Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Justin, Stuart, and Arnie invite listeners to another dimension, where fighting games made for the high end Neo Geo 24 bit system become major movie events! Can The King of Fighters at least claim victory over those flop film adaptations of Street Fighter, Double Dragon, and Tekken? Ray Park (aka Darth Maul) has stolen three legendary artifacts that enable him to turn a friendly martial arts tournament into career suicide. Find out how Maggie Q (Nikita) and future Deadpool 2 director David Leitch survived when you join the Now Playing Arcade and Listen Now!

Legendary Pictures was definitely chasing Avengers money when they hired Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to coerce big ape Kong to join a MonsterVerse superteam. But they might have more luck winning the Vietnam War than lasting three days on Skull Island with bonkers POW John C Reilly and a nest of subterranean, flesh-eating lizards. Be glad you have Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie to keep you safe on this eighth wonderful installment of the King Kong podcast. Listen Now!

Lord of the Rings mastermind Peter Jackson emerged from Middle Earth with enough box office clout and Oscar statues to get any movie made he wanted. So why reteam with Gollum (aka Andy Serkis), and send huckster Jack Black, loverboy Adrien Brody, and new blonde Naomi Watts on an expedition to resurrect King Kong in 2005? Find out if their trip to Skull Island needs to be the length of a Tolkein epic, or if the podcasters would prefer to tour Jurassic Park instead, when you download the latest installment of this legendary ape franchise. Listen Now!

Sega has taken company mascot Sonic The Hedgehog to the next level with a brand new live-action feature. That means Arnie, Justin, and Stuart are racing back to the Now Playing Arcade to cover all the twists and loop-de-loops this video game icon has traveled on the road to this CGI makeover. Will the Blue Devil win over Red State America as he makes rural Montana his home? And is he running rings around smartypants Dr. Robotnik, or has Jim Carrey simply forfeited the comedy game? Push play on the podcast and find out!

Time to find out who the real Harley Quinn is! Margot Robbie emancipates herself from that less-than-fantabulous group of metahumans known as Suicide Squad to fly with new crew Birds of Prey. Does a teen pickpocket, salty cop, ass-kicking lounge singer, and crossbow killer offer Harley the same level of protection as Jared Leto’s Joker? Or can Gotham villains like Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) separate this smart-mouthed clown from her face or breakfast sandwich without fear of retaliation? Chillax with some pizza and Cosmos, and take in our tell-all podcast!

Does the thought of a well-endowed female gorilla make your heart pump a little faster? One supersized simian is certainly warm to Lady Kong’s form - picking himself up from the broken pavement after his 1976 tumble from the World Trade Center, and continuing on in the 1986 sequel King Kong Lives. Is Linda Hamilton proud to oversee the birth of another miracle baby two years after delivering John Connor, or should she terminate her agent for casting her in this monkey business? The podcasters are off the chain and ready to battle, so Listen Now.

Long before she became a fixture on American Horror Story, Jessica Lange practiced her screaming skills as the aspiring actress abducted by King Kong in a colorful 1976 remake. Is the big ape willing to play second banana to Jeff Bridges, as a primate paleontologist also falling for the buxom blonde? And can oil executive Charles Grodon strike it rich by putting Kong on tour, after Skull Island proves not to have the dinosaurs needed to produce a gasoline fortune? Arnie, Jakob and Stuart answer the distress call of this disaster movie when you Listen Now.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence declare themselves Bad Boys For Life as they relaunch the irreverent action franchise that made them box office titans a quarter century ago. But did Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett make a bargain with God, or sell their souls, when they retired director Michael Bay, and joined a SWAT team of squeaky clean Millennials who defer all the dangerous work to drones? And how will Mike clean up his brouhaha with a black magic witch running a Mexican cartel? Lean back in your recliner and Listen Now to find out.

America wanted their big gorilla back for a popular Saturday morning cartoon, but King Kong Escapes for one last Japanese adventure. Villainous Dr. Who (no relation to the BBC Timelord) needs the legendary ape’s help in mining the North Pole of a rare mineral. Can a Bond babe and kidnapped nurse seduce Kong into dirtying his paws? Or will the beast find it impossible to dig alongside a robotical replica of himself dubbed Mechani-Kong? Join all of Tokyo in getting the blow-by-blow of their beatdown when you download Now Playing’s latest podcast.

