Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

We get to the point faster than Kirk gets to the Enterprise! Welcome to Now Playing Podcast's Star Trek Retrospective Series, where we review every film in the Star Trek movie franchise leading up to the release of the new Star Trek movie on Friday, May 8, 2009. The journey begins with 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the long-awaited big-screen debut of the crew of the Starship Enterprise. After a decade off the air, Star Trek returned with a slower, more cerebral adventure focused on ideas, spectacle, and cosmic mystery rather than action. Was this first cinematic voyage worth the wait for longtime fans, or would the crew have been better off staying in reruns? The hosts engage warp drive and find out where this ambitious experiment lands. {Star Trek Series}

Welcome back to Now Playing Podcast’s Friday the 13th Retrospective Series, where we’ve reviewed every chapter in the saga leading up to the brand-new 2009 reboot hitting theaters this Friday the 13th. In this thirteenth and final installment, Arnie, Stuart, and Brock step back from Camp Crystal Lake to look at the franchise as a whole. Which films delivered the sharpest kills? Where did the series lose its way? How did Jason evolve from sack-headed stalker to hockey-masked horror icon? And after seeing the 2009 remake, does the franchise's future look bright… or buried? We also reveal what retrospective series is coming next. One journey ends here, but Now Playing Podcast is just getting started. {Friday the 13th Series}

If your friends suggest camping out near Crystal Lake....you say no! Now Playing Podcast wraps up its Friday the 13th retrospective with the moment it's all been building toward. After revisiting every sequel, detour, and resurrection, the hosts finally arrive at the franchise's modern reboot, released on Friday, February 13, 2009. This remake promises a faster, meaner, back-to-basics take on Jason Voorhees, blending elements from the early films while aiming to reintroduce the hockey-masked killer to a new generation. Does this reboot deliver the fresh start fans were hoping for, or does it prove that maybe it's better to keep legends in mothballs? The retrospective ends where the future begins. {Friday the 13th Series}

One, two, Jason's coming for you... Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the series heads toward the release of the new film on Friday, February 13, 2009. This episode takes on Freddy vs. Jason, focusing specifically on Jason Voorhees and how this long-teased crossover fits into the Friday the 13th lineage. After years of stalled development and fan anticipation, Jason is finally pulled out of Crystal Lake and dropped into someone else’s nightmare. But does this matchup respect Jason as a character and advance his mythology, or does he get sidelined in favor of flashier dream logic and punchlines? The hosts look at Jason’s role, his portrayal, and whether this crossover works as a Friday the 13th chapter or leaves him playing second fiddle to the killer in his own movie. {Friday the 13th Series} {Nightmare on Elm Street Series}

Aliens called. It wants its plot back. Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Jason X, the sequel that does the unthinkable and sends Jason Voorhees into the future… and into space. Trading Camp Crystal Lake for cryogenics, androids, and zero-gravity kills, Jason X fully embraces sci-fi absurdity and franchise fatigue in equal measure. Is this a self-aware blast of camp that understands exactly how ridiculous it is, or a sign that the series had finally drifted too far from its roots? The hosts dig into the gimmicks, the humor, and whether Jason in space is inspired lunacy or just the last gasp before reentry. {Friday the 13th Series}

Hell looks an awful lot like Connecticut Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the series barrels toward the release of the new film on Friday, February 13, 2009. This episode dives into Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. This entry attempts to radically reinvent the franchise by tearing Jason apart and spreading his evil in unexpected ways. Released in 1993, The Final Friday takes big swings with body-hopping mythology, lore expansion, and a very different take on what a Friday the 13th movie can be. Do the hosts find this bold experiment impressive and possessed by Jason’s evil, or does it leave them feeling like they spent the whole runtime in hell? {Friday the 13th Series}

Toxic Waste in the sewers is so cliché. Right, Master Splinter? Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. This sequel promises to haul Jason Voorhees out of Camp Crystal Lake and into the city that never sleeps... eventually. After eight films, the franchise makes a big swing by changing locations and upping the spectacle. But does shipping Jason to New York actually breathe new life into the series, or does this detour on a boat prove the formula is running on fumes? The hosts dig into the setting (or lack of it), the kills, and whether Jason’s so-called Big Apple adventure wakes the series up or just bites. {Friday the 13th Series}

Psychic powers meets psycho killer. Discuss. Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. This 1988 sequel tries to shake things up by pitting Jason Voorhees against a new kind of opponent and leaning harder into supernatural elements than ever before. Does The New Blood inject some much-needed life into the franchise, or does it feel like the series is shambling along on fumes? The hosts dig into the gimmick, the kills, and whether this experiment gives Jason a jolt of energy, or makes them wonder if they should have just watched Weekend at Bernie’s II instead. {Friday the 13th Series}

