Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Cult audiences love midnight movie The Room for being crazy melodrama, but the story of how it got made might be even more nuts.  Does James Franco show his talent, or just his ass, stepping into the skin of wannabe writer/director/actor Tommy Wiseau?  And will Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart find a new appreciation for this Disaster Artist when the truth behind his bad plots is dramatized?  Listen now and find out!  

Audiences have been tearing delusional actor/writer/director Tommy Wiseau apart for the last 14 years over his self-funded melodrama The Room. Can you ever really trust anyone who would recommend a movie this preposterous? Oh hi Jakob!  Three’s a crowd when the die hard Room-mate, his best friend Arnie, and manipulative bitch Stuart come together to explore this midnight movie phenomenon.  

Episode VIII finds General Leia (Carrie Fisher), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and a dwindling number of Resistance fighters beating a hasty retreat from the rising armies of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). Their only hope lies with recently located Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) - The Last Jedi in the universe.  But can Master Luke trust feisty apprentice Rey (Daisy Ridley) to learn the ways of The Force without succumbing to the Dark Side like his previous pupil, the murderous tyrant Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)?  Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart for a deep dive into the biggest movie of 2017. 

In 12 Monkeys Bruce Willis plays James Cole - a man from the future who’s come to witness the start of an extinction-level pandemic. Or he’s insane, filled with a Cassandra complex. He encounters Brad Pitt’s Jeffrey Goines, who is insane, but also may know more than he’s letting on. Yet perhaps the real time traveler is nonconformist, eclectic director Terry Gilliam whose underrated 1995 film foreshadows both stars’ roles in more popular films. Now, join Arnie, Stuart, and guest host Matt as they travel back to 1995 and examine this dystopian sci-fi film.

Because listeners demanded it!   To celebrate Now Playing's 10th Anniversary we are releasing our second DVD-ROM set!  This set contains every podcast we've done from 2013-2017. This is all regular feed shows, all bonus shows, all donation shows, all Patron shows...and even the 4 Kickstarter exclusive reviews of Shocker, A Clockwork Orange, Super 8, and Xanadu. Plus there are exclusive bonus features--including: the Unedited review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  The full video review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle The full LIVE audio review of Kingsman: The Secret Service A conversation with all 7 Podcast hosts and more! Find details now at http://nowplayingpodcast.com/donate 

The sixth installment of Hellraiser goes searching for the series’ original Last Girl, Ashley Laurence.  But no one has seen Kirsty Cotton-Gooden since her shady husband Trevor (Dean Winters) drove their car off a bridge.  Eels and sex tapes are among the treasures that Hellseekers Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart dredge up as they mine the watery depths of the franchise.  Will they find some Green Arrows inside this DVD box too?  Donate Now and find out! Now Playing is a podcast with no sponsors or advertisements. We rely solely on listener support to keep going. Our Fall 2017 Donation Drive is underway and from now through July 31, 2017, the Hellraiser Retrospective Series is available as a "thank you" to those who support Now Playing. You can listen to this preview of the show for free now using the link above. The full podcast series is available through a Paypal donation to Now Playing, or individual episodes are available on our Podbean page. Details can be found on our Spring 2017 Donation page. Thank you in advance for your support of our show!

Saw director James Wan wished to leave the horror genre behind when he signed on to adapt Death Sentence - author Brian Garfield's previously unmade sequel novel to Death Wish. A buttoned-down Kevin Bacon cuts loose, kicks off his Sunday shoes, and follows in the footsteps of Charles Bronson's pistol packin' Paul Kersey once a street gang targets his perfect family. Listen now and find out if Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart give this failed reboot a stay of execution.

Q: What's a seven letter word for a diminished movie series? A: INFERNO.  The fifth installment of the Hellraiser franchise returned to Earth, bypassed theaters, and banished Pinhead to a DVD box.  But the Cenobite still hopes to make legendary suffering by collaborating with future Sinister and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, and facing off with a dirty Denver cop (Nightbreed star Craig Sheffer) who fingers Pinhead for a series of occult murders.  Donate Today to learn if Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart think this sequel is killing Clive Barker’s spirit. Now Playing is a podcast with no sponsors or advertisements. We rely solely on listener support to keep going. Our Fall 2017 Donation Drive is underway and from now through July 31, 2017, the Hellraiser Retrospective Series is available as a "thank you" to those who support Now Playing. You can listen to this preview of the show for free now using the link above. The full podcast series is available through a Paypal donation to Now Playing, or individual episodes are available on our Podbean page. Details can be found on our Spring 2017 Donation page. Thank you in advance for your support of our show!

