Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Lock up your daughters, boys and girls. Now Playing Podcast returns! Blade was an unexpected hit in 1998, so in 2002, Wesley Snipes returned as the Daywalker for the first sequel of his career. This time the vampire hunter faces a new threat: the Reapers, a vicious breed of super-vampires that force Blade into an uneasy alliance with the very bloodsuckers he’s sworn to destroy. Behind the camera is then–up-and-coming director Guillermo del Toro (Mimic), bringing his love of monsters, gothic visuals, and brutal action to the franchise, with David S. Goyer returning to write the script. Does Blade II sharpen the series with bigger action and nastier creatures, or does the sequel lose its bite? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob’s review on Now Playing Podcast to find out. {Blade Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

I guess if you're immortal, cholesterol doesn't matter? By 1998, the only Marvel Comics character to get a wide theatrical release was Howard the Duck. But that changed when Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer brought Marvel’s vampire hunter to the big screen in Blade, with Wesley Snipes donning the black leather to wage war on the undead. Facing off against Stephen Dorff’s ambitious bloodsucker Deacon Frost, Blade mixed martial arts, techno soundtracks, and vampire mythology into something unlike the comic book movies that came before it. Arriving just after the misfire of Batman & Robin, Blade helped restore credibility to comic adaptations and quietly laid the groundwork for the Marvel movie boom that followed. But does this pre-Matrix blend of CGI, blood-soaked action, and late-’90s style still hold up today? Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob sharpen the stakes and dive into the film’s place in comic book movie history on Now Playing Podcast. {Blade Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

You don't need an invitation to download this podcast, so download it now! Dracula, Lestat, Angel, Nosferatu, Spike...Jerry??? While Hollywood continues to mine all vampire properties to build on the current fang mania, the 1985 cult film Fright Night was not one with the name recognition that made it an obvious choice for a remake. But with Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Marti Noxon handling the script and an impressive cast including Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, and David Tennant, this unlikely revival just might have the bite to make vampires scary again. But does this modern Fright Night honor the spirit of the 1985 original, or is it just another victim of Hollywood’s remake machine? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Brock on Now Playing Podcast to find out. {Fright Night Series}

The eyes have it! Now Playing Podcast concludes its Final Destination retrospective with the fifth and newest installment in the franchise. When Sam and his coworkers narrowly escape a catastrophic bridge collapse on their way to a company retreat, they think they’ve cheated fate. But as always in this series, Death’s design is far from finished. With Tony Todd returning as the mysterious Bludworth, there may finally be clues about how Death’s plan works… and whether it can ever truly be beaten. But after five films, are audiences still invested in the mythology, or are we all just here to watch the next elaborate chain reaction of grisly demises? Arnie, Jakob, and Brock break down the thrills, the twists, and the kills as Now Playing Podcast reviews Final Destination 5. {Final Destination Series}

Bowling alley pizza gives us similar convulsions - and we're not even vampires! Jerry Dandrige may have been turned to dust in Fright Night, but Charlie Brewster’s troubles are far from over. After months of therapy convincing him that vampires don’t exist, Charlie tries to move on with his life… until Regine, Jerry’s mysterious sister, arrives looking for revenge. With Charlie doubting his own memories and a new girlfriend caught in the crossfire, his only hope once again lies with washed-up TV horror host Peter Vincent: Vampire Killer. Featuring a new lineup of monsters and leaving fan-favorite Evil Ed behind, Fright Night Part 2 tries to continue the cult classic’s mix of horror and humor. But does this sequel capture the bite of the original? And perhaps the bigger question: can you even track down a copy to watch? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Brock on Now Playing Podcast to find out. {Fright Night Series}

In 2009, horror stepped into another dimension: 3-D. While franchises everywhere scrambled to cash in on the gimmick, the Final Destination series returned with its fourth installment, bluntly titled The Final Destination. With Final Destination 2 director David R. Ellis back behind the camera, the film opens with a catastrophic speedway crash that gives psychic Nick a vision of death’s latest design. Escaping the initial disaster is only the beginning, as Nick and his friends face a deadly chain reaction involving a car wash, a swimming pool, and even a chain-link fence. Do the over-the-top kills and 3-D spectacle breathe new life into the franchise, or is this where Death’s design finally runs out of ideas? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Brock’s review on Now Playing Podcast to find out! {Final Destination Series}

