Pop Break Today

It’s Every Pod You Cast, a podcast dedicated to the British rock band The Police! Justin Mancini of TheCineMaverick.com & Cinema Joes is joined by Chris Mancini and Randy Allain of Media/Lit as they delve into the discography of the postpunk power trio, from 1978 to 1983.

In the first official episode of the season, Justin, Chris, and Randy examine The Police’s debut album from 1978. They talk Andy Summers’ power of poetry, Stewart Copeland’s big boy drum fills, and of course, Sting’s famous posterior piano playing. They also find time to discuss other artists they’ve been listening to apart from The Police.

Host Picks:

Loved You Since I Knew You (A Song We Think Is Underrated or Just Really Like)

Chris – Peanuts

Justin – Truth Hits Everybody

Randy – Hole in My Life

King of Pain (A Song We Don’t Like So Much)

Chris – Born in the 50s

Justin – Be My Girl - Sally

Randy – Masoko Tanga

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (A Favorite Lyric)

Chris – Be My Girl - Sally

Justin – Born in the 50s

Randy – Born in the 50s

A Little Thing They Did Was Magic (A Favorite Musical Moment)

Chris – Masoko Tanga

Justin – Roxanne

Randy – Can’t Stand Losing You

Other Artists We’ve Been Listening To:

Chris – Jinjer

Justin – Nirvana

Randy – Jonathan Richman

WWE Hall of Famer and head of NXT “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels met with the media to discuss the company’s upcoming PPV Vengeance Day which airs on Sunday, February 4th live from the F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, TN. On the call, Shawn Michaels discusses The Vince McMahon Lawsuit, Female Representation, Wren Sinclair, NXT Stars in the Royal Rumble, and more!

Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are back to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Lego Movie.

The Lego Movie is an animated adventure-comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It is based on the Lego toy brand. It opened in theaters on February 7, 2014.

In the film, a construction worker named Emmet (Chris Pratt) teams up with Master Builders such as Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Virtruvius (Morgan Freeman), and Batman (Will Arnett) to prevent Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from gluing the Lego world in place with the Kragle. 

The Lego Movie grossed $468 million on a $65 million budget and earned a spot on the National Board of Review’s Top 10 Movies of 2014. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song, though was controversially snubbed in the Best Animated Feature category. The Lego Movie was followed by multiple spin-offs as well as a direct sequel.

Aaron and Josh talk about their history with the film, its characters, animation, and humor. They also discuss the Lego brand and what the film did for movies based on toys.

For another podcast on an animated film, you can listen to last month’s Prince of Egypt retrospective.

The Lego Movie is available on Prime Video.

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.

In this episode, Allie and Tyler finally lend their voices to the discourse surrounding “Saltburn,” starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and a slew of other people giving it their all. Join them as they discuss whether this is a dark comedy and the perils of unrequited obsession. Unfortuantely, they forgot to talk about the bathtub scene and the grave scene… Just kidding, they both come up A LOT.

Special thanks to Mallory Johns for the introduction music.

To see more of our hosts, check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider, SYFY and NBC Insider. Find Allie’s work at Parade and Business Insider!

And don't forget to follow us on social media —

Allie: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok

Tyler: Twitter

Not Couple Goals: Instagram and Twitter

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.

Join host Daniel Cohen, Pop Break’s former Film Editor and Resident Bat-Maven, as he brings on several guests every month to share his passion for the one and only Dark Knight.  From Adam West to Robert Pattinson, no bat stone will be left unturned.  Bottom-line: If you’re a Batman fan, this is required listening.

It's hard to believe this podcast has been going over a year, and we have NOT done an episode solely focused on the Animated Series.  In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the last episode of the Animated Series, we’re finally rectifying this error!If you love Batman villains, and the animated series in particular, this is the podcast episode you’ve been waiting your whole life for!  Yes, we’re ranking the Animated Series villains.  This will be the first episode in a long list of VILLAIN-centric episodes in 2024, as 2024 will be the year of the Batman Villains on the Batman by the Numbers podcast!

The heated debates begin as Daniel is joined per usual by Podcast Editor of the Pop Break, Alex Marcus, and while he was unfortunately not able to join the podcast due to being under the weather, Justin Mancini, co-host of the new rock podcast Every Pod You Cast, makes his presence known as his rankings were also counted to tabulate the final countdown.

This was a very difficult ranking, as the two hosts agree there were no real weak links.  Who did we include on the list???  You’ll have to listen to the episode!  Also, find out why Daniel is a little lukewarm on the last season of the series, which of Alex’s rankings made Daniel blow his top this time, and find out which villain Justin had very high that the two co-hosts did not agree with.

Aside from the villains, the duo get into why they love the animated series, why it stands the test of time, and throughout the rankings discussion, plenty of great episodes are discussed.You’ll also find out which episode is Daniel’s all time favorite…Batman.  The Animated Series.  Animated Series villain rankings.  WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT OUT OF A BATMAN PODCAST????!!?!??! 

