Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Joe Versus the Vatican Symbologist Robert Langdon made his big-screen debut in The Da Vinci Code, the controversial adaptation of a Dan Brown bestseller that risked turning art history into a global conspiracy and created a PR nightmare for the Catholic Church. With Tom Hanks rocking the most unpopular haircut since Samson, and director Ron Howard treating every line like it came straight from the Book of Revelation, this 2006 thriller cracked the box office wide open. Grab your rosary and Listen Now as Arnie, Brock, and Justin question if the clues still add up.

Step Brothers Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence asks audiences to take a Long Walk in Stephen King’s shoes for the 2025 movie adaptation of the horror writer’s 1979 dystopian novel. Why has Mark Hamill gone to the Dark Side, using brute force to make 50 teenage boys march down America’s post-apocalyptic highways until only one is left standing? And who in this fresh-faced cast, which includes the latest Karate Kid and the “Andy” from Alien Romulus? Will the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman break away from the pack and become a major film star in the future? Listen to Find Out!

The Warren Reports Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have been Conjuring stories of demonic possession on movie screens for the last 12 years. Will their career as the preeminent paranormal investigators of the 1960s and 70s end in tragedy now that a Pennsylvanian family needs their help fighting off an axe-wielding ghost in 1986? And can Ed and Lorraine keep shielding adult daughter Judy from a strangulating spirit tucked inside a mirror, or devil doll Annabelle, or even the sexual advances of suitor Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody)? Hear the hosts give Last Rites to this series now!

Window of Opportunity Stephen King didn’t write The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, but this 2003 TV movie attempts to complete the picture of his haunted house, Rose Red. Was the place born from the sin of kinky Steven Brand (Hellraiser: Revelations), who delights in tying up and torturing his new bride and comely maids? Or is the mansion on the side of the wronged women, and helping Ellen (soap star Lisa Brenner) and her “dark lady” companion (Broadway’s Tsidii Leloka) build a tower to Heaven that sends the pervert hubby straight to Hell? The Podcast Never Stops, so Listen Now!

Bringing Down The House Stephen King invited audiences back to network television in 2002 for a three-night tour of his haunted house, Rose Red. But did the author successfully refurbish Shirley Jackson’s classic Hill House tale by having an autistic girl be the one to stoke the appetite of a soul-eating Seattle mansion? Or is sitcom star Nancy Travis working from an outdated blueprint as she sends five paranormal investigators down warped hallways and rooms with bad histories to find scientific proof of the supernatural? Listen Now to learn if the hosts flip over this property.

Nobody Asked for This After finding inner peace with a body count, Nobody Bob Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell is chasing something even harder: a quiet family vacation. But when a crooked sheriff (Fargo’s Colin Hanks) and a deranged smuggler (Basic Instinct’s Sharon Stone) crash the party, Hutch has to remind everyone that violence is his love language. Listen to the Now Playing Podcast hosts now to find out if Nobody 2 packs the same punch as the original!

Nobody Copies John Wick and Gets Away With It Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) might look like your average suburban dad, but Nobody will think that after witnessing his brutal bus beatdown and action flick transformation. Can the unassuming funnyman fight back against the Russian mafia on his own, or does he need the help of his shotgun-wielding octogenarian papa Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future)? Arnie, Jason, and Justin absorb every punch and headshot in this 2021 shoot ‘em up to find out if this passion project is a deserving cult favorite or just another dogged John Wick clone. Listen now!

Plop Goes The Weasel Thomas Jane (The Mist), Jason Lee (Chasing Amy), Timothy Olyphant (Justified), and Damian Lewis (Billions) arrive at a cabin in the woods to drink beer, sing “Blue Bayou”, and process childhood trauma. But their annual hunting trip gets hijacked by space aliens exploding out their asses in the 2003 nightmare film Dreamcatcher. Can Big Chill director Lawrence Kasdan and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman offer redemption to one of Stephen King’s most reviled novels? Listen Now as the podcasters take a dump on another of the horror writer’s fuckarows. {Stephen King Series}

The Baby Bunch The MCU takes its First Steps into Phase Six by bringing comic's premiere family, The Fantastic Four, back into the fold. But was newborn Franklin also mutated by the cosmic storm that stretched the talents of Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), disappeared Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), got Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) rock hard, and made Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) so hot? And how well does Silver Surfer Julia Garner (Ozark) herald the arrival of big boss Galactus (Ralph Ineson)? Hear “The Terrific Trio” of Arnie, Justin, and Stuart break it all down for you now!

What About Bob? Marvel Studios turns to treacherous CIA director Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) to help them identify New Avengers to replace their most iconic superheroes, and carry the franchise forward. But will longtime MCU fans buy a ticket (or even a box of Wheaties) for a ragtag assembly of antiheroes known as the Thunderbolts? Listen Now to find out if former Black Widow Florence Pugh, her drunken surrogate father David Harbour, newly elected Congressman Sebastian Stan, bitter super soldier Wyatt Russell, and barely there Hannah John-Kamen can pull it off.

