In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen compare notes on their favorite pharmaceutical drug names. They also ask some big questions, including: Does volleyball really need to be seen in 3D? Should Steven Soderbergh retire? And if the only good part of a date is the kissing at the end...is it really a good date? It's all in honor of this week's big releases: "Top Gun 3D," "Side Effects," and "Identity Thief."

Every Friday, The Takeaway’s Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in on the weekend's film releases. This week, there are three: the crime drama “Side Effects,” the vigilante road trip movie “Identity Theft,” and the 3D re-release of the eighties action classic, “Top Gun.”

In this week's podcast, Rafer and Kristen play a game of would you rather involving racist hitmen versus zombie kidnappers. Will Rafer choose to be kidnapped? Will Kristen decide on racism? Find out, and along the way, get their thoughts on "Stand Up Guys," "Warm Bodies," and "Bullet to the Head."

Friday is movie day on the Takeaway, when we talk about the weekend’s big releases. This week, there are three: the teen zombie romance, "Warm Bodies"; the Sylvester Stallone buddy shoot-em-up, "Bullet to the Head"; and "Stand up Guys," a crime comedy starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken. and Alan Arkin.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen review "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," and in the process, are forced to explore one of Rafer's least favorite movie themes in recent years: the sibling romance. Other movies discussed this week are "Parker," starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez; and "Movie 43," starring Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Emma Stone, Kate Bosworth, Uma Thurman, and everyone else in Hollywood. Warning to the easily queasy: this podcast includes talk of fecal matter, brother-sister romance, brother-brother romance, misogyny, and menstruation.

It’s been said that truth is stranger than fiction. But when is fiction actually truth? Several Oscar-nominated films this season are inspired by true events.

Welcome to the third Movie Date Award Season Dispatch - in which Rafer and Kristen do not talk about award season at all, and instead focus on the strange intersections of politics and performance. Each dispatch is taken from a live interview, led by WNYC's Amy Eddings, and broadcast during All Things Considered on WNYC.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, is back with a new movie, "The Last Stand." But can the 65-year-old "governator" still move tickets as an action hero? Or will fans have trouble seeing him as something other than a politician and the man who messed up a marriage with Maria Shriver? The Takeaway's Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, share their thoughts on politics and Hollywood.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer responds to one of Kristen's harshest critics - with a giant spoonful of sugar. Rafer and Kristen also give their thoughts on this week's big releases: "Mama," starring Jessica Chastain; "Broken City," starring Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, and Catherine Zeta Jones, and "The Last Stand," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Advanced warning: if you can't stand sincere soft rock, you might want to fast-forward through this week's trivia question.    

The Takeaway's Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in on the week's new releases, which include the former governator, that guy from "Jackass," and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain.

Welcome to the second of several Movie Date Award Season Dispatches. Each dispatch is taken from a live interview, led by WNYC's Amy Eddings, and broadcast during All Things Considered on WNYC. In this dispatch, Rafer and Kristen share their thoughts on the Golden Globes - from the hosting to the winners to that speech by Lifetime Achievement winner Jodie Foster.

It was a good night for Ben Affleck, but Jodie Foster may have stolen the show. 

Welcome to the first of several Movie Date Award Season Dispatches. Each dispatch is taken from a live interview, led by WNYC's Amy Eddings, and broadcast during All Things Considered on WNYC. In this dispatch, Rafer and Kristen share their thoughts on the Oscar nominees - and whether they truly represent the best pictures of the year. 

In this week's podcast, Rafer and Kristen talk about whether Gangster Squad is a horrible date, or merely a tolerable one. They also share their excitement about the Oscar nominations, the Razzie nominations, and this weekend's Golden Globe Awards. Welcome to red carpet season!

This weekend, Queens of Comedy Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the Golden Globes, just a few days after Emma Stone and 2013 Oscar host Seth McFarlane presented the Oscar nominations. Add to that the Razzie nominations for the worst movies of 2012, and you have a well-rounded kick-off to red carpet season. The Takeaway’s Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer have all the details on the nominees, the snubs, and the upcoming shows.

Rafer and Kristen answer just a few of the many letters they've received in recent weeks from Movie Date listeners, including questions about "The Hobbit," "Les Miserables," and "Django: Unchained." Plus, Kristen and Rafer talk about "On the Road," "The Impossible," and "Promised Land."

It's the first Friday of 2013 and one of the most highly anticipated releases is the new adaptation of the Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Also garnering a lot of buzz (and Golden Globe nominations): "The Impossible," a film about a family trapped in the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.

Friday is the day when we talk about new movie releases here on the Takeaway. Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday weighs in on "Les Miserables" and "Django Unchained."

It's Christmas 2012, one of the most highly anticipated movie release days of the year, and Rafer and Kristen are prepared to throw down over two of the big ones: "Les Miserables" and "Django Unchained."

It's the week before Christmas, when a lot of movies hit the big screen. Of course, some of them are better than others, and Rafer and Kristen each have their favorites. On the chopping block: the new Kathryn Bigelow film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, "Zero Dark 30"; the mother-son road trip comedy starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan "The Guilt Trip"; Judd Apatow's follow up to "Knocked Up," "This is 40"; and the movie that turns Werner Herzog into an action star "Jack Reacher."