Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

​​It's considered by many to be Stephen King's best novel of all time -- The Stand. King's fourth novel told of a superflu that wipes out humanity and sets the stage for an epic battle of good versus evil. In 1994 ABC aired a mammoth, four night mini-series that took the top three spots in the Nielsen ratings. Now it's time for Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart to take their Stand and review this miniseries. Can the book's epic quality be captured on a TV budget? Listen and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Ever since Disney purchased Marvel Comics a family-friendly superhero cartoon was all but guaranteed. But it's not the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, or the X-Men who star in Disney's first Marvel animated feature, it's the little-known Asian team Big Hero 6. Many changes have happened adapting the team from the page to the screen, but is the result super? Join the Podcast Hero 3 of Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

George Lucas' 1977 space fantasy Star Wars changed the way American audiences consumed films. More, though, it also changed the landscape for movie merchandising, with more money being made on toys, games, and collectibles than on the movies themselves. Now the documentary Plastic Galaxy looks back at the first generation of Star Wars toys, released between 1977 and 1985 from Kenner. Does this film capture the childhood magic of Star Wars figures, and can the documentary appeal to anyone not already obsessed with little plastic Stormtroopers? Find out in this special Now Playing/Star Wars Action News crossover podcast hosted by Marjorie, Arnie, and Jerry! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​Christopher Nolan's film Interstellar tells of an Earth that is dying; those who don't starve to death will suffocate in an atmosphere turning toxic. Our only hope comes in the form of Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a farmer who crashes NASA's secret base thanks to mysterious messages from beyond. It's an ambitious film filled with hard science and lots of discussions of love. Is it a film that has found its place in the stars, or that has crashed to its place in the dirt? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​After bringing respectability back to the Dark Knight with the 2005 film Batman Begins Nolan reteamed with two of that film's leading actors, Christian Bale and Michael Caine, for The Prestige--an 1899 period piece about two competing illusionists. Does Nolan's non-chronological storytelling and slight of hand produce a prestigious film? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​After directing the indie hit Memento director Christopher Nolan was chosen by producer Steven Soderbergh to direct Insomnia--a ​crime thriller based on the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. The result was Nolan's first mainstream studio film starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams. Does a film about a man who can't sleep live up to a film about a man with no memory? Don't lose any sleep thinking about it, just join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento--a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife's killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience's own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento--a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife's killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience's own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Christopher Nolan is one of the most acclaimed directors currently working in American cinema. His films bend the mind and break the box office--his Batman film The Dark Knight is the fourth highest grossing film in the US. Now Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart flash back to the director's first film--the micro-budgeted Following. With almost no money did Nolan's talent shine through, or is this a glorified home movie? Join us to find out! Playing during their Fall, 2014 donation drive you can join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Last summer's supernatural horror film The Conjuring scared up big profits for Warner Bros. Pictures. While ghostly Bathsheba terrorized the house, it was possessed doll Annabelle that stole the show. Now the porcelain poltergeist is back in her own spin-off film! The film scored much green in its opening weekend, but will it get green arrows from the Now Playing hosts? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

When Tim and Allie's car breaks down on the desert streets of California the only help they can find is from nearby farmer Preacher and his Ukrainian wife Oksana. But one night in that house may lead to Tim and Allie's doom as strange occurrences terrorize the young couple. What is going on, and how in the world is this a Children of the Corn film? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review of Children of the Corn: Genesis for their the final film in this series (for now), and reflect on all the movies adapted from Stephen King's Night Shift stories. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

​​Last summer a low budget horror film surprised box office pundits and horror fans alike. The weekend the big-budget films RED 2 and R.I.P.D. opened, the box office champion was The Conjuring. Directed by Saw co-creator James Wan, Conjuring seemed like a retread of the horror he showcased in 2010's Insidious, but with a based-on-real-life twist and the film became the top grossing horror film of the year. Now, as the spin-off film Annabelle hits theaters, Marjorie, Stuart, and Arnie go ghost hunting once more. Is this tale of a pesky poltergeist worth watching? Listen and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Stephen King's short story "Children of the Corn" ties Carrie for being adapted for screens three times. The first was the "Dollar Baby" Disciples of the Crow, then in 1984 came the well-known film starring Linda Hamilton. Finally in 2009 came a new Children of the Corn, premiering initially on the SciFi channel before getting an unrated home video release. Is the third time the charm for He Who Walks Behind the Rows? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

This week listeners get two servings of Corn as Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart return to review the seventh Children of the Corn film, Revelation. Set not in Gatlin, Nebraska but rather in Omaha, featuring a cult of undead children, and with Michael Ironside getting top billing, can this serving go down easier than some of the earlier direct-to-video installments? Listen to this review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The Children of the Corn are all grown up, but original cult leader Isaac is back to lead them! The role of the original corn killer was reprised by John Franklin who not only starred but co-wrote the film with his cousin Tim Sulka. Does this return the franchise to its horror roots? Join Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Allison knows her brother has joined a cult of young people who worship He Who Walks Behind the Rows, but she doesn't know that he's slated to be sacrificed on the eve of his eighteenth birthday. Can she save her sibling from a corny fate? The answer lies in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror. With stars Eva Mendes, Alexis Arquette, and David Carradine, plus Fred Williamson, Kane hodder, and Ahmet Zappa on screen does this Corn greener than its predecessors? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The ghost of a child evangelist possesses the youth of Grand Island, Nebraska. Can medical student Grace stop this preaching poltergeist before he possesses the body of her daughter? More importantly, can Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering, starring two time Academy Award nominee (and Chainsaw award winner!) Naomi Watts and scream queen Karen Black, improve this film series' track record? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

It's not unusual for the children of Gatlin to kill their parents. What is unusual is for those children to then move to a foster home in Chicago. But that is what happens in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Can this franchise grow roots in the city? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Children of the Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice was released to little fanfare and was barely in theaters. The sequel had no involvement by original author Stephen King, and no returning members of the cast or crew of the 1984 film. Yet, despite being released nine years after the original film, this sequel picks up just days later and reveals what happened to the surviving children of Gatlin. Was this story needed, and is there any enjoyment to harvest from this Corn? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

More than 20 films have been adapted from short stories in Stephen King's 1978 collection Night Shift, but almost half of those films are based on one tale: "Children of the Corn." The story tells of a group of crazed religious children who sacrificed all the adults in service of their god--He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Now Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob start to harvest these films with a review of the 1984 original. Was this original film revolutionary, demanding 8 follow-up films? Listen and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support