Don’t panic! King Kong has broken free of his American handlers and heads to Japan for fisticuffs with local lizard Godzilla. Should Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob drop a nuke on these two iconic monsters to stop them from soiling their cinematic reputations? Or did the big ape need this childish, man-in-rubber-suit cage match to make him relevant 30 years after his embarrassing tumble from the Empire State Building? Chill out with some cigarettes and soma berries, slip on the headphones, and find out when you Listen Now!

Now Playing has one last podcast for 2019, dedicated to all those dirty birdies who love the oogy mind of Stephen King. Writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) finds himself in Misery after he’s pulled from a car crash in snowy Colorado, and tortured by a demented fan who demands a new chapter for the romance novel heroine he retired. Did Kathy Bates deserve the Oscar for her tough love bedside manner? And how many pages from the book did director Rob Reiner have to eat in order to bring this very literate story to the screen? Listen and find out!

The Emperor Strikes Back! Zombie Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) steps from the shadows with secrets that could force last Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) to turn to the Dark Side and bad boy Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). But General Leia (Carrie Fisher) is committed to using every last ounce of her Old War star power to squash this Final Order, and pave the way for The Rise of Skywalker. Find out how much resistance Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart put up for the ninth and final episode in the Star Wars saga in when you download this massive podcast. Listen Now!

‘Twas the night of Black Christmas, and all through Blumhouse, strange creatures in hoodies, sought coeds to roust. But the remake has armed all the women with care, in the hopes it’s the bros’ turn to finally be scared. Now Arnie! Now Stuart! Now Brock to their boots, head off to the theater to watch Imogen Poots. Will this boys-vs-girls showdown get social media chatter? Or will militant feminists not even find that it matters? The hosts will exclaim their thoughts and insights, when you download the podcast and listen tonight!

Life is tough for the Son of Kong. Everyone expects him to follow in his father’s massive footsteps, and scale the box office heights of the first film. But this quickie sequel has different monkey business in mind as it sends scandalized movie director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) back to Skull Island for romantic hijinks with an orphaned circus performer. Will they - or Now Playing hosts Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart - find any buried treasure while watching little albino Kong take on dinosaurs, cave bears, and a shady Norweigian sailor? Listen and find out!

Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart find themselves in an Empire State Of Mind as they begin a four month wrestling match with King Kong - the Eighth Wonder of the World! This towering franchise has cast an 86-year-long shadow over film history, beginning with the big ape’s 1933 blockbuster debut! Head back to Skull Island with Now Playing, and discover if this legendary movie star still has the strength to make audiences scream like Fay Wray, or beat down 50 foot tall lizard Godzilla for their 2020 theatrical showdown. Listen Now!

Playstation heroes Ratchet and Clank starred in 12 video game adventures together before making the quantum leap to movie theaters for a fast-paced (and okay, financially unsuccessful) 2016 animated feature. Did Earthlings miss a memorable screen pairing? And can this one-of-a-kind alien mechanic and his defective warbot bestie stop villains voiced by Paul Giamatti and Sylvester Stallone from reconfiguring the most beautiful planets in the solar system? No quarters needed to play the latest Now Playing Arcade installment. Listen Now!

'70s TV execs discounted Aaron Spelling's idea for a Charlie's Angels show because there was no man to come and save them. Well, a lot has changed in the last 40 years and the women are just fine saving themselves...and even some men who get in trouble. Thus we have the Elizabeth Banks produced, directed, co-written, and co-starring 2019 Charlie's Angels. But in a post #TimesUp world is there still place for an Aaron Spelling-like jiggle fest? And if not, what does that leave for the Angels? Join us now to find out!

Little Danny barely escaped Jack Nicholson and the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel back in 1980. Now grown-up Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) - nicknamed Doctor Sleep - is fighting the demon of alcoholism, as well as a pack of vampiric gypsies hoping to eat the soul of a powerful child clairvoyant. Will this Shining sequel leave Kubrick fans steaming? Or can new director Mike Flanagan honor the classic movie while bringing the story back to Stephen King’s original intentions? Join the hosts as they pick up bats and axes and come to play forever and ever!

Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) thought she saved humanity from a SkyNet future of robot domination. So it’s ironic that new cybernetic menace Legion has come online in the year 2020, and it’s now Sarah’s Dark Fate to protect new target Dani (Natalia Reyes) from a new Terminator. Will the arrival of augmented future soldier Grace (Mackenzie Davis) increase their chances of success? Or is it curtains for James Cameron’s flagship franchise (and if so, are they polka dot or butterfly drapes)? Find out when you listen now!