Special Ed Jerry and Billy seem like perfectly normal neighbors… if you ignore the apple cores in the yard and the occasional garbage bag that looks suspiciously human-shaped. While the rest of the neighborhood goes about their business, teenager Charlie Brewster realizes the truth: the suave guy next door, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire. In 1985, Fright Night revived the undead with a clever blend of horror and comedy. Chris Sarandon brought charm and menace as the stylish bloodsucker Jerry, while Roddy McDowall stole scenes as Peter Vincent, a washed-up TV vampire hunter suddenly facing the real thing. Is this cult classic still immortal, or is it a relic best left in the coffin of ’80s horror? Stuart, Arnie, and Brock sink their teeth into the original Fright Night to find out, kicking off Now Playing Podcast’s full retrospective of the series, leading up to the remake starring Colin Farrell. {Fright Night Series}

We will never look at Home Depot the same way again! You could say Wendy’s senior year is a real roller coaster. Graduation looms, friendships are shifting, boyfriends are on the chopping block, and she’s having crystal-clear visions of a coaster flying off the rails. When her premonition saves a handful of classmates from a deadly ride, they think they’ve beaten fate. They haven’t, but maybe Wendy's magic camera can help her decode Death’s design before it claims them one by one. With original director James Wong back at the controls of the nail gun and the tanning bed, does Final Destination 3 deliver another twisted thrill ride, or is the track starting to buckle? Jakob, Arnie, and Brock step back in line to find out. {Final Destination Series}

Seriously, dude, we're trying to eat...can't you at least walk downstream a bit? Daniel Craig. Harrison Ford. Jon Favreau. Cowboys. Aliens. These creatives and concepts had Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart racing to saddle up to see one of the few non-sequel, big-budget spectacles this summer. Based on a comic series, Cowboys & Aliens mashes up Western grit with sci-fi spectacle: six-shooters, alien tech, and a desert showdown. Ride on over to NowPlayingPodcast.com and hear whether this high-concept shootout hits the mark. {Individual Movie Reviews} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Can we find the pregnant woman now, please? In Final Destination, you can’t cheat death; you can only delay it. Part two picks up with the previous film's survivors still haunted by what they escaped, and Death ready to clean up loose ends. But Death can multitask, as we also have a new group of would-be victims trying to outthink a force that doesn’t play fair. With one of horror’s most infamous freeway pileups that made audiences side-eye logging trucks for years, does this follow-up sharpen the formula, or just repeat it with more blood and broken glass? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Brock as they revisit the second stop on Death’s itinerary and decide if this Destination delivers. {Final Destination Series}

Galactus has the munchies and is following a surf dude for a snack... Is intergalactic weed involved? With Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 20th Century Fox doubled down on Marvel's First Family, bringing one of the most beloved cosmic storylines from the comics to the big screen. The mysterious Silver Surfer (voiced by The Matrix's Laurence Fishburne) arrives as a harbinger of world-eating Galactus. With bigger effects, higher stakes, and a fan-favorite character finally in live action, this sequel aimed to correct the missteps of the first film and expand the franchise into true cosmic territory. Is the third time a charm for the Four? Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob dive into the spectacle, the tone, and that controversial depiction of Galactus in this chapter of Now Playing Podcast's Marvel retrospective. {Fantastic Four Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Wanna go take a listen? After Scream rewrote the rules of teen horror, a wave of imitators hit theaters. Most crashed hard, but one survived... In Final Destination, high schooler Alex (Idle Hands' Devon Sawa) has a premonition that his flight to Paris will explode. He and several classmates get off the plane only to discover that cheating death comes with consequences. As Tony Todd (Candyman) ominously explains, death has a design, and it doesn’t like being interrupted. With elaborate Rube Goldberg-style kill sequences and a killer you can’t punch, outrun, or unmask, the film launched a franchise built entirely on inevitability. Now our hosts get on board and revisit the one that started it all to see if this high-concept horror still delivers suspense, or if its fate was sealed from the beginning. {Final Destination Series}