It was Charles Bronson's wish to never reprise the role of vigilante Paul Kersey after Death Wish IV. So movie producers found $5 million reasons for the 72 year old actor to star as their Face of Death one last time. This fifth chapter sends Kersey into the underbelly of New York City's garment district, where the tough guy hunts the cannoli-loving transvestite mobsters who disfigured his clothing designer fiancee and stole away his surrogate daughter. Do Jakob, Stuart and Arnie find this fashion forward finale a bad turn on the catwalk, or a fitting end to the Bronson era?  Listen and find out.  

Humble 18th Century toy maker Phillip L'Merchant put a curse on his Bloodline the day he manufactured a puzzle box that opened a portal to Hell.  Now it falls to L'Merchant’s descendants in modern day New York, as well as on a futuristic space station, to build a trap big enough to recapture demon Angelique and her Cenobite co-conspirator Pinhead. Donate now to hear Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart beam aboard this ambitious fourth installment of the Hellraiser franchise and boldly go where astro-slashers Jason Voorhees and the Leprechaun flopped before.   Jakob, and Stuart can find room in their hellbound hearts for this third installment of the Hellraiser franchise.   Now Playing is a podcast with no sponsors or advertisements. We rely solely on listener support to keep going. Our Fall 2017 Donation Drive is underway and from now through July 31, 2017, the Hellraiser Retrospective Series is available as a "thank you" to those who support Now Playing. You can listen to this preview of the show for free now using the link above. The full podcast series is available through a Paypal donation to Now Playing, or individual episodes are available on our Podbean page. Details can be found on our Spring 2017 Donation page. Thank you in advance for your support of our show!

How does a DC Comics super-team come together when the Man of Steel is dead, Batman is suicidal, Wonder Woman won't lead, and the most promising recruits are an aloof Merman, a renegade robot, and a neurotic runner who'd rather eat than fight?  It will take the Classic Rock threat of Steppenwolf, reuniting with the Mother Boxes of Invention, to unify this Justice League.  But is there any hope for Recommendations from Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie when the clashing visions of director Zack Snyder and last minute replacement Joss Whedon create such a chaotic production?  Find out who wins and loses when you listen now! Thirsting for even more JUSTICE? Become a Now Playing Patron to hear an extended version of this review--over 30 minutes longer! Details are on the Now Playing Patron site!

Pinhead is back and ready to turn New York City into a HELL ON EARTH! But first the Cenobite will need to convince a sadistic nightclub owner to free him from the carbonite confines of a modern art sculpture. Meanwhile a leggy TV journalist with daddy issues, partnering with a homeless Goth girl and the ghost of a WWI soldier, search for a way to put Pinhead back inside his box. Donate now to find out if Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart can find room in their hellbound hearts for this third installment of the Hellraiser franchise.   Now Playing is a podcast with no sponsors or advertisements. We rely solely on listener support to keep going. Our Fall 2017 Donation Drive is underway and from now through July 31, 2017, the Hellraiser Retrospective Series is available as a "thank you" to those who support Now Playing. You can listen to this preview of the show for free now using the link above. The full podcast series is available through a Paypal donation to Now Playing, or individual episodes are available on our Podbean page. Details can be found on our Spring 2017 Donation page. Thank you in advance for your support of our show!

Paul Kersey gets topical with his fourth killing spree in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown! This time he's going to whack the crack dealers in Los Angeles. It's the type of film only Cannon Films could make. But is it any good? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!

For its second film the Hellraiser series was Hellbound, bringing back Pinhead and the Cenobites from the first film, and adding a few new twists. The mythology deepened, but the central struggle remained between Julia (Clare Higgins) and step-daughter Kirstie (Ashley Lawrence). Is this labyrinthine vision of hell pain or pleasure for horror movie fans? Find out! Open the box--donate to Now Playing and get hooked on this review! This podcast is not available for general download. Now Playing is a podcast with no sponsors or advertisements. We rely solely on listener support to keep going. Our Fall 2017 Donation Drive is underway and from now through July 31, 2017, the Hellraiser Retrospective Series is available as a "thank you" to those who support Now Playing. You can listen to this preview of the show for free now using the link above. The full podcast series is available through a Paypal donation to Now Playing, or individual episodes are available on our Podbean page. Details can be found on our Spring 2017 Donation page. Thank you in advance for your support of our show!

The God of Thunder was ready to change his image after Now Playing and so many others hammered his solo films as the silliest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Third effort Ragnarok not only puts Thor in the arena with longtime frenemies Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), but pits him against powerful new characters Hela (Cate Blanchett), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum).  Should the studly superhero have been so quick to chop off his golden hair, or would those shears have been better served cutting out some jokes in this 130 minute epic? Find out if hosts Arnie, Jakob and Stuart rain on Marvel's latest parade by listening now!