Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast - podcast cover

Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Venganza Media, Inc.nowplayingpodcast.com
Become a Paid Subscriber and get bonus podcasts: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/subscribe Three playful movie reviewers break down a variety of film franchises by dedicating a podcast to every single sequel, reboot, and spin-off in a series. In-depth conversations cover production history, literary sources, gossip, merchandising, and personal opinion with humor and critical insight. No cinematic universe is too obscure or sacred! Over 1,200 reviews at http://nowplayingpodcast.com

Episodes

Prey

Lances With Wolves Centuries before targeting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the South American jungle, the Predator was making Native Americans their Prey in this prequel set in the year 1719. Can Comanche medicine woman Amber Midthunder silence the sexist naysayers by bringing down the cloaked alien that’s been picking off her tribe in the wilderness of the Great Plains? And do grizzly bears and mountain lions pose just as much danger to the novice hunter as her outer space foe? Track the latest mov...

Aug 17, 20221 hr 20 min

DC League of Super-Pets

Superman and Batman have been taken prisoner, so it’s up to their dogs Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) and Ace (Kevin Hart) to lead the rescue team in the first big screen adventure for the DC League of Superpets .  Did deranged guinea pig Lulu (Kate McKinnon) learn enough about being a supervillain from Lex Luther (Marc Maron) to successfully engineer an orange kryptonite plot that expels the Justice League from the planet?  And will the Man of Steel have to pick Lois Lane over Man’s Best Fri...

Aug 10, 20221 hr 26 minEp. 1234

Underdog

Before there was a League of DC Superpets , there was Underdog … the clumsy police beagle turned into a flying canine crime fighter by mad scientist Peter Dinklage ( Game of Thrones ). But can Walt Disney turn a 1960s Saturday morning cartoon created by cereal makers into something that satisfies the tastes of a new generation of superhero fans weaned on Richard Donner’s Superman ?  And what can K-9 star Jim Belushi teach his four-legged partner about making a funny family film?  Never...

Aug 03, 20221 hr 1 minEp. 1232

Book Review: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Midnight Sun puts a new light on Stephanie Meyer’s first novel by retelling Twilight through the silver eyes of Edward the vampire.  Will fans still swoon over his love affair with Bella Swan knowing he was really fantasizing about committing violence against her body and soul?  And what do the rest of the Cullen clan think about a mortal girl from Arizona taking up so much space in their sibling’s head?  Join Stuart and Jakob as they put this book series to bed....

Jul 28, 202227 min

Underworld: Blood Wars

After five years living in the shadows, Kate Beckinsale returns to the Underworld universe ready to kick Lycan ass and win the Blood Wars for the vampires. But can the single mother prevent enemies on both sides of the conflict from hunting down and drinking the hybrid blood of her runaway daughter Eve?  And will Selene find true friends or just new hairdos when she follows the Northern Lights to a frozen palace full of blonde bloodsuckers? Join Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie as they wrap up this...

Jul 27, 20221 hr 10 min

Book Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Bella Swan grows up fast in Breaking Dawn - dealing with marriage, motherhood, and rigor mortis all in one giant Twilight conclusion. Will author Stephanie Meyer give her undead Heathcliff and Cathy the happy ending that’s so far eluded their teenage courtship?  And are things better or worse between Edward and Jacob now that the werewolf has given up on Bella and imprinted on her baby girl instead?  Jakob and Stuart are ready to break it all down now!

Jul 21, 202234 min

Underworld: Awakening

Breaking bones, not Breaking Dawn Six years after putting Underworld on ice, Kate Beckinsale is slipping on a leather catsuit and Awakening to the joy of blasting more werewolves. But how will Selene adapt to a future where humans are now the Death Dealers, driving both Lycans and vampires into hiding?  And has eternal love Scott Speedman gone missing because he’s a captive of the evil Antigen Corporation… or because he’s ducking out on raising their homicidal offspring Eve?  Find out ...

Jul 20, 20221 hr 4 min

Thor: Love and Thunder

Double Rainbow Chris Hemsworth and ex-girlfriend Natalie Portman attempt to bury the hatchet after she lifts his hammer and becomes another Thor in the latest Marvel adventure Love & Thunder . Is the superhero couple falling into a parent trap by rescuing the children of New Asgard from disillusioned zealot Christian Bale? Or is this God Butcher right to target Zeus (Russell Crowe) and the other disappointing, debaucherous deities hiding inside Omnipotent City? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart ...

