Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

With all of the Toy Story seemingly told, Pixar rockets back into the past to give us a cinematic origin story for Buzz Lightyear voiced by Chris Evans. Can the cocky Space Ranger learn to work with a team of misfits after his arrogance maroons the mission on a planet crawling with deadly bugs, lethal vines, and killer robots? And does Buzz have a friend in robotic cat Sox the same way he clicked with neurotic cowboy Woody? Pull the string and hear podcasters Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart talk to infinity and beyond about this spin-off space opera. Listen Now!

Stephanie Meyer drove a stake into typical literary depictions of vampires when she published her 2005 bestseller Twilight. What is it about Bella Swan that makes the chaste heroine so irresistible to every living and undead boy in Forks, Washington? And was it a good look for suitor Edward Cullen to take off the Dracula cape and show off his sparkling personality? Join Jakob and Stuart as they sink their teeth into this six-part blockbuster book series. Listen Now!

Kate Beckinsale steps away from the Underworld franchise so that her real life ex Michael Sheen can get some time in the sun as star of prequel Rise of the Lycans. Did Bill Nighy start an eternal war when he adopted a werewolf cub destined to lead human slaves and wilderness beasts in an uprising against vampire aristocracy? And does Death Dealer Rhona Mitra look enough like Selene to wear her iconic leather catsuit and indulge in more forbidden interspecies romance? Listen Now to find out what the hosts are “Lycan” about this third entry in the saga!

Scott Speedman may have morphed into the perfect halfbreed boyfriend for vampire Kate Beckinsale at the end of Underworld, but there has been no Evolution in her clan’s thinking when it comes to interspecies romance. Can the pair escape the nocturnal city and find a place for themselves within a primordial forest? And what happens when winged Elder Marcus (Tony Curran) catches up with the Death Dealer, and learns where his Lycan brother is imprisoned? The key to making sense of the sequel is listening to the latest Now Playing podcast.

Long before Bella had to choose between vampire and werewolf boyfriends, Kate Beckinsale was two-fisting pistols to save star-crossed Lycan lover Scott Speedman from her judgey undead family in Underworld. Is the director of Live Free Or Die Hard a wise man for placing the story of Romeo & Juliet inside The Matrix? Or is Len Wiseman just a letch inventing excuses for getting his future wife out of corsets and into tight leather? Find out if Jakob, Stuart, or Arnie stake a claim for The 2000s’ other fangs and fur Gothic romance when you Listen Now.

Turns out Jack Nicholson did not forget Chinatown as advised, but pulled double duty 16 years later as director and star of the sequel The Two Jakes. Did Harvey Keitel hire our heartbroken private eye because he needs help confronting a duplicitous wife, or because the sting will provide cover when he murders a business partner? And how did the long lost daughter of Faye Dunaway wind up owning an LA suburb built atop an explosive reservoir of oil and gas? Join kitty cats Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie as they follow the money down the well. Listen Now!

Jack Nicholson goes sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong in the Oscar-winning 1974 noir Chinatown. Can the private eye connect the dots between the missing girlfriend of a city official and LA’s vanishing water supply? Is femme fatale Faye Dunaway really falling for the gumshoe, or just taking Jake to the bedroom to stop him from seeing who’s drowning her hubby in the pool? And why does tycoon John Huston want to be an orange farmer so bad? Get the full picture in a podcast your sister, your daughter, and the entire family can enjoy. Listen Now!

11-year-old Charlie McGee might look like just another snowflake who can’t manage her emotions, but tell her she’s no Drew Barrymore and you’ve got a real Firestarter on your hands in 2022. Is proud papa Zac Efron pushing his telekinetic daughter to make the right choices, and avoid being captured by Native American assassin Rainbird and The Shop? Or will the next High School Musical end with a thermonuclear explosion? Find out if Blumhouse has made a barbeque out of a classic novel when you listen to the latest Stephen King podcast.

