Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

Jerry and Billy would be great neighbors, were it not for all the apple cores they leave in the yard, and the bodies of dead prostitutes they take out in garbage bags. But while the rest of the neighborhood seems not to notice, Charlie Brewster realizes the truth--Jerry is a vampire. In 1985 Fright Night brought back the Vampire genre from the dead with its mix of horror and comedy. With Chris Sarandon as the evil, yet fashionable, Jerry, and Roddy McDowell as Peter Vincent, the fearless vampire killer, is this film's allure eternal, or should it have been buried in the 80's? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Brock to find out! Then come back to NowPlayingPodcast.com as we review all the Fright Night films, culminating with a review of the remake starring Colin Farrell! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

You could describe Wendy's life as a roller coaster. She is facing high school graduation, her best friend is about to dump her doe-eyed boyfriend, and she's having psychic visions--of a roller coaster crashing. Armed with her magic camera, Wendy and friends must try to cheat death, but be it a car crash, a nail gun, or a tanning bed, death's design shall not be thwarted! With original director James Wong returning, is Final Destination 3 a fun roller coaster of carnage? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Brock to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

With stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, and directed by Jon Faverau, Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart were roped in to seeing Cowboys & Aliens this past weekend. A mash-up of western and sci-fi based on a comic series, this seemed to be one of the few films this summer that was not building on an existing franchise, but starting one new and fresh. But did this film rustle up a good review? Ride 'em cowboy to nowplayingpodcast.com to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Death's design was thwarted in the first Final Destination film...or was it? In Final Destination 2, death continues to haunt Ali Larter's Clear to show, as Bludworth said, "You don't even want to mess with that mack daddy". With an astounding opening car crash and a new group of victims, is this a Destination worth visiting? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The first Fantastic Four film was never released. The second time, the film was released to modest box office and poor reviews. But now Marvel's first family is back, and they've brought friends--fan favorite The Silver Surfer and his master, the world-eater Galactus. With these new characters and a retelling of one of the Fantastic Four's most beloved storylines, is the third time a charm for the Four, or do we have to wait longer for a Fantastic comic adaptation of Thing, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, and Mr. Fantastic? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob as we finish our Fantastic Four retrospective series to find out!   {Marvel Series} {Fantastic Four Series} --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

In 2000 the new wave of teen horror started by Scream ruled the box office. A slew of imitators jumped on the horror bandwagon only to flame out, but one new series found its legs and continues to have new films released today, and that is 2000's Final Destination. A vision that the plane taking his classmates to Paris will crash causes High School senior Alex to disembark with several of his friends, but they were meant to die on the plane and death's design will not be thwarted, as told to us by horror icon Tony Todd. Will Alex figure out a loophole and escape death? I have a vision that you will listen to Arnie, Jakob, and Brock's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

After over 20 years of trying, the Fantastic Four have finally arrived on the big screen in this big budget blockbuster! Made by 20th Century Fox, they obviously hoped to have a franchise to alternate between X-Men films, and what better than another team of super powered beings from the Marvel universe fighting against their arch-nemesis Dr. Doom. But with $100 million budget, does this film finally reach their target audiences, or does it flame out? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

In this first installment, the Now Playing hosts watch a film never meant to be seen -- 1994's Fantastic Four. Made on the cheap and possibly never intended for release, this film has become legend to comic book lovers and film lovers alike. Why was this film never released? Did it deserve its fate? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Transformers: Dark of the Moon made headlines this weekend. Despite Revenge of the Fallen being almost universally hated by critics and Transformers fans alike, the third Bayformers film has kept pace with the predecessors and broken box office records, grossing over $400 million worldwide in less than a week, and breaking the US Fourth of July holiday weekend record. But is the movie any good, or is it yet another example of a lackluster film that sets the box office ablaze due to gorgeous special effects and inflated 3-D and IMAX ticket prices? Listen to our latest podcast as Jerry, Stuart, and Arnie review this latest, and reportedly last, Michael Bay helmed Transformers film. Will a government conspiracy dating back to the Apollo moon mission bring the Transformers' storyline down to earth, or is all that's here what meets the eye? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Tonight Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in theaters, several days earlier than originally scheduled, but you can prepare for your Transformers experience by joining Arnie, Stuart, and Jerry as they review the second installment in the Bayformers series -- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There's more Autobots, more Decepticons, more cute little puppies, and G1 story staples like the Matrix of Leadership and the death of Optimus Prime, but do these callbacks make for a satisfying movie experience? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Now Playing has a bonus episode for you: BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT, Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart take a break from their Marvel Comics based movie reviews to look at a DC Comics property--Green Lantern! Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mark Strong, this is DC's attempt to emulate Marvel's Iron Man success with the B-level Emerald Knight. Does it reach Iron Man heights? Is Angela Bassett the new Samuel L Jackson? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Continuing our Transformers Retrospective Series, Arnie, Jerry, and Stuart look at Michael Bay's 2007 Transformers, affectionately known among fans as Bayformers! Do director Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg transform this series into something accessible to non-fans, or does this film lack the All Spark? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

