Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

In 1985 Stallone returned to theaters as Rambo. Rambo returned to Vietnam to rescue POWs. And now, Brock, Jakob, and Arnie return to Now Playing to review Rambo: First Blood Part II, and they get to win this time! Continuing our Rambo Retrospective series, we discuss all of Rambo 2, from the slimy government agent who leaves Rambo to die, to Rambo's exploding arrow heads. Was this film a welcome return to familiar territory, or was watching it like being strapped to an electrified bed frame? Listen in to find out!

John Rambo, as embodied by Sylvester Stallone, is arguably one of the biggest cinematic icons of the 1980s. Oscar-nominated for Rocky, Stallone's non-Rocky film career was on the ropes when Stallone signed onto this troubled production adapting David Morell's 1972 novel to film, but with a large explosion this would catapult Stallone to the action A-list and create a character that would not only endure on screen but off as well, with President Ronald Regan as one of Rambo's biggest admirers. Now join Now Playing as we watch and review these films! In our first installment we revisit the original Rambo film, First Blood. Is it the overblown, dumb action film stereotypical of the 80's or is it worthy of its place in cinematic history? Listen to Arnie, Brock, and Jakob's review to find out!

After Paranormal Activity upset Saw as the Horror King of Halloween last year, the makers of the Saw film franchise decided that the seventh installment of Saw would be the last, and to provide a new novelty they also jumped on the 3-D bandwagon. Arnie, Marjorie, and Jakob have reunited to finish their trial of reviewing the Saw films by giving more thought to Saw 3-D than the screenwriters did. Is this last piece in the Jigsaw puzzle satisfying? Listen to find out!

After Platinum Dune's Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot cut deep in the box office, another installment was inevitable, but with Leatherface left one-armed, and scene stealing R Lee Ermey's Sheriff Hoyt squashed like a Texas armadillo, where could the series go next? Platinum Dunes' answer was to make a prequel to their reboot, telling the origin story of the Hewett clan, including witnessing the birth of Leatherface, seeing how Ermey earned his sheriff's badge, and watching as the family dines for the first time on human flesh. Is this new film a tasty morsel to be savored, or just another rancid installment in a wayward horror franchise? Listen to find out!

When the fourth Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released quietly to video, it seemed Leatherface's terrorizing of Texas teens had been terminated. Only Michael Bay and his new production company Platinum Dunes gave Leatherface another look, deciding the time was right for a proper Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot, bringing us a new Leatherface, a new group of teens, and a twisted new family lead by Full Metal Jacket hard-ass R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Hoyt. This film launched Platinum Dunes' reputation as horror rehab, a reputation that is less than stellar after their reboots of Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Was their first attempt their best? Is this Arnie, Stuart, or Brock's favorite of Platinum Dunes' reboots? Listen to find out!

Now Playing has yet another bonus mid-week episode for you: The Social Network, which held the number 1 box office spot for its first two weeks! From David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), this film has an impressive behind-the-scenes pedegree that Arnie, Stuart, and Marjorie all had to see and review.

For the 20th anniversary of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1994, Kim Henkel, writer of the 1974 classic, returned to write and direct the franchise's fourth installment. Starring then-unknown actors Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, this film would be shelved for years before finally being quietly shunted to VHS in 1997. But with the original writer back at the helm, is this Leatherface's return to glory, bringing terror to a new generation of horror fans? Listen to Arnie, Brock, and Stuart's review of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation to find out!

Leatherface lurked in the corners while contemporary killers Jason and Freddy stole his spotlight, but now New Line Cinema, The House that Freddy Built, has taken Leatherface on to be their next money making slasher series! Trading in Texas locals for a Hollywood cast, including then-unknown Viggo Mortensen and horror icon Ken Foree. With this film allow Leatherface to shine as brightly as his chromed-out custom chainsaw? Listen to find out as Arnie, Brock, and Stuart review Leatherface--The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3!

By 1986 horror was very much in the mainstream. Freddy and Jason were exceptionally profitable franchises, and so it was put on Tobe Hooper to return to Texas and bring back Leatherface and the family for a new generation. With Poltergeist to his credit, Hooper had horror cred, and with Dennis Hopper starring along with Bill Mosely and Jim Siedow returning from the original film, Leatherface seemed poised to take his place among 80's slasher icons Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers. But Hooper's horror-comedy vision added a new twist to the family dynamic, resulting in one of the most original installments in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. Were Now Playing hosts Brock, Stuart, and Arnie happy to see Hooper directing Leatherface to once again don the mask and do his chainsaw dance? Listen to find out!

In 1974 Tobe Hooper unleashed into theaters horror unlike any seen before and started the modern slasher genre with the seminal horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Audiences watched in terror as Sally and Franklin Hardesty and their three friends travel through a rural Texas town and pick up a hitchhiker, beginning their terrifying encounter with a crazed, cannibalistic family. It can easily be said that without Leatherface we would not have had Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or even Freddy Krueger. Join Now Playing hosts Arnie, Brock, and Stuart as they journey with Sally and Franklin deep into the heart of Texas and review all six Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, starting with the 1974 original. It is classic horror, but does it hold up in the 21st century? Listen to find out!