Welcome to “Pop Break Goes to Washington” where host Allison Lips is joined by a special guest to discuss the historical significance and impact of a political film. Allison and her guests discuss how politics is portrayed in each film. While this podcast focuses on the American political system, it does make a few forays outside of the United States. 

For this episode, Allison and Alex Marcus discuss The Ides of March. Alex is The Pop Break’s Podcasting Director. He also hosts the podcasts TV Break & Bill vs. The MCU, and was a co-host on Cinema Joes, a film podcast that wrapped up its six year run early last year.

As for The Ides of March, this 2011 political film stars George Clooney and Ryan Gosling with Clooney as Pennsylvania Sentaro Mike Morris and Gosling as his junior presidential campaign manager. 

Join Allison and Alex as they take a deep dive at this George Clooney vehicle.

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.

In this episode, Allie and Tyler are joined by film critic and podcaster Derick McDuff to talk about a seminal film in the genre, Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Join them as they discuss the many interesting movies that could be spun off from this one, debate whether the infamous orgy mascarade was actually sexy and try to unpack the psychology behind Kubrick’s many baffling decisions. No second password needed to hear this episode, so listen and enjoy!

Special thanks to Mallory Johns for the introduction music.

To see more of our hosts, check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider, SYFY and NBC Insider. Find Allie’s work at Parade and Business Insider!

And don't forget to follow us on social media —

Allie: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok

Tyler: Twitter

Not Couple Goals: Instagram and Twitter

Hello and welcome to Bill vs the MCU! Each month your hosts⁠⁠ Pop Break Podcasting Director Alex Marcus⁠⁠ and⁠⁠ Pop Break Editor in Chief Bill Bodkin⁠⁠ are taking another step into the wider Marvel Multiverse as the MCU dives deeper into their Multiverse Saga.

Bill & Alex spent all of 2022 rewatching the first four phases of the MCU, and they just spent 2023 covering the first phase of Netflix’s The Defenders Saga and the first four seasons of ABC’s Agents of SHIELD.

This month, with their rewatch concluded, Alex & Bill start off by announcing what Season 4 of Bill vs. The MCU will look like, before performing a brief joint reflection on our marvelous 2023 on the podcast.

After that, buckle up because Alex & Bill pass out 19 awards to help cap off their second year with Marvel. Find out what their seasons and films, the Marvel TV actor most in need of an invite to the MCU, which ensemble had a bad enough day to take the Karen Crown, which on screen couple had the most heat, t, the most exciting end credit scenes, and which scene won the Tom’s Tears Award for most emotional moment in the MCU, along with many many others. Then, keep listening for each of our 10-person dream avengers roster!

Watch along with us! Next month's titles are X-Men & X-Men: The Last Stand available to stream on ⁠Disney+⁠ and X2 is available on ⁠Starz⁠ and VOD.

It’s Every Pod You Cast, a podcast dedicated to the British rock band The Police! From the two of the three hosts of Podwork Angels: The Rush Hour (a podcast dedicated to the Canadian rock band Rush), Every Pod You Cast is a podcast series that explores the discography of the short-lived but massively successful triad of Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, and Sting.

In the preliminary episode, Justin Mancini of TheCineMaverick.com & Cinema Joes is joined by fellow Podwork Angels host Chris Mancini as well as The Pop Break contributor Randy Allain. They discuss the blueprint for subsequent episodes, how they discovered the band, why they love them, and their thoughts on the band's infamous throwdowns.

Subsequent episodes will involve discussions of all of The Police's studio albums. For each studio release, each host will spotlight a track they really like, a track they don’t, a favorite lyric, and a favorite musical moment…this time titled with Police-specific puns!

Whether you’re a frequent visitor to the Magic Stingdom or don't know a sleep trance from a dream dance, we hope this podcast will encourage you to discover the gems waiting in the Police canon. Welcome to our one-night show…

The Anniversary Brothers Movie Podcast: The Prince of Egypt 25th Anniversary

Aaron and Josh Sarnecky ring in the New Year with another anniversary. This month they’re talking about The Prince of Egypt for its 25th anniversary.

The Prince of Egypt is an animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells. Written by Philip LaZebnik and Nicholas Meyer, it is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus. It opened in theaters on December 18, 1998.

In the film, Moses (Val Kilmer) grows up as a prince of Egypt alongside his brother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes). After discovering he is a Hebrew, Moses goes into exile until God tasks him freeing the Hebrews from slavery. Other characters include Moses’ siblings Aaron (Jeff Goldblum) and Miriam (Sandra Bullock), Moses’ wife Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her father Jethro (Danny Glover).

Many critics regard The Prince of Egypt as DreamWorks Animation’s masterpiece. At the time of release, it was the most successful non-Disney animated feature, grossing $218.6 million. At the Oscars, it was nominated for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score and won for Best Original Song.

Josh and Aaron discuss the movie’s plot, characters, animation, and songs before going into its legacy.

For more DreamWorks, you can listen to Josh and Aaron’s podcasts on The Road to El Dorado and Shrek.

The Prince of Egypt is available on Peacock and Prime Video