Doom's so vain I bet he thinks this podcast's about him. After decades of development limbo and one unreleased low-budget experiment, the Fantastic Four finally arrived in theaters in 2005 with a full studio push from 20th Century Fox. Positioned as the next Marvel team franchise to stand alongside X-Men, this big-budget adaptation brings Reed Richards (102 Dalmations' Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Idle Hands' Jesica Alba), Johnny Storm (Not Another Teen Movie's Chris Evans), and Ben Grimm (The Shield's Michael Chiklis) to life as they square off against Victor Von Doom (Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon). With glossy effects, a $100 million budget, and clear plans for sequels, does this first official big-screen outing capture the mix of science fiction spectacle and family dynamics that made the comic a classic, or does it struggle to ignite? Join the Now Playing Podcast crew as they break down the film that finally gave Marvel’s First Family a theatrical release. {Fantastic Four Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Did Avi Arad shout "Flame On!" as he burned the negative? Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four launched the modern Marvel Universe in 1961, redefining superheroes as flawed, bickering, deeply human characters. On screen, though, Marvel’s First Family has had a rockier path. In this first chapter of our Fantastic Four retrospective, Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob go back to 1994 and the infamous Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four film. Shot on the cheap and reportedly made primarily to retain the movie rights, this version was never officially released, yet bootlegs turned it into a comic-book legend. Why was it shelved? Was it truly unwatchable, or just a victim of studio politics? Join the Now Playing Podcast crew as they examine the most unloved and abandoned superhero movie ever made. {Fantastic Four Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Watch as Michael Bay and co. transform world history! Transformers: Dark of the Moon stormed into theaters, smashing buildings and box office records, and dominating the Fourth of July holiday. Michael Bay’s third outing raises the stakes again, tying the Autobots and Decepticons to a secret Apollo-era conspiracy and unleashing some of the biggest action set pieces of the franchise. But does this installment actually improve on its predecessor, or is it another effects-driven juggernaut powered more by 3-D ticket prices than storytelling? Jerry, Stuart, and Arnie break down the action, the mythology, and Bay’s bombast to decide whether Dark of the Moon redeems the series or simply doubles down on what came before. {Transformers Series}

Oh robot giiiiiirlfriend Arnie, Stuart, and Jerry continue their Transformers retrospective with Revenge of the Fallen, the second entry in the Bayformers saga. The Matrix of Leadership returns, Optimus Prime falls again, and the franchise leans hard into both G1 nostalgia and full-throttle spectacle. But do those callbacks and expanded lore actually add weight to the story, or does the scale overwhelm everything else? Join the Now Playing Podcast crew as they break down the mayhem to see whether this sequel stands tall or collapses under its own mass. {Transformers Series}

Two guys, a girl, and a magic ring Because you demanded it. Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart take a break from Marvel to shine a green light on DC’s Green Lantern. Starring Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Hal Jordan, alongside Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Peter Sarsgaard Garden State), Mark Strong (Kick-Ass), and Angela Bassett (How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Green Lantern is Warner Bros.’ attempt to launch its own cosmic superhero franchise to rival Marvel's Cinematic Universe Does it soar into the upper atmosphere of superhero cinema, or crash back to Earth under the weight of its own ambition? Join the Now Playing Podcast crew as they revisit Reynold's second attempt to be a superhero and decide whether this ring had any real power behind it. {Green Lantern Series} {DC Comics Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

More oil was used on Megan Fox than all the automobiles in this film combined! Continuing our Transformers retrospective, Arnie, Jerry, and Stuart shift gears into Michael Bay’s 2007 live-action debut, dubbed "Bayformers" by longtime fans. With Steven Spielberg producing and a massive effects budget bringing Autobots and Decepticons into the real world, the film aimed to turn a beloved ’80s cartoon into a modern blockbuster. But did Bay successfully reinvent the franchise for a new generation, or did the spectacle overwhelm the spark that made fans care in the first place? Join the Now Playing Podcast crew as they break down the action, the humor, and the metal-on-metal mayhem to see if this transformation holds up. {Transformers Series}

You're not fooling anyone, Hot Rod. The next screw that falls out will be you For our first episode in the Transformers Retrospective Series, we roll back to 1986 and the animated big-screen debut of The Transformers: The Movie. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron, the rise of Hot Rod, a synth-heavy soundtrack, and a voice cast that includes Eric Idle (Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), and the legendary Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) in his final role. It had all the makings of a franchise-defining event, but it left children traumatized and flopped at the box office. Dare to be stupid with Arnie, Stuart, and Transformers mega-fan Jerry as they revisit the animated epic that reshaped Cybertron and ask whether this so-called bomb was actually more than meets the eye. {Transformers Series}

