Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Fistos of Fury Manchild Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue) dares to stand in Dolph Lundgren’s spot and attempt to wield the Sword of Power in the 2026 reboot of Masters of the Universe. Will his newfound muscles and brute strength impress boyhood crush Teela (Riverdale’s Camila Mendes), Man-At-Arms Idris Elba (Thor), and disapproving dad James Purefoy (Resident Evil)? Or has Jared Le...

By The Power of Filmation Before the Masters of the Universe conquer 2026 movie theaters, Arnie, Marjorie, and Stuart dish about the 1985 animated feature that reveals He-Man and She-Ra are twins. Is The Secret of the Sword that Adora is a real-life Eternia princess who’s been kidnapped and gaslighted by evil adoptive parents Hordak and Shadow Weaver… or just that Mattel would do anything to sell...

The fourth Intermission finds the hosts debating film preservation, 4K restorations, AI upscaling, George Lucas's Star Wars revisions, Spielberg's E.T. walkie-talkies, and whether modern transfers are preserving movies or changing them. Plus, Jason completes a year-and-a-half watch-through of the entire Kristy Swanson filmography, Arnie revisits 1995's Mortal Kombat, listener Tom Ross hosts a triv...

The old protect the young, and the young develop poor eating habits. The Mandalorian and Grogu have left Disney+ behind to take orders from sci-fi queen Sigourney Weaver (Alien) in a big-screen 2026 Star Wars movie. But does Pedro Pascal need to go rescue little "Stinky the Hutt" now that he’s grown into big, buff Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)? And can director Jon Favreau (Elf) find The Way to ba...

Before Alfred Hitchcock turned birds into cinematic terror, The Birds was a bleak, intimate apocalypse story from author Daphne du Maurier. In this special Now Playing Podcast Book Review, Arnie looks at the 1952 short story that inspired Hitchcock’s classic film and finds something very different: a grim survival tale closer to War of the Worlds, I Am Legend, and Night of the Living Dead than the...

Is this The Way to make a follow-up to a hit show? Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) aims to bring the various Mandalorian factions together and reclaim their homeworld in Season Three of the popular Star Wars series. Does that mean The Armorer can give Pedro Pascal a pass for peeking out from under his helmet and pushing his foundling child Grogu to become his combat-ready apprentice? Or would Grog...

Nic is not the only Cage who made garbage action flicks in the 1990s Karl Urban (The Boys) goes from Comic-Con has-been to fighting for Earth in a life-or-death tournament called Mortal Kombat II. Does this aging Gen X-er still have enough fight to defeat classic video game characters like fan-wielding Kitana, toothy Baraka, and big, bad Outworld villain Shao Khan? And can director Simon McQuoid b...

Kenneth Branagh’s Adoing Nothing Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises) returns to Runway Magazine in The Devil Wears Prada 2, where the collapse of print media may finally threaten the icy reign of editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). But after the death of a publishing mogul leaves Miranda’s future uncertain, will the fashion queen be forced to trade first-class flights and chauffeured town ca...

The Devil Wears Prada has become iconic. Anne Hathaway’s cerulean sweater. Meryl Streep’s silver hair and clipped “that’s all” dismissal. The pop songs, the score, the fashion world excess. Just hearing the title instantly conjures images from the film for millions of people. And while it’s common knowledge that Streep’s Miranda Priestly was inspired by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, fewer people real...

Temuera Morrison is ready to throw The Book at Tatooine spice dealers as he steps from his Bacta tank and back into the role of Boba Fett for a 2022 Disney+ miniseries. But how did the badass bounty hunter escape Return of the Jedi’s Sarlacc Pit to claim Jabba the Hutt's throne from Bib Fortuna? And does he really need to interrupt Grogu’s Force training with Luke Skywalker and call in Pedro Pasca...

Sachs And The City Anne Hathaway’s wannabe writer Andy finds both her outfits and work ethic clashing with boss-from-hell Meryl Streep in the 2006 comedy The Devil Wears Prada. Can bitchy first assistant Emily Blunt and diva fashion director Stanley Tucci help the aspiring journalist dress the part and fit in at high-pressure Runway magazine? And will boyfriend Adrian Grenier (Entourage) get tosse...

Stuart went back in the hospital this month for another surgery. But he's back home and ready to tell all his Stu Cru supporters about it on the third episode of Intermission. He gives more detail on his health, the complications that followed his initial surgery, and the major procedure he recently underwent to reclaim his life. It's a harrowing story but one with an uplifting end, and maybe even...

