Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

Jon Hamm is urged to “Confess, Fletch” after a coed is found murdered in his Boston rental apartment.  But the real mystery is whether movie fans will accept someone new in the title role.  Is the Mad Men star too suave to wear the disguises, and make the jokes Chevy Chase did, as the intrepid reporter infiltrates a snooty yacht club to recover missing paintings?  And could any of the eccentric suspects - including germaphobe Kyle MacLachlan and horny countess Marcia Gay Harden - get away with stealing the spotlight?  The hosts are on the case.  Listen Now!

Chevy Chase finds a dead woman in his bed, the Ku Klux Klan on his lawn, and televangelists on his TV praying for his inheritance, now that Fletch Lives in a bequeathed Louisiana plantation.  Will the investigative reporter clear his name of murder charges, or be forced to spend retirement concealing his identity in a series of extravagant disguises?  And is the smoking ooze being dumped on Fletch’s new property as toxic as his treatment of women? Listen now as Stuart, Justin, and Arnie debate freeing this unpopular sequel from movie jail. 

Beverly Hills Copycat Chevy Chase takes a vacation from Saturday Night Live and National Lampoon movies to star as investigative reporter Fletch in this beloved 1985 mystery.  Can the comedic chameleon unmask the real reasons why shady yuppie Tim Matheson (Animal House) hires a beach bum to break into his mansion and murder him?  And will the jocular journalist be laughed out of town if he runs the headline that Norm from Cheers fronts a massive drug trafficking operation out of a hot dog stand?  Get the full scoop when you download the latest Now Playing podcast.

Waiting To Impale Wakanda Forever mourns the loss of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), but that doesn’t mean a worthy successor can’t slip into the cat suit and become the next Black Panther.  But can anyone stop the advanced African nation from being sunk by an underwater South American society also armed with an arsenal of Vibranium?  Or is new rival Namor too light on his feet to fight off fierce females Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Lupita N’yong’o, and Danai Gueria? Let favorite colonizers Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart dry your tears with their latest podcast. Listen Now!

Edward Woodward (TV’s original Equalizer) travels to a remote Scottish island in search of a missing schoolgirl and finds The Wicker Man instead. Does the original 1973 cult film live up to its legacy as one of the greatest British horror films of all time?  And what scares the hosts more: that Christopher “Dracula” Lee might have murdered this child in an occult harvest ritual, or that he celebrates the sacrifice by donning drag to lead nudist villagers in song-and-dance?  Enjoy the fruits of Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart’s labours when you Donate for Platinum this Fall.

He’ll be back…. in inferior Terminator sequels and straight-to-streaming crap. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie star reputation took a big hit when Collateral Damage was released in the shadow of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Can today’s audiences better appreciate his tough guy approach to a South American cartel leader (Cliff Curtis) who inadvertently killed Ahnold’s wife and child in a Los Angeles consulate bombing? Or is the whole film really just propaganda for the Governator’s entry into California politics? Join Brock, Stuart, and Arnie as they say “hasta la vista” to the last action hero of the 20th Century. Listen Now!

Jack Russell: The Furred Avenger Gael Garcia Bernal (Coco) might look like a typical Marvel superhero in the daylight, but he becomes a Werewolf By Night in order to protect the other monsters of the MCU.  Can he outsmart six skilled hunters as they descend upon a labyrinth to slay a mythical beast and collect the powerful Bloodstone?  And can Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie really root for anyone willing to rescue Man-Thing from movie jail? Get the details on Disney’s 2022 Halloween Special in black and white when you download the latest Now Playing podcast. Listen Now!

The S stands for Hurt Dwayne Johnson cooks up a different kind of Shazam for the DC Cinematic Universe as the homicidal metahuman Black Adam explodes onto the big screen. Is he the hero that an ancient Middle Eastern country needs after a tyrant seizes their crown and threatens Hell on Earth?  Or is Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and the Justice Society right to try and capture lightning in a bottle before someone gets killed?  Don’t wait an Eternium for the answers. Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob are ready to take you into the darkness. Listen Now!

Out of Shape Jamie Lee Curtis tried to move on from the curse of Michael Myers, but another Haddonfield Halloween Ends in blood and screams after granddaughter Allyson goes trick-or-treating with  psycho babysitter Corey.  Can the franchise’s original boogeyman teach this wannabe anything about being an old school slasher icon, or is Michael wise to keep his face out of this latest installment?  Find out if director David Gordon Green has given Carpenter’s legacy a new beginning when you download the latest podcast from Brock, Stuart, and Arnie.  Listen now!

Hulu tries to rescue the Hellraiser franchise from a purgatory of underwhelming sequels by re-configuring the original 1987 Clive Barker gorefest into an elevated 2022 reboot. Will a recovering drug addict become the pin-up girl for a Just Say No campaign against soul-tearing Cenobites after she gets high and accidentally opens their infamous puzzle box? Find out if Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob are ready to tear apart the vision of new director David Bruckner (The Night House) when you Donate at the Such Sights To Show You Level this October.

