over the place, so too will be my review. 1.) Zoe Saldaña was excellent. Truly. 2.) Selena Gomez apparently has range beyond her usual deadpan delivery - who knew? 3.) This did not need to be a musical. 4.) Holy fucking shit, why is this a musical? 5.) Zero songs were memorable - although the ones where Saldaña patters were pretty nifty. 6.) Many of the songs - especially the one that took place in Bangkok were so cringe I almost burst out laughing. 7.) Some of the framing and lighting effects - especially on Gomez - were quite striking. This movie has somehow racked up 13 Academy Award nominations, and I'm still wondering how it was even made with a straight face. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't particularly care for it. (⭐️⭐️1/2)

It wasn't until after we finished the movie that I learned Dave made this popcorn up himself. This makes me feel super bad about my review; he's usually a stellar and creative baker/cook. In fact, in our almost decade together, I think this might be his first real L. This didn't taste like Whoppers. It had a really strange salty quality and the butter didn't work with the powder. Only when the chocolate hit full-on did it feel like a solid popcorn. Otherwise, it was only slightly edged out by Emilia. (⭐️1/2)

Popcorn recipe from: La Cucina de Davíd 💅🏻

Emilia Pérez on IMDB.