Now we gotta cut loose, with nukes! Our X-Men retrospective ends where the X-Men began. X-Men: First Class rewinds the timeline to the 1960s, recasting Charles Xavier (now Wanted's James McAvoy) and Magneto (now Eden Lake's Michael Fassbender) and rebuilding the franchise from the ground up. Matthew Vaughn, coming off Kick-Ass, takes the director’s chair while Bryan Singer returns in a producing role, steering the series into prequel territory. Can this rebooted origin story stand alongside successful franchise relaunches like Star Trek and Batman Begins? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart for this First Class finale of their journey through the X-Men saga. {X-Men Series} {Wolverine Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

After this podcast, we're afraid Stryker is going to try to have our mouths grafted shut Hugh Jackman steps out on his own in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel tracing Logan’s life from 19th-century Canada through wars, Weapon X experiments, and the events leading to his memory loss. While there's no Xavier's School, there's still a slew of fan-favorite mutants like Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), Blob (Kevin Durand), and a very different take on Deadpool. But does this deep dive into Logan’s past add meaningful layers to the character? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they revisit Wolverine’s first solo outing and decide whether these origins sharpen the claws or dull the legend. {X-Men Series} {Wolverine Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series} {Deadpool Series}

Multiple men discuss Multiple Man With Bryan Singer graduating from Mutant High to direct Superman Returns, and much of the original creative team gone, Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) stepped in to close out the mutant trilogy with X-Men: The Last Stand. The long-foreshadowed conflict finally explodes when a "cure" for mutation is announced, splitting the mutant community and forcing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) into open war. The film swings for epic, tackling the Dark Phoenix storyline while juggling an expanding ensemble. It’s also one of the most divisive entries in the franchise, with fans split over its choices and casualties. Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they revisit the trilogy’s conclusion and decide whether The Last Stand earns its place in the saga or buckles under its own ambition. {X-Men Series} {Wolverine Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Bobby's brother was nominated for Worst Movie Sibling 2003 Three years after X-Men helped redefine superhero cinema, the mutants return with a bigger budget and new enemies. X2: X-Men United brings back Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), and the original cast, but does the focus on Wolverine's mysterious background overshadow the team? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart as they break down Bryan Singer’s follow-up and decide whether X2 is the rare superhero sequel that improves on the original, or just a case of mutant overload. {X-Men Series} {Wolverine Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

The greatest trick Magneto ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist... When you think of superhero movies, you probably don’t think of concentration camps, civil rights allegory, and moral philosophy. But in 2000, Bryan Singer’s X-Men changed the conversation. Bringing Wolverine, Cyclops, Professor X, Magneto, and Rogue to the big screen for the first time, the film grounded comic book spectacle in themes of prejudice and identity. Anchored by a cast that included past and future Oscar winners, it treated its source material with an unusual seriousness for the era. More than just launching the X-Men franchise, the film helped kick off the modern wave of Marvel adaptations that would soon dominate Hollywood. Over a decade later, does it still feel like the beginning of something bold, or a stepping stone to bigger things? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they revisit the movie that helped usher superheroes into the 21st century. {X-Men Series} {Wolverine Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Max Headroom, Ace Ventura, and Freddy Krueger all rolled into one! Before Hugh Jackman’s claws, before billion-dollar box office, there was… Generation X. In 1996, Fox aired a made-for-TV movie intended as a backdoor pilot for an X-Men series that never materialized. Based on the comic spin-off, the film follows a new class of teenage mutants at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, this time led by Emma Frost and Banshee. With Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) chewing the scenery as dream-invading villain Russell Tresh, this oddball entry feels worlds away from the sleek superhero cinema that would arrive just a few years later. Is this forgotten TV experiment a fascinating relic for hardcore X-fans, or a mutant misfire best left buried in the ’90s? Listen and find out. {X-Men Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