Dr. Strange presents the illusion that his latest Marvel movie is a routine affair, but In the Multiverse of Madness might actually be another zombie splatter comedy from Evil Dead director Sam Raimi. Can Benedict Cumberbatch’s callous sorcerer fix his relationship with Rachel McAdams, and save America (the country and the teenager) from the wrath of monster mom Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)? And is it possible there’s a reality where The Inhumans are cool? Listen Now as Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob make their 28th incursion into the MCU.

Jeremy Renner cuts his Yuletide New York vacation short after fangirl archer Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee) starts wearing his infamous Ronin suit to fight crime in the Disney Plus miniseries Hawkeye. Will the Marvel mercenary make it home for the holidays with only six days to defeat the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), new Black Widow Florence Pugh, a one-legged, deaf martial artist, and her entire Tracksuit Mafia? And why does wife Linda Cardellini want her old Rolex wrapped up and under the tree so badly? It’s Christmas in May when you Listen Now!

Is The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent driving Nicolas Cage into a booze-fueled early retirement (or did he just make too many embarrassing flops)? Now the Oscar winner has to accept a humiliating offer to host a lavish birthday party for fanboy cartel leader Pedro Pascal. Will those “nouveau shamanic” acting techniques be of any help to Agent Tiffany Haddish when the CIA needs Cage to play spy and free a kidnapped politician’s daughter held at a Mallorca compound? Listen Now as Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie face off with Nic’s latest crazy comedy.

Nic Cage first used his “massive talent” to become an action star in the 1996 Michael Bay extravaganza The Rock. Can his Beatles-loving biochemist teach the original James Bond Sean Connery anything about being cool, as they team up to expel Ed Harris and his terrorists from Alcatraz? Or will Candyman Tony Todd steal the show by launching a fleet of missiles loaded up with delicious-looking green gumballs of flesh-eating virus? Listen Now to find out if Stuart, Jakob, or Arnie are ready to cut Cage some friggin’ slack, and let him out of movie jail.

Sega’s speedy mascot races back to movie theaters to offer an encore helping of attitude in Sonic The Hedgehog 2. This time the video game icon not only battles Jim Carrey’s mechanical contraptions and manic comic timing, but the oversized fists of new nemesis Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba). Are James Marsden’s days of being a helicopter parent over now that flying fox Tails is ready to lift the hedgehog to the next level? Find out if this sequel receives any Blue Justice from the podcast hosts when you listen to the latest Now Playing Arcade installment.

Oscar-winning joker Jared Leto sinks his teeth into another comic book villain role as Morbius, a hematologist who turns into a “living vampire” after tinkering with bat DNA. Can blood brother Matt Smith (Dr. Who) convince the superpowered physician to turn his back on humanity, and join him on a New York bender biting babes and breaking things? Or will the good doctor accept Michael Keaton’s offer to take down Spider-Man in some future sequel instead? Find out how much the latest Marvel movie sucks for Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart when you Listen Now.

Dolph Lungren trains young gamers to become masters of a zombie universe in Dead Trigger, the 2017 film adaptation of a popular first-person shooter made for smartphones. Can a Disney star, an MMA fighter, and the no-longer-little rapper Lil’ Romeo blast their way to Terminal City, and rescue the scientist who can cure the outbreak? Or will Cyglobe CEO (and soap star) Tamara Braun whack them for posing a threat to her gun sales? Help Justin, Arnie, and Stuart answer the call for another trying video game movie when you Listen Now!

Michael Fassbender learns the homicidal impulses that landed him on Death Row in 2016 can be traced back to the Assassin’s Creed he pledged to free-will-loving vigilantes in 1492. Can Oscar-winning scientist Marion Cotillard (Inception) cure the convict of his violent ways simply by plugging him into holographic re-enactments of his past life hit jobs? Or does Jeremy Irons have nefarious reasons for footing this exorbitant 23AndMe bill? Find out why gamers have such animus for this big-budget adaptation of the popular Ubisoft title when you Listen Now!

