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Three playful movie reviewers break down a variety of film franchises by dedicating a podcast to every single sequel, reboot, and spin-off in a series. In-depth conversations cover production history, literary sources, gossip, merchandising, and personal opinion with humor and critical insight. No cinematic universe is too obscure or sacred! Over 1,200 reviews at http://nowplayingpodcast.com
Copyright: © Venganza Media, Inc.
Anyone else see a unicorn run through here?
From identity crises to artificial intelligence, few writers have inspired Hollywood quite like Philip K. Dick. His paranoid, reality-bending stories have attracted some of the industry’s biggest directors and stars, resulting in films that question memory, humanity, and the nature of existence itself. Now Playing Podcast dives into the mind of Dick with a retrospective series examining every major big-screen adaptation of his novels and short stories. From dystopian futures to fractured timelines, Brock, Jakob, and Stuart evaluate how faithfully these films capture Dick’s ideas and whether the movies stand on their own beyond the source material. Do these adaptations honor the imagination of one of science fiction’s most influential voices, or do they dilute the very paranoia that made his work endure?
The series begins with Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott (Alien) and starring Harrison Ford (Star Wars). Widely regarded as one of the most influential science fiction films ever made, it adapts Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into a rain-soaked meditation on humanity and memory. Is it a masterpiece worthy of its reputation, or more admired than loved? The hosts step into the neon-lit future to find out.
In Cyberspace, no one can hear you over the techno.
More than 25 years after Disney’s cult curiosity first lit up the grid, Tron: Legacy storms into theaters with neon intensity. With the original Tron long-regarded as more groundbreaking than great, expectations are high that this sequel will finally turn concept into classic. Fueled by cutting-edge 3-D visuals, a digital recreation of Jeff Bridges, and a heavy dose of Gen X nostalgia, Legacy aims to transform the Grid into a full-fledged cinematic universe. But does Tron: Legacy deliver the upgrade fans were hoping for, or does it still struggle to compile beyond its visuals? Arnie, Jakob, and Brock jack in to decide whether this sequel runs smoothly or crashes on launch.
Over 27 years after an original film that Disney desperately hopes you don't remember all that well, Tron Legacy hits theaters in a big way. A film generating a lot of buzz and interest in a holiday movie season that is largely considered lackluster, hopes for Tron Legacy are high. With state of the art 3-D visuals and playing heavily on Gen X nostalgia, is Tron Legacy the upgrade from the original that Arnie, Jakob, and Brock were hoping for, or does it still fail to compile? Listen in and find out!
{Tron Series}
Scott Farkus had yellow eyes, so Billy has yellow skin?
Three decades after the original holiday horror classic, Black Christmas returns to the sorority house with a bloodier, louder reimagining of the 1974 shocker. This time, the filmmakers don’t just hint at the killer in the attic; they dive headfirst into his backstory, piling on gruesome kills and seasonal mayhem. The remake leans hard into gore, a twisted family history, and red-glowing Christmas lights. But does explaining the mystery make it scarier, or does it strip away what made the original so unsettling? Arnie, Stuart, and Brock deck the halls with entrails as they decide whether this reboot is a gift for horror fans or something that should have stayed wrapped.
Another holiday season podcast coming to you, as a thanks from us at Now Playing to you for helping nominate us for a Podcast Award at podcastawards.com
{Black Christmas Series}
Can you guess what the gift is, Agnes?
Before slashers ruled the ’80s, before masked killers stalked Camp Crystal Lake or Haddonfield, there was 1974 shocker Black Christmas. Often cited as a proto-slasher that paved the way for Halloween and beyond, Black Christmas mixes seasonal cheer with dread, delivering one of the genre’s earliest and creepiest home-invasion nightmares. Arnie, Stuart, and Brock gather around the tree to unwrap this horror classic, digging into its legacy, its influence, and whether its quiet menace still chills decades later. Is this holiday horror essential viewing, or does it get lost among the tinsel and blood? Be merry and listen now!
A black little package for under your tree this holiday season, as a thanks from us at Now Playing to you for helping nominate us for a Podcast Award at podcastawards.com
{Black Christmas Series}
Light Cycles. Neon Frisbees. Arcade games. These are the iconic and nostalgic images that come to mind when you think of Tron, Disney's "ahead of its time" 1982 cult classic that had Jeff Bridges as a cyberspace messiah almost 20 years before Keanu Reeves as Neo. With the upcoming sequel, Tron Legacy, being released in theaters, Disney is banking on viewer nostalgia, but beyond those images how well do you remember Tron? Disney is intentionally downplaying the original film, so to ensure your memory meets all system requirements for Tron Legacy, boot up this episode of Now Playing with Arnie, Brock, and Jakob! Is Tron an unappreciated classic that audiences should replay or are our hosts just waiting for the game over screen? Listen in and find out!
{Tron Series}
Check out the data discs on her!
Light Cycles. Neon Frisbees. Arcade games. These are the iconic, nostalgic images that come to mind when you think of Tron, Disney's 'ahead of its time' 1982 cult classic, in which Jeff Bridges plays a cyberspace messiah almost 20 years before Keanu Reeves' Neo. With the upcoming release of the sequel Tron: Legacy, Disney is banking on viewer nostalgia. But beyond those images, how well do you remember Tron? Is it an unappreciated classic that audiences should replay, or are our hosts just waiting for the game-over screen? Boot up this episode of Now Playing Podcast with Arnie, Brock, and Jakob and find out!
20 Years after Rambo 3 crashed at the box office like a chopper into a tank, John Rambo returned to the big screen. Stallone, still in the afterglow of his acclaimed return as Rocky Balboa, reprised his other classic role of John Rambo, and this time he's going to Burma to give you a war you won't believe. Limbs, and children, are flying in this ultra-violent action event, but is this new Rambo for the 21st Century a return to the series better days, or should we have just left Rambo in Afghanistan in the 80's? Listen to Arnie, Brock, and Jakob to find out!
{Rambo Series}
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