Now Playing: The Marvel Comic Book Movie Retrospective Series

As we lead up to November's Interstellar, join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they look back at Nolan's early films.

​After three years Lord of the Rings fans finally had their epic conclude with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Now Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob conclude their review of Jackson's original Rings trilogy. With huge battles and Frodo's personal battle of wills with the ring, this was Jackson's most ambitious film in the trilogy, and it took home plenty of Oscar gold. But will it also take home recommends from the Now Playing hosts? If you make a pledge in support of our show you can now listen and find out!

When teased at the end of Thor: The Dark World, the Guardians of the Galaxy looked like a bunch of a-holes. But this past weekend Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot proved their worth with a heroic opening weekend at the box office. More than just money, the film has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. What is the magic that made this film blow up like a ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb, and were the hosts of Now Playing won over by this charming band of outlaws? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob in this review to find out!

After the comedy showcase that was Escape from the Planet of the Apes viewers probably wouldn't expect a violent commentary on race relations as a follow-up. But that was exactly what was delivered in the fourth film of the series -- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes starring Roddy McDowall returning in the new role of ape revolutionary leader Caesar. This film was heavily modified to be family-friendly for release, but still had a harder edge than the previous films. Does this change of tone fit the series? Listen to this preview, then donate to support Now Playing podcast to find out!

When teased at the end of Thor: The Dark World, the Guardians of the Galaxy looked like a bunch of a-holes. But this past weekend Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot proved their worth with a heroic opening weekend at the box office. More than just money, the film has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. What is the magic that made this film blow up like a ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb, and were the hosts of Now Playing won over by this charming band of outlaws? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob in this review to find out!

Marvel's Avengers film upped audience expectations by bringing four solo cinematic superheroes together for one explosive adventure. Now Fox tries to go one better by bringing two entire superteams together! The catch: they're both the X-Men. In X-Men: Days of Future Past the original X-Men and the First Class cast share the screen with a dozen new mutants to try and save their species from annihilation at the hands of giant robot sentinels. Does this giant cast lead to X-treme confusion or, in the hands of returning director Bryan Singer is this X-ceptional entertainment? Listen to Now Playing's review to find out!

Marvel's Avengers film upped audience expectations by bringing four solo cinematic superheroes together for one explosive adventure. Now Fox tries to go one better by bringing two entire superteams together! The catch: they're both the X-Men. In X-Men: Days of Future Past the original X-Men and the First Class cast share the screen with a dozen new mutants to try and save their species from annihilation at the hands of giant robot sentinels. Does this giant cast lead to X-treme confusion or, in the hands of returning director Bryan Singer is this X-ceptional entertainment? Listen to Now Playing's review to find out!

Rhino. Electro. Green Goblin. In 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man the web head had a hard time defeating one bad guy, but now he is up against three. With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Mark Webb has an even harder challenge than rebooting the film series--he has to up the stakes while setting the stage for Sony to launch an entire Spider-Man cinematic universe of films. With all the movie moguls planning annual films and three bad guys on screen, can Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker still get a story of his own? And after a polarizing first film, does The Amazing Spider-Man 2 show a hero on an upswing, or a downward fall? Listen to Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart's review to find out!

Rhino. Electro. Green Goblin. In 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man the web head had a hard time defeating one bad guy, but now he is up against three. With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Mark Webb has an even harder challenge than rebooting the film series--he has to up the stakes while setting the stage for Sony to launch an entire Spider-Man cinematic universe of films. With all the movie moguls planning annual films and three bad guys on screen, can Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker still get a story of his own? And after a polarizing first film, does The Amazing Spider-Man 2 show a hero on an upswing, or a downward fall? Listen to Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart's review to find out!

The First Avenger is back in the latest film from the unstoppable Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a mysterious new assassin out to kill Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. turning on him, it's up to the Star Spangled man along with his friends Black Widow and new hero The Falcon to save the day. Is this a good installment in Marvel's Avengers series or just a stalling tactic until we get The Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review to find out!

The First Avenger is back in the latest film from the unstoppable Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a mysterious new assassin out to kill Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. turning on him, it's up to the Star Spangled man along with his friends Black Widow and new hero The Falcon to save the day. Is this a good installment in Marvel's Avengers series or just a stalling tactic until we get The Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review to find out!

Robocop is getting a cinematic reboot in February! Prepare for this upcoming film by joining Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they watch and review all the Robocop films! Join us at nowplayingpodcast.com to hear all the reviews.

It's Christmas in Kinston Falls, but unless Billy and Gizamo can stop the GREMLINS it may be more bloody than merry! This holiday season, join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as they watch and review both Gremlins films! Listen to the first one now, then join us at nowplayingpodcast.com on New Year's Eve for part 2!

Now Playing has never before opened the vault for a previous limited-run donation retrospective series, but with the release of the new Child's Play film -- Curse of Chucky -- listeners demanded it. Join Arnie, Stuart, and Brock in this preview of all six reviews in our Child's Play Retrospective Series and find out how you can hear the entire podcasts!

Stanley Kubrick is one of the world's greatest filmmakers. Stephen King is one of the world's greast horror writers. Join us at nowplayingpodcast.com to hear if these are two great tastes that taste great together, and also look at King's own 1997 TV Miniseries adaptation!