Jul 12, 20222 hr 46 minEp. 1226

Book Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The romance between sullen teen Bella and immortal vampire Edward gets overshadowed by the backstories of several supporting characters in Eclipse , Stephanie Meyer’s third Twilight novel.  Will battle scars and tales of war make readers think differently of Jasper Whitlock?  Does jealous Rosalie Hale become more sympathetic after hearing how she was turned undead? And what exactly happened to Bree Tanner in her Second Short Life ?  Listen Now!

Jul 08, 202237 min

Moon Knight

Egypt’s first superhero… or a Chicago gangsta stuck in da Nile? Oscar Isaac ( Ex Machina ) spends his days hawking trinkets at a museum gift shop, and his nights sleepwalking around the globe as a mummified mercenary named Moon Knight .  Should the scatterbrained crime fighter try to figure out his multiple personalities in a sanitarium run by Black Phone predator Ethan Hawke? Or is this white padded cell really a front for a doomsday cult bent on bringing a vengeful, crocodile-headed God d...

Jul 05, 20222 hr 51 minEp. 1224

Book Review: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

‘I’m sorry I can’t be the right monster for you Bella” Bella Swan can’t wait to die so she can spend all future birthdays sucking face with vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen in the second Twilight novel. Will things end tragically between the odd couple once author Stephanie Meyer starts quoting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ? And is Bella’s native friend feeling the pangs of puppy love, or the onset of a werewolf transformation? Find out what’s in the pages of New Moon when you join Team Jakob a...

Jun 30, 202230 min

Lightyear

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...

Jun 28, 20221 hr 25 minEp. 1222

Book Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

“Do I dazzle you?” 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. &nb...

Jun 23, 202235 min

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Fellowship of the Wild Things 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 intersp...

Jun 21, 20221 hr 4 minEp. 1220

Jurassic World: Dominion - A Podcast Preview

Dinosaurs have escaped Jurassic World and claimed Dominion over all of the Earth in the sixth chapter of Steven Spielberg’s popular franchise. Is CEO Campbell Scott out to save humanity by bringing the big lizards to his Italian sanctuary, or just using their extinct DNA to conduct more unethical genetic experiments?  And how well are veterans Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neil, and Laura Dern spliced into the story as Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard attempt rescue of a kidnapped clone and velocir...

Jun 17, 202214 min

Underworld: Evolution

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 ...

Jun 14, 202259 minEp. 1218

Underworld

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 T...

Jun 07, 20221 hr 24 minEp. 1216

The Two Jakes

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, an...

May 31, 20221 hr 27 minEp. 1214

Chinatown

Forget it, Jake. It’s Podcasting. 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 f...

May 25, 20222 hr 36 minEp. 1213

Firestarter (2022)

Smokin’ In The Girls’ Room 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...

May 18, 20221 hr 24 minEp. 1211

Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness

The Imitation Game 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?  Liste...

May 10, 20222 hr 7 minEp. 1209

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production

“We cannot protect the young from harm.  Pain must and will come.” JK Rowling collaborates with a pair of theater veterans to tell her eighth Hogwarts adventure Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as a stage play.  And while Brock, Stuart, and Arnie couldn’t score tickets, they are ready to review the published script.  What happens when Harry’s son goes Slytherin, and travels back in time to change the outcome of the Triwizard Tournament? Listen to find out if fans throw the author...

May 05, 202254 min

Hawkeye

No Rest Ye Merry Gentleman 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 R...

May 04, 20222 hr 7 minEp. 1208

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Leaving Los Angeles 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? ...

Apr 27, 20221 hr 29 minEp. 1206

The Rock

Listen Now and Get a Piece of The Rock 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 fi...

Apr 19, 20221 hr 20 minEp. 1402

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Round Two with the Blue 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 an...

Apr 13, 20222 hr 34 minEp. 1202

Morbius

Intravenous with a Vampire 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? F...

Apr 06, 20222 hr 36 minEp. 1200

Dead Trigger

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 ano...

Mar 30, 20221 hr 18 minEp. 1198

Assassin's Creed

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...

Mar 22, 20221 hr 24 minEp. 1195

Ace Attorney

How To Get Away With Murder… and get Jammin’ Ninja Super Cake 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 di...

Mar 15, 20221 hr 14 minEp. 1193