Pop Break Today

Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are back for their latest podcast. This time they’re talking about Walt Disney’s Bambi for its 80th anniversary.

Bambi is an animated film directed by David Hand, based on the book by Felix Salten. It opened in theaters on August 21, 1942.

Bambi follows the deer Bambi (Donnie Dunagan) from infancy to maturity. Bambi’s friends include the rabbit Thumper (Peter Behn) and the skunk Flower (Stan Alexander). Destined to one day rule over the woodland creatures, Bambi learns many things as he grows up, including to fear Man.

Bambi initially garnered mixed reviews. The film also suffered at the box office because of World War II. It was nominated for Best Original Song, Best Score for a Drama or Comedy, and Best Sound at the Oscars. Bambi became successful upon re-release and is now an undisputed classic.

Aaron and Josh talk about the movie’s plot, characters, and animation. They also discuss its legacy and the reported remake in the works.

For a podcast on another classic film, you can listen to Josh and Aaron chat about Singin’ in the Rain.

Bambi is streaming on Disney+

Welcome to “Not Couple Goals” where co-hosts Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy do a deep dive into a different ridiculous romantic thriller from the vantage point of their long-term relationship.

Allie, a TV writer/producer and actress, has an affinity for romantic thrillers, the more salacious the better. Tyler, an entertainment reporter and critic, often finds himself drawn in despite his better judgment. Join them as they explore all the ways it’s possible to love too hard… like WAY too hard.

This week, Allie and Tyler are joined by their special guest, Ryan Lee Gilbert, formerly of Broadway.com and current manager of The Mysterious Bookshop to discuss the super-sexy 1998 thriller that we all lied to our parents to watch, Wild Things. Join them as they ask the critical question, “Is Matt Dillon attractive?” and Ryan explains grading Florida on a curve. Also, yeah, they of course talk about the threesome scene.

Special thanks to Mallory Johns for the introduction music.

Please don’t forget to follow our hosts on Twitter @ANelRetentive & @TylerMcCarthy and check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider and Allie’s at Parade!

Ever since Marshall Craig was taken from us on December 18, 2020, his mother Carla Craig has worked tirelessly with his friends and loved ones to ensure his memory lives on. So far, this has led to his massive book collection being donated to the library at his Alumni, The California University Of Pennsylvania, a bench installed at a park where he loved to see the sunset, and the beginnings of a charity called Marshall’s Revolution.

This is a year long miniseries designed by The Pop Break Staff Writer Sam Niles to progress his memory by having some discussions about movies in Marshall’s collection. Marshall has an incredible collection and could talk for hours about film, so some of his friends got together and made a podcast to invite guests with both a passion and knowledge for film to discuss selections from his collection once a month.

This month on Marshall’s Movies, writer Violet Masters joins to discuss the David Lynch film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. This film, from 1992, is somewhat of a prequel to the 1990 television series also created by David Lynch. Sam and Violet discuss the complicated ruminations of grief and horror that the film explores while also reflecting on how the film mirrors in some ways their own experience with grief.

Hello and welcome to Bill vs the MCU! Each month your hosts Pop Break Podcasts Editor Alex Marcus and Pop Break Editor in Chief Bill Bodkin take another step on their ten month journey to rewatch the ENTIRE Marvel Studios-produced Marvel Cinematic Universe, typically focusing on three or four films from the first four phases of the MCU per episode, reminiscing about their first watches, reflecting on their latest viewings, and considering the wider multiverse ahead!

The reason this podcast came into existence is that our Editor-in-Chief has never finished the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So Alex is guiding him on his journey to actually finish the MCU over the next 12 months.

This week, however, we are taking a break from our look back in order to look forward to the future of the franchise in a very special bonus episode where we give you our immediate reactions to all the MCU and MCU adjacent news that came out of the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con event. Below check out the outline of everything we covered from two days of panels on the next three years of Marvel!

Marvel Studios Animation News - I Am Groot (8/10/22); Spider-Man: Freshman Year (2024); What If…? (2023); Marvel Zombies (2024); X-Men ’97 (Fall 2023)

Phase 4 continued - She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (8/16/22); Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (11/11/22)

Phase 5 - Ant-Man: Quantumania (2/17/23); Secret Invasion (Spring 2023); Guardians 3 (5/5/23); Echo (Early Summer 2023); Loki 2 (Mid Summer 2023); The Marvels (7/28/23); Blade (11/3/23); Ironheart (Fall 2023); Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2024); Daredevil: Born Again (Spring 2024); Captain America: New World Order (5/3/24); Thunderbolts (7/26/24)

Phase 6 - Fantastic Four (11/8/24); Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (5/5/25); Avengers: Secret Wars (11/7/25)

What Do We Still Not Know?

Hello and welcome to Bill vs the MCU! Each month your hosts Pop Break Podcasts Editor Alex Marcus and Pop Break Editor in Chief Bill Bodkin take another step on their ten month journey to rewatch the ENTIRE Marvel Studios-produced Marvel Cinematic Universe, typically focusing on three or four films from the first four phases of the MCU per episode, reminiscing about their first watches, reflecting on their latest viewings, and considering the wider multiverse ahead!

