Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

WWII strategy video game Company of Heroes moves the battle lines from computer consoles to movie screens with a stealth 2013 cinematic adaptation.  But will Justin, Arnie, or Stuart decorate rising action star Chad Michael Collins, Vinnie Jones, or any of the other B-list actors in this platoon for their efforts in stopping Hitler from getting the nuke?  And who thought it was a good idea to put demoted Tom Sizemore in charge of the Christmas hams?  Find out if "the Good War" makes for a good entry in the Now Playing Arcade when you Listen Now.    

Scarlett Johansson breaks away from the Avengers after seven Marvel movies together so that her Russian secret agent Black Widow can finally headline her first solo adventure. Will Natasha Romanoff wipe the red from her ledger by hunting down the man who confined her childhood to war games in a Red Room?  And does super soldier father David Harbour, scientist mom Rachel Weisz, and tag along little sister Florence Pugh back the trained assassin the way Cap, Thor, and Hulk would?  Find out when you join the Now Playing family reunion and Listen Now! 

A Japanese gangster helps a little girl navigate a treacherous red light district in search of her missing mother in the sprawling adaptation of 2006 video game Yakuza (aka Like A Dragon).  Will the pair find their way through a dense plot involving a Korean assassin, klutzy bank robbers, desperate teenagers, bickering cops, and a flashy psycho who beats underlings and enemies alike with his baseball bat?  And are gamers in for some serious pain with sadistic director Takashi Miike (Audition) at the helm?  It all translates into one crazy night. Listen now!

Is new father Dominic Toretto and his family of furious drivers slowing down 20 years into The Fast Saga?  Only when they rocket to space and race their souped-up vehicles in zero gravity!   This time Vin Diesel faces off against long lost brother John Cena, who’s hitched his wagon to sexy IT support Charlize Theron in a bid to hack the planet.  Will the Now Playing hosts be magnetized by all the stunts and globe-trotting spectacle?  Or has F9 thrown a wrench into the franchise with some NOS-huffing plot twists?  Find out when you buckle up and Listen Now!  

Everyone in 2021 wants to blame Bill Gates for putting microchips in vaccination shots, but the practice was pioneered by Allstate pitchman Dennis Haysbert in the 2016 Dead Rising sequel Endgame.  Hallmark Channel hunk Jesse Metcalfe returns as the intrepid reporter hero, this time leading hackers and marksmen through a city overrun with zombies to rescue his missing camerawoman and avert genocide.  Find out if there’s an Afterlife for this undead video game franchise when you play the latest Now Playing Arcade installment. 

Why are the Dead Rising all over East Mission, Oregon if the government has a miracle drug that can prevent zombie outbreaks?  It's all part of Operation Watchtower, a top secret plan to give the military unprecedented access to American lives.  But will anyone find out the truth if TV journalist Jesse Metcalfe insists on airing the story exclusively on middling streaming service Crackle?  And can this 2015 zom-com live up to the irreverence of the 2006 Capcom video game on which it's based?  Find out on the latest Now Playing Arcade podcast!

It’s not The Devil, but Now Playing’s loyal listeners, that made Arnie, Majorie, and Stuart do another Conjuring film after so many hellish experiences in the franchise.  This time the Warrens are heading to court in the 1980s to help a man beat a murder rap by insisting he was possessed by a demon escaped from his waterbed.  Does Ed have the heart to keep fabricating these “true stories”, or are all these cons damning the demonologist to an early grave?  And will Lorraine finally summon green arrows by trailing a series of witch totems?  Listen and find out!

Blood-soaked prom queen... tween pyromaniac... axe wielding book critic... just some of the scary women that have leaped from the pages of Stephen King's horror fiction onto the big screen. Now hardened New England housekeeper Dolores Claiborne is ready for her day in court. Will Kathy Bates eclipse the Oscar-winning work she did in Misery as she stands accused of pushing her cruel employer down the stairs? And will daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh fight for mama's freedom knowing she did in dad years before? Find out on the latest King-cast.    

George Clooney and his Ocean’s co-stars made casino heists look easy, but they never had to crack a safe being guarded by an Army of the Dead. Can Dave Bautista and his colorful crew of mercenaries bypass reanimated Elvis impersonators and a zombie white tiger to lay claim to a Vegas jackpot before nukes are dropped?  And is writer-director Zack Snyder pushing his luck by returning to the horror genre 15 years after his Dawn of the Dead remake?  Your chances for a good time always improve when you join the Now Playing hosts at the tables.  Listen Now!       

Ladies and gentlemen, I have one piece of advice for you. No matter what Jigsaw tells you, there's no escape from a Jigsaw trap. None! Oh, there's pain in a Jigsaw trap, but you don't want pain...you want an escape. And Chris Rock's new movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw shows there's no escape from a Jigsaw trap. So play the game, and our podcast review of Spiral, now.