Hey Jason - up your nose with a rubber hose! Now Playing continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film's release on Friday, February 13, 2009, keeps rolling. This episode takes on Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, the entry that brings Jason Voorhees back to Camp Crystal Lake in a big, loud, and very intentional way. After the controversy of A New Beginning, Jason Lives marks a tonal shift for the series, leaning into self-awareness, bigger kills, and a more overt embrace of the franchise's own mythology. Is this the triumphant return fans were hoping for, or just another excuse to dust off the hockey mask? The hosts dig into the humor, the horror, and whether Jason deserves the "Welcome Back" party he gets here. {Friday the 13th Series}

It would have worked, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids! Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, the 1985 sequel that promised a fresh start for the franchise while boldly toying with its most sacred icon. A New Beginning remains one of the series’ most controversial entries, with its new setting, new characters, and some very deliberate choices about the hockey mask. Is this attempt at reinvention a worthwhile shake-up? Or proof that some things should have been left alone? The hosts dig into the kills, the changes, the damn enchiladas, and whether this “new beginning” was ever really a good idea. {Friday the 13th Series}

Where's Corey Haim when you need him? Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with the fourth installment, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Marketed as the series’s conclusion, this entry escalates the body count, tightens the pacing, and emphasizes the notion that this is indeed The Fnal Chapter at Camp Crystal Lake. With a more menacing demeanor and a deeper understanding of the series’ strengths, fans have long regarded The Final Chapter as a high point. However, does it truly deserve this reputation, and more importantly, should the series have concluded here? The hosts delve into the kills, characters, cast (including Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover!), and whether this was the appropriate conclusion. {Friday the 13th Series}

A quick and easy Halloween costume is born Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with Friday the 13th Part III, as the hosts work their way through the franchise ahead of the upcoming reboot. This 1982 installment has the hockey mask take center stage, solidifying Jason's iconic look. But arriving in theaters in full 3-D and pushing the series toward bigger kills and broader spectacle, is Part III a cheap novelty packed with flying eyeballs and pitchforks, or a turning point that helped cement the franchise's identity? The discussion digs into the gimmicks, the gore, and whether this eye-popping sequel earns its place in slasher history. {Friday the 13th Series}

I got this great summer job - I'm a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective series with Friday the 13th Part 2, as the countdown to the new Friday the 13th movie builds toward its release on Friday, February 13, 2009. The sequel picks up the bloody legacy of Camp Crystal Lake and delivers a major franchise turning point. Released in 1981, Part 2 marks the first time Jason Voorhees steps out of the shadows as the killer himself, trading the mystery of the original for a more direct and relentless threat. The hosts dig into Jason’s early incarnation, the kills, the scares, and whether this sequel strengthens the series or just repeats the formula with a burlap sack. {Friday the 13th Series}

Sure, Jason, honey, you can go take a quick dip in the lake Now Playing Podcast kicks off a special Friday the 13th Retrospective Series as we eagerly await the new Platinum Dunes remake. We'll be camping out with all of the Friday films, starting with the 1980 original. It revolutionized the slasher genre and introduced audiences to the iconic Camp Crystal Lake. Long before hockey masks and pop-culture references, this original entry set the stage with gruesome kills, pervasive paranoia, and a body count that kept audiences on the edge of their seats. Our hosts, Stuart, Arnie, and Brock, delve into the factors that contributed to Friday the 13th's immense popularity, compare it to its horror contemporaries, and ponder whether it still stands as a terrifying movie or has transcended its genre to become a fascinating curiosity. Join us at the lake where it all began for this captivating retrospective. {Friday the 13th Series}

Ordinary Life Is Pretty Complex Stuff In this candid, wide-ranging conversation, Jakob sits down with Harvey Pekar, the creator of American Splendor, to talk about realism in comics, the limits of the superhero genre, and why he chose to chronicle the life of a VA hospital file clerk instead of caped crusaders. Pekar reflects on his unlikely path from underground comics with Robert Crumb to mainstream recognition after the 2003 film adaptation, and he’s blunt about luck, ambition, and how hard it is to sell stories about an anti-hero whose biggest battles are depression, dissatisfaction, and everyday frustration. He discusses introducing realism into a medium that, in his view, never had a true realist movement, defends his methodical writing process, and explains why information itself can be entertainment. The interview also veers into politics, criticism, prose fiction, and Pekar’s deep love of jazz, revealing a writer who approached art the same way he approached history and music: systematically, obsessively, and on his own terms. This is not a superhero origin story. It’s something rarer. A working-class intellectual explaining why the mundane matters, and why comics deserved better than capes and punchlines. {DC Comics Series} {Comic Book Movie Series} {American Splendor Series}

Robot Chicken takes on Star Wars! Seth Green and Matthew Senreich talk with Now Playing Podcast about their upcoming Robot Chicken: Star Wars special, including directing George Lucas, getting Mark Hamill back as Luke, writing for the special, and bringing Star Wars humor to late-night TV. Plus, Robot Chicken writer/voice actor (and Greg the Bunny creator) Dan Milano joins in to talk about what happens when collectors start smashing their own toys for comedy. It’s Star Wars fans living the dream of becoming official Star Wars creators! So hear this dive into their special now!