Actor Thomas Dekker (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010) joins Now Playing Podcast to revisit the Elm Street remake on its anniversary. He shares how he landed the role, what it was like filming in Chicago, and how the movie evolved from a darker original script into the final theatrical version. Dekker discusses reshoots, studio notes, changes to Freddy’s performance, and...

Three Mando and a Baby Pedro Pascal and “Baby Yoda” (Grogu) search for a Jedi ally in The Mandalorian Season 2 on Disney+. But what does it mean to be The Mandalorian when Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan removes her helmet, and Temuera Morrison straps back on his Boba Fett armor to join the quest? Is it more fun watching a legacy Star Wars character fly in and take down Moff Gideon's Dark Troopers, or s...

I guess you think you're... you know, like an authority figure, with that stupid fuckin' uniform, huh buddy? Bob Odenkirk goes from Nobody to playing a “Normal” small-town interim sheriff. Teaming up again with Derek Kolstad, does he bring the same mix of dry humor and sudden violence that made their last series work? And with Henry Winkler in the wintery mix, are we getting something closer to th...

No Child Left Behind Pedro Pascal strapped on the helmet to become The Mandalorian and help launch the Disney+ streaming service back in 2019. Is there a beating heart underneath the Beskar steel armor that convinces the cold-blooded bounty hunter to betray his client, Werner Herzog, and prevent "Baby Yoda" from falling into the hands of Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)? Listen Now to find ou...

The Devil Wears Ghorman Twill Four years of Star Wars spy missions have Andor (Diego Luna) ready to ditch the Rebellion with equally traumatized girlfriend Bix (Morbius' Adria Arjona). Can schemer Stellan Skarsgård keep his agents in position like the bugged antiques in his shop until he has all the Death Star intel? And is Mon Mothma too busy throwing her teenage daughter's wedding to notice best...

Now You’re Playing With Millennials  Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) rocket into another Galaxy to rescue her kidnapped sister Rosalina (Brie Larson) in the 2026 Super Mario Brothers Movie sequel. Can brothers Mario and Luigi (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day) keep the Mushroom Kingdom safe as Bowser (Jack Black) returns to full size and escapes to a homemade planet built...

Stuart's Burning Down the House on this episode... What did we lose when video stores disappeared, and can streaming ever replace it? Arnie, Stuart, and Justin dive into that, along with immersive theater, playoff hockey, and a round of listener trivia that puts their movie knowledge to the test. And this is still a new podcast format for us, so let us know if you enjoy the show. We welcome your f...

Do NOT confuse this title for another Caravan of Courage on the Ewok moon Before he was the martyr of Rogue One, Diego Luna was a desperate thief who accidentally lit the spark of the Rebellion in the 2022 series Andor. Is he better off making Death Star parts in prison with Andy Serkis, or facing the consequences of the Imperial robbery he pulled for chameleon Stellan Skarsgård? And can Senator M...

Qui-Gon but Not Forgotten Ewan McGregor returns to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in a 2022 miniseries that gives him another chance to school his rogue Padawan, Hayden Christensen, for rebranding himself as Darth Vader. But is the Force strong enough with this middle-aged Jedi Master to save little Princess Leia (Bird Box’s Vivien Lyra Blair) after she’s kidnapped by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Fle...

The Hate U Give Disney Ends All Their Hopes (T.H.U.G. D.E.A.T.H) Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) attempts to save twin sisters from a witch coven and bring them into the Jedi fold, only to watch his Acolyte turn to the Dark Side in this Star Wars prequel. Can Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give) as former Jedi Osha be Forced to return to the Order and stop her sister Mae before she assassinates a meditati...

Speaking In Tongues Mary Shelley possesses Hamnet star Jessie Buckley and turns her into The Bride!, a politically charged sequel to her 1818 novel Frankenstein. But would the reinvigorated woman prefer not to be engaged to Christian Bale’s Monster when his idea of romance is stomping on mobsters' heads while pretending he’s tap dancing in a movie musical? And is director Maggie Gyllenhaal a mad s...

Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter Neve Campbell sat out Ghostface’s rampage in New York City so she could raise Isabel May to become her Final Girl replacement in Scream 7. Has Matthew Lillard risen from the dead to stalk veteran survivors like Courtney Cox, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown in a brand new suburbia?  And why did O.G. screenwriter Kevin Williamson take another stab at direct...

Welcome to the very first episode of Now Playing Podcast: Intermission, our new monthly free-form show where the structure is looser, it's far less edited, and anything can happen! This month: Arnie goes nuclear over Alamo Drafthouse’s new mid-movie cell phone ordering system and why he canceled his Season Pass. Brock and Stuart break down Oscar season, from the Best Picture nominees to which film...