For nearly a decade Devil's Rejects stars Bill Moseley and Sid Haig, plus series creator Rob Zombie, said the series--like its main characters--was dead. 10 years and several flops later, the Firefly family is back from the dead! How does Zombie explain this away? And are these 3 From Hell as dangerous in 1988 as they were in the '70s? Join our three podcast hosts from hell, Marjorie, Brock, and Arnie, to find out!

Rule #1 when you’re producing a sequel: Bring back everyone that made the first film successful. It took a decade, and probably more than a few Twinkies, but director Ruben Fleischer has managed to "Double Tap" Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone for a second trip to Zombieland! Can the foursome teach Generation Z how to fight a ferocious new strain of undead? And is the Oval Office or Graceland a better place to wait out the apocalypse? Find out when you become a Now Playing Silver Level Donor!

Now Playing Arcade podcasters Justin, Arnie, and Stuart thought that first-person shooter Doom had already done a bang-up job destroying the video game’s appeal on the big screen with the Dwayne Johnson/Karl Urban 2005 movie. Second chapter Annihilation returns to finish the job with a squad of no-name Marines on a mission to mow down rubber suit demons and zombies in lab coats on a Martian moonbase. Have the hosts opened a portal to hell or the next level in camp comedy? Strap on some protective armor and head into the fray. Listen Now!

Rule #1: if you want to survive the 2009 horror-comedy Zombieland: Find a Friend in Now Playing! Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart will be doing lots of cardio to keep pace with the last four humans in America, as they make their way to a California amusement park overrun with undead. Donate for Silver Level this fall and learn to enjoy the little things - Jesse Eisenberg trying to wallpaper the closet with Emma Stone; Woody Harrelson extolling the virtues of fresh Twinkies; and the shocking first impression Bill Murray makes on millennial Abigail Breslin.

Charlie's Angels returned in 2003...and so did Demi Moore. The superstar actress' Q-Score had fallen in the decade since her big hits Indecent Proposal and Ghost, but she was set to rise again as former Angel Madison Lee in this action sequel. Does she shine against then-box office champ Cameron Diaz? Does Moore even get enough screen time when squeezed into a cast with Bernie Mac, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, Robert Patrick, Shia LaBeouf, Luke Wilson, John Cleese, and Matt LeBlanc? Get your Zass over here and listen now!

It’s Arthur Fleck, better known as Joker! Before becoming Batman’s #1 nemesis, the Clown Prince of Crime was just a struggling stand-up comic doing his best to make the public smile on the mean streets of Gotham. Can Joaquin Phoenix convince the Now Playing hosts that heartless millionaires like mayoral candidate (and father of Bruce) Thomas Wanye are the true enemies of the people? And is Hangover director Todd Phillips making a Scorsese inspired tragedy, or Trumpian comedy, out of this atypical DC Comics origin story? Listen and find out!

"Girl Power!" The sentiment continues, but the look has changed dramatically since the era of Spice Girls and, this week's movie review, 2000's Charlie's Angels. Listen now as our hosts remember what feminism looked like--in an unzipped mechanic's jumpsuit--as Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu update the Angels for a new millennium!

It's been 11 years. The world has changed. John Rambo, however, has not--he's just tried to keep a lid on it. That lid blows when his "niece" is abducted by a Mexican cartel, and Rambo is out for Last Blood. Should this be Rambo's final mission? Join Arnie, Brock, and Jakob for this review to find out!

Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy... With those words Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg created a television sensation: Charlie's Angels. It was an instant television sensation. And in the 43 years since it premiered on TV it had two theatrical films, a 2011 reboot, plus an upcoming new film! Join Arnie, Marjorie, and Jakob as they go back to where it all began--on the 480i TV screens in 1976.

It’s 2016, and The Losers Club is all grown up and ready for a rematch with It. Chapter II finds Pennywise waking from his 27 year nap hangry, homicidal, and hot to dance with old Derry foes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader. Can arcade tokens, yearbook pages, a bunch of shower caps, and other artifacts from an ‘80s childhood be used to complete a Native American ritual that will ‘eighty-six’ this shape-shifting space clown for good? Listen and Find Out!

30 years after massacring trees and dominating bookshelf space everywhere, Stephen King’s monster novel It transformed into the biggest horror movie of all-time! Chapter One focuses on The Losers Club - a group of misfit kids investigating the stranger things occurring in their cursed small town. Will stuttering leader Bill (Jaeden Martell) find his missing brother alive in the city’s waterworks? Can new kid on the block Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) woo crush Beverly (Sophia Lillis) while fighting off bullies with switchblades? Get down with the clown when you listen now!

