Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

It was a film that couldn't succeed. It was a superhero film starring a comedic actor. It was directed by the quirky, cult Tim Burton. It was a superhero known more for a campy dance than for kicking ass. And it was the most expensive film ever made. Yet in 1989 Batman dominated not only the box office but the pop culture landscape, bringing a darker, more modern superhero aesthetic to the big screen and becoming the movie that all other superhero films would be compared for over a decade. But does it hold up in this day of the even darker Christopher Nolan Batman adaptations? Listen to Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie's review to find out!

When it comes to box office superheroes, none looms larger than Batman . He dominated theaters in 1989 with Tim Burton's vision of the caped crusader, and in the 21st century Christopher Nolan's take on the Batman made him the box office champion, with The Dark Knight becoming the highest grossing superhero film ever. Now, as we ramp up for Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, Now Playing will be looking back at all of the Batman films, starting with the 1966 theatrical release! When Batman knocked out television audiences everywhere the studio decided to cash in on a feature film version of the show, where four of the dynamic duo's worst villains, Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and The Riddler, team up to take over the world. Does this classic series hold up in feature length? Listen to Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie to find out!

THE AVENGERS! Breaking worldwide box office records this super-hero team-up is a film that seems impossible to make, and yet they did! After a year of reviewing movies based on Marvel Comics characters, listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review of this blockbuster film! Did it make a year's worth of viewing worth it, or did it fail to come together? Listen to find out!

By the summer of 2011 fans were ready for Avengers, but Marvel Studios still had some groundwork to lay before they could assemble. And in July the final character, the First Avenger, was introduced to audiences. But the fifth film in Marvel's series might be the hardest sell yet, a World War II period piece with a goody-goody hero. With Fantastic Four's Chris Evans donning the red, white, and blue outfit, did Captain America: The First Avenger stand alone, or was it just biding the time for ten more months until The Avengers was released? Listen to hear Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie's review of this film as well as the short A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer.

In three films Marvel had created a cinematic universe based on science. Iron Man used advanced technology to power an armored suit; Bruce Banner used genetic manipulation and medicine to create The Incredible Hulk. But in their fourth film leading up to The Avengers they brought in a new element straight out of Norse mythology--Thor, the god of thunder. With a mighty hammer, a winged helmet, and a flowing red cape, Thor and his fellow Asgardians fought off the evil Ice Giants, but for his cocky war-mongering Thor was banished to earth, stripped of his powers. Can a thunder god fit in with an otherwise science based Cinematic Universe, and is his story a compelling one? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out as they review Thor, and the Blu Ray bonus short The Consultant!

The first Iron Man film set the gold (and red) standard for Marvel superheroes in movies, but Marvel Studios knew the pressure was high to build up to The Avengers so just two years later Iron Man 2 was released. Jon Favreau was back behind the camera, and Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow were still starring, but now Don Cheadle dons the War Machine suit, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke team up as villains, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has a much larger presence in the form of Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, and Scarlett Johansson's Natalie "Black Widow" Rushman. The film is certainly bigger than the first, but is it better? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review to find out!

Mere months after Iron Man went supersonic at the box office Marvel's second issue of its Avengers movie series smashed its way into theaters--The Incredible Hulk! But after Ang Lee's film disappointed just a few years earlier Hulk's biggest enemy was audience expectations. Behind-the-scenes strife between producer/star Edward Norton and Marvel Studios only helped to add to audience superhero fatigue in a summer that also included The Dark Knight, and Hulk went on to be the lowest grossing Marvel studio film to date. Is Hulk truly Incredible, or is it as toxic as Bruce Banner's blood? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!