Yakuza director Takashi Miike tries his hand at a different type of video game adaptation by bringing Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright to the big screen. Can the rookie lawyer find the guilty parties in three interlocking murder trials simply by cross-examining parrots and debunking photographic evidence of lake monsters? And will the fashion police level charges against all those gravity-defying hairdos on display in the courtroom? Find out if Justin, Stuart, and Arnie offer objections to the latest entry in the Now Playing Arcade when you Listen Today!

Robert Pattinson spent the last two years suiting up as The Batman so that he might score a hit movie for DC, and rescue a Gotham City drowning in drugs, violent crime, and political corruption. Will his plans for urban renewal be thwarted by unhinged assassin The Riddler (Paul Dano), or mob henchman Oz “The Penguin” Cobblepot (Colin Farrell)? Or will Zoe Kravitz steal the show as a limber cat burglar with a soft spot for strays? Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie can help you crack the code on this dense new Caped Crusader adventure. Listen Now!

Nearly 50 years after she left Leatherface dancing in the street, final girl Sally Hardesty returns to face another Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2022. Can she save a bus full of social media influencers who dared to unlawfully displace the serial killer from his retirement in small town Harlow? And will Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) use the survival skills she honed during a school shooting to fight back against the triggered madman once the power tools come out? Brock, Stuart, and Arnie are abuzz with thoughts about this ninth franchise installment. Listen Now!

Tom Holland leaves Spider-Man and the MCU behind to head into the Uncharted waters of a popular Playstation video game. Will his Nathan Drake solve a series of puzzles that lead to the legendary treasure of world explorer Ferdinand Magellan? Or will he be conned out of the gold by greedy partner Mark Wahlberg, billionaire rival Antonio Banderas, or a host of femme fatales and modern day pirates? All you have to do to unlock the opinions of host Arnie, Justin, and Stuart is download the latest Now Playing Arcade installment. Listen Now!

Sharon Stone could have screwed like a mink, raised rugrats, and lived happily ever after with Michael Douglas. Instead, her icy crime novelist chances implication in new murders and wardrobe malfunctions 14 years later in Basic Instinct 2. Is pasty psychologist David Morrissey right to claim the femme fatale suffers from risk addiction, and will endanger all of London if she’s allowed to write a new book there? Or is the real poison pen being wielded by a tabloid journalist and a dirty cop? You may never come again after you score the latest Now Playing fix.

Michael Douglas has survived many big screen fatal attractions with dangerous blondes, but the slick yuppie courts a date with the sharp end of an ice pick after he beds Sharon Stone in the steamy 1992 thriller Basic Instinct. Does this femme fatale write novels as a way of planning the future murders of unsatisfying lovers? Or is there a psychotic reader turning bloody acts from her books into San Francisco crime scenes? Untangle all the double crosses and crossed legs when you join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart for this kinky podcast review. Listen Now!

With “horror holidays” like Halloween, April Fool’s Day, and Friday the 13th routinely being celebrated with 21st Century remakes, it makes sense that someone would dig up My Bloody Valentine in 2009,. Can the censors stop the carnage now that it’s flying into audiences’ faces via 3-D? And what kills a small town faster - a homicidal maniac stuffing residents’ hearts into boxes of candy, or prodigal son Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) closing down the local coal mine? Find out if the hosts are sweet on this second helping of Harry Warden when you Listen Now!

Twenty years after a cave-in turned a coal miner into a cannibal, legendary psychopath Harry Warden returns to paint his hometown red in the 1981 original My Bloody Valentine. So why don’t moviegoers associate headlamps and pickaxes with February 14th in the same way hockey masks and machetes signify Friday The 13th? And were the cruelest cuts made by the MPAA, who edited out literal showers of blood in order to give the film an R rating? Find out if Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie fall in love with this subterranean slasher when you Listen Now.

Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox are ready to Scream for the fifth and possibly final time as a serial killer in a Ghostface mask terrorizes a new generation of self-aware Woodsboro horror enthusists. Is the 25-year-old franchise still capable of pulling off big surprises like that initial, infamous phone call to Drew Barrymore? And will the new directors enrage or bore Wes Craven purists by slipping some of that fancy pants “elevated horror” into the slasher formula? Find out if this “re-quel” proves legendary when you Listen Now.