Total Remake Arnold Schwarzenegger sees double after corrupt CEO Tony Goldwyn (Scandal) and geneticist Robert Duvall (The Godfather) duplicate his DNA in The 6th Day. Can the aging action star stop a clone from co-opting his career and family? Or will goons Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Terry Crews (Expendables) terminate the Twins star before he can get to the choppah and expose their illegal practices?  Find out how original this sci-fi thriller from the year 2000 really is when you listen to your Sim-Pals Stuart, Brock, and Arnie.

It’s the End of Days for Schwarzenegger’s movie career unless he can update his 80s action hero image for the gritty new millennium. Will it take a miracle for the Now Playing hosts to accept the Austrian bodybuilder as faithless Jericho Cane, a mercenary who must put down the bottle and embrace the rocket launcher of God in order to stop Satan (Gabriel Byrne) from impregnating Robin Tunney? Does the movie fall to pieces the second a leering albino pops up to propose the booty call? Cut out our tongues and we’ll still speak the Gospel truth. Listen Now!

Arnold Schwarzenegger refuses to remove “action hero” from his identity as he suits up for summer 1996 blockbuster Eraser. Can he, James Caan, and the US Marshals help a comely whistleblower escape into Witness Protection before she’s hunted down by a cabal of high powered politicians?  And is the aging Terminator equipped to fight off a kamikaze airplane, a tank full of gators, and an experimental rifle that can pinpoint targets even through walls?  Pencil in time with Brock, Stuart, and Arnie as they look deeper into this film icon’s career. Listen Now!

Jamie Lee Curtis hides an affair from husband Arnold Schwarzenegger, oblivious that he too conceals a double life as a spy capable of terminating her boyfriend Bill Paxton in the deceptively comedic 1994 blockbuster True Lies. Is it possible to translate a modest French farce into a pumped up James Cameron spectacle?  And who the hell is Tom Arnold (aka Mr Roseanne Barr) to give marital advice to anyone?  Brock, Arnie, and Stuart are ready to share their honest impressions about this next entry on Ahnold’s action star resume. Listen now!

Arnold Schwarzenegger might’ve been a kindergarten cop, but he has no authority over the 10-year-old boy jawing in his ear throughout his 1993 box office bomb The Last Action Hero. Was it a Big Mistake for the movie icon to partner with a know-it-all fan eager to point out every cliche of his cinematic character? Or did Die Hard director John McTiernan and Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black elevate the action genre with clever self-awareness that wouldn’t be hip for another decade? Brock, Arnie, and Stuart provide the magic ticket when you Listen Now!

As the Fall season begins, so comes time for ooky, spooky fun with Now Playing! Our Fall/Winter 2022 Donation Drive is underway, kicking off with our Silver Level: The Addams Family! We're reviewing six Addams films, from the original TV cast to last year's animated road-trip adventure. Plus we have our Gold 100 Years of Dystopia series, our Platinum Wicker Man series, and new installments in Jeepers Creepers, M. Night Shymalan, and even Hellraiser!  Listen to this podcast preview for a sample of our Addams Family Values and information on how to get all the season's bonus podcast treats!

Arnold Schwarzenegger peels back the Iron Curtain, steps naked from a Russian sauna, and  brings some Red Heat to the mean streets of Chicago in this 1988 buddy-cop action flick.  Can the Soviet strongman learn the American way of implementing justice from wiseass detective James Belushi (K-9), and bring down the international drug dealer that killed his partner? And does 48 HRS director Walter Hill make their screen chemistry crackle like he did with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy? Find out when you get on the bus with Arnie, Brock and Stuart. Listen now!

Arnold Schwarzenegger made a Raw Deal with producer Dino DeLaurentiis when he opted to star in this 1986 flop instead of a third Conan film. Can the muscle bound lawman get back in the good graces of the FBI (and his nagging wife) by infiltrating the Chicago mob, and avenging the death of Darren McGavin’s son?  And does this unhappy onscreen marriage resemble any real life fireworks going on between Ahnold and new bride Maria Shriver?  Find out if Brock, Stuart, and Now Playing’s Arnie terminate this unsung entry on the Austrian he-man’s resume.

Twenty years before he was California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger went Commando to assassinate the deposed President of a fake Latin American country in this 1985 shoot-’em-up. Did the Austrian bodybuilder pump up his Terminator image with superhuman tree lifts and gratuitous shopping mall showdowns? Or are the corny catch phrases and play dates with daughter Alyssa Milano dead tired in 2022?  Let off some steam with Brock, Stuart, and Arnie as they explore why Ahnold was the last action hero of the 20th Century. Listen Now!

Lances With Wolves Centuries before targeting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the South American jungle, the Predator was making Native Americans their Prey in this prequel set in the year 1719. Can Comanche medicine woman Amber Midthunder silence the sexist naysayers by bringing down the cloaked alien that’s been picking off her tribe in the wilderness of the Great Plains?  And do grizzly bears and mountain lions pose just as much danger to the novice hunter as her outer space foe? Track the latest moves of this 36-year-old franchise when you listen to Brock, Stuart, and Arnie.