Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

Yo Joe! For almost 50 years G.I. Joe action figures have excited and enthralled children, but it was in the 1980s with the Star Wars inspired comic book, toy line, and cartoon that the G.I. Joe identity would be galvanized. A culturally diverse army of specialists, the G.I. Joes would battle endlessly to keep the evil forces of Cobra at bay. Their skirmishes would be told in a syndicated cartoon series that ran from 1985 to 1986, and as the show prepared for a fourth season Hasbro decided to take the Joes to the big screen with the animated G.I. Joe: The Movie! The failure of Transformers: The Movie would cause G.I. Joe: The Movie to have major plot changes, delays, and an eventual video release long after the series had ended. Was that fate deserved, or does G.I. Joe: The Movie succeed where the Transformer movie failed? Listen to find our review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

When a terrorist plans to destroy Washington D.C. the only hope for the United States is a confederate soldier with a scar on his face and a chip on his shoulder--Jonah Hex. A strange steampunk western based on the DC Comics character, Jonah Hex failed to find an audience despite A-list stars Josh Brolin and John Malkovich. Is this possibly an overlooked gem, or could it really be as bad as world-of-mouth indicates? Listen to Now Playing and find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

From the pages of DC’s Hellblazer comics, John Constantine was a blonde, British occult detective with a smoking habit and a bad attitude. The comics had a cult following and in 2005 Warner Bros gave the anti-hero the big screen treatment. Moving the action from Liverpool to Los Angeles, the film starred Keanu Reeves as the Americanized occultist. Now, continuing their look at DC comics one-off films, Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob see if Constantine’s theatrical adaptation had spirit, or was dead on arrival. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, those are the heroes DC Comics are known for. But there are others. As we build up to Man of Steel this summer, Now Playing hosts Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie are looking at some of these lesser known DC Heroes who fight bad guys and obscurity with equal fervor. For our first installment in this series, the hosts review Tank Girl, the 1995 film that pitted Lori Petty and a team of human/kangaroo hybrids against Malcolm McDowell. Does Tank Girl hit the mark, or is it a misfire? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

25 years ago Bruce Willis delivered his career-making performance as John McClane in the original Die Hard. To celebrate this milestone, John McClane is back, once again showing terrorists that McClanes are hard to kill as he teams with his son to fight Russian terrorists. Is this film a good day for Die Hard? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

It had been over a decade since Bruce Willis last played gruff, resilient New York cop John McClane and most fans thought the series finished. But in 2007 it was time for McClane to return to Live Free or Die Hard. Teamed with a computer hacker played by Justin Long, does McClane still have what it takes to stop a cyber-terrorist attack and save his daughter? And is a much older Willis still able to Die Hard? Listen to find out!

John McClane is back, and for his third film, he's going to Die Hard with a Vengeance. He's been called back into action by a mysterious terrorist with ties to McClane's past. Partnered with Zeus, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and once again directed by John McTiernan, can this be the best Die Hard yet? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob's review to find out! {Die Hard Series} --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

When Die Hard blew up both Nakatomi Plaza and the box office a sequel was fast-tracked and released in 1990. Attempting to top the action and excitement of the original, 20th Century Fox chose a script based on the original novel 58 Minutes and put the film in the hands of director Renny Harlin. Set in an airport with John fighting another group of terrorists, does Die Hard 2 fly as high as the original, or did it all come crashing down? Listen to Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie to find out! {Die Hard Series} --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Its title became short-hand for an action movie template that would be followed for a decade. It propelled star Bruce Willis to superstardom, making him never need to work in television again. It brought joy, and Ode to Joy, to millions of fans. It is the original 1988 action film Die Hard. As we ramp up for the fifth installment in Bruce Willis' most famous franchise, can Die Hard hold up 25 years later? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob's review to find out!

