Now Playing: The Marvel Comic Book Movie Retrospective Series

At the end of the first Kick-Ass film Red Mist plotted his revenge while Kick-Ass enjoyed high school with girlfriend Katie and Hit Girl, orphaned with the death of Big Daddy, had to adjust to normal high school life under the watch of new guardian Marcus. It was an ending that begged a sequel, and now it has one! With a city full of costumed heroes, including Jim Carey joining the cast as new hero Col. Stars and Stripes, can Kick-Ass still kick ass? Listen to find out!

At the end of the first Kick-Ass film Red Mist plotted his revenge while Kick-Ass enjoyed high school with girlfriend Katie and Hit Girl, orphaned with the death of Big Daddy, had to adjust to normal high school life under the watch of new guardian Marcus. It was an ending that begged a sequel, and now it has one! With a city full of costumed heroes, including Jim Carey joining the cast as new hero Col. Stars and Stripes, can Kick-Ass still kick ass? Listen to find out!

Can a zombie movie be a good comedy? Can a comedy be a good zombie movie? In the hands of Writer/Director Edgar Wright and Writer/Star Simon Pegg the answer was yes. Fresh off the hit British comedy Spaced the duo broke into America with this zomromcom - the film that became the first film in their Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy (called the Blood & Ice Cream trilogy in the US). Now as the trilogy concludes with The World's End Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob revisit Shaun of the Dead. Does the film work as horror, comedy, romance, or all of the above? If you donate and support Now Playing Podcast you can listen and find out!

Wolverine cannot be killed, and it seems neither can his film franchise. Despite tepid fan response to X-Men Origins: Wolverine a second solo film featuring Hugh Jackman was quickly put into production. With creative changes behind-the-scenes and a change to make The Wolverine a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand, it was released with the promise of being "The Wolverine film you've been waiting for." Does it live up to that hype? Listen to Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart's latest X-Men movie review to find out as we bide our time until 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past!

Wolverine cannot be killed, and it seems neither can his film franchise. Despite tepid fan response to X-Men Origins: Wolverine a second solo film featuring Hugh Jackman was quickly put into production. With creative changes behind-the-scenes and a change to make The Wolverine a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand, it was released with the promise of being "The Wolverine film you've been waiting for." Does it live up to that hype? Listen to Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart's latest X-Men movie review to find out as we bide our time until 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past!

Nothing can stop the undead. They just keep coming, and if you kill one two more take their place until eventually you have an unstoppable zombie horde. The same can be said for zombie movies themselves! Since the one-two punch of 28 Days Later and Sack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead the zombies have grown larger and larger, and this weekend in theaters comes the biggest zombie movie of them all--World War Z. Starring Brad Pitt as a UN investigator this film was intended to kick off a trilogy of big-budget zombie action films. Does this film continue the pile-on of zombie hits or is this one zombie who should have stayed dead? Donate to support Now Playing to find out!

28 Days Later is part apocalyptic thriller, part zombie horror, all scary as hell. Directed by Trainspotting wunderkind Danny Boyle 28 Days Later had a small budget but portrayed a grand vision. Its success helped reignite a love for zombies in 21st century cinema, introduced American audiences to future Batman baddie Cillian Murphy, and returned Boyle's status as an indie darling. But does the film hold up 10 years later? Thanks to your donation to Now Playing you can listen and find out!

Much like the Tarman, the Return of the Living Dead franchise had been cooped up for years but in 2005 sudios released not one but two sequels! Last week Now Playing supporters heard our review of the film Necropolis, now Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie are back to Rave to the Grave. When the trippy drug Z starts to turn users into the undead only a pair of Russian mobsters stands between the zombies and global disaster. Is this film a good party time or should it have remained interred? Donate and support Now Playing to find out!

It's hard to kill a zombie in Return of the Living Dead. Shoot them, burn them, they keep coming back for more brains. But after 1993 it seemed the zombies had finally been killed for good by the most harrowing of enemies--intellectual property rights issues. Leave it to Hollywood to never leave money on the table, though, as the zombie resurgence of the early 21st century with 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead enabled Return of the Living Dead to crawl from the grave again with not one but two low-budget, direct-to-SyFy Channel sequels. This week on Now Playing's bonus donation series Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob watch the first of these films: Return of the Living Dead--Necropolis. Is watching this film worse than eating cooked, zombified rat? If you donate to support Now Playing you can listen and find out!

For Return of the Living Dead 3 studio Trimark Pictures brought in Brian Yuzna, a horror producer and director best known for the ground-breaking Re-Animator films. Yuzna worked with writer John Penney to create a zombie love story. Starring future O.C. actress Melinda Clarke as Julie, a goth girl with a new found taste for brains, Return of the Living Dead 3 had much different in tone than the previous two films. Is this change for the better? Donate to Now Playing and you can listen and find out!

Punk rock, humor, and zombies proved a successful mix in Return of the Living Dead so a sequel was inevitable. Some of the cast returned, including actors who's characters died in the first one, but writer/director Dan O'Bannon was absent from the sequel. With a new tale of Trioxin fueled undead and an even stronger emphasis on the jokes, is Return of the Living Dead II a proper thriller? Donate to support Now Playing and find out!

The Avengers broke box office records taking in more at the US box office in the opening weekend than any other film. With such popularity the world was primed for a follow-up. Now, almost one year to the day later, Marvel Studios' next film Iron Man 3 has been delivered, and came in second only to The Avengers in its opening weekend. The new film features a Tony Stark solo mission against his comic book nemesis The Mandarin in a storyline taken from the Warren Ellis Extremis comic arc. But without Jon Favreau directing and without a Hulk can the armored Avenger still shine? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart's review to find out!

The Avengers broke box office records taking in more at the US box office in the opening weekend than any other film. With such popularity the world was primed for a follow-up. Now, almost one year to the day later, Marvel Studios' next film Iron Man 3 has been delivered, and came in second only to The Avengers in its opening weekend. The new film features a Tony Stark solo mission against his comic book nemesis The Mandarin in a storyline taken from the Warren Ellis Extremis comic arc. But without Jon Favreau directing and without a Hulk can the armored Avenger still shine? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart's review to find out!

It's been 32 years since Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell left obscurity in Detroit and went to a cabin in the woods that would start their careers and scare the hell out of moviegoers. With Raimi reaching big-time success with big-budget films like Oz and Spider-Man it seemed that the Evil Dead franchise would remain lifeless, but in 2013 it was back with a poster promising "The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience." Raimi and Campbell remained involved as producers, but directing fell to first-time filmmaker Fede Alvarez. Does this return to terror work for Evil Dead, or is it another forgettable horror reboot? DONATE to Now Playing to find out!

This summer, Superman flies back onto the big screen in Man of Steel, the first reboot of the superhero in 35 years! To prepare for Zach Snyder's film, join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob at NowPlayingPodcast.com as we look at a new Superman film each week, ending with a week-of-release review of Man of Steel.