Now Playing Podcast Presents: The DC Comics Movies Retrospective Series

Superman Series Episode 2

In 1978 director Richard Donner and a team of cutting-edge optical effects artists made audiences believe a man could fly.  Perhaps even more impressive, though, is that stars Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, and Marlon Brando were able to bring such performances that adults and children watched a man convincingly and unironically wear a blue spandex unitard.  But when Superman took to the screen there was no unintentional laughter, just a generation held in thrall as they watched the first big-budget superhero film-a movie to which all superhero films to this day are still compared.  Do Now Playing Podcast movie reviews Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart still believe the film flies as high?  Listen to this week’s podcast to find out!

Superman Series Episode 1

Superman.  In the 1930s the DC character was a breakout success creating a template for superheroes that would be copied for the next century.  In the 1970s he made moviegoers believe a man could fly in the first blockbuster superhero film.  But long before Christopher Reeve would embody the iconic Kryptonian there was another Superman movie-Superman and the Mole Men.  Created as part of the television series The Adventures of Superman, Superman and the Mole Men starred George Reeves as the man of steel dealing with a race of beings who have escaped their home miles below ground.  Reeves would go on to play Superman on television from 1952 to 1958 becoming the face of Superman for the baby boomer generation.  Now, as Now Playing Podcast hosts Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob begin their Superman retrospective series leading up to this summer’s Man of Steel film they look back at this forgotten 1951 feature.  Is this a Superman adventure worth unearthing or should it have stayed buried deep?  Listen to find out!

DC Heroes Series Episode 3

When a terrorist plans to destroy Washington D.C. the only hope for the United States is a confederate soldier with a scar on his face and a chip on his shoulder-Jonah Hex. A strange steampunk western based on the DC Comics character, Jonah Hex failed to find an audience despite A-list stars Josh Brolin and John Malkovich. Is this possibly an overlooked gem, or could it really be as bad as world-of-mouth indicates? Listen to Now Playing Podcast and find out!

DC Heroes Series Episode 2

From the pages of DC’s Hellblazer comics, John Constantine was a blonde, British occult detective with a smoking habit and a bad attitude. The comics had a cult following and in 2005 Warner Bros gave the anti-hero the big screen treatment. Moving the action from Liverpool to Los Angeles, the film starred Keanu Reeves as the Americanized occultist. Now, continuing their look at DC comics one-off films, Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob see if Constantine’s theatrical adaptation had spirit, or was dead on arrival.

DC Heroes Series Episode 1

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, those are the heroes DC Comics are known for. But there are others. As we build up to Man of Steel this summer, Now Playing Podcast hosts Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie are looking at some of these lesser known DC Heroes who fight bad guys and obscurity with equal fervor. For our first installment in this series, the hosts review Tank Girl, the 1995 film that pitted Lori Petty and a team of human/kangaroo hybrids against Malcolm McDowell. Does Tank Girl hit the mark, or is it a misfire? Listen to find out!

Batman Series Episode 10

Since Michelle Pfeiffer squeezed into latex in Batman Returns an idea of a Catwoman movie had been teased. Writers, directors, and stars were attached to the project over the years, and it took over a decade for the film to become reality. Now starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, a woman given the mystical powers of a cat, the film hoped to jump on the superhero bandwagon and launch a new franchise. Instead, it won several Raspberry Awards and tanked at the box office. Is this film as bad as its reputation? Listen to Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie as they let the fur fly in our review!

Batman Series Episode 9

The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated conclusion to his Batman trilogy, opened last Friday under the pall of a senseless tragedy that occurred at a screening in Colorado. Nationwide, people mourn for those lost, and pray for those injured. But the majority refuse to let the acts of one man taint a movie they’ve waited four years to see, and audiences rushed to theaters and IMAX to see if Nolan’s latest effort could measure up to 2008’s record-breaking, Academy Award winning The Dark Knight. Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob’s final review in their Batman retrospective series to find out if it did.