Now Playing - The Movie Review Podcast

It's taken 11 movies, but the mystery is finally uncovered... her first name is Nyota. In the final (for now) installment of the Now Playing Podcast Star Trek Retrospective Series, the hosts arrive at the franchise reset - the brand new Star Trek. J.J. Abrams’ reboot promises a new timeline, a younger cast, and a faster, louder approach designed to relaunch Trek for a new generation. How faithful...

Begun the clone war has This episode of Now Playing Podcast concludes The Next Generation era of the Star Trek Retrospective Series with Star Trek: Nemesis. In this final big-screen outing for Captain Picard and his crew, the Enterprise faces a shadowy new threat with unsettling ties to Picard himself, raising questions about identity, destiny, and legacy. Paramount marketed Nemesis as darker and...

Warning - firmer breasts do not make effective flotation devices The Star Trek: The Next Generation crew faces a moral dilemma involving forced relocation, political compromise, and a possible Insurrection. Leaning more toward a classic TV-style adventure than a large-scale cinematic spectacle, this ninth Trek asks whether standing up to Starfleet is worth the cost. Does this rebellion story offer...

That'll do, Geordi. That'll do. Now Playing Podcast continues the Star Trek Retrospective Series with Star Trek: First Contact. Widely regarded as the strongest big-screen outing for The Next Generation crew, this chapter throws Captain Picard and company into a high-stakes time-travel mission to stop the Borg from rewriting Earth’s history. Blending action, horror elements, and franchise lore, Fi...

Holodecks, warp drives and human replicant androids they can do, but curing male pattern baldness still eludes them. Star Trek: Generations finally brings two eras of Enterprise captains together on the big screen. Marketed as a historic handoff between crews, the movie aims to bridge the classic series with the next generation of Star Trek storytelling. Does this long-awaited captain team-up deli...

The Klingon doth quotes Shakesphere too much, methinks Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was the final big-screen outing for the original Enterprise crew. Framed as a political thriller, this chapter tackles conspiracy, distrust, and the end of an era as the galaxy faces an uneasy push toward peace. Does this farewell give the classic cast a strong, thoughtful send-off, or does it feel like a...

Ok, Bill, fine. You can direct. Now Playing Podcast continues the Star Trek Retrospective Series with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Directed by William Shatner, this fifth entry sends the crew on a strange spiritual quest beyond the galaxy’s edge, asking some very big questions about faith, pain, and what exactly might be waiting at the center of the universe. Does The Final Frontier deliver a...

Chekov - San Francisco in the 1980s, perhaps leather pants wasn't the best choice... Trading space battles for time travel, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sends the crew back to 1980s Earth on a mission involving whales, culture shock, and a very different tone from what came before. Does this lighter, fish-out-of-water Trek still hold up decades later, or does this whale tale sink under the weight...

Hey - you're not Kirstie Alley! Now Playing Podcast continues the Star Trek Retrospective Series with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Picking up directly after the events of The Wrath of Khan, the crew of the Enterprise risks everything to recover the body and soul of everyone’s favorite Vulcan. Is this emotional rescue mission a meaningful extension of the saga, or does undoing a powerful en...

Waiter, I'll have the Kobayashi Maru Now Playing Podcast continues the Star Trek Retrospective Series with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the sequel often credited with radically changing the course of the franchise. Trading the slow, meditative approach of the first film for sharper pacing, higher stakes, and a personal vendetta, this entry pits Admiral Kirk against his most formidable enemy ye...

We get to the point faster than Kirk gets to the Enterprise! Welcome to Now Playing Podcast's Star Trek Retrospective Series, where we review every film in the Star Trek movie franchise leading up to the release of the new Star Trek movie on Friday, May 8, 2009. The journey begins with 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the long-awaited big-screen debut of the crew of the Starship Enterprise. A...