We don't need friends, we need you to download this podcast! Eleven years after the "final" chapter, Ghostface picked up the phone again. Scream 4 brings Sidney Prescott back to Woodsboro for the franchise's first true revival, blending legacy characters with a new generation raised on remakes, reboots, and online fame. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette return, joined by a cast of younger would-be survivors who think they know the rules better than anyone. This time, the satire targets horror remakes, internet celebrity, and a culture obsessed with going viral. Arnie, Stuart, and Marjorie break down the fourth entry to see whether this comeback revitalized the series or proved some franchises should stop at three. {Scream Series}

This time the review is personal! Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. Novelizations usually deepen a movie’s story. But Jaws: The Revenge is not exactly working from ideal source material. As part of Now Playing Podcast’s Jaws retrospective, Stuart takes a look at Hank Searls’ novelization of the most infamous entry in the franchise. Tasked with turning a screenplay about a vengeance-driven shark into coherent prose, Searls had plenty of narrative gaps to fill. Does the book add logic, character motivation, or even suspense that the film lacked? Join Stuart as he compares page to screen and decides whether this literary take sinks or swims. {Jaws Series} {Book Reviews}

At least this movie doesn't have John Waters in it When Scream 3 hit theaters in 2000, it was billed as the final chapter. Kevin Williamson had always talked about a trilogy, and this looked like the end of the Ghostface saga. This time, the carnage moves to Hollywood, where actors on the set of the fictional film Stab 3 start dropping. Sidney Prescott is in hiding, Gale and Dewey are back in the chaos, and even Randy shows up one last time via videotape to lay down the "rules" of a trilogy. Bigger setting. Bigger cast. Bigger body count. But does the franchise’s self-aware horror formula still work at three films in, or does the Hollywood backdrop push it into parody? Join Arnie, Marjorie, and Stuart as they close out the original trilogy and set the stage for the next chapter. {Scream Series}

Before it was a novella, it was a card game. Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing Podcast. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. In 2004, Decipher resurrected the gameplay of the ended Star Wars Trading Card Game and launched WARS, building a brand-new sci-fi universe with creative input from names like Michael Stackpole and John Howe. Gamers embraced it, but the line was short-lived, ending in 2005 before the world could fully unfold. Now that story continues in prose with Healers and Hunters by Nathan P. Butler, the first novella set in the WARS universe. For those who never cracked a single booster pack, can this book stand on its own? Does it reward longtime fans while welcoming newcomers, or is it too tied to a game most readers have never played? Join Arnie as he evaluates whether this expansion of the universe is worth your time. {Book Reviews}

Tori Spelling will not be playing Marjorie in the Now Playing Podcast movie adaptation Ghostface is back, and this time the body count is rising at Windsor College. Following the smash success of the original, Scream 2 doubles down on meta commentary, skewering horror sequels while trying to outdo its predecessor. Neve Campbell returns as Sidney Prescott, joined by Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and a fresh crop of college classmates who quickly learn that surviving one massacre doesn’t mean you’re safe from the next. In the script, Kevin Williamson famously claims that "by definition alone, sequels are inferior films." Does Scream 2 prove him wrong with sharper kills and bigger twists, or does it fall into the very traps it mocks? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Marjorie as they revisit the 1997 follow-up to see if this franchise still has something to say or if the rules start to unravel the second time around. {Scream Series}

Who knew Jiffy Pop could add so much tension to a scene? With Scream 4 hitting theaters, it’s time for Now Playing Podcast to follow the rules and kick off a full retrospective of the Scream series, one of the defining horror franchises of the last two decades. It started in 1996, when Ghostface began stalking a new generation of teens, including Neve Campbell, Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowan, and Drew Barrymore, under the direction of horror veteran Wes Craven. Clever, self-aware, and bloody as hell, Scream rewrote the slasher playbook, influencing 20 years of horror. But nearly 15 years later, does it still cut deep, or has the meta magic faded? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Marjorie to find out. {Scream Series}

Just when you thought it was safe to read on the beach! Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing Podcast. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. You’ve seen the shark. But have you read the book that started it all? Before Spielberg made audiences afraid of the water, Benchley made readers afraid to turn the page. Now, in partnership with Now Playing Podcast’s Jaws retrospective, Stuart returns to dive into Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel. The core story may be familiar, but the tone, characters, and motivations are far darker and more complicated than the film you know. Political corruption, marital drama, and a very different Amity Island lurk beneath the surface. Join Stuart as he explores the novel that launched the summer blockbuster. {Jaws Series} {Book Reviews}