Tabloid journalist Miguel Ferrer (Robocop) is on the trail of The Night Flier, a serial killer who drains victims of blood during sunset stops at tiny East Coast airports. Is there any truth to the rumor that this phantom aviator is a vampire? And if so, is his sleek black jet just a way of impressing those blue haired groupies waiting for him on the tarmac? Find out if this latest installment in the Stephen King retrospective has more bite than other short story adaptations from the Nightmares & Dreamscapes anthology when you Listen Now.

100 years before Eggsy joined Colin Firth as a member of the Kingsmen, Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List) and his servants founded the secret spy organization inside a Savile Row tailor’s shop in the prequel The King’s Man. Can director Matthew Vaughn retain his signature mix of balls-out action and irreverent humor while exploring the root causes of World War I? And who is the mastermind of an imagined supergroup of historical villains including seductress Mata Hari and Russian monk Rasputin (Rhys Ifans)? Mind your manners and Listen Now!

Mobster Christian Slater has spent a lifetime outfitting his enemies with cement shoes, so it’s poetic justice that vengeful construction worker Wes Bentley (American Beauty) rigs a newly paved road so it swallows Dolan’s Cadillac and buries the human trafficker alive. Can a standout entry in Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story collection be successfully stretched into feature length? And how much will the potty-mouthed Heathers star owe the swear jar should he manage to escape this trap? Get it in gear and find out now!

Peter Parker fears there’s No Way Home to his happy life with MJ (Zendaya) after Dr. Strange casts a magic spell that brings all the previous Spider-Man heroes and villains into the MCU. Is it Tom Holland’s responsibility to fix the messes made by Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx)? And were the spoiler-phobic right to avoid all social media before watching? Find out on another unforgettable Marvel podcast.

It can be a bumpy ride trying to follow Stephen King works on their journey from page to screen. What happens when the macabre Maine author has a head-on collision with British horror scribe Clive Barker (Hellraiser) in a two story pile-up called Quicksilver Highway? Can carnival showman Christopher “Doc Brown'' Lloyd make sense of this roadside carnage, as hands willingly sever themselves from their bodies, and a pair of wind-up chattery teeth take a bite out of a hitchhiker? Listen now as Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob rubberneck at another King adaptation.

Award-winning acting talent (and Steven Weber) try to wake up the Stephen King retrospective with 8 tales of horror taken from the short story collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes. What happens when assassin William Hurt (A History of Violence) goes to war with a box full of toys, detective William H Macy (Fargo) meets his maker, author Tom Berenger (Platoon) runs from a phantom in a cursed painting, and snakebitten golfer Richard Thomas (It) is mistaken for dead? Find out if Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie survive another King TV miniseries when you Listen Now.

The Umbrella Corporation may have left town (and taken original star Milla Jovovich with them), but there’s still a horde of bloodthirsty zombies ready to welcome audiences back to Raccoon City in the seventh Resident Evil installment. Can estranged siblings Chris and Claire Redfield bring the foster father who poisoned their childhood to justice before he escapes with the infamous T-virus? And can corporate espionage spy Albert Wesker really hack pharmaceutical secrets with only a Palm Pilot at his disposal? Find out what’s up with a 90s throwback now.

Astronaut Matt Damon proves he has the “right stuff” to survive an extended stay on the Red Planet in Ridley Scott’s acclaimed 2015 blockbuster The Martian. Justin, Jakob, and Stuart continue their look at outer space exploration with an ultra-realistic trip to the nearest colonizable planet. How many scientists does it take to cypher out a solution to getting a marooned botanist back home safe? And will audiences find the results easier to follow than Interstellar and Arrival? Link up with the latest Now Playing transmission and find out.