The Lost Boys 2 was Warner Bros' highest selling DVD release in 2008, so it should surprise no one that Corey Feldman is again back as Edgar Frog. This time, Edgar, faced with financial problems, must take a job infiltrating a group of vampires who run underground raves, led by head vampire DJ X. With Jamison Newlander also back and touting The Return of the Frog Brothers, does this film restore The Lost Boys to its 80's glory? Listen to find out!

After 20 years and a series of aborted sequels, Lost Boys fans had pretty much given up hope on their favorite vampire saga returning to the big screen. But in 2008 a sequel finally found its way to release--The Lost Boys: The Tribe. Featuring an entirely new set of vampires in a new California town, Chris Emerson has to square off against a tribe of vampires led by Shane to save his little sister from becoming a full vampire. Direct to video sequels are rarely are as good as their theatrical origins, but could this film buck the trend by including Keifer Sutherland's half-brother as the head vampire, Corey Feldman reprising his gravely Edgar Frog voice, and a cameo from horror master Tom Savini? Listen to find out!

Before he was Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland was David, the charismatic leader of a rebellious vampire tribe in Santa Carla, California in the first Lost Boys movie. When single mother Lucy Emerson moves to Santa Carla with her two sons, Michael and Sam, David's Star-crossed romance puts him squarely in David's sights. Directed by St. Elmo's Fire's Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys quickly became a cult classic for its gore, its humor, and its sexy portrayal of vampires. But does it hold up over twenty years later? Listen to find out!

Scott Pilgrim jumps out of the comic books and onto the movie screens in Scott Pilgrim vs the World, an imaginative and fast-paced movie directed by Edgar Wright. Does this adaptation work as a movie, or does it make you wish for a game over screen? Listen in and find out!

When the X-Files series ended, Mulder was on the run, Scully quit the FBI, and aliens were still planning to take over the earth. Fans were left in suspense, but after a long period in development hell, the X-Files returned to the big screen in 2008 to provide fans with the answers to some of those questions. Eschewing the show's dense mythology and instead focusing on a brand new one-off adventure involving a psychic pedophile priest and organ transplants. Did a one-off X-File make for a more satisfying summer film than the last, and did it make believers of our Now Playing hosts? Listen to find out!

Federal buildings being bombed, FEMA plotting to overthrow the government, and extra-terrestrials plotting with The Syndicate to turn the human race into drone slaves. In the 90's, this dense mystery made up the heart of The X-Files television show, where agents Mulder and Scully investigated paranormal activities and uncovered a plot by aliens to take over the earth. With a hardcore audience of fans, in 1998 The X-Files took the leap to the big screen, hoping to appease old fans and bring in new ones. Does this work as a stand-alone film, and does raising the stakes to the big screen pay off for fans? Listen to find out!

Bursting onto the scene with Memento, Christopher Nolan has become one of the most watched genre director, breaking the box office with The Dark Knight as well as warping minds with The Prestige, so when one of this summer's biggest and most mysterious films of the summer is written and directed by Nolan, we at Now Playing take notice. With a dense plot concerning a malleable dreamworld, the film could be a revelation or an incomprehensible mess. The Now Playing crew went opening day to tell you if this is the film of your dreams or a total nightmare!

It's been 20 years since they've had their own film, but thanks to Robert Rodriguez the Predators are back on the big screen! Producer Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal are taking the alien hunter back to his jungle roots, and with the Predators going up against Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Danny Trejo it's bound to excite both sci-fi and action fans. But this time are the Predators right on target, or have they again missed their mark? Listen as Arnie, Stuart, and Brock review this final film in the Now Playing Predator Retrospective Series!

Paul W.S. Anderson's match-up between Aliens and Predators may have left many fans of both franchises out in the cold, but the box office tallies made a rematch inevitable--thus 20th Century Fox gives us Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. Attempting to right past wrongs, the studio made this film with a "hard R" rating, including an unrated cut on DVD, and gave the directing reins to the special effects duo, the Brothers Strause. Was the battle so much sweeter the second time around? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Brock to find out!

When Freddy and Jason's team-up killed at the box office, it didn't take long for 20th Century Fox to greenlight another long-anticipated cinematic crossover--Alien vs. Predator. Having already fought on the pages of comic books and in video games, these two classic extra terrestrials took their battle to the big screen, continuing an ancient Predator coming-of-age ritual in Antarctica, with a group of humans, including Charles Bishop Weyland played by Lance Henriksen, in the middle. Was this another dream team-up for fans of both franchises, or a monster mash-up gone horribly awry? Listen to Arnie, Brock, and Stuart's review to find out!