No, you won't find Now Playing Podcast on MySpace...it's not 2007. He has no powers, no girlfriend, no cool outfit, but Dave Lizewski can still Kick-Ass in a film from the future X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn. With its balance of humor and violence, and a foul-mouthed, violent 11-year-old Hit-Girl courting controversy, the film failed to catch on with mainstream audiences. But is this an underrated Kick-Ass film, or are we three for three with our Marvel Misfits retrospective series? Listen to the final episode in this first part of our Marvel Comic Book Movie Retrospective to find out! {Marvel Misfits Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series} {Kick-Ass Series}

He who knows good movies burns at a screening of Man-Thing! Rising from the swamps comes a humanoid creature made of pure plant matter - Marvel's Man-Thing! A cult comic book character, Man-Thing was promoted to Marvel Movie Star in 2005 to capitalize on the popularity of his superhero peers, X-Men and Spider-Man. Premiering on the Sci-Fi channel, this film remains fairly unknown. Is it a treasure found underneath the murkiness of the swamps, or a fetid swamp plant that should be left to decompose? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out! {Marvel Misfits Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

And you thought the MOVIE was bad..... This book review previously appeared in Issue 11 of Now Playing Podcast's sister podcast Marvelicious Toys. As that show is no longer, the review is published here as part of Now Playing. As we kick off Now Playing Podcast’s Marvel movie retrospective, Arnie turns to one of the strangest literary artifacts of the 1980s: the novelization of Howard the Duck. Written by humorist Ellis Weiner, this long-out-of-print paperback attempts to adapt George Lucas’s infamous cult film into prose, and in the process becomes something far stranger than a simple tie-in. From Hitchhiker’s Guide-inspired dueling narrators to extended satirical tangents skewering Reagan-era America, the book often seems less interested in Howard’s adventure than in mocking the very idea of adapting it. As Arnie recounts in his review, the result is a self-aware, occasionally hostile, and frequently baffling curiosity that seems to resent both its source material and its readers. Is this novelization a hidden gem for Marvel completists, a fascinating train wreck, or quite possibly the worst professionally published book Arnie has ever read? For collectors, it may be a dollar-bin novelty. For everyone else, it might just be proof that some ducks should never leave the pond. {Marvel Misfits Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series} {Book Reviews}

Trapped in a podcast we never made... Welcome to Now Playing's Marvel Comics Movie Retrospective Series, where, in anticipation of the ultimate comic book crossover movie, The Avengers, in 2012, we will be watching and reviewing all the Marvel Comics films! This first portion of our Marvel Movie Retrospective is Marvel Misfits, the Marvel characters that don't quite fit anywhere else - Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, and Kick-Ass. Fresh off the success of Return of the Jedi, blockbuster movie producer George Lucas was thought to have the golden touch and be able to do no wrong, but Lucas has always been one to do the impossible. And in the late summer of 1986, Howard the Duck was laid into by critics and fans alike. Now, for the 25th anniversary of this legendary flop, Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob watch and review the film as the start of their Marvel Comics Movie Retrospective Series! Is the movie as bad as critics said, or, as Lucas said, 25 years later is this film looked back upon fondly? Listen to find out! {Marvel Misfits Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series}

Turn of the Dark, Turn on the Podcast These days, when Marvel makes headlines in 2011, it isn’t for Thor or Captain America. It's for a Broadway musical that seemed determined to crash harder than Gwen Stacy. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark arrived with Bono and The Edge writing the songs, Julie Taymor of The Lion King producing, and a budget that keeps climbing as cast members keep falling. The show remains "in previews" just to try and staunch the flow of bad press, but this Broadway bomb has become infamous before most people ever saw it. But what about the fans? Marjorie, Arnie, and Stuart attended one of these preview performances to see the spectacle for themselves. Is this ambitious, aerial Spider-show a misunderstood marvel or a web of chaos? They’re here with an unfiltered, first-hand report. So Turn off the Dark... turn up the volume! {Spider-Man Series}