Were executives at the ABC network Pennywise or pound foolish for thinking Stephen King’s gory, gigantic novel IT could float on 1990s prime time television alongside family-oriented hits Who’s The Boss and The Wonder Years? Tim Curry’s dancing clown did his best to lure the censors into the sewer as he terrorizes the children of Derry, Maine in a highly rated two-part miniseries. Make a pact to join podcasters Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they stare into the deadlights (and take shots at those special effects). Listen Now!

Mortal enemies come together like bacon and eggs in The Angry Birds Movie 2, as cranky cardinal Red (Jason Sudeikis) and green pig Leonard (Bill Hader) team up to stop mysterious balls of ice from flattening their respective island homes. Is this sequel "poultry in motion" now that new writers, directors, and Saturday Night Live cast members Leslie Jones and Pete Davidson have joined the nest? Or is the cartoon an albatross around the podcasters’ necks as they try to soar through Now Playing’s video game retrospective? Listen and Find Out!

DC Comics cooks up a new take on the gangster genre with the release of The Kitchen. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss star as a trio of marginalized mob wives who must find a way to put food on the table when their Irish hood husbands are busted for armed robbery. Is 1970s midtown Manhattan better off under the protection of wisegals who know how to clean up a blood stain? And should this dish have been seasoned with more of these ladies’ trademark comedy? Do it for the kids, and download the show now!

Someone opened a cold can of whoopass, and now "Mike Oxmall" and "Franz Grubar" - a crime fighting duo better known as Hobbs & Shaw - are storming the multiplex and hijacking the Fast and Furious franchise. Will Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham be at each other’s throats for their entire spin-off movie? Or can they find a way to work together to defeat "Black Superman" Idris Elba, and track down the carrier of a deadly virus (Vanessa Kirby)? Trust your Now Playing Family to tell you the truth when you Listen Now!

The Now Playing Arcade is making Justin, Stuart, and Arnie see Red… and all the other Angry Birds that appear in the blockbuster 2016 animated movie! Can this short-tempered cardinal stop a boatload of green pigs from stealing all the eggs from his island with nothing more than slingshots, trampolines, and friends from anger management class? And does the vocal talent of Saturday Night Live alumni Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudoph, and Bill Hader brighten the mood for the adults watching? Hear the hosts squawk about it all when you Listen Now!

Only witches can make a "weeping book", but Hollywood often wrings tears from Stephen King readers with their many poor adaptations. Will Blumhouse - the studio behind Paranormal Activity and Get Out - show Mercy in their telling of Skeleton Crew short story “Gramma”? Chandler Riggs (Walking Dead) stars as a mama’s boy out to determine if his nana (Shirley Knight) is a dying woman with dementia, or a black magic practitioner trying to possess his soul. Find out if this flick makes the podcasters want to put axes in their heads when you Listen Now!

Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart get lost in The Mist as they find their way back to the Stephen King retrospective. It took Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont more than a decade to bring this standout entry in King’s Skeleton Crew short story collection to the big screen. Are the beasties that maroon Thomas Jane and his son in a grocery store as scary as the religious zealotry of fellow refugee Marcia Gay Harden? And what will the hosts make of that infamous downbeat ending? Listen Now and clear the air on this controversial adaptation.

Peter Parker leaves his friendly neighborhood Spider-Man alter ego behind for a journey Far From Home meant to alleviate the loss of mentor Tony Stark. But S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury won’t let the 16-year-old tourist shirk his Avenger duties while on European holiday, rebranding him “Night Monkey” so that Peter can fight elemental monsters alongside new superhero Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Can the web-slinger still make time to kiss Zendaya on the Eiffel Tower while keeping Venice afloat, or London Bridge from falling down? Listen and find out!

While Ed and Lorraine Warren are off “conjuring” up their next big screen supernatural adventure, daughter Judy and her groovy babysitters are back Home trying to contend with Annabelle. It’s an apocalypse in the Artifacts Room when the devil doll escapes her glass case, and unleashes everything from a bloody bridal dress to a British werewolf in an effort to claim souls. What else will Marjorie, Stuart, and Arnie discover when they reach inside this Feeley Meeley box and sort through the odds and ends? Download the podcast and Find Out!

Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has come to a critical spork in the road. Can the cowboy doll continue down his path of being Bonnie’s neglected plaything now that fate, and a raucous family road trip, has reunited him with long lost love Bo Peep (Annie Potts)? And how should he deal with broken doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who holds Bonnie’s homemade creation "Forky" hostage in the hopes of exchanging him for Woody’s pull string? Listen to your inner voice - and Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart - when you to download the epic Toy Story 4 podcast!

