Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

The 1996 shooter House of the Dead invited gamers to pick up light guns and mow down scores of charging zombies.  But the 2003 movie adaptation has podcasters Justin, Arnie, and Stuart taking aim once again at immortal writer/director Uwe Boll.  Should bad movie lovers take that boat ride with Clint Howard, and attend a Sega-sponsored rave on Seattle’s Island of the Dead? Or will the hangover live forever in viewers’ minds?  You’ll find out if the Now Playing Arcade escapes this overturned porta-potty when you listen now!

The second chapter in Dario Argento’s wicked witch trilogy finds Suspiriorum’s younger sister Mother Tenebrarum (Veronica Lazar) working her black magic in the flooded basement of a New York highrise.  Can music student Mark Elliot (Leigh McCloskey) stop his sibling Rose (Irene Miracle) from falling under the spell of this Mother of Darkness? And is the neighbor attempting to exterminate the building’s feral cats actually creating a bigger flesh-eating rat problem?  Find out if the sequel is a towering Inferno or a reeking dumpster fire. Donate Now!    

30 years after his foul-mouthed mercenary Hawkins was slaughtered in a South American jungle, actor Shane Black returns to write and direct the fourth installment in The Predator franchise. Will audiences be missing Arnold when sniper Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), his autistic son Jacob Tremblay (Wonder), and a busload of looney war vets tangle with the space hunter?  And can centerfold-ready scientist Olivia Munn help Sterling K. Brown determine if these new predators got milk, or some other juice, enlarging their bones? “Stick around” and find out!          

Before producing Dawn of the Dead and Demons, Italian horror master Dario Argento shocked the world with Suspiria - the first installment in a feverish trilogy of witch films known as The Three Mothers. Is American ballerina Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) cracking under the high demands of a prestigious German dance academy?  Or are her grueling new instructors really part of a black magic coven? Become a Silver Level Donor this fall and hear the sighs of delight and frustration as hosts Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie review this beguiling, gory fairy tale. 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 2018 Donation Drive is underway and from now through March 31, 2019, the The Three Mothers 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 Fall 2018 Donation page. You can get this review now and help support Now Playing! It is available on our Podbean page. You can also get this episode and every donation show we've done-- plus a 12 month subscription for all new shows! Details can be found on our Podbean Subscription page. Every dollar you donate goes to make this show the best it can be. Thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy the podcast!  

Are podcasters Arnie, Marjorie, and Stuart ready to put their faith in The Nun after spitting on most of The Conjuring universe?  The latest installment in the franchise traces the origins of demon-in-a-wimple Valak to a war-torn monastery in Romania.  Can a free-spirited novitiate (Vera’s little sis Taissa Farmiga), and a guilt-ridden exorcist (Oscar nominee Demian Bichir), find the strength… and that misplaced vial of Christ blood… to combat this unholy sister act?  Our vow of silence ends when you click play. Listen Now!

D.O.A. brought a healthy dose of T&A to fighting games in 1996, and the same holds true for the campy 2006 movie adaptation.  Everything jiggles when a trashy American wrestler (Jamie Presley), shinobi ninja princess (Devon Aoki), and slinky British cat burglar (Holly Valance) compete in the lucrative Dead Or Alive competition. Will the vixens put aside their differences and unite against Eric Roberts as he uses nanotechnology to extract and sell off their combat skills? Hear the Now Playing Arcade hosts receive another ass whuppin’ when you Listen Now!  

The prospect of seeing Al Pacino and Robert De Niro shoot up the screen together still generated enough box office heat in 2008 to earn them a Righteous Kill. Now the iconic duo  work side-by-side as police detectives on the trail of a demented poet who targets the crooks they weren’t able to put behind bars. Could a movie with this much acting talent be without virtue?  Donate Today to hear Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie perform the autopsy on this final installment of the Platinum Level Pacino Series.

Because the first Tekken movie didn’t prove fatal, podcasters Arnie, Justin, and Stuart must now survive Kazuya’s Revenge!  But could the emotionless amnesiac drifting through this low budget prequel be the same Kazuya who so rashly seized control of the Iron Fist Tournament last time?  And what good could possibly come from partnering with future champ Bryan Fury (Gary Daniels) to take down the assassin school that trained them?  Things are gonna get messy, even with a crazed janitor mopping up the arena. Assume a defensive position and Listen Now! 

Arnie, Justin, and Stuart climb into yet another arcade arena for a round with Tekken - the classic 1996 fighting game that inspired a not-so-classic 2010 science fiction flick. Can lowly thief Jin Kazama (John Foo) hold his own in a "kill or be killed" cage match with eight corporately-sponsored gladiators? Or will he take the fight to the evil organizers of the Iron Fist Tournament, and expose reigning champ Bryan Fury (Gary Daniels) to be a cyborg? Find out if the most damaging blows to the head are delivered to the audience when you Listen Now!

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro both appeared in Godfather Part 2, but they never had a scene together until they faced off in Heat.  Michael Mann’s 1995 heist epic finds the iconic Italian actors giving it all they’ve got - Al is an LAPD detective better at catching bad guys than holding on to good women, while Bobby is a thief who prides himself on being able to walk away from everything he steals.  Find out who scores with podcasters Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob when you Donate for Now Playing’s Platinum Pacino Series!

The 1994 strategy video game Warcraft expanded into the worlds of novels, trading cards, and online multiplayer spin-offs before finally reaching movie screens in 2016. The long awaited battle between orcs, elves, and humans was a massive hit with international audiences, but bombed big time in the States.  Will Yank podcasters Arnie, Justin, and Stuart have more success than their fellow countrymen making sense of the cross-dimensional storyline? Grow some tusks and join them as they bite into this Tolkien-sized fantasy.

Al Pacino and director Brian De Palma reunited 10 years after Scarface for another movie about a legendary Latino gangster.  But penitent Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante goes a different direction than bloodthirsty Cuban Tony Montana - refusing to deal drugs once he’s sprung from jail on a technicality.  Will corrupt lawyer Sean Penn obstruct Carlito’s Way out of a life of crime by involving him in a risky prison break?  And do podcasters Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob still want to party with Pacino without the cocaine?  Find out when you donate at the Gold Level or higher!

Robin is tired of being Batman’s sidekick, so he and the other Teen Titans are taking their hit Cartoon Network show To The Movies.  Trouble is, Hollywood still doesn’t consider the Boy Wonder, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, or Beast Boy to be big screen stars.  Does picking a fight with Slade, a "Deadpool rip-off" voiced by Will Arnett, help their box office? And will listeners catch Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart singing along with these goofsters as they crack an egg on the DC Universe?  The answers aren’t on the usual Bat Channel. Go! to Now Playing to find out!

Tom Cruise recovers from the Fallout of recent flops, and a shattered ankle, by leaping back to the top of the box office with his tried and true Mission: Impossible franchise.  The daredevil actor saves the world for the sixth time by once again teaming with techie Benji (Simon Pegg), hacker Luther (Ving Rhames), and markswoman Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) to stop plutonium-wielding terrorists. Listen now to find out if a tagalong CIA superman (Henry Cavill) and captive criminal mastermind (Sean Harris) compromise their mission to entertain.

Al Pacino took a four year break from movie stardom before diving into Sea of Love in 1989.  The steamy thriller has Detective Frank Keller - Al’s third incarnation as a New York cop - pursuing a female serial killer who stalks men that advertise in singles magazines.  Is it poetic justice that the lonely divorcee falls for mysterious MILF Ellen Barkin, or will partner John Goodman convince Al to stop looking at suspects through beer goggles? Qualify for breakfast with the Yankees when you Donate at the Platinum Level this summer.