Listening to this podcast is part of your plan The Adjustment Bureau pairs rising political star Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity) with dancer Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) in a romance that literally defies fate. After a chance meeting sparks an unexpected connection, Damon discovers shadowy agents are manipulating reality to keep their relationship from derailing a carefully charted destiny. Loosely inspired by Philip K. Dick's short story "The Adjustment Team", this film blends conspiracy thriller with love story, asking whether free will can outmaneuver cosmic bureaucracy. But does The Adjustment Bureau balance romance and high-concept sci-fi, or does one undermine the other? The hosts examine whether this battle against destiny earns its happily ever after. {Philip K. Dick Series}

Are our lives predetermined down to the smallest details? Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart examines “Adjustment Team,” the 1954 short story by Philip K. Dick that later inspired the film The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Dick’s original tale is a tighter, more overtly metaphysical story about a man who glimpses the machinery behind reality and discovers that unseen bureaucrats quietly "adjust" events to keep the universe on schedule. With less romance and more existential dread than the film version, this original story explores fate, free will, and whether humanity is simply following a script written by forces it can’t perceive. Stuart breaks down how Dick’s concept differs from its cinematic reworking and whether the lean short story delivers a sharper philosophical punch than the big-screen love story. {Philip K. Dick Series} {Book Reviews}

Omniscient mutant has the key to the future? Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart turns to The Golden Man, Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story that later inspired the Nicolas Cage thriller Next. Dick’s original tale is lean, strange, and far more unsettling than its Hollywood counterpart. Set in a post-nuclear future, it follows a mutant who can glimpse the immediate future and survives by instinct alone, hunted by a society that fears what it cannot control. Stuart explores how Dick uses this simple premise to examine evolution, fate, and humanity’s urge to destroy what’s different, and considers whether the short story’s stark vision delivers a sharper punch than the big-budget adaptation. {Philip K. Dick Series} {Book Reviews}

We guess Cage didn't see this one coming. Next casts Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider) as a man who can see two minutes into his own future, a loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's short story "The Golden Man." It turns into a chase thriller involving government agents, terrorists, and Cage trying to outmaneuver fate itself. Blending sci-fi concept with romance and action set pieces, Next aims to turn a tight Dick premise into a mainstream popcorn movie. But does expanding a short story into a feature give the idea room to breathe, or does it stretch it thin? The Now Playing Podcast hosts look into the immediate future to decide whether this Cage vehicle is a clever twist on destiny or just another miscalculated move. {Philip K. Dick Series}

The search for self gets personal this time for Philip K. Dick Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart examines A Scanner Darkly, the 1977 novel by Philip K. Dick that later inspired the rotoscope film adaptation directed by Richard Linklater and starring Keanu Reeves. Set in a near-future California ravaged by Substance D, Dick’s novel follows an undercover narcotics agent whose dual identities begin to collapse under addiction and surveillance. Written from personal experience, the book blends dark humor, paranoia, and tragedy into one of Dick’s most intimate and emotionally raw works. Stuart explores how the novel handles identity, betrayal, and the human cost of the drug war, and whether the source material hits harder than its psychedelic big-screen counterpart. {Philip K. Dick Series}

Keanu has never been so animated A Scanner Darkly brings Philip K. Dick’s semi-autobiographical novel to the screen in rotoscope animation, with Keanu Reeves (The Matrix), Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice), Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers), and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) drifting through a near-future Southern California soaked in surveillance and Substance D. Directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused), the film blurs reality and hallucination as an undercover cop begins to lose his identity while spying on his own friends. The shifting, animated visuals mirror the characters’ fractured minds, turning addiction and paranoia into something both intimate and unsettling. Does this stylized adaptation capture the tragic heart of Dick’s story, or do the psychedelic visuals overwhelm the substance beneath? The Now Playing hosts tune in to decide whether A Scanner Darkly offers clarity or just one long, bad trip. {Philip K. Dick Series}

Before the bullets and the doves, there was just a man, a wiped memory, and a handful of junk that might save his life. Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart continues our movie reviews of Philip K. Dick's Paycheck and discusses the original short story on which the movie is based. Dick’s 1953 short story is about a technician who trades his memory for a payout, only to discover he’s left himself a series of seemingly mundane objects instead of cash. As he pieces together why, the story unfolds into a tight, paranoid puzzle about free will, corporate control, and whether knowing the future is a gift or a trap. Later adapted into a Ben Affleck movie, the original tale is leaner, sharper, and far more focused on existential dread than action spectacle. Stuart breaks down how Dick’s version stacks up and whether the short story delivers a bigger payoff than its big-screen counterpart. {Philip K. Dick Series}