A homosexual socialite is murdered and dismembered, and it's up to hard-boiled police Detective Joe Leland to figure it out! But there's more to this case than meets the eye, and events will be set in motion that reveals a conspiracy among New York City's elite that Leland can only stop at the cost of his own career. With Frank Sinatra in the lead role, The Detective is a racy drama...but what does it have to do with Die Hard? And is the movie worth checking out? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob's review to find out! {Die Hard Series} --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

After Platinum Dunes recovered Leatherface from direct-to-video hell, they relinquished their rights to the franchise, so Twisted Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment stepped in to take the series back to its grindhouse roots. Ignoring all Texas Chainsaw films except the original, this new 3-D film picks up right where the first ended, and then fast forwards to present day. Is this the sequel Tobe Hooper's classic has always deserved, or another waste of gas? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Brock's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

In Los Angeles, a man calling himself "Evil" has a novel way to celebrate the coming of a new year--killing a woman every hour as a new time zone enters 1981! In New Year's Evil we follow the man as he rings in the year, and harasses TV host Blaze in between. Should you resolve to see this movie, or is this a slasher best forgot and never brought to mind? Listen to Stuart, Arnie, and Marjorie's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Just in time for the holiday season, genre film studio Anchor Bay released a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night! Only loosely based on the original, and titled simply Silent Night, the new version brings star power before unseen in the franchise, with Malcolm McDowell, Donal Logue, and Jamie King starring in the film about a psychotic Santa who kills those who are naughty. Is this modern version of Silent Night a Christmas treat, or another lump of coal left in the Christmas stocking? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The Silent Night, Deadly Night films have always been loose with continuity, but in Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker we see yet another exploration of Christmas evil when an angsty Pinocchio unleashes deadly toys upon an unsuspecting young boy. With outspoken Silent Night, Deadly Night hater Mickey Rooney playing a drunken Gepetto, does this film have more to it than delicious irony? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

After three films exploring the homicidal impulses of the Caldwell (or is it Chapman) family, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 goes a different direction as a wannabe journalist investigates a case of spontaneous combustion in Los Angeles during Christmas season. Is a cult of Lilith worshipers a good replacement for a homicidal maniac, and is the Ricky played in this film by Clint Howard the same Ricky we've seen in the previous three films? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

Ricky is back! After being shot at the end of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Ricky's brain-dead body is revived after a connection with a blind psychic. With horror vet Bill Moseley taking over the role of Ricky Robert Culp as the cop chasing the killer, and several connections to the classic TV series Twin Peaks, this sequel has more brains on display than the previous two films, but is it better? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

The first Silent Night, Deadly Night film was pulled from theaters due to protests, but in the age of home video it found a second life on VHS. Anxious to capitalize on the first film's notoriety the studio decided to rush through a no-budget sequel, recycling most of the original film into a Part 2. Despite the humble beginnings, the film has gone on to surpass the original in infamy and YouTube fame, spawning a meme and a strange catch-phrase. Is this movie something to add to your Christmas wish list? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Marjorie's review to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

In November, 1984 one of the most famous movie slashers hit theaters--Freddy Kruger. But that same day, another serial killer film was released that drew far more attention and ire--Silent Night, Deadly Night. Outside theaters across the country people protested the film featuring a bloodthirsty man in a Santa suit, and the film was quickly pulled from theaters. But over the years it has become a cult favorite horror film, spawning several sequels and, this year, a remake. Join Now Playing hosts Marjorie, Arnie, and Stuart as they watch and review this 1984 classic. Is this movie naughty or nice? Listen to find out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

After reviewing 25 movies released over the span of 50 years, Now Playing reaches the conclusion of its James Bond retrospective series--Skyfall. Continuing the rebooted spy stories starring Daniel Craig, Skyfall has already become the top-grossing film in the James Bond franchise, and there is even rumblings of Academy Award honors. But can it really best Craig's Casino Royale, and how does a life long Bond fan warm to this new take? Listen to Now Playing's ultimate James Bond review to find out! Plus the hosts reflect on all 25 Bond films, picking the best and worst actors, film, and songs from the franchise! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support

In 2006 we got a new take on an old hero with James Bond in Casino Royale, but while the film told of the spy's first adventure questions were left unanswered. Who were the mysterious people to whom Le Chiffre owed money? Who is the mysterious employer behind Mr. White? These answers were to be revealed two years later in the follow-up film Quantum of Solace. With Daniel Craig returning and a title taken from an original Fleming story, can this film live up to the high praise given to Casino Royale? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Brock's review to find out in Now Playing's penultimate James Bond review leading directly to this year's blockbuster Skyfall! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nowplayingpodcast/support