Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

Tom Cruise's character Agent Ethan Hunt has a new mission - stop a rogue IMF agent from releasing a deadly biological weapon -- and protect the woman he loves.  With John Woo in the director's chair, this film is sure to have some slow motion action and doves flying, but should you choose this second impossible mission?  Join Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart to find out!

Mission: Impossible was a smash hit TV series in the 1960s and 70s, and it even had a revival in the late 80s.  But in the 90s, producer and star Tom Cruise tried to do the impossible:  create a hit movie franchise based on an old TV show.  Many shows have tried to become films, but few have succeeded.  Yet with noted director Brian De Palma behind the camera, a bevy of stunt work, and Cruise on t...

It's like a riddle:  When does Chapter 3 come before Chapter 1?  When it's an Insidious sequel!  The new film may be titled Insidious: Chapter 3 but the film is actually a prequel to the original film.  Were you interested how Tucker and Specs met Elise?  Or what the Bride in Black did before harassing the Lambert family?  It's all in Chapter 3, with a background story of a new demon trying to kil...

Firestarter: Rekindled has Malcolm McDowell and Dennis Hopper starring in a movie based on the works of Stephen King!  If this movie came out in 1982 it may have had the star power, and budget, to be a true classic.  But Rekindled didn't come out when those actors' star power was at its peak, it was made in 2002 as an original Sci-Fi Channel two part miniseries.  Does this story of Charlie's next...

In 1984 Stephen King had been given the moniker "The King of Horror."  Movies on his books had more hits than misses, and his every novel was a bestseller, including the tale of a pyrokinetic girl hunted by government agents -- Firestarter!  The heat from that book drew star Drew Barrymore, fresh off her role in the highest-grossing film of all time, E.T.,  With these two names combined, did the m...

Warning: This podcast deals with a movie that has no plot, hammy acting, and a hack script we wouldn't want to wipe our asses with. It's not even funny bad, it's just a boring, miserable watching experience. We want no one to give this film a penny by paying for the rental. We appreciate you listeners enough to tell you this up front - you really don't need to watch this film. And if you want to h...

It's been 30 years since the last Mad Max film, but creator George Miller was compelled to go again into the post-apocalyptic Outback. The film suffered production troubles, extensive reshoots, and eventually had to film with a new star: Tomy Hardy as Max. But now the movie is on screens and bringing both praise and controversy. Did the series run out of gas without Mad Mel? Join Stuart, Arnie, an...

Star Mel Gibson and director George Miller returned to the world of Mad Max one final time in 1985. With a budget larger than the previous two films combined, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome established its place in pop culture with both catch phrases and a catchy Tina Turner song. For nearly 30 years this was thought to be the closing chapter in the series, and is Gibson's final time playing the titul...

The 2015 summer movie season kicks off in a big way with the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Age of Ultron. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye are back in front of the camera, all again under the direction of geek god Joss Whedon. But with three super-powered baddies and a new Vision for these heroes there is more Avengers to assemble than ever before...

With the success of Mad Max director George Miller had his pick of films to direct, but he chose to return to the post-apocalyptic Australian outback for a second Mad Max film -- The Road Warrior! The budget was bigger, and so were the explosions, but does that make this film better than the original? Listen to find out!

In 1979 a low budget film exploded from down under to become the most profitable film of all time--Mad Max! Shot for less than half a million Australian dollars the movie launched Mel Gibson to stardom and has been a midnight movie staple. What is it about this gritty exploitation film that garners it such acclaim? Hop in and join Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie to find out!

Before making it big with Jaws Steven Spielberg was honing his directing skills on television. Spielberg's first feature-length film was, in fact, Duel a made-for-television ABC Movie of the Week. With little money and even less time the director created a suspense film that broke out of the small screen and was released theatrically in Europe and Australia But how does Spielberg's first film hold...