The Conjuring cinematic universe has certainly given Marjorie, Arnie, and Stuart a lot to cry about over the years. Is it a blessing or a curse that a blubbering Spanish spectre named La Llorona has followed Annabelle priest Father Perez to the big screen for a sixth installment in the franchise? Find out if the podcasters have a bawl watching this Weeping Woman use her long talons to snatch away two children from Hawkeye’s wife Linda Cardellini. Listen now!

Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Pixar’s playthings are ready to toy with your emotions once again as they prepare to spend infinity and beyond in the attic. But will their friendship survive after Andy decides to take only one of his childhood favorites to college, leaving the rest to be donated to a frenetic daycare center where passive-aggressive teddy bear Lots O’Huggin (Ned Beatty) orchestrates their misery? Find out if Toy Story 3 leaves Now Playing’s trio of podcasters in tears when you Listen Now!

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe overhauls the X-Men, those first movie mutants rise up from the ashes of the Fox franchise for a last stand with Dark Phoenix. What happens when a space mission leaves Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) surging with energy, and blowing her stack at Professor X (James McAvoy), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and all mankind? Will she be attracted to the newfound zen of Magneto (Michael Fassbender)? And does space alien Jessica Chastain come in peace... or just want a piece of her glow? School’s in session when you Listen Now!

Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) might have patched things up with arrogant astronaut Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), but who’s going to fix all the wear and tear that longtime play has had on his increasingly fragile doll body? Is this cowboy ready to be put out to pasture? Or will Hamm, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and Buzz stop a thieving toy collector (Wayne Knight) from turning their friend into a collectible, and shipping him off to a museum in Japan? Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie reflect on the heartbreaking lessons of maturity offered in Toy Story 2 when you Listen Now!

Every child imagines that their stuffed animals and action figures have a secret life, but the official Toy Story wasn't recorded until Pixar created the first computer animated feature film. Cowboy doll Woody (Tom Hanks) proves playthings can be just as petty as people when his 8-year-old owner Andy receives high-tech space man Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) for a birthday present. Is the fight to be Andy's favorite toy a zero sum game? Are the Now Playing hosts cynical enough to blow up this movie classic when they regress to childhood? Listen Now!

Who can defeat The Avengers? Leave it to hitman extraordinaire John Wick! The sleeper hit series has, with its third "chapter", topped Avengers from their spot atop the box office charts. That success led to an instant announcement of Chapter 4 coming in 2021. But for all its success, can 54-year-old Keanu Reeves continue to kick ass on screen? Or does new partner Halle Berry "Jinx" the whole affair? Arnie, Justin, and Jakob have served, and will serve, so join them with this review of Parabellum.

Did Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds feel it in his jellies when he signed on to be the voice of electric mouse Detective Pikachu in his first live-action adventure? Or is the sarcastic actor talking to the wrong crowd by partnering with millennial Justice Smith for a PG rated Pokemon movie? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Justin as they wrap up this legendary series, and follow the clues left at a mysterious car crash back to a deadly purple gas and notorious genetic mutation MewTwo. Catch It Now!

Team Rocket is at it again! Spies Annie and Oakley have abducted the dragon protectors of a tranquil canal city. Good thing Pokemon Heroes Ash, Brock and Misty are here to ensure that Legendary Latios and Latias are rescued before a massive tidal wave destroys their town. Join hosts Justin, Arnie, and Stuart as they "sight share" their experience watching the last animated Pikachu movie to receive wide theatrical distribution in America, as well as their enjoyment of mobile game phenomenon Pokemon Go. You gotta catch the poke-cast now!

It was inevitable that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would reach an Endgame after producing 21 blockbusters over the course of 11 years. Can Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye undo the devastation of Thanos’ Infinity War by implementing Ant-Man’s crazy "time heist" plot? And are IMAX screens big enough to contain the hordes of superheroes fighting for the spotlight in the sprawling final battle? Hosts Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart aim for the heart and the head as they assemble once more for a gigantic, in-depth review. Hear it now! {Marvel Series} {Avengers Series} {Comic Book Movies Series}

The world’s greatest paranormal investigator is back on the big screen! Hellboy heads to England on a quest to wield Excalibur, and stop King Arthur’s witchy nemesis Milla Jovovich from unleashing a plague of monsters. Does Stranger Things’ David Harbour look as good in red as Ron Perlman? And how much help does he get from a saucy medium (Sasha Lane), a suppressed wildcat Major (Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim), and a hard R rating? Hear if Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart have Giant problems with this reboot when you listen now!