This week on Popcorn and Possibilities, Brian and Steph dive into Clueless and shocker: they do not agree. Brian didn’t like it and couldn’t find much to redeem, while Steph still loves it, felt the full nostalgia hit, and deeply related to Tai’s journey. Also… serious question: does Paul Rudd age??

From there, we rank the high school rom-coms we’ve covered so far (Can’t Hardly Wait, Never Been Kissed, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She’s All That), before spiraling into a bigger conversation about movie nostalgia vs. music nostalgia. Why does music seem to transcend time while movies sometimes don’t? And do the movies you watched as a kid hit differently than the ones from your teen years?

We also talk about the overuse (and abuse) of nostalgia for millennials—because nothing says “sorry you can’t afford a house” like announcing a Small Soldiers sequel. We wrap things up by venting about social media algorithms: nonsensical survey posts, nonstop highlight reels, AI Sora animal videos, and the big question—how much hopecore is too much hopecore?

🎬🍿 Nostalgia, hot takes, and algorithm fatigue—as if we weren’t going to talk about all of it.

Brian and Steph kick off the new year with a heartfelt Pop-In interview featuring Jeanne, who shares her remarkable journey from early childhood dreams to a newly retired life filled with purpose. Jeanne reflects on wanting to be an art teacher, how her time in a nursery school unexpectedly prepared her for the corporate world, and why fostering critical thinking has always been at the center of her teaching philosophy.

She opens up about navigating breast cancer—including the support that carried her through—and celebrates earning her bachelor’s degree at age 60. Jeanne also gifts us her personal life acronym, “PEACHY,” the guiding philosophy she lives by, and paints a beautiful metaphor comparing life to the keel of a boat: steady, grounding, and essential.

It’s an inspiring, warm, and wisdom-filled episode that reminds us it’s never too late to grow, dream, or reinvent your life.

🎬🍿 Popcorn and Possibilities kicks off 2026 with Brian and Steph reflecting on New Year traditions, movie nostalgia, and creative goals for the year ahead. In this first episode of 2026, we ask the important question: why would anyone actually want to be in Times Square for the New Year’s Eve ball drop? From there, we talk about setting realistic New Year’s resolutions, why small habits beat all or nothing thinking, and how building momentum matters more than instant transformation.

We rewind to snow days in the 1990s and review the 2000 movie Snow Day spoiler alert it does not hold up. We break down its most problematic elements, including kids driving trucks, the questionable snowplow man kidnapping plot, and a weatherman rivalry that does not actually serve the story. That review sparks a bigger conversation about our 2026 goals, creative risks we want to take (👀 Pop n Poss music?), new genres we might explore, and the positive trends from 2025 we want to keep going. We also reflect on what we have learned from movie reviews Brian’s love of strong character development versus Steph’s need for a coherent and well structured plot plus which movies and shows did hold up for us in 2025. We close the episode by rating 2025 on our signature forecast scale and setting the tone for what is possible in the year ahead.

✨ Whether you’re here for the movie talk, the nostalgia, or a fresh start for 2026, this episode sets the stage for another year of Popcorn and Possibilities.