Universal thought the Fast and Furious franchise was unstoppable. With each new sequel grossing more than the previous instalment, they fast tracked Furious 7, even if it meant losing long time series director Justin Lin and new star The Rock. But when Paul Walker died before the movie was complete the cast and the creatives making the film had to rework the script to be a fitting goodbye. Can Ins...

With Fast Five director Justin Lin opened the car racing franchise up to a wider audience. With in his final film in the series, Fast & Furious 6, Lin tried to continue that trend, setting Vin Diesel's group of likeable outlaws against a European terrorist. The action set pieces were bigger, as was the box office, but can this film rev higher than the last installment? Join Arnie, Stuart, and...

Director Justin Lin had one thought going into his third Fast and Furious movie--what if they didn't make it a Fast and Furious film. Rather than focusing on fast cars and racing, Fast Five becomes an action film involving drug dealers and spectacular chases. Culling a cadre of characters from the first four films, and adding The Rock as a new nemesis for Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto, Fast Five se...

After the third Fast and Furious movie crashed at the box office the series could have run out of gas for good--until original stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker returned to give it a jump start! With the two headliners returning, as well as supporting cast Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, plus Justin Lin back behind the camera, audiences hit the NOS to get to theaters! Will this film live u...

The third Fast and Furious film took a sharp turn, leaving the series' previous actors in the dust to tell a new story about a rebellious teen racing on the streets of Tokyo. The series has a new star, a new style of racing, and a new director in Justin Lin--who would return for three more Fast and Furious installments. Does the third movie in this series have the Now Playing hosts turning Japanes...

We live in a world where collusion among the rich destroy the middle class and keep the poor as working cattle. Everyone knows that. But in They Live it's revealed that the elite are actually working with aliens and using the media to hypnotize us and keep us subservient. Can a construction worker named Nada, played by WWF's Rowdy Roddy Piper, save the world? Listen now to find out in our review o...

When The Fast and The Furious raced up the box office Universal Pictures thought they had a franchise on their hands and hit the NOS for a sequel--with or without Vin Diesel. So for 2 Fast 2 Furious Paul Walker returns as Brian O'Connor, once again going undercover to bring down a criminal mastermind. This time, though, Brian's trash-talking bald-headed partner isn't Dominic Turetto, but Roman Pie...

Pixar films including Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo, had been smash hits. But could this success that worked on toys, fish, bugs, and beasts, work for a movie starring a roster of human characters? That was the risk they took with The Incredibles -- Pixar's first superhero film. The gamble worked and Pixar had another hit, but how does this film hold up more than 10 years later? Join...

An undercover police officer infiltrates a group of thieves, but can he resist the lure of the subculture and do his duty? No, we're not talking the Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze film Point Break--we're reviewing the 2001 car racing film The Fast and The Furious. Starring Vin Diesel, fresh off the success of Pitch Black, the film raced to box office success and launched a billion-dollar franchise. B...

From the director of X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass comes Kingsman: The Secret Service. Like Kick-Ass, this film is also based on an original comic by Mark Millar, but now the pair are focusing on a young man trying to join an independent group of spies who pose as tailors. With a combination of new faces and established actors like Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson, does this new movie also kick...

The making of this film is unlike any other: director Richard Linklater and his stars convened annually over the span of twelve years to make a movie about a boy growing into a man. The sheer scope and complexity of the project is enormous, but it was completed when Boyhood hit theaters in 2014. But with all the behind-the-scenes complexity, was the final film worth it? Join Stuart, Jakob, and Arn...

It's been 18 years since Céline and Jesse met on that Vienna-bound train, both in real life and for the two fictional characters played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. But where has time taken these two characters? The Before... films are Richard Linklater's precursor to boyhood, returning with the same characters and actors in 1995, 2004, and again most recently in 2013, but has the series grown...

It was unexpected that Before Sunrise, the 1995 indie romance film, would get a sequel. Long discussed by stars and director alike, the thought of Céline and Jesse reuniting on screen seemed impossible. Yet in in 2004, nine years after the original's release, audiences were able to reconnect with these two characters. Did the two reunite in Vienna on that train platform, and what are these two lik...