Who would win in a fight, Thor or the Hulk? In comic books, team-ups are the stuff of legend, fulfilling geeky desires while also increasing comic sales. But what can easily be done on the page is not so easy to transition to the screen, which may make this summer's The Avengers the most ambitious movie ever. Bringing together the larger-than-life characters of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow all led by Nick Fury, the cast is as impressive as the characters. Now, leading up to The Avengers, Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie are reviewing each of Marvel Studios' films. In our first review we look at 2008's Iron Man. Starring Robert Downey Jr, who had been more famous for his off-screen performances than his on-screen roles, and featuring a superhero that was not well known outside the comic reading crowds, the film went on to be the second highest grossing film of the year (bested only by another costumed billionaire vigilante--Batman ) and remains the highest grossing film in The Avengers franchise. Does this series get off on the right foot? Listen to our review to find out!

First Blade, then X-Men, then Spider-Man...Marvel's summer blockbuster films were just getting bigger and bigger, so expectations were high when Hulk smashed out of the small screen and into a big screen feature film. Directed by Ang Lee, coming right off his acclaim for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, this was a Hulk that stayed more true to the comic book incarnation of the green giant, but also dared to be a psychological drama as well. Is this a strong film worthy of its hero, or a puny attempt to cash in on a Marvel character? Listen to Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie to find out!

A new science experiment holds the key to curing David Banner of the Hulk, but a group of terrorists plan to steal the device and the scientists who created it. In Death of the Incredible Hulk television audiences said goodbye to the Hulk, but is the ultimate performance of Bill Bixby an enjoyable watch, or will it kill the Now Playing hosts? Listen to find out!

After Thor and Hulk was a smash hit in the ratings another Hulk movie was quickly approved. David Banner is arrested for a murder he didn't commit, set up by crime Kingpin Wilson Fisk, and the only one who believes David's story is his attorney--Matt Murdock. By day Matt tries to clear David's name in the courts, and by night he takes on David's fight as the vigilante known as Daredevil! Is this a team-up made in comic book heaven? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart's review to find out!

In 1987 The Incredible Hulk Returns and he brought a friend with him--Thor! Comic book crossovers are the thing of geek legend. Everyone wants to know who will win in a fight, Batman or Spider-Man. But due to licensing issues, on-screen comic book crossovers are rare, even for superheroes from the same publisher. That is what makes this summer's Avengers film so special, getting all the superheroes in one place! But long before Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth put Hulk and Thor on the same screen there was Lou Ferrigno and Eric Kramer in a story of murder, mystery, and action! With all three principle actors from The Incredible Hulk TV series reprising their roles, is this a smashing Hulk movie? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!

In November 1977, The Incredible Hulk premiered on CBS. But just a few weeks later, a second pilot movie aired to gauge audience reception to the now-famous Incredible Hulk formula. David Banner, on the run and searching for a cure, stumbles into a murder plot. Julie's stepmother and doctor are slowly poisoning the girl. Can David and old coot Michael save the girl? With such future TV stars as William Daniels (voice of KITT on Knight Rider) and Gerald McRaney (Major Dad), is this an Incredible series launch? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart's review to find out!

The Incredible Hulk has been a staple in Marvel Comics since his first appearance in 1962, but to many The Hulk is less known for his comic book persona than his portrayal by Lou Ferrigno in CBS' hit prime time series The Incredible Hulk. Starring Bill Bixby as David Banner, a scientist who overdoses on gamma radiation, the series ran for five years, and it's impact can still be seen through references in both the Eric Bana and Edward Norton Hulk film adaptations. Now, as Now Playing starts its next leg of it's Marvel Comic Movie Retrospective, leading up to The Avengers, Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart are reviewing the television movie that started it all--The Incredible Hulk. Does this incarnation of the green giant make our reviewers angry? And would you like them when they're angry? Listen to find out!

After Ghost Rider set theaters ablaze in 2007 a sequel seemed assured, but it took five years to get here. But now Nicholas Cage returns in the quasi-rebooted Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Johnny Blaze can have his curse lifted but first he must stop the devil from transferring his soul into the body of a young boy. From the directors of the cult hit Crank films, does this Ghost Rider spark with Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Listen to find out!