Anthony Mackie shields himself from the pressure of becoming the next Captain America by taking to the sky as The Falcon for Marvel’s second Disney+ miniseries, and it’s made Sebastian Stan angry enough to relapse back into The Winter Soldier.  Can these two set aside their differences long enough to save the world from a group of political extremists enhanced by super-soldier serum?  And do these six episodes go by in a Blip, or is the MCU better suited to the big screen?   Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart smash a lot more than flags when you Listen Now.    {Avengers Series} {Marvel Series} {Comic Book Movie Series} {Captain America Series}

Tom Clancy techno-thrillers typically feature desk-bound diplomats on the hunt for missing subs and rogue nukes, but the stakes are much more personal for Michael B Jordan (Creed) as he seeks vengeance against the hitman who murdered his family in Without Remorse.  Could the Navy Seal-turned-CIA operative start WWIII by breaking out of jail and heading to Russia in such a rage? And will Amazon Prime give this character's origin story the same hero's welcome that greeted old friend Jack Ryan? You'll be sad if you miss the latest Clancy-cast.  Listen Now!         {Tom Clancy Series}

It's been a hot minute since movie theaters hosted a Mortal Kombat tournament, but now the notoriously violent video game reboots itself on IMAX screens and HBO as an R-rated cinematic free-for-all.  Can Raiden and damned ninja Scorpion light a fire under a mediocre MMA fighter, a double amputee, a girl without a dragon tattoo, and a loudmouth Aussie, so they're prepared for a flawless victory over Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero, and other Outworld challengers? And will this 2021 rematch receive the cold shoulder from Justin, Stuart, and Arnie?  Listen and find out. 

Milla Jovovich and director Paul WS Anderson are hoping to recapture lightning in a bottle as they leave behind the zombie hordes of Resident Evil to chase bigger video game beasties in the 2020 blowout Monster Hunter.  Will a team of grizzled UN soldiers find their way home after a sandstorm sweeps them into an alternate reality where giant crabs, worms, and dragons sit atop the food chain?  And will martial artist Tony Jaa or Ron "Hellboy" Perlman help or hinder their chances of survival? Find out the final score in the latest Now Playing Arcade installment! 

Adam Sandler tries his hand in the Now Playing Arcade with the 2015 video game farce Pixels.  Space invaders have brought classic coin-op characters to life, and now Pac-Man is gobbling up Manhattan, while Centipede conducts a pub crawl through London. Is it possible for a washed-up Atari addict to save a country that was stupid enough to elect Kevin James to be President?  And can Q*bert, con artist Peter Dinklage, and crackpot Josh Gad take this former Waterboy to the next level of comedy?  No quarters are necessary to find out.  Listen Now!     

Godzilla Vs. Kong is a rivalry as old as the Hollow Earth (or at least the Japanese showdown of 1963), and now their battle to be crowned King of the Monsters is 2021's biggest movie event.  Will the Now Playing hosts cheer for the big ape as he breaks free of Project Monarch chains that have shackled him since Skull Island?  Or is the angry green lizard still our fav, despite being slandered as the bad guy by a biotech company angling to unleash a robot monster of its own?  Find out if this final round of the MonsterVerse is a winner when you Listen Now!       {Godzilla Series} {MonsterVerse Series} {King Kong Series}

Godzilla won the box office when he took down a MUTO (and most of San Francisco) in his 2014 Hollywood comeback. Now Mothra, Rodan, and all of the Big Lizard's former co-stars burst forth from the Hollow Earth to challenge the throne. Have eco-terrorists made it possible for three-headed Ghidorah to be crowned 2019's King of the Monsters?  And are these Titan battles stranger than the things Millie Bobby Brown witnesses on a daily basis with her bickering scientist parents?  Myth is our compass as Now Playing returns to the MonsterVerse.       {Godzilla Series} {MonsterVerse Series}

It was a decisive victory for The Legion of Doom when Warner Bros. executives handed Zack Snyder's unfinished superhero team-up Justice League to Avengers mastermind Joss Whedon. Internet trolls were not kind to this last-minute attempt to leave the Darkseid behind, and tell jokes at Superman's wake.  Their aggressive social media campaign has paved the way for the original director to assemble a four-hour cut that promises to fix all the problems in the 2017 release. Find out if Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie have hope again for the DCU.  Listen now! 

It wasn’t so long ago that Elizabeth Olsen was blowing up the big screen in epic films like Avengers: Endgame.  What curse has befallen her career that Scarlet Witch is now slumming it in a cheesy sitcom called WandaVision?  Is Marvel experiencing some Growing Pains while trying to raise the TV profile of their superheroes?  And is Paul Bettany merely a special guest star on the series, or has his cyborg Vision found a way to live on without an Infinity Stone?  Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart broadcast their thoughts on a massive podcast airing now!             

30 years after finding the perfect wife in New York City, Eddie Murphy's King Akeem is once again Coming 2 America to meet the son he sired with one-night stand Leslie Jones.  Will Millennial prince Jermaine Fowler follow in his father's footsteps, and marry for love?  Or will despot Wesley Snipes bring civil war down upon Zamunda if his daughter isn't made the royal bride? And are these wedding hijinks more appetizing than a grass burger from McDowell's?  Discover if the palace is big enough to house all the returning characters when you Listen Now!