For this first episode we go back to where it all began, with the Transformers 1986 animated theatrical film! The final fight of Optimus Prime vs Megatron, the ascension of Hot Rod, and guest voices including Eric Idle, Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, and Orson Wells, this film was primed to make these robots in disguise bigger than ever...only to flop with only $5 million. Was this box office bomb a gem in disguise, or is this the moment it all went wrong? Dare to be Stupid with our Now Playing hosts and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The final episode in our X-Men retrospective series is here as the latest X-Men film, X-Men: First Class, is released. With Matthew Vaughn, director of the beloved Kick-Ass comic adaptation, behind the camera and Bryan Singer back on the team as a producer and writer this time, the X-Men boldly go where many franchises have gone before--the origin story reboot. But with a highly publicized rushed production schedule and a group of actors who have received acclaim but never had to carry a franchise film before, can X-Men: First Class continue the origin story reboot success of such films like Star Trek, Casino Royale, and Batman Begins? Listen to our review as Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart review this latest film and find out for yourself! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Hugh Jackman has gone solo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel showing Wolverine's life from his boyhood in 19th Century Canada through his memory loss at Three Mile Island. And in place of the X-Men supporting him, Wolverine is now surrounded by such fan favorite mutants as Deadpool, Gambit, and Agent Zero. Do Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob find this trip down Wolverine's memory lane a exciting adventure, or were these memories best left forgotten? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

With Bryan Singer graduating from Mutant High to direct Superman, and taking most of his production crew with him, it fell to Brett Ratner to complete the X-Men trilogy. The war Magneto had foreseen in the first two films erupts when a cure for mutation is introduced. Itis the most bombastic of the X-Men trilogy and very polarizing to X-Fans, but does it Stand up for Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Professor X, Magneto, and most of the mutants from X-MEN return to the big screen three years after their debut - sporting higher production values, sharper social commentary, an enlarged cast, and answers for amnesiac Wolverine's backstory. Will Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart unite behind director Bryan Singer's grandiose vision, or will the many storylines send them into berserker rage? Listen and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

When you think of comic book superhero movies, do you think of concentration camps, human rights, and deep questions, starring both past and future Oscar winning actors? While certainly not the norm in 2000 when it was released, Bryan Singer's X-Men ushered in a new type of superhero film for a new century. With this being the first big-screen live action X-Men adaptation, bringing such comic book legends as Wolverine, Cyclops, Professor X, and Rogue to life and it's success launched not only the X-Men franchise but really set off a renaissance for Marvel Comics superhero films. With 11 years past, does this film hold up? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Before there was X-Men...there was Generation X! For fans of the X-Men who had grown up watching the cartoon and reading the comics there would be a long wait, until 2000, for the X-Men to grace the silver screen in a big budget epic, but first in 1996 FOX aired the TV movie Generation X, a pilot for a TV series that never happened. Based on X-Men spin-off comic of the same name, Generation X sees a new group of superpowered teen mutants attending Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, here run by Emma Frost and Banshee, both featured characters in this summer's X-Men First Class! Starring Matt "Max Headroom" Frewer as the evil dream manipulating scientist Russel Tresh, is this inauspicious start for the X-Men something all fans should track down, or is it best forgotten like a bad dream? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

It has been eleven years since Sydney, Gale, Dewey, and Ghostface took Hollywood, but now they are back home in Woodsboro for Scream 4 where our survivors and a new cast of comely high school students are terrorized by a new Ghostface killer while debating the relative merits of horror reboots. With the Millennials picking up where the now older Gen X cast left off, do threatening prank calls work in an era without home phones, and can writer Kevin Williamson and Director Wes Craven continue to parody slasher films effectively in an age of torture porn? Listen to the latest Now Playing as Marjorie, Arnie, and Stuart review this new release, and sum up their thoughts on the entire Scream series! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support