The reason this podcast came into existence is that our Editor-in-Chief has never finished the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So Alex is guiding him on his journey to actually finish the MCU over the next 10 months.

This week, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After seven months and 22 films, Bill finally watched Avenger: Endgame! We will be discussing that experience in depth, along with our reflection on 2019’s other releases: Captain Marvel & Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are available to stream on Disney+. Spider-Man: Far From Home is currently available for rental and purchase on VOD and to stream via FXNow & FuboTV.

Welcome to “Not Couple Goals” where co-hosts Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy do a deep dive into a different ridiculous romantic thriller from the vantage point of their long-term relationship.

Allie, a TV writer/producer and actress, has an affinity for romantic thrillers, the more salacious the better. Tyler, an entertainment reporter and critic, often finds himself drawn in despite his better judgment. Join them as they explore all the ways it’s possible to love too hard… like WAY too hard.

This week, Allie and Tyler sink their teeth into the surprisingly disturbing 2021 film Fresh starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs and a decidedly not heroic Sebastian Stan. Listen as they discover what the other thinks about the morality of cannibalism (it’s complicated?) and Allie says a dignified “goodbye” to ever eating meatballs again.

Please don’t forget to follow our hosts on Twitter @ANelRetentive & @TylerMcCarthy and check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider and Allie’s at Parade!

It’s Podwork Angels: The Rush Hour, a podcast dedicated to the Canadian rock band Rush! Justin Mancini of TheCineMaverick.com & Cinema Joes is joined by fellow Cinema Joes podcast host Noah Franc of FrancNoir, as well as Luke Martin, host of Talking the Coda, as they delve into the discography of Canada’s favorite sons, from 1974 to 2012.

In this episode, Chris Mancini joins Justin, Luke, and Noah as they hail to the kings with Rush’s fifth album. They detail the epic perfection of Xanadu, debate whether brevity is a negative, and do a little singing of their own (because Geddy can’t have all the fun). And as always, the hosts recommend more artists for your listening pleasure.

Host Picks:

Limelight (A Song We Think Is Underrated, or Just Really Like)

Chris – Xanadu

Justin – Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage

Luke – Xanadu

Noah – A Farewell to Kings

Handle with Kid Gloves (A Song We Don’t Like So Much)

Chris – Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage (Movements 2 & 3)

Justin – Cinderella Man

Luke – Closer to the Heart

Noah – Madrigal

Words of the Profits (A Favorite Lyric)

Chris – A Farewell to Kings / Madrigal

Justin – A Farewell to Kings

Luke – A Farewell to Kings

Noah – A Farewell to Kings

Magic Music That Makes Our Morning Mood (A Favorite Musical Moment)

Chris – Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage

Justin – Xanadu

Luke – A Farewell to Kings

Noah – Closer to the Heart

Other Artists We’ve Been Listening To:

Chris – Death from Above 1979

Justin – Original cast recording of Into the Woods

Luke – Run the Jewels

Noah – Score to Millennium Actress

There’s arguably no superhero in existence that has been reimagined, redefined, or reinterpreted more than Batman.  No matter how many times he’s been rebooted, audiences are always willing to come back to Gotham City’s greatest defender.  With so much Bat content out there, there’s plenty to dissect, analyze, and of course, rank!  This podcast is dedicated to a surgical evaluation of Batman’s history, with a focus on ranking several topics in the world of Batman, among other classic Bat themes and characters.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD.  The three deep dive into the history of Batman movies, as they count down from worst to best twelve different Batman films.  What movies are included?  How were the rankings determined?  Does Daniel actually defend Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?  Did someone on the panel not rank Batman & Robin last?

Welcome to “Not Couple Goals” where co-hosts Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy do a deep dive into a different ridiculous romantic thriller from the vantage point of their long-term relationship.

Allie, a TV writer/producer and actress, has an affinity for romantic thrillers, the more salacious the better. Tyler, an entertainment reporter and critic, often finds himself drawn in despite his better judgment. Join them as they explore all the ways it’s possible to love too hard… like WAY too hard.

This week, Allie and Tyler are joined by their first-ever guest, Mallory Johns of Vox Media Studios (and the creator of their awesome theme music) to discuss the 1998 thriller A Perfect Murder. Spoiler alert: the murder and the movie aren't exactly perfect. However, it does offer Mallory and Allie a chance to swoon over a young Viggo Mortensen and Tyler the opportunity to showcase his sexy Michael Douglas impression. Gwyneth Paltrow is there too.

Please don’t forget to follow our hosts on Twitter @ANelRetentive & @TylerMcCarthy and check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider and Allie’s at Parade!

Pop Break Editor-in-Chief Bill Bodkin and senior writer Michael Dworkis reunite to talk about All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling's landmark show -- Forbidden Door. They discuss the negative buzz surrounding the show, their own expectations for the show and of course if the show delivered. Discussions also include the debut of Claudio Castagnoli (the former Cesaro), the breakout performances from Clark Connors and Shota Umino, what New Japan stars they'd love to see return in AEW, Sting's outrageous performance and the future of AEW.