Given a choice, which movie of his do you think Affleck would erase from his memory? Ben Affleck stars in Paycheck, a high-concept thriller adapted from a story by Philip K. Dick and directed by John Woo. Affleck plays a reverse engineer who agrees to have his memory wiped after completing a classified job, only to discover he left himself a trail of cryptic clues instead of the massive payout he expected. With future-predicting tech, doves, slow-motion gunplay, and Uma Thurman along for the ride, Paycheck aims to blend paranoid sci-fi with Woo-style action spectacle. But does the film live up to its premise, or does it feel like a missed opportunity with a big-budget gloss? The hosts sort through the clues to decide whether this Philip K. Dick adaptation cashes in or bounces. {Philip K. Dick Series}

The precogs have determined you must read this story Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart turns to The Minority Report, Philip K. Dick’s 1956 novella that laid the groundwork for the later big-screen adaptation starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg. Long before glossy holograms and futuristic car chases, Dick’s original story presented a lean, unsettling premise: a justice system that arrests people for crimes they have not yet committed, based on the predictions of three precognitive mutants. But what happens when those predictions don’t agree? Is the original short story sharper and more subversive than its cinematic counterpart, or does the expansion to feature length enhance what Dick only sketched? Read along with Stuart to find out! {Philip K. Dick Series} {Book Reviews}

Precog sounds like a plumbing term. In 2002, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise teamed up to bring Philip K. Dick's vision of the future to the screen with Minority Report. Set in a world where psychic "Pre-Cogs" allow police to arrest murderers before they strike, the film blends sleek sci-fi spectacle with questions about fate, free will, and government overreach. With cutting-edge visuals and blockbuster ambition, Minority Report aims to be both summer entertainment and a thought-provoking vision of dystopia. But does this director-actor powerhouse deliver a coherent sci-fi classic, or does the complexity turn into confusion? The hosts investigate whether this prediction still holds up. {Philip K. Dick Series}

Who is the man and who is the impostor? Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart continues traveling through the works of Philip K. Dick with a review of “Impostor,” Dick’s 1953 short story about a man accused of being something he may not even know he is. Built around suspicion, self-doubt, and a devastating twist, the story later inspired the film Impostor, starring Gary Sinise. Stuart examines how Dick packs existential terror into a tight narrative, and whether the original short story delivers a sharper punch than its expanded film adaptation. {Philip K. Dick Series} {Book Reviews}

Mr. Monk and the Case of the Reshot Footage Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump) headlines Impostor, a paranoid sci-fi thriller inspired by a story from Philip K. Dick. Sinise plays a government scientist developing a weapon to stop alien invaders, only to be accused of being an android assassin programmed to detonate and kill Earth’s leadership. Originally conceived as a short film before being expanded to feature length, Impostor stretches Dick’s identity-twisting premise into a larger chase narrative filled with suspicion, betrayal, and existential dread. But does that expansion deepen the concept, or expose its limitations? The Now Playing Podcast hosts examine whether Impostor successfully blurs the line between man and machine, or if its ambitions outpace its execution. {Philip K. Dick Series}

This novella is a real scream Books & Nachos is now part of Now Playing Podcast. Before our book reviews were branded as Now Playing Podcast Book Reviews, they were released under a separate show called Books & Nachos. That podcast focused on book discussions, most of which tied directly into films we were covering on Now Playing. We’ve now merged those episodes into the main Now Playing Podcast feed for easier access and a complete archive. But these older episodes still have the original Books & Nachos intro and credits on those older recordings. This week, Stuart continues his discussion of Philip K. Dick's works with Second Variety, Dick’s 1953 short story about autonomous killing machines that evolve beyond human control. The tale of soldiers trapped in a war against weapons that can perfectly mimic their creators would later inspire the 1995 film Screamers, but how does the original prose stack up against its cinematic offspring? Stuart digs into Dick’s bleak worldview, razor-sharp concepts, and unsettling twists to determine whether this story still cuts deep. {Philip K. Dick Series} {Book Reviews}