Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Electronic Arts was eager to get racing game Need For Speed into multiplexes after watching Vin Diesel's family of car thieves make bank.  But can Aaron Paul break box office records with rapper Kid Cudi, Mr. Robot, and hottie Imogen Poots in his pit crew?  They'll all burn rubber crossing the country in a bid to land a spot in Michael Keaton's exclusive street race, thereby getting the chance to show up rival driver Dominic Cooper.  Find out if this shift in gears in the Now Playing Arcade works for Justin, Stuart, and Arnie when you Listen Now!

Al Pacino was back in full gangster mode in 1983, starring as Cuban “political refugee” Tony Montana... better known as Scarface! The Brian De Palma cult classic charts the rise and fall of a cocaine kingpin - from his arrival in America and first job burying a Castro commie, to a final standoff with Bolivian guerrillas raiding his lavish Miami mansion. Are viewers f*cking with the best, or do pussycats Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie need to take a chainsaw to all this excess? The podcast is yours when you donate at the Gold Level!

Cinemaware turned to 1950s monster movies for inspiration when developing a 1989 computer game about giant ants attacking small town America. Now It Came From The Desert comes full circle as a 2018 feature film!  An arrogant motocross racer and his shy mechanic must stop genetically modified insects from feasting on friends attending their victory kegger.  But have these fanboys seen too many B-flicks to make an original mark on the genre? Listen now to find out if Arnie, Justin, and Stuart must burn down another freak game-adaptation-gone-wrong.

Exorcist director William Friedkin pushed the boundaries of what an R-rated movie could show when he ordered cop Al Pacino to start Cruising the leather bars of New York City in this notorious slasher. Will the Serpico star have any better luck earning a detective shield, or keeping a girlfriend, now that he’s posing as a gay S&M enthusiast intent on catching the eye of a like-minded serial killer?  Who’s here… Jakob, Stuart and Arnie are here… and you’re here when you donate for the Platinum Level Pacino series!

The box office for 2015’s Ant-Man might be considered small in comparison to other Avengers films, but Marvel banks that the second Paul Rudd adventure will make a bigger impact on the big screen thanks to The Wasp.  Are the two pint-sized superheroes simply chasing a Ghost when they shrink to a subatomic level and hunt for long lost scientist Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer)?  Podcasters Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob don’t need truth serum to tell listeners what they really think of the 20th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Listen now!

How do you convince New Yorkers to vote for a chaotic night of mass death, theft, and vandalism?  Tell ‘em it only hurts Staten Island. The fourth Purge film traces the origins of the 12-hour “murder holiday” back to the neglected borough. Will shrink Marisa Tomei allow the New Founding Fathers to turn her psychological experiment into sanctioned ethnic cleansing?  Can he-man drug dealer Dmitri (Y’lan Noel) protect a public housing highrise from psycho purger Skeletor (Rotimi Paul)? Time is running out to Donate for this Silver Level series!

Podcasters Justin, Arnie, and Stuart are still shooting daggers at notorious filmmaker Uwe Boll, this time for making them watch a sequel to reviled video game movie Alone in the Dark. Christian Slater dodged a bullet when he passed off the role of paranormal investigator Edward Carnby to Die Another Day villain Rick Yune. Can the new star muster the strength to leave his sick bed and track down the witch that had him stabbed in a Central Park urinal?  And what tricks will occultist veterinarian Lance Henriksen pull from his medicine bag? Listen and find out!

Now Playing Podcast is a show without any sponsors or ads. Yet for 10 years we've been bringing in-depth movie reviews, and have not missed a free show on Tuesday since 2010! (Yes, that's 391 weeks of a new show every single Tuesday).None of this would be possible without our donors and patrons. So listen to this preview of our new bonus review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and then go to http://nowplayingpodcast.com/donate to help keep Now Playing going strong!

Uwe Boll is easily the most prolific creator of video game movies, but does he also deserve his reputation as Worst Filmmaker Ever?  The Now Playing Arcade takes up the question with a review of Alone In The Dark, a beloved 1992 supernatural PC game that became a 2005 tax write-off for the hack director. Christian Slater stars as a PI who goes looking for lost 30-year-old orphans, and finds Tara Reid logging Native American artifacts in a museum overrun with monsters. Learn if this box office flop is so bad it's good, or just bad, when you listen now! 

U.S. politicians will worry less about hanging chads in the Election Year 2039, and far more about getting hung from a tree, after Purge Night rules are modified to allow government officials to be hunted. The only way Presidential hopeful Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) will evade assassination, and reach the White House, is to let security guard Frank Grillo, and small business owner Mykelti Williamson, run her campaign for all 12 hours of America’s “murder holiday”. Get full coverage of the race from Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart when you Donate Today!

It took 14 years for Pixar and director Brad Bird to create a sequel for popular superhero family The Parrs. Now mother Helen (Holly Hunter) steps back into the role of Elastigirl to lead a global PR campaign championing superpowers. But how easily can she change minds on the supers ban when new villain Screenslaver uses television to hypnotize and control the masses?  And how well does stay-at-home dad Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) do raising Violet, Dash, and baby Jack Jack without her? Listen now as Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart dig into Incredibles 2!

Writer/director James DeMonaco is takin’ it to the streets for the quickie sequel to his surprise hit The Purge. Tough guy Frank Grillo and poor waitress Carmen Ejogo are among the unlucky folk caught up in the Anarchy of downtown Los Angeles on Purge Night 2023.  Do podcasters Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart cleanse their souls, or just empty their bowels, engaging in this second course of social Darwinism?  Donate tonight and find out!

George Clooney and his crew are sitting out the latest caper so that little sister Debra (Sandra Bullock) and seven criminally-minded gal pals have a chance to steal the spotlight. Ocean’s 8 finds the girl gang attempting to lift a $150 million diamond necklace, worn to a glitzy red carpet gala by annoying Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway. But can Debra pull off the sting while also getting revenge on the art dealer ex-boyfriend who put her to jail (Richard Armitage)?  And who in the octet walks away with the hearts of hosts Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob?  Listen and find out. 

It sure looked like Liu Kang (Robin Shou) won the Mortal Kombat tournament last film, but that’s not stopping his demonic foes from continuing their assault on Earth. Now the only way our heroes can stop mankind’s Annihilation is to challenge Outworld emperor Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson) to a rematch. Is new director John Leonetti up for this fight? And could someone please move the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge out of the arena?  Things are bound to get messy as Justin, Stuart, and Arnie play referee for this contentious sequel. Listen now!

Release The Beast, and let podcasters Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart bring The Purge franchise into your home tonight!  Ethan Hawke stars as a security systems specialist who got rich in near-future America when crime became legal for one night a year.  He’ll find out just how safe his family really is when a homeless man takes refuge in their mansion on Purge Night 2022, and masked yuppies assault the place looking to murder them all.  Your soul will be cleansed when you Donate Today for this Silver Level Series!