Welcome back to Now Playing Podcast’s Friday the 13th Retrospective Series, where we’ve reviewed every chapter in the saga leading up to the brand-new 2009 reboot hitting theaters this Friday the 13th. In this thirteenth and final installment, Arnie, Stuart, and Brock step back from Camp Crystal Lake to look at the franchise as a whole. Which films delivered the sharpest kills? Where did the serie...

If your friends suggest camping out near Crystal Lake....you say no! Now Playing Podcast wraps up its Friday the 13th retrospective with the moment it's all been building toward. After revisiting every sequel, detour, and resurrection, the hosts finally arrive at the franchise's modern reboot, released on Friday, February 13, 2009. This remake promises a faster, meaner, back-to-basics take on Jaso...

One, two, Jason's coming for you... Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the series heads toward the release of the new film on Friday, February 13, 2009. This episode takes on Freddy vs. Jason, focusing specifically on Jason Voorhees and how this long-teased crossover fits into the Friday the 13th lineage. After years of stalled development and fan anticipation, Jaso...

Aliens called. It wants its plot back. Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Jason X, the sequel that does the unthinkable and sends Jason Voorhees into the future… and into space. Trading Camp Crystal Lake for cryogenics, androids, and zero-gravity kills, Jason X fully...

Hell looks an awful lot like Connecticut Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the series barrels toward the release of the new film on Friday, February 13, 2009. This episode dives into Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. This entry attempts to radically reinvent the franchise by tearing Jason apart and spreading his evil in unexpected ways. Released in 1993, The Fi...

Toxic Waste in the sewers is so cliché. Right, Master Splinter? Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. This sequel promises to haul Jason Voorhees out of Camp Crystal Lake and into the city that never sleeps... eventually...

Psychic powers meets psycho killer. Discuss. Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. This 1988 sequel tries to shake things up by pitting Jason Voorhees against a new kind of opponent and leaning harder into supernatural elements than ever before. Does The New Blood inject some much-needed life into the franchise, or does it fee...

Hey Jason - up your nose with a rubber hose! Now Playing continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film's release on Friday, February 13, 2009, keeps rolling. This episode takes on Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, the entry that brings Jason Voorhees back to Camp Crystal Lake in a big, loud, and very intentional way. After the controversy of A New Beginning, Jaso...

It would have worked, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids! Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective as the countdown to the new film’s release on Friday, February 13, 2009, rolls on. This episode tackles Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, the 1985 sequel that promised a fresh start for the franchise while boldly toying with its most sacred icon. A New Beginning...

Where's Corey Haim when you need him? Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with the fourth installment, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Marketed as the series’s conclusion, this entry escalates the body count, tightens the pacing, and emphasizes the notion that this is indeed The Fnal Chapter at Camp Crystal Lake. With a more menacing demeanor and a deeper understand...

A quick and easy Halloween costume is born Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective with Friday the 13th Part III, as the hosts work their way through the franchise ahead of the upcoming reboot. This 1982 installment has the hockey mask take center stage, solidifying Jason's iconic look. But arriving in theaters in full 3-D and pushing the series toward bigger kills and broa...

I got this great summer job - I'm a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake Now Playing Podcast continues its Friday the 13th retrospective series with Friday the 13th Part 2, as the countdown to the new Friday the 13th movie builds toward its release on Friday, February 13, 2009. The sequel picks up the bloody legacy of Camp Crystal Lake and delivers a major franchise turning point. Released in 1981,...

Sure, Jason, honey, you can go take a quick dip in the lake Now Playing Podcast kicks off a special Friday the 13th Retrospective Series as we eagerly await the new Platinum Dunes remake. We'll be camping out with all of the Friday films, starting with the 1980 original. It revolutionized the slasher genre and introduced audiences to the iconic Camp Crystal Lake. Long before hockey masks and pop-c...

Ordinary Life Is Pretty Complex Stuff In this candid, wide-ranging conversation, Jakob sits down with Harvey Pekar, the creator of American Splendor, to talk about realism in comics, the limits of the superhero genre, and why he chose to chronicle the life of a VA hospital file clerk instead of caped crusaders. Pekar reflects on his unlikely path from underground comics with Robert Crumb to mainst...