These days they’ll let any 90-year-old who ever pretended to fly a starship go up in a rocket. But you had to have The Right Stuff if you hoped to survive the first messy attempts to put a man in orbit back at the dawn of the Space Race. Join Jakob, Justin, and Stuart as they witness the amazing early successes and blunders of NASA, as well as the career launch of some major acting talent - including Ed Harris (The Abyss), Dennis Quaid (Innerspace), Scott Glenn (Backdraft), and playwright Sam Sheppard. Blast off into an 80s classic when you Listen Now!

Eons before the assembly of the Avengers, ten celestial caretakers known as Eternals came together to protect and guide human development on Earth. Did Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) deviate too much from the Marvel formula in telling the secret history of the planet’s first superheroes? And should Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek get credit for bestowing culture on mankind with Hackers and Grown Ups 2 on their resumes? Find out if Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob share a Uni-Mind about the latest MCU installment. Listen Now.

Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob played a nasty trick on listeners when they pulled Loki from the Summer 2021 schedule at the last minute. Now they make up for lost time by diving into the first six episodes of Tom Hiddleston’s quest to conquer all of existence (or at least Disney Plus). Can the Norse God dethrone the three space lizards who currently police the future and promote the popularity of his nemeses The Avengers? And are the podcasters fated to review a never-ending stream of Marvel now that they’ve said “yes” to a TV series? Listen and Find Out!

Timothee Chalamet may look scrawny to Jason “Aquaman” Mamoa, but prophecy foretells the Call Me By Your Name star to be the savior of Dune in 2021. Can director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) hope to pass the test of coherently adapting Frank Herbert’s complex novel of life on a desert planet, given that David Lynch and SyFy Channel already experienced great pain putting their hands in this box? Join Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie as they worm their way through a saga of prophecy, ecology, and intergalactic politics in an epic podcast. Listen Now!

It’s easy to blame Haddonfield’s high body count on local boogeyman Michael Myers, but many of the latest Halloween Kills are being committed by a violent mob of formerly decent citizens. Did babysitter Jamie Lee Curtis, terrified kids Anthony Michael Hall and Kyle Richards, and shaky cop Will Patton grow up to become the real monsters of the community? And will Michael approve of the changes made to his sister’s bedroom when he catches up with the current owners of his redecorated house? Listen Now as Arnie, Stuart, and Brock unmask this sequel!

Diamonds may be forever, but Daniel Craig only has one more shot at bringing James Bond to life in No Time To Die. Will longtime nemesis Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) ruin the superspy’s chances at Happily Ever After by blowing up his Italian holiday with Lea Seydoux? Or will Rami Mallick prove to be the bigger threat as he uses nanotechnology and a Zen Garden of Death to poison the world? Find out if Brock, Stuart, and Arnie are shaken or stirred by 007 replacement Lashana Lynch, or any of the other surprises in this epic conclusion, when you Listen Now!

Folks might think of Mila Kunis as a typical All American Girl, but the 70’s Show actress proves she can be an American Psycho II after homicidal yuppie Patrick Bateman attacks her babysitter. Is this coed so eager to land a job hunting serial killers with the FBI that she’s willing to murder everyone in her criminology class? And how do the Now Playing hosts grade William Shatner, beaming down into this direct-to-video oddity to play a lecherous professor? You’d have to be a sociopath not to be curious about this special Friday freebie show. Listen Now!

Tom Hardy was struggling to make room for Venom in his life even before natural born killer Woody Harrelson, his screaming mad girlfriend Naomi Harris (Skyfall), and a blood red baby symbiote crashed their picture. Does sequel Let There Be Carnage bring an end to the reporter’s unconventional marriage to the gooey, black alien parasite? And is Michelle Williams proof that things get better once you’re out of the “Eddie closet”? Discover if Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart lose their heads over, or call the whole thing off, when you Listen Now!

Christian Bale might look like just another vapid investment banker, but behind his well-groomed features and aerobicized body lies the mind of an American Psycho. So how did predatory Patrick Bateman go from graphically torturing women in one of the most misogynist books of the 1990s, to having a female director turn him into the punchline of the 1980s in this millennial horror comedy? And will Arnie really defend the "killer soundtrack" this yuppie cranks as he Wang Chungs on the all-star cast? Listen Now, and find out what's inside a podcaster's head!

Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House stood as a horror classic for nearly 60 years before director Mike Flanagan (Hush) expanded its walls into a 10 episode miniseries for Netflix. Nell, Luke, and Theo are now the children of house flippers, spending the summer of 1992 seeing ghosts in renovated basements and hallways. Should the Crain siblings blame specters like Tall Man and Abigail, or their secretive father and crazy mother, for why their lives are so messed up in 2018? Now Playing invites you to settle in for a forever podcast. Listen now!

Producer Steven Spielberg and director Jan DeBont (Speed) poured a lot of time and money into remodeling Shirley Jackson's classic ghost story into the much reviled 1999 remake of The Haunting. Long before she played clapping games with Ed and Lorraine Warren, Lili Taylor was conjuring bad spirits during her stay at a mansion where hundreds of child laborers perished. Do we need Liam Neeson’s science experiments to know there’s nothing scary going on? Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart are here to clean house with a brand new podcast. Listen Now!

Could the next Legend of the Marvel Cinematic Universe be an unassuming San Francisco parking valet who prefers late night karaoke to taking down his father's infamous Ten Rings terrorist cell? Martial artist Shang Chi is ready to answer the call for a modern Asian American superhero. But do comedienne Awkwafina, Crouching Tiger star Michelle Yeoh, and the Man Who Would Be The Mandarin (aka Ben Kingsley) offer enough protection for a magical gated community besieged by soul-sucking serpents? Hop aboard the Now Playing bus to find out!

Paranormal investigators engineer a blind date between a homeless wallflower and the noisy poltergeists of Hill House in The Haunting - the original 1963 movie adaptation of Shirley Jackson's classic ghost story. Director Robert Wise took a break between his Oscar-winning musicals West Side Story and The Sound of Music to craft one of the most beloved haunted house movies of all time! But will modern audiences find the rooms too old-fashioned and musty to spend time in now? Join Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie as they unpack a classic.

40 years after nerdy Dustin Hoffman made his stand on foreign soil, preppy screenwriter James Marden borrows those iconic cracked spectacles so he can spar with some backwoods football jocks he calls Straw Dogs. Can new director Rod Lurie replicate the original film's signature brand of cruelty in small town Mississippi? And will disgruntled wife Kate Bosworth stick with her Superman Returns co-star, or surrender to the redneck charms of Alexander Skarsgaard (True Blood)? Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie are locked, loaded, and ready for the 2011 reboot. Listen Now!

Dustin Hoffman discovers that Jolly Old England is no refuge from the violence and social unrest of 1971 in the original Straw Dogs. Writer/director Sam Peckinpah pioneered the home invasion horror movie with this story of an American mathematician channeling his inner savage to beat back an angry mob storming his wife's modest farm. Does the 50-year-old classic still have the power to shock modern audiences weaned on a steady diet of Purge sequels? Join Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie as they pry open the teeth of this vicious steel trap. Listen Now!

Marvel might not always appreciate the irreverent humor of director James Gunn, but DC is happy to bring the Guardians of the Galaxy mastermind on board The Suicide Squad. Idris 'Black Superman' Elba leads a rebooted team of criminals - including old favorite Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and new hotshot Peacemaker (John Cena) - to a South American island coup that threatens the interests of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Is Project Starfish just an excuse for the bad guys to show their buttholes? The hosts are dying to share the details. Listen Now!

Dev Patel sets out to prove he's more than a Slumdog Millionaire by pushing away from King Arthur's Round Table, and picking up a sword to do battle with The Green Knight. Will Stuart, Jakob, and Justin lose their heads over this decidedly sinister spin on a classic 14th Century poem about chivalry? And can indie director David Lowrey (A Ghost Story) dethrone Peter Jackson and become cinema's next giant of the fantasy genre? The journey begins when you download the latest Now Playing adventure!