At last, I finally understand the dangers of investing in Krypto Director James Gunn leaves Guardians of the Galaxy behind to launch DC Studios, starting with the 2025 resurrection of Superman. But can David Corenswet be a Man of Steel to Metropolis after Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) smears his good name in a social media campaign that questions why dad Bradley Cooper sent him to Earth? And is the narrative even harder to control when reporter-girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) challenges the way “Big Blue” protects foreign countries from invasion? Get the full scoop as the Now Playing Gang reunites.

Chariots of Desire Now Playing Podcast closes out the Species retrospective with The Awakening, a made-for-Sci-Fi Channel entry that trades franchise continuity for a new setting, new characters, and the same familiar formula. Set in Mexico, this fourth installment brings in Chariots of Fire’s Ben Cross and Star Trek: Enterprise’s Dominic Keating but can they add class to this low-budget fourquel? Join Now Playing Podcast’s hosts as they dissect the final chapter in a franchise that refuses to die quietly.

College hook-up culture meets the world’s worst grad school project. Natasha Henstridge cashed a big check for a tiny role in Species III, a bargain-bin sequel that trades theaters for dorm rooms and solid science for sci-fi nonsense. Sil’s alien legacy lives on through her daughter, but with less money to burn, things get even dumber. There’s still plenty of aliens, skin, and bad choices to go around. Join Now Playing Podcast as we dissect how this straight-to-Sci-Fi Channel sequel keeps the Species name twitching.

It’s been a long road, but Stuart is finally home and recovering after a difficult two-month hospitalization. He wanted to send a personal video message to all of you who’ve sent kind words, prayers, and Stu Cru selfies during his recovery. In this video, Stuart shares an update on how he’s doing, what this experience has meant, and how much your support has helped him through the hardest time of his life. Thank you again to every single person who reached out. This community kept his spirits up and gave him strength. If you haven’t yet, you can still send your photo for the Stu Cru gallery to show@nowplayingpodcast.com #StuCru #NowPlayingPodcast #ThankYou

Do you think you know what they did last summer? Think again! Our 2025 Summer/Fall Donation Drive kicks off today with our review of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the 1997 slasher that made hook hands cool again. But before the gore, there was... guilt? In this bonus episode, Arnie digs into the 1973 young-adult novel by Lois Duncan. But slasher fans be warned: there's no fisherman, no slickers, and definitely no body count. Just a group of teens, a hit-and-run, and a slow-burning mystery that’s more Nancy Drew than Ghostface. Find out what changed, what got lost in translation, and why Duncan was not thrilled with the adaptation, in this bonus book review podcast.

Houston, we have a baby mama problem. What happens when a space mission goes wrong, and the astronauts bring back more than just Mars rocks? You get Species II, a bigger, bolder, and weirder follow-up that doubles down on the sleaze, the sci-fi, and the mutant mating. Today, our hosts dive into this sequel, pondering the true mystery: why should Peter Boyle and James Cromwell ever be in the same movie? Buckle up! Things are about to get even more sticky.

Came to mate, stayed to mutilate. 30 years ago, Species slithered onto screens with a deadly combo: sexy aliens, mad science, and a cast way too good for this movie. Today Now Playing Podcast kicks off a four-part retrospective of this cult-favorite creature feature franchise, asking the hard questions: Was Sil just misunderstood? Is Alfred Molina okay? And why does the government’s top plan always involve “wait and see what happens”? Strap in! We're mating and debating now!

Black Ops Swan Lionsgate’s still milking the John Wick cow, even if Keanu's nowhere in sight. First, they gave us The Continental (because who hasn’t wanted a TV show about hotel management?), and now comes Ballerina, the big-screen spin-off where Ana de Armas pirouettes while wielding flamethrowers, claymores, knives, guns. Lots of guns. Does she have what Wick needs? Join Justin, Jason, and Arnie to find out if Ballerina is a graceful leap forward or just another franchise misstep in ballet flats.

Cobra Why The Karate Kid franchise has had nothing but victories lately. The 2010 remake was a box-office success, and fans flocked to YouTube and Netflix for Cobra Kai. Now, Sony wants to high-kick this franchise back into theaters and combine the universes, having both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan as teachers to young Li Fong (Ben Wang). But with those senseis relegated to glorified cameos, and the karate coming late into the film, will audiences be disappointed in this film that focuses as much on boxing as martial arts? And can it live up to the nostalgic joy of Cobra Kai? Join Arnie, Jason, and Brock now to find out!

Cobra Why The Karate Kid franchise has had nothing but victories lately. The 2010 remake was a box-office success, and fans flocked to YouTube and Netflix for Cobra Kai. Now, Sony wants to high-kick this franchise back into theaters and combine the universes, having both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan as teachers to young Li Fong (Ben Wang). But with those senseis relegated to glorified cameos, and the karate coming late into the film, will audiences be disappointed in this film that focuses as much on boxing as martial arts? And can it live up to the nostalgic joy of Cobra Kai? Join Arnie, Jason, and Brock now to find out!